It's a text from Jeanette. I already know what comes next, she's gonna ask if I wanna come hang out at some point during the day. She hates not having any plans on Saturdays, thinks it makes her look like a loser.

  She's right. I haven't hung out with just her since a few weeks before the Grimclaw attack where I got my powers, and I actually really would love to. Jeanette's a great friend and when it's just the two of us we can get gloomy and emotional in a way we can't when Asha's around. Only problem is, well, I'm already a good hundred miles outside the city, in the vast expanse of the desert where I'm unlikely to be interrupted at all. The pre-noon heat is already close to unbearable, but in my transformed state, I barely feel it. The need to train aside, it'll take me at least an hour to get back to the city and take a shower.

  Jeanette:'Oh tonight could be great'

  'Mom's on a business trip and dad's going out with his friends'

  'You could stay the night'

  'Bring something comfy to wear'

  "Now, if you wouldn't mind putting down the phone, we have work to do!" The tiny, high-pitched voice of Chibi Destiny reaches my ears. She's standing on top of a tall rock we found, putting her at almost chest height with me, holding a sewing needle of her own in her right hand like I'm holding Twilight Point, even though she says I won't be needing the weapon today.

  "Sorry, sorry," I apologize and put the phone away in my backpack, then stand a few feet away from her. "So how do we start? I have to admit the ways you've been trying to explain this stuff back home hasn't left me feeling confident about pulling any of it off.

  "That's why we're out here! And also so you don't accidentally hurt anyone."

  "Wait, hold up. Hurt anyone? What exactly is on the schedule today?"

  "Let's start from the beginning. The Knights all have their own unique powers, yes?" I nod, deciding to not interrupt the lesson any further. "Kaida has her fire, Vida manipulates energy, usually to heal people, and Aria's psychic powers lets her incredible intelligence manifest rather physically. As varied and incredible as they seem, the one thing they have in common is their strict adherence to an internal set of rules. Kaida can only create fire. She can manifest almost anything she can imagine, but due to fire's nature, it can never interact with the environment in any way other than by being destructive, while Vida's energy manipulation makes it difficult to hurt others without also hurting herself. Aria has to be able to imagine the effect she wants. Even your friend, Incarna, has to adhere to her own set of rules. The power to manifest literally any weapon, but she has to know the name, function and how to properly operate it. A sword is pretty easy, guns become mildly more complicated, and that railcannon she's so fond of requires either a lot of practice and memorization, or an inherent knowledge of electromagnetics. Make sense so far?"

  "Some new information there, but I follow. I assume you're going to start by telling me the rules of my own powers?"

  "Actually, no. Remember how I mentioned you have some small measure of control over reality even in your civilian form? When you're transformed, and especially when you're not using that silly stealth mode, you can do pretty much anything you want to, within certain limits and depending on the context of your situation." I scrunch my nose and cross my arms, dismissing my weapon to wherever it exists when I'm not wielding it in the process.

  "That sounds a little too good to be true."

  "And yet, it's not. Now, be aware, like I said, your options are dependent on and will be limited by your current situation. You can't, for example, decide that a person present on the scene simply isn't anymore, nor can you manifest a person or object that isn't there. But if you pull the right strings, someone might just happen to walk through a hailstorm of bullets unscathed, or the terminal cancer in their lungs might suddenly go into full remission. With enough practice, you'll be able to pull off actual miracles, Destiny." She sounds almost reverent at that.

  "But?"

  "What do you mean 'but?'"

  "I suspect a caveat incoming." She pulls a grim expression, at least as much as a tiny doll made of yarn can do so.

  "Well, yes. There will be times when the strings of fate will resist your pull more than usual. When they do so, they're tied to a determined outcome and shouldn't be tampered with. Said outcome might not be an immediate thing, but Destiny has designated that thread part of her grand schemes, inscrutable as they might sometimes be. Do not try to sever these threads or you invite Chaos upon yourself and the world."

  "So there are rules."

  "Technically more like a commandment. But it really is for your own best, you don't want to see what happens when Chaos gets a hold of you."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "There it is again. You're saying 'Chaos' like it's a name, just like you did Destiny. Why do you do that?" I never got around to asking about that again, and I suppose now's as good a time as any to get more answers.

  "Because they names. Not of people, strictly speaking, but of fundamental forces of reality. Destiny is the fabric of how things happen, when and where. She has a plan for everything and everyone. That plan might be derailed occasionally for whatever reason, but there's always another path forward. Chaos is the opposing force; it's what happens when Destiny's plan didn't account for something, or when someone goes against it. Other people than you can do so, but they're usually not aware of it. The Knights technically have the power to try, but I don't think they know. Chaos is unpredictable and often catastrophic. With the level of control over Destiny's tapestry you can achieve, you technically can also call upon Chaos, often by messing with something you're not supposed to mess with. That's the big risk she took in empowering you and sending me to guide you. But she needs you, so here we are."

  "I... Suppose that makes sense? But why is Chaos such a bad thing then? Sounds to me like it could be a useful tool in a tough situation." Destiny's face grows serious, even dour as she looks me in the eyes.

