1 Kael Lys

Walking down on the pedestrian street, a lean young man with his slightly long blondish-hair fluttering in the wind could be seen from afar. His right hand is currently holding a yellow-suitcase, with a normal-sized backpack attached to his back. His overall appearance is outstanding by having a height over 1.8 meters, violet-eyes, and a beautifully carved face. Besides him, many people also held an enormous backpack or suitcase. Surprisingly, the direction they were going is the same as the young man.

After a few minutes of walking, the crowd finally stopped their stride in front of a gate that displayed a vast land filled with buildings behind it. Buried inside a wall, a plate has been sculpted with bold words, "Bintang Academy"

Inserting one of his hands into his trouser pocket, the young man pulled out a smartphone and started texting, "Mom, I've arrived at the place."

As if already waiting for news of the young man, the other party immediately answered, "I'm glad that you made it safe and sound, El."

Kael texted back and turned off his phone. Lifting his head, he glanced at the view ahead of him and muttered lightly, "How troublesome."

...

In the year 2020, a bizarre occurrence happens on Earth. Instead of being showered by rain or snow, Earth got a gift from space which is none other than a meteor shower. As their appearance was abrupt, many countries couldn't initiate defensive measures on time and ended up being devastated by the meteors explosion impact.

That tragedy took more than half of the population of the world at that time. Fortunately, some of the countries still managed to survive the calamity. However, strange things begin to appear afterward. Animals suddenly started evolving uncontrollably and turned into monsters humans always feared in the movies they made. Another tragedy sprang up soon.

This made humans, which were initially divided into different nations, finally decided to unite their strength and retaliate under the same roof. Setting aside their egos, race differences, and any resentment they had earlier, the United Nations starts to send their joined troops all over the world. But, the result isn't what they expect. Rather than being welcomed by a joyful victory, bad news regarding that human weapons are not effective against the monsters is revealed.

That news caused humanity to fall into a pit of despair as they no longer knew what to do in order to banish the mutated animals. Perhaps because God had mercy on humankind, a light of hope starts to shine amidst despair. Just like mutated animals, humans also began to evolve by receiving unique powers, which was proven to be effective against the monsters.

Slowly but surely, Humankind slowly crawled from the pit of hell and managed to reclaim their land after a dozen years of bitter fight. Nevertheless, half of the other land lost couldn't be recovered and thus been inhabited by the remaining monsters. Still, humans managed to prevail through the "2020 Calamity" which was a feat that needs to be celebrated. From that moment, on the 12th of April, a festival will be organized to celebrate and commemorate all the heroes who died in the Great War.

9th January 2077

Monday Morning

Bintang Academy, Aveline City

In the vast indoor court where a bunch of pillars is erected to support the ceiling, many people were queueing up in sign-up booths.

Time flew by, and soon it was Kael's turn. The man-in-charge surveyed Kael's appearance briskly and stated, "Identification card, please."

Picking up his backpack, Kael places it on the ground and starts rummaging through the insides. After a few seconds of searching, Kael finally sees what he's looking for and doesn't hesitate to draw the thing out.

[Name: Kael Lys]

[Resident Number: 3463292]

[Age: 17]

[Gender: Male]

[Residence: Enardo Town]

Handing the card to the man in front of him, Kael watched as the man input something in his computer before declaring while adjusting his eyeglasses," Kael Lys, you'll undergo the exam in room 12. Please follow the guide sign to reach there."

"Thank you," Kael thanked the man and didn't ask for his card back because he knew the card would be returned soon after he went through the test.

Upon leaving the sign-up room, Kael breathed out a sigh of relief. After the calamity that occurred decades ago, a lot of people with unique abilities started to emerge. Scientists suspect that this anomaly originated from the meteorites that destroyed half the Earth. People with unique abilities were later on called "Divergent's" the term was created by the strongest divergent since that time and is still being used today.

The Divergent that married another Divergent would result in their offspring inherit one of their parents' abilities, thus, creating the so-called hierarchy where people with a relatively strong ability can maintain their family position at the top by using their kids as the foundation.

Meanwhile, Kael's parents are quite unfortunate as both of them didn't turn into Divergent at that time. However, because of the calamity that eliminated more than half of the population dozens of years ago, regular citizens were also treated specially by the government as they were essential in creating a new generation of humans.

'Or is it a blessing in disguise?' Kael thought to himself in distress. He secretly wished he could be just like his parents where he can live his own life normally. That wishful thinking was shattered the moment he gained the power to control elements. Controlling elements does sound powerful, but if the output was only able to light a candle, brushing your skin gently, freezing your palm, charging your phone battery, etc... Would you still think that it was powerful? It has been a year since he gained the ability, but his power didn't grow even by a bit.

Pinching the space between his eyebrows, Kael shook that thought off his head and carried on his searching for room 12.

Kael spends a few minutes to finally spot the room. Turning the doorknob, the view inside gradually revealed itself to him.

It was a vast room colored in full white with many stuff such as a gigantic tube, punching bags, and other things he can't recognize. Seated on the bench, were three girls and a boy whose eyes instantly focused on the newcomer, Kael Lys.

Feigning his calmness, Kael greets them with a cool nod and walks to the vacant bench. Because they are practically strangers, the room atmosphere becomes awkward.

Another minute passed by, the door finally opened, followed by heavy footsteps. Kael and the rest subconsciously turned their heads simultaneously toward the source of the sound and found it was produced by a guy with a burly build and stern-look. Lifting his red-cap a little, the man swept his gaze over the participants, making them uncomfortable, that they couldn't but shallow their saliva in nervousness.

Proceeding to sit on the chair belonging to the examiner, the man introduced himself, "My name is John Cenny, and I'll be the one to inspect all of you."

Clearing his throat, John proposed himself with a smile, "Although it's not related to the test, should we do some warm-up by demonstrating our ability?"

Seeing the examiner acted amiably, the initial impression of a scary teacher dissolved rapidly off their heads.

Kael and the rest exchanged glances with each other before turning their gaze to John with a look saying, "We don't mind."

Afterward, Kael solemnly watches each applicant demonstrate their abilities. He was so immersed in their spectacle that he didn't realize it was nearing the end, and soon, it was his turn.

"Kael Lys, please come forward."