Chapter 1 - Just A Nightmare.

Gazing emptily at a scaffold stage, a young boy seemed to show no emotion, his brown eyes focused on a man who was on his knees, head bent over a large wooden stock. This man shared many similarities with the boy in looks, and one could tell they were no doubt related.

The young boy, seemingly 6 years of age, was dressed in what appeared to be modern regal attire. He stood beside a woman, clutching her dress as she held an infant in one hand while the other rubbed the back of the boy. The woman's face bore a gentle expression, but her eyes held deep anger and resentment. "Why did you do it..." she whispered under her breath.

Around this large, seemingly lavish chamber, several people were present, including many children. Soon, a man who appeared to be in his late 80s approached, accompanied by two cloaked individuals. He approached the stage and sighed.

"You shame our family, you shame me, and you shame yourself. How could you dare to commit such a disgusting act, to turn on your own kin, to steal something not belonging to you, to even attempt to kill a child?" The elderly man spoke with disgust. "You are not my son... you're a creature that needs to be put down."

The man sighed, his face tired and weak; it was obvious he had been tortured for many days and imprisoned before this. "You're right, but I did what I must for my son's future. In the end, I'm just a loser who got caught." His voice was tired and ragged. Looking with disappointment, the elderly man raised his cane to lift up the man's chin so they were facing each other.

"In consideration for all you have done for our family line, we will not purge your children and wife, but they will be stripped of all ties to us and be banished from here." Hearing these words, the man gave a heavy sigh, his eyes focusing on the young boy and the woman holding a baby. His main focus was on the boy and the child, tenderness in his eyes. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled.

The elderly man then looked at the children, disappointment evident in his gaze. "A traitor's blood and a traitor's line." His gaze then turned towards another section, where a middle-aged man stood with a look of hatred, and two children: a young boy standing behind the man, seemingly his son, and a young girl of equal age, beside a woman who held the man's hand.

"Arlon, as the guilty party's brother and father of the victim, you will execute him." With these words spoken, the elderly man stepped away a few feet, the cloaked individuals moving beside him.

The man with the angry look gently pushed his male child to his wife's side. He began to step towards the stage, climbing onto it and looking at the kneeling man who had his hands bound behind his back with a metal that gave off a soft ripple-like glow. He spoke soon after. "You were supposed to be my brother. How could you dare try and steal my son's good fortune for your own brat?"

Hearing the man berate his father, the young boy beside the woman clenched his teeth. His previously empty gaze filled with anger and hatred at how his father was being spoken to. Meanwhile, his father, the man kneeling, chuckled softly. "You say I stole good fortune?" He then gazed around the chamber and snickered. "You're all thieves and schemers. I was the one who risked life and limb in the Fractured space to obtain that Power orb for my son, yet you dare threaten me and then take it from me, for the future clan heir? And when I try to retrieve it, I'm the villain? Disgusting, all of you!"

"Silence!" The elderly man spoke, his voice and a seemingly invisible pressure causing cracks to appear on the floor under him as well as the walls. "You should understand it was for the greater good. A strong leader is a strong family." In response to the elderly man's words, the kneeling man replied, "A family I bled for many years turned out to be one that steals the goods of others, no family of mine."

"Enough... Arlon, get this over with," the elderly man mumbled, to which Arlon raised his hand. A ripple of energy began to form a longsword made of pure yellow light. "Since we are no longer family, this is where your story ends, villain, with your death and your rubbish line banished. My child will usher our clan to future prosperity, destined to stand out among his peers." Soon the blade came down amidst the silence.

Outside, deafening rain poured down. The woman with the child was on her knees beside the headless corpse, her cries drowned out by the thunder, the baby in her arms crying in unison yet for different reasons.

The young boy was standing in front of the head that had rolled down, in front of a pool of blood, his gaze still empty. Kneeling down, he picked it up with both hands, his small hands trembling, tears running down his face, yet he didn't utter a single whimper.

Suddenly, the severed head's eyes opened, and a voice sounded out. "Why are you sleeping?" The boy blinked, confused. "Hey, why are you sleeping in class again?" Everything seemed to distort as the voice from the head became more feminine. And soon the world changed.

The near-adult boy gasped, waking up at his desk. "Nightmare again..." he whispered to himself, before looking up sheepishly at the Female Tutor in front of his desk, who gave him an irritated glance. Despite her beautiful near femme fatale look, she was quite annoyed. Around the classroom, several other teenagers smirked at him whilst others paid no real attention.

"Zenith Sygin, if my class is so boring that you fall asleep nearly every single session, maybe you would prefer spending it in the High Intensity Room." The woman sneered, though her words didn't hold any contempt or hatred, just annoyance.

