"All I ever wanted was to run away."
There was a young lad who admired heroes. He was only 5 years old, but he admired their names, their honor, their achievements, and their reputation. But the special feature he admired about those fearless heroes was their Divinity. Their ability to manipulate logic and laws to achieve their goals, the authority to command the limits of the human imagination, and the magnitude of power to casually force reality to kneel as their abilities toy with the fundamental principles of this existence, which were never meant to be played with. This young lad lacked that.
In a bare white room, there was the same young lad chained to the plain white walls. Facing a mirror, the young lad could see that he had lost weight, fat, and hair, but not the will to play with reality.
His back was impaled with 3 cylindrical metal bars, made of highly reactive Goz copper, a pale-yellow metal that causes excruciating pain when impaled due to the reaction to blood, mainly human blood.
Several hummings of machinery were heard, and in every 5 high-pitched beeps, with a brief interval, the Goz copper will illuminate and adjust deeper into the lad's back. On this day, the other side of the Goz copper gently emerged from the lad's ribs. This surprisingly didn't break his ribs, his heart, or even his lungs, but it caused pain.
The determination of the lad will scare you, as he winced when the metal impaled through him. Blood dripped steadily from the tip of the metal, which was rather a cone than a cylinder, with the tip pierced through the body of a lad.
"Emergence complete, life graph at 57% efficiency" the voice of a woman, warm but stern, spread throughout the bare room.
After a brief silence, the Goz copper was unexpectedly and forcefully withdrawn from the lad's body, which caused him to let out a large scream, with tears and blood gushing out.
The mirror in the room separated, and 7 people in white coats entered the room. One of them was a woman who hurriedly rushed over to the lad, who was now unconscious. The woman ran to pick up the boy's body, sitting cross-legged while hugging the lad's cold and bloody body, and she called out his name.
"Zues!, Zues!!, Zuuuessss!!!'
"Me, I won," Caesar said after a moment of silence, and another murmur, louder than before, broke out. Caesar's declaration of his victory sounded half-baked, like he wasn't even sure.
He sat down abruptly on his levitating bed while keeping his head down. Caesar took the time to notice that there wasn't solid ground in the hall, and the large platinum pillars went down so deep that Caesar's eye couldn't see the base.
Jacques looked rather hurt when he heard it, but he just smiled and addressed the crowd
"You all have heardit." Jacques said as he raised his hand, "Caesar here defeated me, and I acknowledge his strength while realising my weakness. The largest weapon can't always cause the most damage, and I realized that when I fought this prodigy here. Any questions?
A few number of people raised their hands, and Jacques' mouth twitched.
"You know what, never mind" Jacques said as his bed few to a another pillar, like 4 pillars away.
There was a loud sound that agitated all the students, like a loud malfunctioning microphone.
"The Castle walls never fall, the castle walls never fall, fall, fall. It was painted with the blood of wars and all the flood, the castle walls never fall." A man's voice, the same voice that welcomed the pupils into the academy sang the eerie song.
It felt heavy but hollow, tugging everyone's soul. Caesar remembered when his mother fell into the Balwen cliff, Fenrir remembered when his father's teeth dug into his skin when he was 7, Jacques vividly remembered when his father disgraced him in front of hundreds of people during a party, and Megara started to recall the dark robed man with a crow's helmet that she saw at 9, the same person who killed her mother.
Some people's eyes turned watery as the song kept going, and after a few Brumite, the song stopped, and people regained control of their emotions and started to clean their eyes. Caesar didn't know what hit him, but he never wanted to experience it.
"If you people will fold if you are confronted by your childhood traumas, how will you perform if you are forced to see our companions die, to carry the lifeless body of your confidant, to see your treasures burn in front of you as you are forced to carry the will of light. Zion is Light, and you are meant to carry that light to the edge of creation. Diamonds in the rough, I am ashamed that you managed to fail this simple test," The voice spoke in a stern but concerning manner, which caused some people to start crying.
Caesar still remembered when he held his mother's hand, and he was too weak, too helpless, and too handicapped to help her, and she slipped from his tender arms, and she fell. Caesar wasn't angry at the voice or the song for playing with his feelings; he was angry that he wasn't strong enough to face that fear and tell it to shut up.
The voice continued, "Classes are about to commence, so..." Flyers flew up from the bottomless pit of the hall, and about 2 to 3 landed into the hands to each student.
"Check your timetable. You all have 4 classes per day, plus 2 breaks, and after academy activities. Each class will last for 50 Brumite, which is 1 full Horas, with first break lasting 40 Brumite and second break lasting 1 horas. After school activities can last from 1-2 Horas. Any questions ?"
Nobody asked any questions, so the voice continued.
"We have different lessons. From hexes, potions, magic, physical education, mathematics, sacred language, History, Art and sculpture, and some more. The extra activities involve sports such as Kickball, striker man, Self destroyer, Zero gravity, Gear shift, and many more."
Caesar knew that Fenrir adored anything that involved going outside and getting dirty, and he couldn't blame him. Caesar couldn't wait to go outside.
"Each classes are divided into 5 ranks, and you will all be sorted into those ranks. You will be sorted based on 5 features: Grace, Intelligence, Divinity usage, versatility, and skills. Do you understand?"
Everyone said different things that indicated that they understood.
"Excellent, but one more thing, anytime you understand..."
Countless doors were opened at different portions of the large walls of the hall, which weren't there before.
"Say, 'I Acknowledge'."
Immediately after the voice concluded his explanation, Fenrir's shirt started to tug, as if an invisible force was pulling it.
"Uh, Caesar?"
