CHAPTER 3 — The Sixteenth Class

The candle had burned halfway down.Lya was writing faster now, her wrist held low, never once lifting the pen between her sentences.After that adventure, we traveled from village to village and city to city, doing whatever we could to get by. Surviving. Working odd jobs here and there.I also gathered a lot of information about our world.Basically: the Omni-Astre rules this country. And there are seven people beneath him, known as the Seven Astres—a kind of personal guard. From what I've heard, they are completely above the law, and only the Omni-Astre has the right to judge them.Each of them manages a different aspect of the country. There's the Astre of Defense, for example. The exact one whose men I saw arrive two days too late.Each Astre has a faction serving them. And those who manage to join a faction can expect a peaceful life, with enormous privileges, never having to go without anything. A prince's life, basically.To join a faction, you have to graduate from Shinolea Academy, located in the capital.And among the graduates, the very best are called Aspirants. They can aim for the title of Astre. You earn the title by defeating the Astre currently holding it. And if you defeat an Astre, then you can aim for the title of Omni-Astre.Except the Omni-Astre hasn't been defeated in years. He has ruled this country for more than a hundred years.I wonder what he looks like. Apparently, he hasn't made a public appearance in a very long time, and nobody knows where he is.Anyway. I have to get into this academy and become strong enough to become Omni-Astre.The academy used to be reserved only for nobles. Ever since an Astre of Education came to power sixty years ago, it has been open to everyone. Circles, Squares, even Symbol-less people.I wonder what the selection test will be like. Information is tightly controlled, so we know absolutely nothing. Only that the academy opens its doors every four years, and after that, you have to wait another four years for a chance to get in again.The age limit is eleven to fifteen.I'm exactly fourteen. My little brother is twelve.Tomorrow, the academy opens its doors.And we'll go seize our chance.She pressed the pen down firmly for the final period.Then, she gently blew out the flickering candle."Still, I wonder what kind of test we'll have to face tomorrow," she said, stretching her arms wide.She turned around in her chair.On the bed beside hers, Soren was sleeping sideways, his arms spread out and his mouth hanging wide open as he snored loudly.She smiled.She got up quietly, leaned over him, and kissed his forehead."Anyway," she murmured as she slipped into her own bed, "I've got a big day ahead of me."The next morning, she woke up late."Finally awake, sleepyhead?"Soren was already up and fully dressed, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for her to wake up.Lya shot upright in panic."Huh? What time is it?!""Relax. It's only five. The test is at ten."She dropped back onto her pillow with a sigh. Then she pointed an accusing finger at him."Get out. I need to get ready and change."The walk to the capital took four long hours."Still," Soren complained after the first hour, "did you really have to get us an inn four hours outside the city? We could've treated ourselves and stayed right in the capital."Lya shuddered at the thought."You're kidding, right? I don't even want to imagine the prices there."He laughed. Then he stopped.They walked in silence for a while. The road rose gently between open fields, and in the distance, they began to make out something massive and white on the horizon."Do you think they'll really accept me at the academy?"His voice had changed. It was lower. Flatter."I'm Symbol-less. I can't manipulate aura like you can.""Don't worry."Lya didn't slow down her pace."Besides, I'm with you. Together, we're..."Silence."Come on. Finish it."Soren turned red all the way to his ears."...invincible.""That's the spirit."Shinolea Academy was absolutely enormous.It was the kind of building specifically designed to make you feel tiny when you stood in front of it, and it succeeded perfectly.At the entrance stood statues of the current Astres. Seven pedestals. Seven stone figures, twice the height of a man, their cold gazes fixed on the avenue where the candidates entered.Lya stopped in front of them. Soren did too.They both looked up at the exact same time without saying a word.Then, they headed straight into the auditorium.The auditorium was packed.There were thousands—tens of thousands of candidates, seated on stands that rose so high the last rows disappeared into the shadows. Eleven-year-old children stood beside fifteen-year-old teenagers. Expensive, noble uniforms sat right next to patched-up clothes.The noise was deafening. Everyone was talking at once."Apparently there's a written test.""My dad says it's mostly about control—""Did you see how many people there are? We don't stand a chance."Lya sat with her hands clasped tightly between her knees, her back stiff.She didn't speak. She hadn't spoken a single word in