2019 April.
Terra sits on the pile, blowing smoke from his mouth. His
nose-bridge has a large, gaping wound across it.
He slowly lays down, wincing as his wound is squeezed
by the movement.
The blood pooling at his head trickles down his forehead,
his sword laying next to him. He did it
for himself, right?
But who is himself, who was he doing it for?
He drops the cigarette, one of the corpse's shirts
lighting on fire.
A shard of glass reflects his face, the warehouse's light blinding, the only thing he sees
is a monster.
That monster, is him.
He steps on the shard, crushing it.
" Forget, Terra. Forget. " He says to himself.
But as he stares down at the bloodied floor, the broken windows and dead
bodies laying behind him--
He doesn't forget for once. His eyes crazily
shaking, pupils contracting, the veins
visible, a lid twitching.
He's fine. And this'll happen, again and again. Whether he likes it or not. So he better
get used to it.
[-/-]
E sits on a couch in the R.C.T lounge, his foot tapping slowly. Time starts
to pass a hundredfold in a second, people passing by
as blurs, hours going by as he simply stares at the floor.
Sounds drown out and speed up.
But in his ear, a snap. He's thrown back into reality,
the blurs gone. He has been sitting here for an hour.
" Rise and Shine, E. " A man in a suit pushes him, holding a briefcase
and looking at his watch, " We have to go to court, now. The R.C.T
is facing some heavy shit, a kid- "
" I got it. " E states, getting up from the couch.
The courtroom doors fly open, people sitting down and watching
from their seats. A mother sits in the plaintiff's table, bags
under her dry eyes.
E turns mid-walk, going to public seating, putting a
headpiece on him.
The lawyer clears his throat, " Mr. Uris was not able to
come today, for he is currently in sundock. I will be
speaking for him today. "
The mother slowly turns, " He.. He didn't even
bother to show up? "
The lawyer grimaces, " Look, woman- "
" OUR SON, IS DEAD. Uris.. Bring him, here.. NOW! This
is unacceptable, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! " The woman
screams, " Misses Park- "
" Your honor, I AM FULLY IN MY RIGHT TO SCREAM AT
THIS.. JOKE, OF A LAWYER, THESE R.C.T PEOPLE
ARE SUCH FUCKING JOKES! THEY KILLED, MY SON. MY
SON! THEY KILLED HIM- "
" Misses parkhouse, you need to calm down this instant! "
The judge yells, slamming his hammer.
The prosecutor grabs her by the hand, whispering in her ear, a pat on the back.
She slowly settles back onto the chair.
`` Look at me Ma'! ``
The prosecutor gets up, " Lennard Parkhouse was killed by a rogue in a confrontation.
The R.C.T had ordered Lennard to be part of the task-force responsible for
Terra's capture. He was 16, but in the files it was said he is 19. The R.C.T
has lied about using minors as fire-power and is held accountable for
sending a minor into a conflict without mention to their mother, which
assumed Lennard has been missing for months. "
They take out a picture, it's of Lennard, smiling, next to his mother.
" This boy was sent to his death by the R.C.T "
E sits in the public-seating. He has spoken secretly for
the lawyers in the R.C.T for years, making it seem
like all of them are masterminds of the law. But
as he clicked the headpiece, he didn't speak.
" E i need your input, NOW! Stop fucking around back
there! "
The sound of the lawyer in his ear is drowned out
by the prosecutor.
He shakes his head, " State that he has given the information himself, and
gave the consent for them to recruit him themselves. And that
the R.C.T was informed that he was talking to his mother about this. He was simply.. The
standard deviation. "
He lied, on the spot.
" Copy. " The lawyer says, muttering under their breath.
The prosecutor sits down, the wooden frame holding
Lennard's picture right in front of it.
[-/-]
A frame holds a picture of a man in a lab-coat, sitting next to world
renowned scientists like Einstein and Marie Curie. Written
under it is, `` Rick Field``
Chance sits happily, daydreaming of fighting Blightborns. His back
straightened.
The row of seats was filled with people in odd clothing, Catalysts.
A large metal door stood at the end of the waiting room, screens
covering the walls that had various ads on them.
Chance leans over to the person next to him, " I heard that
the R.C.T are like superheroes.. I bet we'll have to fight
cool monsters when we get in there! "
The man next to him is staring at his phone, he seemed around 20.
" Huh.. Right, yeah. " They say flatly, Chance looking down at their phone, " Whatcha'
playin? "
He sighs, moving to the side, " Not in the mood, huh? Serious, i like it! I gotta be
serious too. " Chance gets into a straight posture again, taking on a
serious expression.
'' The EOAT will begin in 30 minutes! '' The speakers lining the
walls boom, '' Remember, From chaos comes nothing, but from Order comes Change!''