Caesar's shirt also started to tug, but it was too late. All students were pulled through the doors at rapid speed. As soon as a student enters the door, it closes and vanishes. After a very short time to react, Caesar found himself in a class.
There was a giant chalkboard on the wall, and all the seats were arranged like a theater, with descending rows of bright orange wooden seats. A hand touched Caesar's hair, pulling out something from it.
"Looks like you entered the class through the same medium as I did."
Caesar turned around and saw 2 bright pink eyes looking at him.
"Izzy?" Caesar said in excitement as she smiled.
Caesar's smile turned into a look of concern. "Where is Fenrir?"
"Probably in another class. Did you forget about me?" Chalybe was sitting in the row in front of Caesar, and sitting next to him was Zeus, who was unusually quiet.
Caesar smiled, "Why will I forget the guy who has the most stereotypical build of a white haired, lazy genius, girl-loving character?"
Chalybe and Caesar started to laugh, but Zeus remained quiet.
"Hey Zeus, you look quiet?" Caesar asked with concern in his voice.
Zeus looked at Chalybe, then shifted his gaze to Caesar. Sice when did those two got so close "Did you hear the song that the announcer played?"
Caesar's expression hardened."Yes, Fenrir and I both heard it, and also Jacques..."
"Wooow," Izobel interrupted, "Sorry for the interruption, but Jacques is in your Faction?"
"Oh, yeah. He looked alright. But Zeus, what happened?"
Zeus cleared his throat. "I just recalled some traumatic memories, that's it. And then the announcer just insulted us."
Everyone became silent. Caesar took the time to study the classroom. The walls were decorated with posters, pictures, flyers, and texts of famous events, so Caesar realized that he was in History.
The entire class was already filled, but there were no teachers in sight.
Izobel finally broke the silence. "Looks like our timetable contains our data."
"It does? That's exciting," Chalybe said. "It also contains your skills and class."
ICaesar got interested and checked his data, and it was as follows:
Name:Ceasar Nova Percival
Blessed name:Ezekiel
Year:Year 1
Year rank:2nd out of 209
Divinity:Indestructible [Large abundance of refined grace to achieve unparalleled physical abilities or create constructs]
Divinity class: Righteousness [A mix of Offensive and Defensive]
Attributes:[Neverland] [Swordsman] [Child of light]
Class:Vanguard {The leader, the fighter, and the heart of the group.}
Caesar was not happy at all.
"I got 2nd? 2nd? not even 1st." Caesar turned his gaze to Chalybe. "What did you get?" Caesar asked curiously.
Chalybe tried to hide his smile. "Well, uh..."
Name: Chalybe Winter Arthur
Blessed Name: Belteshazzer
Year: Year 1
Year Rank:1st out of 209
Divinity: Event [The ability to freeze anything in time-space, halting its existence]
Divinity class: Valour [A defensive skill]
Attributes:[Neverland] [Archer] [Child of the border]
Class: Bersagliere [A long-range specialist, the mid-range fighter, and the eyes of the team]
"Well, looks like I got 1st. Sorry, Caesar,"
Caesar was disappointed. He had righteousness, a perfect mix of offence and defence, but Chalybe only got Valour; just defence.
Izobel noticed Caesar's disappointment. "You are such a spoilt brat. At least you got 2nd, I got 4th"
Name: Izobel Kyra Edgar
Blessed Name: Esther
Year: Year 1
Year Rank:4th out of 209
Divinity: Swarm [The ability to use different magic based on the attributes of insects]
Divinity class: Righteousness [A perfect mix of offence and defence]
Attributes:[Neverland] [Surgeon] [Child of light] [Delusion]
Class: Apothecary [The healer and the life saver, the soul of the team]
Zeus scoffed at his datasheet, but when he realized that his companions noticed, he took 3 deep breaths. "Guess I will never surpass you prodigies."
Name: Zeus Orson Lancelot
Blessed Name: Hananiah
Year: Year 1
Year Rank:13th out of 209
Divinity: Red Heaven [The ability to freely manipulate the sky or atmosphere]
Divinity class: Goodness [An offensive skill]
Attributes:[Neverland] [butcher] [Child of light] [Ironhide]
Class: Vanguard [The leader, the fighter, and the heart of the group]
After a few Brumite of chatting, a random person spoke the mind of the entire class, "Where the hell is the teacher?"
"I am right here."
The entire class stood up abruptly. Standing near the whiteboard was a woman. You could say she was beautiful, with large almond eyes, knee-length black hair, and a tall, robust stature. She also possessed two coffee colored cat ears protruding from her scalp, and a long, dark tail. She wore tailored trousers with a white blouse under a sleek leather vest.
"Welcome, nobles and noblewomen," The teacher spoke in a firm voice. "Welcome to history class, please take your seat and prepare for your world to expand."
The entire class gradually took their seat.
"My name is Fiadh Fionnuala Berrycloth, but you can call me Ms. Fia, and as you can see..." She did a spin for the entire class, flaunting her tail. "I am a demi-cat, primarily from the city of Eborny."
A great silence befell the class until Caesar stood on his seat.
"Greetings, Ms. Fia. My name is Caesar Nova Percival, and I am a human hailing from the city of Shawnforth."
Caesar said as he took his seat.
Ms. Fia smiled, "Excellent, and for a reward."
Ms. Fiah opened her palm, and a surge of green energy built up. The energy was in a rotational state, building up and getting bigger. Ms. Fiah brought her palm forward as the green energy surged forward, aiming straight at Caesar. Caesar saw it, and his right brown eye turned crimson.