???'s POV

This is Rook to Knight, get the Pawns in position, I'm about to Initiate. A short reply of affirmation echoed through my mind as I pulled out my card case. I thumbed through them and shuffled while offering a small prayer to Lady Luck. I stared at the Rift in the cloudless azure sky and the inky black Void beyond it, at the mess Isaac made 22 years ago, and at the barrier they set up to keep the Kaosi out. Although the barrier doesn't keep out all the sweet loot that fell through smaller rifts in the Veil of other worlds only to be dumped through the Rift into ours. Below the Rift was the center of the Heap, a mountain of the objects that fell from above for the Bound to collect. I pulled out two cards out of the Deck, that familiar feeling of chaos magic began flooding the area before completely coming to a halt. It always felt like I was in a big ol' lake where the dam was about to burst. I fidgeted with a worn out 20-sided die in my hand as the two cards float in front of me. The System displayed my options on a floating screen in front of me;

Deck of Many Things Initiated. Subclass ability compatible. Advantage applied.

MAKE YOUR CHOICE

XIII Death

Effect: You instantly die. No amount of magic can bring you back.

0 The Fool

Effect: A random powerful magical effect occurs

Wow. What a difficult choice that happened at the best possible time. Better let the others know it's about to hit the fan. This is Rook to Knight. I drew The Fool, be prepared. And then to inform our gracious awe-inspiring King. He'll be able to fix any problems The Fool and more specifically I caused, as he always does. This is Rook to King, I drew the Fool… please help me out here, Isaac. A confirmation in the form of laughter rang out as I made my choice and confirmed it in the System.

The Fool was drawn. Generating effect.

An anti-magic pulse with originate from you, enveloping a large area.

Wait what? 

The chaos magic started gathering around me before pulsing out, shutting down the security measures of the Heap and hopefully the cuffs that they have put on the Bound. A moment passed as I prepared to enter the fray along with the Knight and Pawns. Then, a flicker of magic in the corner of my eye caught my attention. The barrier around the Rift was failing and once it does, it's going to endanger the Bound. I go to call out to Knight, but I'm interrupted by static. The pulse had shut down communications as well. The barrier finally failed, and I just watched.

As black started flooding into the center of the Heap, my feet carried me to help the Bound I had unleashed the Kaosi on.

 ---

Nilhil's POV

At one moment, we were being led away from the center. One of the Bound had found an item of Unique quality there, and the guards didn't want any of the other Bound to have a chance with it. We were near the West gate, the section of the Heap where we keep the weapons we find. In the next moment, our cuffs fell off, exposing our hands to the open air for the first time in years. Then in this moment, a floating screen appeared in my vision, announcing the words I have heard the Bearers had said they saw during their Awakenings many times.

Welcome to the System, 

Nothing Bearer. Would you like to see your status?

I looked around to see the guards unsheathe their weapons as the newly freed Bound started to make their escape. Four guards, two of them Bearers. A Sword and Shield, both in the back of the group. I'm further towards the front near the regular guards. There's not enough time to see my status and so I declined it's offer, but there was enough time for something else. The screen faded away from my sight, and I surveyed my surroundings. The Bearer guards often discussed a "subclass" and the hours, days, or months they spent deciding which item would be their subclass for the rest of their lives. I had no Soulbound item that Bearers awakened with and therefore needed to create this subclass now in order to stand a chance. The objects we have collected from the center are all around us, in boxes or scattered on the ground. To my left is a clutter of the items they couldn't fit in the smaller boxes. Among them is a spear, that will do. As my fingers wrapped around it, the System message appeared again.

Would you like to set your subclass to Spear-Bearer (Common)?

Yes.

Though I had never held a spear before, it felt like it became an extension of my being. The sense of how to use it pervaded my mind and use it I did. The guards to the front had failed to stop some of the Bound and one had turned to give chase while the other remained to coral the others. For the briefest moment, they stood back-to-back. I sprinted forward among the other Bound, dropped low, and thrust my spear forward. The spear pierced the first guard's armor, continued through his chest, and exited to pierce the second guard through the nape of his neck. I pulled the spear out in the next movement and continued forward. I heard voices ring out behind me.