30 Minutes pass like seconds, people filling the seats as the final few minutes came around.
Chance and the other participants stood in one big crowd infront of the metal door, Chance standing out as
he was ecstatic, some people turn glance toward him with judgemental looks as he hops up and down
in anticipation, his clothing very odd compared to the rest.
A mechanism goes off, making clicking across the door. It slowly sways open, inside standing
a woman with casual clothing. Their pants are cut at the bottom perfectly in a pattern, only half their hoodie
on, the other half seemingly gone. Their shirt is green and baggy.
" Welcome to the E.O.A.T, short for Elliot Operational Assessment Test. Blah blah blah, you agree to
any injury, blah blah blah, this and that-- I am your test host today, name's Odessa Iris,
and during this test you will all go through 4 stages, which we will monitor. "
The woman turns, now walking down the large hall casually. The crowd shifts, starting to walk with her,
others trying to race forward. Chance looks around, noticing cameras lining
the walls above them.
They moved with the crowd, as if someone is watching them, some ignore it,
others oblivious.
" Stage 1: Intelligence, arguably the most important test, because we don't want
dumbasses working here do we? Well, unless you're fighting rogues
because they're also dumbasses, it cancels out. "
The door behind them locked, the doors in front of them now opening, the same
mechanism as before, clicks and shaking.
Inside the room, stood multiple booths. The room is completely dark with only
lights bleeding through the curtains of the booth.
She leans on the wall next to the door, taking out a cigarette and watching
people walk in, " Just enter the booth. " She yells unenthusiastically,
taking out a lighter and lighting the cigarette.
The cameras turn, " What? " she motions. The camera points towards the
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
cigarrete. Odessa sighs, dropping the cigarrete and stepping on it,
" Bitch.. " She whispers under her breath.
Inside the rooms, papers and pens are given, and 60 minutes.
Chance stares at the paper, `` If given 5 apples, in how many different
orders could you eat them? At least 2 examples. ``
" Uh.. " He writes 12345, 54321.
After 30 minutes, he stares at question #45/50.
`` If a non-conservative vector field in the real domain is
acted upon by a positive force in the opposite direction,
will this vector field be able to linearly transform into a
complex-domain field in any way? ``
" Vector field..? "
He bangs his head onto the table, pushing off the chair and stumbling out. Everyone else has been
standing outside their booths for a while, talking to each other or laying down.
As chance leaves, the speakers beep loudly. He seems to be
the last person doing the test.
Odessa stares up from her phone, putting it in her pocket, " Took you guys
long enough.. "
She starts walking down the rows of booths, people now following her, " Stage 2. "
They approach a visibly dented door, the locking mechanism delaying
slightly from the damage it has endured over
the years.
" Physical. In my opinion the easiest stage, unless you're a loser that doesn't
hit the gym. "
Inside the second facility, rows of advanced machinery is seen. Not a single
weight in sight.
" We will go one by one with each piece of equipment. There is more than 1
for each test, meaning we can go in groups. "
She walks over to the corner of the room closest to them, a row of
handles connected to plates on the ground through chains.
" 5 by 5. Catalyst Abilities/Ether is allowed. Fight over going first and you're disqualified. Get in a
uniform line. "
Everyone stands shoulder to shoulder back to back. Chance is sandwiched
between multiple people, " Gah! "
After a few minutes of listening to counters going up, struggled grunting, and the clang of
metal on the floor, it was his turn.
The other 4 people started walking, he quickly followed, staring at the handle, " This is just..
Like.. A deadlift! "
In front of him was a counter, it displayed 0 kilos.
A man looks over to him in the position next to him, " Yeah, obviously. "
Chance bends down, grabbing the handle, " Alright.. This is way
easier than the test. Come on! "
He slowly stands up with the handle, the counter rapidly jumps to 50 KG. Chance's
breathing now slows, green energy exploding out of his hands, jagged and
geometric.
" General Luck: Force! "
A 20 side dice appears behind him, made out of pure Ether. It now spins,
" 20... 20.. 20.. " He repeats, his eyes closed.
The dice slows, 16.. 9..
It lands on 13, the dice halting completely. Chance's arms explode with an aura
of green energy, the counter's number exploding from 50 KG to
170- 220- 350-
it finally stops at 659 KG, blinking to 650 briefly.
He drops it, " 650.. " He chuckles, wiping sweat off his forehead, "
That's amazing, right? "
He looks over to the others, and his jaw drops.
The person next to him is pulling 984 KG without breaking a sweat, Ether flowing around his arms perfectly,
the chains pulling against the plate below him, which started being pulled upwards.
" Yeah yeah, whatever. Next! " Odessa yells.
" Well.. Uh.. If i hit a 20 it'd be even higher, so! " Chance's voice cracks, his face turns red.