ten minutes.Suddenly, a hand rested gently on her back and began making slow, soothing circles.Soren didn't even look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the main stage, casually rubbing her back as though his mind were occupied with something else entirely.She relaxed a little.Then, a man stepped onto the stage.Silence fell all at once.He looked to be in his sixties, give or take, but remarkably well preserved, with a perfectly straight back and a confident stride. His long white beard was divided into several tight braids that fell over his chest.Two distinct crosses sat in his eyes.Behind him stood a beautiful woman in her twenties with pronounced curves, dressed in the official Education faction's uniform, her hands clasped formally in front of her.He stepped toward the microphone."Good morning, everyone, my young nuggets of raw talent."His powerful voice carried effortlessly across the room."The academy officially opens its doors. You are the sixteenth class. Those of you who make it through this stage will be trained here to become the citizen elite of this country—the men and women to whom the factions will one day entrust their defense, their justice, and their knowledge. You are not entering a school. You are entering a legacy."He continued his speech like that for a while.Then, his eye caught something specific in the stands.He stopped dead in the middle of a sentence."What is a Symbol-less doing here?"He was staring directly at Soren.The silence in the room changed instantly.Heads turned by the dozens, then the hundreds. Lya felt her brother tense beside her, ever so slightly, like someone deciding not to make a single move."Well. Either way," the Astre said with a careless shrug, "you'll serve as an excellent example for outcasts like you who think they can come to the academy."A few people in the crowd laughed.What does he mean, an example?Lya's nails dug deeply into her palms.What does he mean by that?!"My name is Ambert Chiron, the Eighth of that name, and I am the current Astre of Education. Everyone who passes the selection test will be admitted as students of the academy. The woman behind me is Matushela. She will be taking care of you."Matushela bowed her head respectfully."With that said, let the selection test begin."Matushela raised her hand and made a simple, elegant gesture.And the entire auditorium emptied instantly.Thousands of candidates who had been there a second earlier were completely gone, leaving nothing but bare, silent stands.Ambert Chiron walked down a long corridor, Matushela following two steps behind him.He pushed open a heavy door.The room beyond was dark, featuring a very high ceiling. Three members of the faction were already working hard there, bent over glowing electronic consoles. Ambert crossed the room without looking at them and dropped heavily into a chair in the center.In front of him, a man switched on a giant screen.The image spread across the display, showing five separate views of islands. Forests, jagged rocks, and sandy beaches appeared. And on them, human anthills of children were pouring out, looking around in utter confusion.Ambert smiled cruelly."Good. Entertain me."Matushela gave him a grimace she made no attempt to hide. Then, she raised her palm, and a glowing white sphere materialized in the hollow of her hand.Over the islets, the sky changed color.An enormous image appeared overhead: Matushela's face, leaning over them as if they were fish trapped in an aquarium.Thousands of heads lifted toward the sky at once."You are on private islets, and you have been divided among different locations. Five in total."Her voice fell from the sky, calm, almost gentle."We will only keep one hundred candidates per islet."A loud murmur of anxiety rose from the crowds."The test you'll be facing is simple."The murmur stopped instantly."A massive battle royale, where you'll kill one another until only one hundred remain on each islet."Absolute silence followed.Thousands of children stood frozen on the sand, waiting for the rest of the sentence."Good luck."The massive image disappeared from the sky.Matushela dispelled the glowing sphere with a swift movement of her fingers.She looked at the back of her master's head."Uh... Master. How exactly do you plan to make them kill each other?"Ambert kept his cold eyes glued to the screen."Simple. I've planted some of my faction's men among them. Their job is to light the spark."Matushela froze in shock."...Huh?"On the islet, Lya hadn't moved a single inch.Around her, the others began talking all at once, calling out to one another, demanding explanations, calling for an adult—anything that might prove this horrifying test was just a mistake.She stared at the empty sky, her face completely drained of color."What the hell is this?" she said, stunned.Suddenly, a sound came from right behind her.It was the sickening sound of flesh being pierced straight through.Someone had just been stabbed cleanly through the heart.The attacker pulled his bloodied hand back. He was wearing a dark mask.And then, the panic began.