Life Path

After a nice and relaxing weekend, it was finally the day for the life path selection. Alicard and his family stood together in front of the nicest building in the city. There was a large amount of people gathered today. Every child that graduated and their parents were all together in their nicest clothes.

After wading through the crowd, they were finally inside. There were people stationed inside the building that herded people in certain directions. Alicard and Alice said goodbye to their parents and received some good luck wishes before being led off in the direction of the waiting room. Inside the room were already around 30 people waiting and after around 20 minutes, the room was filled up.

When it seemed like no more people would show up, a woman in a business suit came into the room.

"My name is Christy. The life path selection is fairly simple. Outside of this room are all of your parents and the King himself. One by one, after your name is called, you will go out onto the stage and sit down in the only chair you see. Once you are in the chair, a doctor that is on standby will come to you and place a helmet on your head. The helmet is attached to a powerful super computer that will determine what path in life suits you the best. Since we're going in alphabetical order, we'll start with Abe Florynce."

Abe got up from his seat nervously. Christy stood to the side and motioned him to go through the same door she entered from. One name after another was called and eventually it was Alicard's turn. He heard Christy call his name and stood up from his seat. He and Alice wished each other good luck and he gathered his confidence before he walked through the door.

Alicard's confidence was nearly crushed when the reached the other side. Hundreds of people including the King himself were staring intently at him. He quickly scanned the stage and found the chair he was supposed to sit in. By the time he sat down, he could feel a bit of nervousness creep in. This was the moment he had been waiting his entire life for. In such a small and controlled world, this was the only bit of mystery that life held for him.

The doctor that was on standby walked over to him. In his hands was a small helmet with a couple of straps there to keep it on his head. The experienced doctor placed the helmet on his head and quickly fixed the straps until it was snug. He pulled a small controller out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons. Around a second later, a large screen appeared above Alicard's head and faced towards the audience.

On the screen appeared a simple loading page. Once the bar crossed the screen to the other side, his entire life would be laid out before him. Two minutes later, after what seemed like an eternity, the bar finally made it to the end. One word appeared before him and everyone else on the screen… Militant.

After the word appeared, the entire audience erupted with applause. Everyone cheered and yelled out congratulations. Since the world was very peaceful, it was rare for someone to join the military. The lack of wars made it a very easy but lucrative path to take. It may not have meant what it used to, but it was still a highly respected job. It was second only to education since it was a part of the government.

The doctor removed the helmet and Alicard was swiftly ushered off of the stage as the next name was called. After leaving the stage, another lady in a business suit led him to the audience where is parents were located. Next to them were two empty seats that were for him and Alice to sit in. His family congratulated him while the next person went on stage. This person was selected to be a warehouse worker and after he left, Alice was finally called.

Alice appeared very nervous as she sat down and had the helmet placed on her head. The screen appeared once again, and everyone watched on patiently. Once the bar reached the end, the path selected for her was to be a teacher. She quickly joined the rest of her family and received her congratulations. Their father was so happy he could barely contain his joy since he was a teacher himself.

#

After leaving the life path selection ceremony, Alicard and his family were finally back at home. Unfortunately for him, his time at home would be cut short. He was actually required to report to the military liaison at dawn the next morning. They were having dinner together when his father spoke to him.

"Son, I'm very proud of you. I knew you would be leaving us, but I didn't know that it would be this soon. Your life path is a great one to be on. Alice, I also couldn't be happier with the path that was chosen for you. I know you'll make a great teacher."

Freya reached over and held Drake's hand as she whipped a tear away.

"I'm proud of you both. You've both grown into fine adults, and it's finally time for you to go explore your own paths."

Alicard's parents continued to share a few more sentiments as they finished eating. Once they were done, he excused himself and got ready for bed since he had to be up before dawn. Once again, Alicard found himself staring up at the ceiling. Only, this time, he was in peace. He finally knew what life was going to have in store for him. He was going to join the military. Maybe he would become a general some day and live a luxurious life. He could have a family of his own and grow old before he finally kicked the bucket. His thoughts became less and less as he slowly drifted off into the realm of dreams.

#

Alicard opened his eyes to see a wasteland. All around him, the land was scorched. Not a single living thing could be seen for miles in any direction. The sun was out and beaming down at him. It was the hottest he had ever felt in his entire life. Before he even had a chance to figure out where he was, a tall, black, figure appeared in front of him. A set of curved horns wrapped around his head. Bright red eyes were staring down at him. The rest of the figures body was covered completely in a cloak that looked like starlight. Alicard wasn't able to make out any more of the figures body, but behind the figure stretched out and enormous and immaculate set of black wings. The wings looked like they were carved from marble as they glistened in the sun. The figure then spoke to him in a voice that rumbled like thunder.

"Come to me…"

#

Alicard woke up to the sound of his alarm with cold sweat drenching his body. The dream he just had was nothing like any he had before this. The figure in his dream seemed to radiate power and evil.

"How could something like this even exist?"

In order to shake the ominous feeling inside of him, he quickly got up and went to take a shower. The hot water of the shower helped to calm him down and relax him. Before he knew it, he was thinking about what the day had in store for him. It would be dawn in an hour and he had to report to the military liaison to receive his first orders. He finished his shower and went downstairs where he found the rest of his family waiting for him.

While he was eating, he looked towards his parents who were holding back tears. Although they would see his sister often, they had no idea when they would see him again. Alice looked more tired than sad and kept trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. After downing a quick breakfast and saying goodbye to his family, Alicard walked out of the door and onward to his new life.