Chance quickly turns, running back into the crowd.
[-/-]
The large mechanical doors open, " Test 4, Final Test: "
People gasp at the sight, a giant arena, 2 giant screens displaying scoreboards,
everyone currently at 0. The ground of the arena was covered in sand.
" Combat. "
Everyone looks at each other, some looking at the screens, one person
raises their hand, " There are 2 scoreboards, so two teams, correct? And
i can see we all have a 0 next to our name, i am guessing
the team with the highest total score moves on? "
The crowd opens to show- A short woman with glasses, in academic clothing,
she adjusts her glasses, " Correct? "
Odessa, blinks, " Yes, two teams, get points, team with highest
points wins- "
" And, how do we gain points? How many points to win-" She now asks, but is cut off,
" Yo, let her tell us herself, bitch! She's the instructor-lady person! "
The young man in baggy and rough clothing, seemingly
around 23, yells. People look over to him, a few shocked.
Odessa sighs, " Knocking people out counts
as a point. No weapons. First team to 100
total points wins. "
The people collectively murmur, some seemingly planning.
" Easy, yo. " The young-man says.
Odessa pinches her nosebridge, " Fucks sake- Alright, get on with it you guys. In. "
She walks to the side, people rush into the giant arena, running in random directions.
People seemed to assume positions based on which team they were in, others simply randomly standing
in the arena, close to large crowds.
`` Beginning, combat assessment. `` The speakers inside the facility boom, `` Intermission: 30 seconds. ``
Everyone pauses, the silence deafening.
`` 15 seconds. ``
Ether coats chance's hands, the green aura swirls around his fist.
The young man cracks his knuckles, his eyes wandering around the arena for a fight.
The academic short woman's hands glow a generic white, her eyes scanning
for any easy targets.
`` 5 ``
Chance breathes in.
`` 4 ``
People start moving one by one, some already sprinting.
`` 3 ``
The young man dashes forward towards a boy in a catalyst-high like uniform
with bags under his eyes, their hair rough.
`` 2 ``
Chance breathes out.
`` 1 ``
" GO! "
The entire stadium erupts into clouds of sand and colors, people collectively screaming.
The academic woman quickly starts walking forward, casually, while a determined man
is charging toward her, Ether coating their fists, " TAKE THIS, EINSTEIN! " they
yell, their fist reeled back.
" Einstein was a physicist. I am not a physicist. " The contestants fist grazes her face, while she
spins in the direction of the jab. Ether crackles on her skin close enough for her to see each hair
on their fist.
Her free hand clasps onto the man's extended fist, as leverage, as she now uses this to face the floor.
Now, she stomps her left leg downward, firmly planting it into the soil, swinging her right leg into the man's torso.
" You're assuming a sign of higher intelligence results in a similarity to Einstein. " She adjusts her glasses
while in the movement, "A logical fallacy. Specifically, an association fallacy."
`` Always second place. `` A voice hisses in the back of her head, `` Silver medal again, sis'? Too bad.. I can tell why you left. ``
Suddenly, both freeze right as the woman's leg touches the man's torso, as if a still frame.
A completely pale white transparent version of her appears behind her, mimicking her movement exactly, finally reaching her exact pose, disappearing in her real form.
" Which highlights how subhuman you are. " she whispered.
"You didn't even provide a challenge worth a partial credit."
The man is hit twice by the same attack, his rib cracking, " GAH! " He stumbles back,
clutching his torso. He looks down to the floor, his vision blurring, " You.. Little— "
She smoothed her skirt, her eyes already scanning the chaos for a more challenging target, a target
that can let her prove herself, " You roughed up my uniform, minus points. "
The contestant spits out a tooth, his breathing slowed and wrong " To hell with your ` points `.. "
He starts charging forward, desperately swinging attempting to left-hook her,
one hand clutching his side.
" You have a punctured lung and are currently internally bleeding. I assume this is the
perfect time for you to give up. " She takes a step to the side, kicking him onto the floor.
`` Second. Place. ``
She shakes her head, " This is a waste of time. "
In the distance the young man is charging towards the student, " Yo! "
The boy turns, his eyes locked onto each movement the man made, "
Hello there. "
The man kicks off the floor, " Name's Scout, Big S, the 1 to 6! " He rapidly
approaches the ground, his leg swinging downwards at the boy.
The boy quickly steps backwards, the kick missing him by a hair. He doesn't
reply, simply analyzing.
Scout's kick hits the floor, a cloud of sand forming from the impact.
From the smoke, Scout walks out, " You mute man? Shit, must be
fucked living like that. " He smirks.
The boy doesn't attack, his arms are completely limp, `` He's not
attacking? Free eats! ``
Scout suddenly sprints, his movement were too quick to not be Ether
boosted, but the boy saw no ether coming off of him.
