The silence after the judgment was more deafening than Lucien his denial to enter the fifth itself.
Lucien stood frozen on the glowing circle, the echoes of "Denied" still flowing in his ears. Around him, the others didn't move an inch. Even all the captains—veterans of war, calm in chaos—shifted uneasily in place. The chamber, once sacred, now felt like a grave.
Something inside Lucien cracked open.
He took a step back out of the circle, his chest rising and falling with uneven, short breaths. His eyes, once dulled by fatigue, now widened with something else—something darker. He garbbed his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white. His vision blurred completly. Not from tears—but from anger.
He didn't understand why he was not approved like the others.
He had bled for this. Fought for this. Almost died for this.
Denied.
Not from Division 1.
Not from 2 ,3 or 4.
But from 5—the lowest, the weakest. The division no one wanted to join.
He wasn't even worth that?
The moment shattered.
Lucien screamed so hard everyone was shocked.
A sound not born from lungs or throat but from the pit of Lucien his soul. It pierced through the chamber like a siren, vibrating the air itself. Torches lining the stone walls flickered violently, then blew out all at once.
"Lucien!" Rylen screamed, stepping forward. His voice was sharp—urgent—but beneath it trembled a lot of fear. "Calm down! You're not thinking straight right now—"
"SHUT UP RYLEN!" Lucien roared, his voice warping the space around him. "I gave everything! EVERYTHING! And they still denied me!"
He slammed his foot down on the floor. The floor cracked like glass beneath him. Thin fractures crawled along the stone, racing outward like veins. Energy began pulsing from his body, rippling out in violent aura waves that sent even the captains almost flying backward.
"Rylen, stop him now!" one of the captains yelled, but even Rylen hesitated. The pressure was growing—exponentially fast. A gravitational force unlike anything they'd felt before. It was as if reality itself was beginning to crumble under Lucien's rage.
"You don't get to do this to me!" Lucien screamed, stepping forward again. His arms hung by his sides, shaking uncontrollably. Cracks of golden light formed along his skin like fractures, leaking pure divine and god-like energy.
"I gave my life for this shit! I ALMOST DIED IN THOSE STUPID TRIALS!"
The chamber trembled.
The banners of the five divisions ripped from their poles vanished. The shadows twisted and spiralled unnaturally, pulled towards him like he was the center of a black hole or something. A low hum built in the walls. The torches reignited—only to burn blue this time, then white, then explode.
Lucien fell to his knees—but not in despair. He slammed both fists to the ground and screamed again, louder than before. The ground was destroyed as if it was nothing
The world ended right there and then.
The scream shattered not just stone, but space itself. The chamber splintered into floating fragments of nothingness. The captains, the recruits, the walls—everything began to disintegrate like ash in a hurricane. The planet broke apart in tiny little pieces. The sky cracked open. Oceans turned into nothing. Mountains crumbled. The stars above exploded. Reality tore open like paper, folding in on itself, collapsing inward—
—and then there was nothing left.
No sound.
No light.
No time.
No universe.
No nothing.
Only Lucien.
And then—another presence appeared.
A gentle voice, layered with thousands of tones, echoed softly through the endless void.
"That was not yours to destroy Lucien."
Lucien opened his eyes and found himself suspended in an infinite expanse of swirling dark mist. Time did not move here. There was no gravity, no direction, no form.
But before him… floated a figure.
A woman—or at least, a shape resembling one. Her presence was blinding yet calming. Her long white hair shimmered like strands of stardust. Her robes were galaxies. Her eyes held every color, every star ever born in existence.
"The Creator of Gods," Lucien whispered.
She tilted her head slightly to the right. "Yes."
He stared at her, his anger now replaced by confusion. "What… what is this place?"
"A dimension beyond causality. Beyond death. The place where the first decision was made, and where the last will echo."
Lucien's voice trembled. "Why did I—why do I have this power and why did you give it to me? Why did I destroy everything with just one hard scream?"
"You are the Vessel remember," she replied. "The only one chosen to wield the divine will of vengeance. But your vessel is still unstable and very unrefined. You let your soul twist with fury, and so your power responded in kind. The universe… was the price for your actions."
