Ax broke down into tears at the mere sight of his mother''s statue. It was sculpted in marble with vivid detail, her long hair going down her shoulders through the bottom of her helmet. She was wearing armor that covered her legs in an armored ''pteruges'' or kilt, which went past her knees. In her left hand she held a shield with a lowered guard; in her right hand she held a sword that was not held with the intent to fight; it was lowered, and her gaze, her gaze was looking down at Ax, with a somber expression.


    Her eyes... they were the only colored detail of the sculpture. Its irises were stones, which were a beautiful deep hazel, which shined in the sunlight. A blend of warm tones, golden brown, green, and amber mixed with her expression would make anyone feel safe and comfortable. Eyes that Axton inherited.


    Her white marble sclera paralleled Ax''s, whose was red from crying. Minutes had passed since Ax had practically collapsed. Ela, who had just met Ax, walked up behind him and rested her hand on his shoulder. His head jolting back, "Oh, sorry, I didn''t mean to—I''ll stop,"she tried apologizing.


    "No, no, it''s okay. You just reminded me of someone." He said as he stood up on his own two legs. Wiping his tears and clearing his throat.


    "Axton, I''d recommend you keep your identity hidden. At least until you join an ''Order,'' considering that you''re very new to everything." Valve recommended.


    "What''s an order?" Ax asked Valve, his eyes still pink, but he needed to understand.


    "It''s... a guild or a Summit Seeker group. If you join one, anyone who hurts you or attacks you makes enemies of that particular order of seekers," Valve answered.


    "What if I don''t want to join one?" Ax asked curiously.


    "You have no other option; your identity will eventually be found out one way or another... if you want to live, you need the protection of the order you join. There are bad people who still harbor hatred for your parents," Valve simply said it bluntly, implying that Ax''s life would be at risk if he didn''t.


    "Right..." Ax noted his concerns, considering that he didn''t know of Ax''s Oddity.


    "How do I join one of these ''Orders''?" he asked.


    "I''m not a part of any order, Ax. Ela, take him to Baron; he''ll explain it better than me." Valve''s voice redirected to Ela.


    "Yeah, okay." She answered him, taking over the responsibility.


    "As for me... I have some business I need to take care of," Valve uttered as he turned around and walked towards the exit.


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    "So... you have Redbook?" Ela asked Ax.


    "Yeah, I do, but I don''t remember my username, and there''s no signal here, so like..." Ax shrugged; there was no way he could get her contacts here.


    "Oh... I see. You are NEW new," Ela mentioned.


    "...?" Ax tilted his head in confusion.


    "Summon the ''Codex,''" she commanded him.


    "Huh?" The black screen appeared in front of him again.


    "CRAP! I completely forgot about this... thing." Ax got jump scared by the screen.


    "This, ''thing.''. It is called ''The Codex.''. This is only accessible or given to mortals like elves, humans, etc. Now press the 3rd icon on the left," she asked him.


    "Alright..." Ax said as he pressed the icon, causing the screen to change.


    The Unity Protocol


    List of members: 0 Add Member? __________ [ADD]


    "Okay... So I just add you?" he asked as he slowly figured it out.


    "Yeah, just think about adding ''Elaine Perez,'' and press add," she guided him.


    Add Elaine Perez as a Unity member? [YES] [NO]


    With this, Ax added Ela to his Unity.


    "Great, now we can send messages to each other," she said in a satisfied tone.


    "Wait, so ''Ela'' is a nickname?" he asked her.


    "Yeah, it is," Ela answered.


    "Then just call me Ax." He corrected her; she shrugged it off.


    "Now... do we go to Baron?" he asked.


    "Yeah, but first... we need to make a stop." She corrected him.


    ***


    Ela dragged him to the electronics store he was at about a month ago.


    "Oh my, isn''t it Perez! With the... boy I also met sometime ago. Small world, isn''t it? I assume you just became a summit seeker?" the older lady behind the counter exclaimed excitedly.


    "Oh, where are my manners? I''m Charlotte, Charlotte Schmidt, but just call me Char," the lady introduced herself.


    "Nice to meet you, Char! I''m Axton A-cks," Ela elbowed him with her metal arm.


    "Axton... Axe? That''s unique," Char dismissed her confusion.


    "Yep... That''s me... Axton Axe..." Ax slowly said as he held his stomach and slightly hunched over.


    Char looked at Ela and looked back at him. "I assume you two are here for the Codex SIM?" she asked the both of them.


    "Yeah, he needs one," Ela replied.


    "That''ll be 10 silver Totas," Char stated bluntly.


    "10?!", Ax exclaimed as his eyes widened in shock; that was expensive.


    "Oh, he doesn''t know, does he?" Char asked Ela.


    "Nope. Forgot to tell him," Ela said as she looked in a different direction.


    "Ela... what do you mean you for—hey, I''m talking to you," he said in a stern tone as Ela was avoiding eye contact.


    "Just pay up; let me grab the SIM," Ela said as she walked away, giving them some space.


    ***


    Ax grabbed 10 silver coins from his Codex and placed them on the counter; he then walked around the store with Ela. Staring at the electric guitars in the music aisle.


    "I should really get a new guitar..." he muttered to himself.


    "I have an HSS Strat back at my place; I bought it from here," Ela revealed as Ax was eyeing a similar model.


    "Oh? I have an LP with HH pickups. Can I come over and try it out?" he asked her.


    "Sure, I guess—oh look, she''s back." Ela pointed at Char, who placed a black plastic card on the counter.


    Ax went and grabbed the SIM card. "So I just place it in?" he asked the two of them.


    "Yeah," Ela replied.


    Ax popped out the SIM card and put it in his phone. His eyes widened in shock.


    "Oh my, it has a signal now... that''s neat—wait, why does it have internet on it?" he asked, still amazed by the signal.


    "It''s infinite, and it will always have a good signal..." Char slowly explained.


    "...Yeah, it''s definitely worth the expense," Ax exclaimed.


    ***


    Ax and Ela were out of the store. "So... now what?" he asked Ela.


    "Now... We head off to the Prometheus Foundation Headquarters."