17. Vesper
VESPER
I go back to the start, planning to read every bit of information I can about each Glitch before I select one. If it’s this important, I don’t want to rush anything. It’s better to know every possible detail before I choose. Knowledge is the greatest weapon, as Cipher says.
“Cipher says we shouldn’t rush—” I start to tell Locke as I prepare to sit in for the long haul and read every option thoroughly.
“Done!” Locke exclaims, interrupting my warning.
I whip my head toward him with wide eyes. “Locke!”
“What?” he says, raising his brow. “I needed something strong. It’s not hard to find.”
“Did you even read anything?” I growl. “Cipher said we can’t change this once we pick it!”
“I read what I needed to,” he replies, grinning.
I shake my head. “And what did you pick then? So, one of us can at least read all the information.”
Locke takes a seat on the ground and leans back, getting comfortable. “You’re looking at a Tier One Bone Breaker.”
“Pity,” Cipher says, his tone dripping with condescension.
“Why?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer me. So, I just flip through the menus until I find the one labeled “Bone Breaker.” My eyes scan the stats. “What? You just saw the strength and called it a day?”
“Yep,” Locke says. “I’m going to be so strong. As a Tier One, I’m a Knuckle Dreg. How cool does that sound? A Knuckle Dreg,” he repeats, as if saying it twice will make it cooler.
My eyes scan the main description as I read it out loud.
“The Bone Breaker’s power is not borrowed, nor gifted, nor begged.
It is torn from their own marrow. They are feared among all.
Where others seek allies or tricks, the Bone Breaker embraces only pain.
They do not mend. They do not rest. They break, and grow stronger.
Core ability modifiers: Strength and Vitality. ”
“Fucking sick, right?” he nods, grinning. “I mean, I didn’t read all of that, but it’s exactly what I was looking for. I’m going to be so strong, I’ll be able to destroy the assholes in Luxe.”
Cipher chuckles in my mind and I narrow my eyes on Locke. “Did you read your Tier One description?”
“I didn’t read anything,” Locke reminds me. “Except for the initial stats and the major strengths. Bone Breaker’s main category is strength.”
My eyes scan the Tier One description and I wince. “Locke,” I murmur.
“What?” he scowls. “What is it?” At my expression, he pops open the menu again and reads, but I’m already reading it out loud.
“Bone Breakers exhibit a Tier One fatality rate exceeding acceptable thresholds. Common causes of failure include uncontrolled ossification, marrow liquefaction, skeletal seizure, and catastrophic internal load-bearing collapse. Long-term viability, cognitive stability, and post-transformation quality of life cannot be confirmed.”
Locke stares at the words for a few long moments.
“It’s fine,” he says. “I’m strong enough to survive it.
If I can handle being a Spine Jacker for Mother Remainder, I can handle this.
” He looks over at me. “Besides, look at my stats. Plus two to strength, one to vitality, and I get a special mechanic apparently. And that’s only gonna get stronger as we level up. ”
“You lost a charisma point,” I point out.
“Who needs charisma when you have fists like stone?” he asks, grinning, but there’s a tightness around his eyes, as if he’s rethinking if he’d made a mistake or not. But Locke is too confident to ever admit he might have been wrong. And besides, it’s too late now.
Locke is a Bone Breaker. There’s no going back.
“Well . . . I’m going to be taking longer,” I tell him. “So, you might as well get comfortable.”
He salutes me. “Already there, Hyena,” he says and I blink at him. “Because of the animal you mentioned.”
“I got that,” I said. “It’s just . . . that’s what Dox calls me sometimes.”
He stares at me as if realizing it may not be something I want him to call me. “I can stop.”
I shake my head. “Don’t. It’s fine.” Then I focus back on the menus in front of me. “Cipher? Any chance you’re willing to help me?”
“All the information is in that menu that I’d be able to give you,” he answers. “I would suggest reading them all thoroughly.”
My chest expands with the deep breath I take to prepare myself.
This feels like the biggest decision I’m ever going to make within the Harrow, and I approach it like that.
Cipher warned me to be careful, and doesn’t agree with Locke’s choice even if he doesn’t seem surprised by it.
If I’m going to survive long enough for Dox to get in the Harrow, I’m gonna need to make sure I select wisely.
So, I start the arduous task of reading every little detail.
SHADOW WALKER
Shadow Walkers manipulate absence rather than light, stepping through gaps in perception and space where attention fails. They specialize in infiltration, precision strikes, and disengagement, thriving where enemies cannot clearly see or remember them.