" Can't track me? Booyah bi-atch! " He stops right behind him, skidding.
The boy turns, `` Impossible.. ``
Scout jumps forward, his legs already contracted, in drop-kick
formation.
[-/-]
Terra is adjusting his cloak, Dash stares up at the cloud of smoke from
the giant air-slash and then toward- " TERRA! "
The air ripples as Noble flies through the air, hands crossed, completely
upright. His clothing is starting to heat up from the air friction, his scythe
spinning mid-air next to him.
Noble grabs Terra by the face, wasting no time, " Umbral. "
They both fly across the ground floor of the giant underground city,
flying through furnaces, robots, structures and conveyer belts,
Noble's hand firmly holding Terra right in front of him as this happens, like a meatshield.
" I've heard much about you. " Noble and Terra both slam into the wall of ground one,
Noble forces Terra's head further into the crater, pushing harder.
" Fight back. " The scythe finally catches up, slamming right
next to Terra's head.
" What the fuck.. " Terra coughs out a piece of metal, his entire attire
in pieces. " Who.. Are.. You? "
Noble turns, his entire body following shortly. " I'm your end. " His arm snaps forward, throwing Terra
back through the trail of destruction noble created.
He smirks as he's flung, " FUCKASS QUOTE! ", he snickers, coughing up more blood.
Terra grabs onto the ground, sliding next to Dash, " Fuckin', Edgy bast- "
The adrenaline wears off, he starts stumbling. Terra falls onto one knee, Noble approaching
in the distance, " Dash you.. Fucking.. idiot.. DO SOMETHING! "
Noble rips his scythe out from the wall, small pieces of debris dropping out from the hole.
He walks, not sprints or runs, he simply walks, the scythe scraping against
the destroyed metal and concrete floor under him.
Terra regains his footing, Dash is stuttering, " Terra are.. Are you losing? "
" Fucking DUMBASS, YES! YES I AM! ARE YOU BLIND? " He grabs Dash by the collar, pointing at
Noble, " USE YOUR WOLVES OR SOMETHING! "
Dash stares up at Terra, trying to get him to let go, " I.. I don't have a plan though- "
" USELESS! "
Noble is upon them. Terra turns and Noble moves at least a kilometer as he blinks. He was still
walking slowly, menacingly approaching the duo.
" YOU FUCKING- " Terra lets go of Dash, quickly assuming a defensive stance, his eyes locked
onto Noble's scythe.
The scythe raises like a guillotine, the tip reflecting an orange glint from a nearby furnace.
Terra quickly rolls to the side, Noble's scythe slicing the spot where he just stood, carving a ravine into the steel floor
that goes down twenty feet.
" Shroom, if you don't do something i'll fucking wear your skin as a jacket! " Terra screams as he regains
his footing, charging forward to roundhouse-kick Noble in the chest.
Noble raises his hand, grabbing Terra's foot and throwing him backward, " Sloppy. "
Dash is trembling, tears streaming down his face, but the noise is drowned out
by Terra's command, " DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING! "
His hands shake, barely able to form the seal, " Swarm.. " He chokes out as Noble slowly
turns to stare at Dash.
Terra throws a rock at Noble, " HERE, DUMBASS! " Noble catches it with one hand, unbothered.
" Swarm: Barrier! " Dash yells, a cloud of beetles erupts from thin air in front of noble., The beetles link
together, their backs glowing with a hint of Ether.
Noble starts walking forwards.
" Fragile. "
He walks through the wall, Dash trembles and falls onto his backside, crawling away from Noble
as the beetles are effortlessly crushed.
He screams in fear, throwing whatever rubble he could get
his hands on.
But Noble stared down at Dash, " Consider this your retirement, early. "
Terra's eyes go wide. Subconsciously his body starts running forward before he could decide to
do so.
But it was too late.
Noble's scythe swings downwards, cutting Dash's arm off.
The sickening sound of wet meat separating is all Dash and Terra hear. A splash of
blue blood painting the metal floor next to Dash.
Dash blinks. He looks to his left. But when he tries to look at his hand, there's
nothing there.
He slowly looks down to his severed limb, from the elbow down, is gone.
He sits there for a few seconds, watching as Terra tackles Noble into the ground, both sliding past Dash.
He doesn't scream, he just sits there confused, shocked.
" AAAGHH! " Dash’s scream is primal yet like a dying deer, a sound of pure agony that rips through the steam.
He clutches the stump, falling backward, his legs kicking uselessly.
Dash's world seems to spin and blur, " HELP.. HELP ME.. PLEASE! "
[-/-]
The candle burns, it burns bright. As it was, as you suppose it should. It is indifferent to
the wind or the cold. The flame only burns, burns and burns.
