Isaac Levity stood in front of a portal.

  Some were three hundred feet tall and three hundred feet wide, while others were the length and width of a doorway. There were thousands dotted around Earth, and although each varied in size, all had the same appearance. Clustered with dots that looked like stars from a distance, they gave the viewer the impression of staring into the cosmos.

  Dark purples, greens, reds, pinks, and every color in between swirled and mixed and fought for dominance.

  The portal Isaac was in front of was buried deep in the Vale do Javari, a jungle in Brazil that was so remote, it was illegal for anyone to visit or travel there as uncontacted native tribes still called it home.

  It had taken two months and all of his mentor’s efforts to finally get him there.

  “I don’t see why we couldn’t just use one of the thousands of other portals covering the planet,” said Isaac, slapping some bug that wanted to dine on his blood.

  “Because, young master,” said a man with skin the color of onyx, “there are only a handful of portals left unguarded, and this was the easiest and cheapest one to get to.”

  Isaac turned to face the man’s milky-white eyes before looking at the trees packed so tightly around them that all he could see were brown and green. Insects the size of his fist buzzed around him, making him conjure every ounce of self-discipline he had not to freak out. He hated insects, and these were the largest he had ever seen. He was sure some of them didn’t even have names.

  “I know you are blind, Femi, but surely even you can feel what a sweatbox this place is. Not to mention the bugs with teeth bigger than mine.”

  Femi smiled as he pulled his tunic closer to his body. “I don’t mind the heat, young master. It reminds me of home. And when we were hungry, we had nothing to eat but bugs.”

  Isaac shuddered.

  “Control!” barked a gruff voice. “You’ve been in worse environments than this.”

  Isaac turned to face a bear of a man with a beard that covered his whole face and wild hair to match.

  “Yes, John, I quite enjoyed the time you buried him in a coffin and asked him to trek seven days across the Scottish Highlands to get to our cabin. What a week! The Scots may have terrible weather, but their whisky sure makes up for it,” said a Thai woman with a cigarette dangling from her mouth.

  John gave her a narrow-eyed look. “If I remember correctly, Anong, my supply of whisky went missing. But you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

  Anong took out a hip flask with the words “bad motherfucker” written on it and took a swig. She pointed her finger in the air and looked thoughtful, then shook her head and took another drink. She turned to him and gave him a shrug.

  John scratched his beard in irritation, causing white flakes to rain like winter snow.

  “You never know, John,” said Femi, “your whisky could have been taken by our friend from the rising sun.”

  All turned to look at a small Asian man with jet-black hair who was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He passed his hand through his hair.

  “If that fucker even dared, I would cut off his other pinkie,” growled John.

  The Asian man turned to face John and held out his hand that still had a whole pinkie finger. He smiled, making eye contact with John, who grew to his full height as he stepped in the man’s way.

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  “Now, now, boys,” said Anong, stepping between the two, “I’m sure Minato’s samurai honor wouldn’t allow him to take your whisky with the fancy red labels.”

  John’s head snapped to her. “How do you know they had red labels? I didn’t say they had red labels. Have you been in my things again?”

  Isaac sighed as he turned his attention back to the portal at hand. It was the length and width of a door, and it gave off a chill even in the heat of the jungle. He took a few steps toward it, and his breath fogged in the air. He tutted and stepped back.

  “Are you sure this was the easiest route, Femi?”

  “You should know, young master, the easiest route always turns out to be the most difficult one. It is the one most crowded. The one easiest to get lost amongst the crowd in. The crowd’s fear clouds one’s senses. It pollutes the mind and makes it weak. No. This was not the easiest route for a normal being, but you are no such thing.

  “The child of the King and Queen of the Elements needs to be tested and pushed at every opportunity if he is to take his rightful place on the throne.”

  Isaac huffed as he slapped another bug off him.

  Hips swinging from side to side, Anong draped an arm around his neck and breathed out a column of smoke like a dragon with bad indigestion. Isaac wrinkled his nose and tried to move away, but she maneuvered him back to the same spot effortlessly.

  “Listen, you know why you couldn’t take the other portals. It’s been a full-time job just keeping your identity under wraps. We’ve been lucky; enough time has passed that people are not talking about you like a new plague outbreak. If anyone got a hint you were going through the portal, then the frenzy from the press would make your job all but impossible. Not to mention the attention you would get from The Other Side.

  “Some people still see you as their only hope, and hope is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands.”

  “Keep your head down,” said John, stepping forward and placing his hand on his other shoulder. “You know the plan at the beginning. It isn’t to make the most noise or cause a scene or announce your arrival. Build your strength quickly and quietly, and make smart moves until you’re in a position to announce your intentions to the world.”

  Isaac looked to Minato, whose eyes were staring up at the green foliage. A single leaf tumbled down to the ground, twisting and spinning on the breeze. Minato’s hands moved in a blur before he turned to face Isaac. “Trust in your weapon.” He held his hand out to the side as an object crashed through the branches, raining leaves down upon them.

  A large bird that looked like a duck, but only if someone had drawn it while on acid, fell into his hand.

  Vibrant colors of electric blue and green made up its feathers. A dagger stuck out of its chest dead center.

  “Goody,” said Anong, slapping her hands, “lunch. I’ll make duck stir-fry.”

  Isaac looked at the portal once more and knew he was stalling for time. He felt the weight of the twelve years of training to get to this point. The countless hours, punishment, and hardships, all in the name of revenge. He tried—wanted—to lie to himself and say he was doing this for the betterment of humankind. To erase the commandments set by The Ascendant, but he would be lying to himself.

  And lies, as he had been taught, were the easiest way for you to defeat yourself, long before your opponent ever did.

  If you lied to yourself about one thing, then it would spread. Like a disease. It wouldn’t allow you to see what you needed to improve on. What you needed to fix.

  Lies were a warrior’s greatest opponent.

  He patted himself down, making sure he had nothing on him. As many found out, once you went through the portal, you were stripped of everything, apart from your clothes. Technology, weapons, rucksack, any and all possessions.

  Many speculated as to why, but the general consensus was that it was akin to being born again.

  You came into the world with nothing; you left with nothing.

  He did a three-sixty turn, displaying his full-length black leather coat with red fur lining, and looked to Anong. “How do I look?”

  “Like a cheap rent boy. But I know how much you love your coats.”

  “No wonder you’re hot and sweaty,” said John. “That thing’s impractical.”

  Isaac ignored them all and walked forward until he was inches away from the portal, then turned around. He looked at the people who had mentored him and looked after him since he was six. A lump formed in his throat, and he did his best to swallow it back down. He wasn’t one for tears, but he felt the corners of his eyes moisten. He would never see these faces again.

  “I thank all of you. Each of you have given me more skills than I could ever ask for, more experiences than I could ever dream of. I know each of you taught me what you knew because of payments from my parents or debts that had to be paid, but that mattered little to me. You four were the only friends, parents, and mentors I knew in my short eighteen years of life, so for that, I thank you. I’ll try to do my best to make you proud.”

  They each nodded, winked, stared at him stone-faced, or didn’t allow any emotion to register on their faces at all, as he took one last look at them, then turned around and stepped into the portal.

  Darkness embraced him and took him to his destiny.

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