Corruption does not make Shadow Walkers louder or crueler; it makes them harder to find, especially to themselves. Loneliness is a Glitch trait.
Core Ability Modifiers: Agility and Luck
Nope. I have no plans to be lonely at all once Dox gets here, so the Shadow Walker glitch is out. That’s easy enough. Maybe they’ll all be this simple to decide between.
WRAITH KNIGHT
Wraith Knights bind martial discipline to death-adjacent forces, becoming armored conduits of lingering will and unresolved violence. They fight as front-line juggernauts, absorbing punishment while delivering decisive, spectral-infused blows.
Outside of combat, their emotions dull, pain recedes, and purpose narrows. Corruption turns oath into obsession, and armor into something that no longer comes off.
Core Ability Modifier(s): Vitality
“Wraith Knights sound miserable,” I say out loud, looking over at Locke. His eyes are closed, and after a moment, I realize he’s sleeping. I roll my eyes. “Alright then. Just you and me, Cipher.”
“As it should be,” Cipher replies. “Continue reading. You’re doing well.”
“Ah, yes. Because it’s my sole purpose to please you,” I mock.
“Not your sole purpose, no,” he fires back. “But you do so please me, Vespera.”
I find it difficult not to flush at his words, my face heating up as I try my hardest to focus on the menus and not his words. I clear my throat and continue reading.
CARRIONIST
The Carrionist knows only sickness and decay. Many find their smell unbearable . . .
“Gross,” I say. “I don’t think that one’s for me.”
“Good choice,” Cipher adds. “Continue.”
“Leech,” I read out loud, softly so I don’t wake Locke up.
“Leeches survive by taking what others cannot afford to lose. Through touch, proximity, or sustained contact, they siphon vitality, strength, memories, and even emotions, turning stolen essence into power.” I stare at the words. “That sounds . . .”
“Miserable?” Cipher offers.
“Hollow,” I reply instead. “I don’t think that one is for me either. I hope there’s at least something that speaks to me. So far, these all seem like terrible options.”
“Keep going,” Cipher orders. “You’ll know when you find it.”
I could tell him not to order me around, but he’s right. There are so many menus and I need to select one of them. I have to keep going if I’m going to make any progress.
SIREN
Sirens wield voice and presence as weapons, bending emotion, desire, and perception through song, tone, and silence. Their power thrives on attention as every listener becomes a thread they can pull.
Beware, the more a siren is heard, the less they are believed, and corruption twists their song until it no longer knows the difference between admiration and dominion.
Core Ability Modifier(s): Charisma
“Fuck. Is every single Glitch going to be so fucking depressing?” I ask.
“With all power comes bleeding,” Cipher says. “You do not get to trade in your humanity for nothing. That is the price you pay to enter the Harrow . . . and to leave it. You must be a Tier Three to withstand the exit.”
I take a shuddering breath. “How much XP is that?”
“A lot,” he says. “You will not know until you reach Tier Two and see your stats. Your XP bar will show progress as you level up. I cannot tell you in advance, just as I cannot tell you what your Glitch will become as you level up. This must be a decision you make on your own.”
“Stats and requirements change as you level up?” I ask.
“They do. Drastically. Whatever you choose, you will only see Tier One requirements until you acquire enough XP to level up. Once all requirements have been met and you have sufficient funds in your inventory, you will unlock more of your Glitch menu. Only then will you see what you become.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
He sighs. “Coding mostly. It is against my programing at this point. But that is a story for another time. You should keep going. Siren sounds promising.”
Promising, my ass. But I do keep going, if only to reassure myself that there’s something in here that could help me survive without destroying who I am entirely. The chances of that though are probably pretty slim. At least, that’s what my instincts are screaming at me.
BLOODRAGER
Bloodragers convert pain, fury, and spilled blood into overwhelming physical power. The more damage they take or deal, the stronger they become, turning jury into momentum and rage into fuel.
“That sounds more promising than Blood Breaker,” I murmur. “Locke should have chosen that one.”
“Keep Reading,” Cipher warns.
“The cost of the Bloodrager is steep. Each surge of power erodes control, and corruption pushes them closer to becoming a creature of endless rage. To walk this path is to accept that calm is temporary, and restraint may one day vanish entirely. Core Ability Modifier(s): strength.” I shake my head.
“I think this is a game for you. You took the payment for power very literally.”
“As I should have,” Cipher agrees. “I’ve seen what power without cost does. Corruption creates monsters. Remember that, Vespera.”