  "As mentioned, Chaos is wholly unpredictable. There's no way of telling what's going to happen, and there's always a cost. One you might regret paying after the fact."

  "Yikes. Okay, point taken. No messing with resistant strings. So then... why choose to empower me, if I have the power to so royally fuck up not just her plans, but from what it sounds like, reality itself? What's this thing Destiny needs me for?"

  The doll takes a deep breath, despite having no biological need for it. "This generation of Celestial Knights will face a battle they cannot win without you, no matter what they do. Your presence will only improve their odds; it is not a guarantee. If they lose, it'll only be a matter of time before all life in the universe is extinguished."

  "... Double yikes." That's a bit heavier than I really think I asked for, so I need a few moments to process, and luckily Destiny lets me have it. Finally, I take a deep breath of my own and look into her button eyes. "In that case, I guess I'll need as much training as I can get, so let's get to it."

  Chibi Destiny turns a few times on the rock, looking around. Eventually she stops, looking in the direction of a rocky outcrop a few hundred yards away. "Remember when you saved Incarna during your first fight? That was, in essence, a very crude version of what we're trying to do today. Close your eyes, feel the way your magic runs through your veins, the way it thrums beneath your skin." I do as told, taking a few deep breaths. It's not long before I'm almost painfully aware of the sensations she's describing. "Now extend that outside yourself and sense the strings connecting to the world around you. It might help if you find a way to visualize this for yourself." A strange request that makes my brain feel fuzzy for a moment, but I do as she says and reach this strange, sixth sense of magic outside myself. I imagine myself like a puppet on strings and suddenly I do feel myself connected to the world in the way she's describing. There's... a of sensations and information to process, enough that I quickly begin to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. One string connects to a dozen more, each of which also connect to dozens of strings and on and on it goes, seemingly forever.

  "Th-There's so much!" I'm only vaguely aware that I'm hyperventilating, having a small panic attack. Even with my eyes closed, though, I still see Chibi Destiny lift her arm and point at the rock formation.

  "Quickly, focus on those rocks. Do you feel the life beneath? Concentrate on that, don't follow the connections for now." I take another couple of small breaths, forcing myself to calm down and do as she says. Indeed, I feel them. Or it, maybe.

  "I... Only feel one. Or maybe four?"

  "Good job, Destiny. You learn quick! What you're sensing is a pregnant mouse. Can you tell me, how long does she live?" I visualize mouse's life as one long string stretching out before me, and I reach out to put a finger on it, tracing it as I follow her life events, until-

  "Two more weeks..." I mumble and without being told what to do next, I find the longest string that intersects hers, following it backwards. "A snake comes across her and her young. It hasn't eaten in almost a year and decides the mouse and her babies will make for a good meal."

  "Excellent!" Chibi Destiny sounds actively excited at this point. "Can you do anything to save them?" I feel her gaze on me, and even a little bit of pride at the knowledge that I'm already doing a good job.

  "I... Think so?" I follow the snake's thread a little again and see several branching paths. "I think I can make him go north instead of south. He won't find any food and starves by the end of the month."

  "Exemplary work, Destiny. Send the snake north." I hesitate.

  "Should I? I mean, this is just nature. As much as I want to save the mother and her children, eating mice is kind of just what snakes do, right?"

  "You need the practice, and stuff like this is the easiest, lowest-impact way you can do that without accidentally getting anyone hurt. Besides, do you think the monsters you and the Knights fight are doing anything but follow their nature?" I actually have some theories about that, but now is not the time to discuss those.

  "I guess you're right," I mumble and tug the string I found, forcing its connection a little further up the snake's primary thread.

  With almost immediate effect, I feel a stinging sensation inside my brain followed by what I can only describe as white-hot burning at the edges of my vision! I collapse to my knees and start gasping for air, even as I see the mice threads extend and forge new connections before my very eyes, letting both the mother and her babies live long, healthy lives. "FUUUUCK WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" The doll hops down from her rock and comes over, putting a hand on my shoulder in a way I know she means to be soothing.

  "As Destiny's chosen, your connection to the tapestry is as much part of you as your body. Any changes are going to be felt by you intimately and sometimes intensely, like now, since this is the first time. You didn't feel anything when you saved Asha because that was a determined outcome. As you practice, this sensation will lessen and eventually you won't even feel it. I'm sorry, I should have warned you." I pant and gasp, finally feeling the pain starting to subside, at least a little.

  "Fucking right you should. That was bloody damn agony! Fuck you Destiny!" The doll just accepts my verbal abuse in silence, looking at me with concern. That somehow only makes her even more infuriating in the moment. Once the pain is mild enough that I can stand, I pick up Destiny and my bag. "We're going home," I say very curtly, and she simply nods.

  "Yes, that's probably enough training for the first day."

  The flight back to the city clears my head some, but a dull, persistent headache refuses to go away, and by the time I land in the forest near my house, it's grown to throbbing and even a couple of painkillers don't lessen it. I text Jeanette and go up to my room, crawling into bed before my parents can ask any questions.

  Jeanette leaves me on read.