Lucien's hands shook. "I didn't want to destroy it… I just… I couldn't take it anymore. They rejected me. You saw that right? I wasn't even worth the worst division. I was nothing again."
The Creator floated closer to Lucien, her eyes soft. "And yet… you remain."
She touched his forehead gently.
In an instant, Lucien relived every second of his journey—the streets and underground stations he begged in, the day the god of vengeance marked him, his own death, his resurrection, his training, the pain, the trials, the humiliation, the fights, the hope, the rage.
Then she slowly removed her hand of his forehead.
"You are not nothing, Lucien. But you must learn to contain and control the everything within you. If you break like this again, even I may not be able to restore what was lost today."
Lucien lowered his head. "I'm sorry Creator."
"For now… you are forgiven Lucien."
He looked up again, heart pounding. "But… why was I rejected then? Why am I this strong, but still thrown away like I'm nothing?"
"I cannot answer everything for u. But I will say this: those who fear what they cannot control often reject it."
Her body began to fade into the light darkness.
"You have a choice, Lucien. Remain as the vessel of vengeance, or become Vengeance itself. You must walk the line between fury and clarity."
"Will I ever know why I was chosen ?"
"One day."
He opened his mouth to ask more—but light surged around him again.
"Waitttt—!"
Too late.
Lucien gasped as he returned to earth.
He was back.
Back in the quiet chamber.
The curtain of the Higher Ups had just vanished. The stone floor beneath him was intact. No cracks. No broken universe. Everyone around him still stood frozen—just like before.
He took a deep breath.
Then slowly… turned and walked off the glowing circle.
No one stopped Lucien.
No one said a word.
Only Rylen followed him.
"Lucien," he said, tone soft. "Let's go home."
Lucien didn't respond—but this time, he didn't scream either.
They walked out of the chamber together.
Halfway through the hallway Kagetsu joined them.
"I don't know what's going on," Kagetsu said, voice soft this time. "But I know what I saw in the arena with my own eyes. If they can't see your worth… they're blind as hell. It'll work out don´t worry. One way or another."
Lucien looked up for the first time in a while.
And slightly nodded.
The rain hadn't stopped when they reached the fifth Division command post. The trial month was officially over. All that remained were assignments.
Jason and Emiluna were still in the fifth command post waiting for the result.
When they saw Lucien approaching, Jason stormed forward.
"And? Did they approve?" ''No.'' Then Jason his fists trembled. "I swear—I swear if I ever see those stupid higher ups in the flesh, I'll tear out their lungs out!"
"Jason—" Emiluna began gently.
"I'm serious Emiluna!" he barked, eyes wild. "They think they can just toss him aside after everything he has done? I'll—"
Lucien looked at him, exhausted. "It's okay Jason."
"No, it's not man!"
Emiluna stepped forward and wrapped Lucien in a hug.
He stiffened at first—but then let his body relax in her arms. Her voice was soft, steady.
"We're not giving up on you Lucien. We never will. We are a family."
Inside the Division 5 command post, Rylen stood before them at the strategy table. The rain beat down on the windows, a rhythmic backdrop to their thoughts.
"We have one shot," Rylen said. "A long one. But it might work i suppose."
Everyone leaned in.
"The captain of Division 1—Karu Arakizawa—is the only person who ever gets to speak directly with the Higher Ups. If we want to change their decision, we need to convince him to speak on Lucien's behalf."
Jason frowned. "And why would a war machine like him help us the fifth?"
"He owes me a favor," Rylen said, eyes narrowing. "A big one too."
Lucien leaned against the wall, silent but listining. But his chest lifted slightly with hope.
"So," Rylen said. "We're going to the first command post. Right now."
The First Division's command post was a monolith of steel and black stone, towering into the sky like a cathedral of war. Intricate carvings of battle scenes lined its obsidian walls. Electric blue torches flickered outside, illuminating the ancient emblem of the Vanguard Core.
Lucien stood before it—Jason to his left, Rylen to his right and Emiluna just behind.
The building was beautifull. Grim. Powerful.
Nothing like the humble, hospital-like design of fifth.
But Lucien didn't flinch.
He stepped forward with the others.
His fists clenched one more time.
But this time, not in rage or anger—
In resolve.