"The brat killed the Normies, get him Gladio!"

"I got 'im right where I want 'im, Clypeus!"

I spun around and saw the Sword Bearer crouch before launching up 15 feet, somersaulting through the air with his sword held above his head as he spun forward. I held my spear at an angle close to my face and braced it with my arm as he fell towards me. He brought his sword down on me, attempting to split me in two. I dig the butt of the spear into the ground at the last moment, let it go, and duck to the side. Gladio had continued through the air and into the spearhead. It entered through the jugular, through to the back of his neck. I recovered my spear by pulling it through the rest of the way. 

Clypeus had been following behind Gladio and screamed as he saw his companion fall onto my spear, "Gladio, you idiot!" I readied my spear again as he barreled towards me, his steps thudding against the ground, his body clad in plate armor. As he closed in on me, I threaded my spear past his shield and hit his armor. It failed to penetrate the armor unlike the others, and his shield batted me aside. I flew and crashed against a wall of boxes. Pain radiated across my body as I steadied myself and dashed towards Clypeus again as he stood steady, ready for the next encounter. 

Then, all of a sudden, his eyes widened and his pupils dilated as he glanced behind me at the center of the Heap. His defense lowered and I would not let the opportunity pass. I jumped and landed on his shield, breaking his balance before I thrust the spear down between an opening in his armor. It ripped through his torso into the ground, and his eyes refocused through pain and raged back onto me. Clypeus remained standing with my spear in him; Shield Bearers are known for their vitality and durability, but all things die eventually. I held myself against his shield and pulled my spear from the ground, both toppling him to the ground and retrieving my weapon. I gripped his shield tight and planted my feet on his chest and struck again into his eye. He held the shaft of the spear until he stopped struggling and fell limp. 

In this moment of respite, I looked to observe what had distracted him in those final moments. A flood of black came in from the Void, as it seemed that the barrier around the rift had fallen. I knew what that meant and that I had to get out of here even faster.

A familiar voice called out, "Nil!" It was Author, his long brown hair had been pulled up in a ponytail, something we hadn't been able to do before when we had our cuffs. Perhaps I should do the same.

"I'm guessing you awakened?" observed Author as he eyed the guards' corpses and my spear." Spear Bearer?"

"Nothing Bearer." I replied.

"I've never heard of that one." he said, "What does it do?"

"I haven't been able to check, there wasn't any time."

He held out his hand, "Do you want me to guide you while you check it out? The guards are more worried about the Kaosi pouring from the Rift."

I accept his hand and request the system to pull up my status. I let Author take the lead while I focus on running and reading my status.

Name: Nilhil

Age: ???

Race: ???

Class: Nothing-Bearer

Level: 3

EXP: (35/62)

Subclass: Spear-Bearer

Class Abilities:

Jack of All

(1/3)

Class Perks: None

Subclass Abilities:

Pierce

Class Skills: 

Combat 1 (10%)

Magic 1 (0%)

Crafting 1 (0%)

Social 1 (0%)

Covert 1 (0%)

General Skills: 

Spear Arts 2 (0%)

System, explain Jack of All.

Jack of All: 

You bear Nothing, however that means that your hands are free to use anything you desire.

Effect: With every level, you gain a Subclass slot. You may freely swap out the items occupying the slots for others. However, the rarer the item, the more slots it will occupy.

So instead of the focus and growth of my Class's abilities, I have the versatility and freedom to choose my Subclasses. Different than what I've heard the Bearers discuss, but I welcomed this change. My Subclass ability is self-explanatory, as I've already seen its effects firsthand. I refocus back onto my surroundings and let go of Author's hand to indicate that I'm finished checking my status.

"Anything good?" he asks while maintaining our pace.

"Yes."

"Got it, let's start looking for Soteria then."

"She should be in the grove right now."

"Lead the way, Nil."