The young man, Zenith, looked nervously at her. "M...Miss Wells, I'm sorry, I swear, truly 110% swear that it won't happen again!" He straightened his back, some fear in his eyes from the mention of the room. It also struck some fear in the onlookers, yet they continued to take a little pleasure in their classmate's misfortune. Miss Wells, his teacher, sighed quietly. "Well, of course you won't, you idiot. Nice try, but you're all graduating tomorrow anyway." She rubbed her forehead and sighed. Thinking about it, she gently tapped Zenith's desk with a black metal rod, then began to walk off.

"All of you should properly focus from here on out. I've told you all that the real world is not some daydream where you can become heroes or chosen ones. You need to know there are several types of people that live life." Using the black rod, she emitted a form of energy from her hand into it, using the tip of the rod to draw an image of a person, she spoke up.

"The first, those born into families or organizations able to help them rise and grow with nearly endless resources. Then there are the people born with luck on their side, naturally gifted and talented, able to naturally unlock their Resonance and obtain their ability." As she spoke, she drew the image of two types of people, at the top beside each other then continued to the second level, doing the same.

"Then there are those who are neither good nor bad, living life and eventually making something for themselves, possibly even achieving a resonance, if they work and train hard. Next to them are those who, despite having a resonance frequency, can't achieve it, yet are still able to find a position for themselves in this federation."

The students paid attention, knowing they would be severely reprimanded if they didn't during these important lessons. As the teacher spoke, she was going to continue before a girl with long brunette hair with neat tied bows, wearing the academy uniform and skirt, spoke up with hidden smugness. "Miss Wells, what about the last type? The dregs of society, who have no resonance frequency to focus on and won't ever be anything." She spoke with a tone of arrogance before giving a sneer, looking over towards Zenith with her friends also gazing. Zenith, though, paid little attention and gave no reaction, as he understood doing so would just stir the pot.

"Hmph!" The teacher, Miss Wells, smacked her black rod down on her desk, causing sparks of energy to shoot out around it, making everyone focus attention more. "Dregs of society? Clair, you need to understand that even though people can be unlucky enough to have no resonance frequency, it's not impossible for them to achieve something. Our federation has several people who, despite having no resonance to unlock, spent their time and effort on their minds, becoming lead researchers respected in the federation and beyond. In fact, their work and effort have greatly strengthened our Materian race."

Making her way towards Clair's desk, she gave her a cold glance. "There are also those whose hearts don't wane, and still train their bodies beyond limits, sacrificing everything to save those they can. Or are you saying my father is a dreg of society?"

Clair looked down at her desk, a trace of fear and shame on her face. "I... that's... n-not what I'm saying!" She wouldn't dare speak out of turn; after all, Miss Wells' father was a hero of this colony. During an event which caused a fractured space to open with all sorts of horrors coming out, he saved many lives along with others. Anyone, regardless of position, that dared look down on such a person would be the target of scorn by everyone else.

"That's what I thought," Miss Wells slowly began to walk back to her desk, giving Zenith a side glance and quietly sighing. Her intention, of course, was to defend him; she cared deeply for all her students and wanted to see them succeed.

Standing at the front again, she turned to look at everyone, her hands and the rod behind her back. "I've hammered in everything I can to help you all know that living is not a game. This isn't a fairy tale; make something of yourselves."

As if right on time, the bell rang, meaning class had ended. Everyone felt a little nostalgic as they realized their academy life of 8 years was over. Everyone stood up and bowed respectfully to their teacher, thanking her greatly, as tradition dictated, which caused her to nearly tear up. She then dismissed them all, watching them shuffle out after getting their things.

"Zenith, stay behind," she called out, causing him to inwardly groan, and others to secretly gloat. Eventually, when the last person had left, Zenith walked over to his teacher's desk and stood at attention.

"When you came to this academy, you were an empty blank slate, empty vacant eyes. It took me these 8 years to get you to change, and even then I'm not satisfied with my results. Tell me, have you given consideration to what you want to do after tomorrow, considering your, eh... circumstances?"

Zenith blinked a little thoughtfully, taking a slight breath. He reached up to scratch atop his silver hair-covered head. "I was thinking, maybe the Federation Military?" Hearing his response, his teacher scoffed and shook her head. "Someone like you? Pfft, they would eat you up and spit you out. You have nothing to bring them other than being cannon fodder. I think you need to broaden your horizons and understand life a little more."

She then locked eyes with him seriously and spoke. "Tell me, do you truly know what a resonance is? Summarize what I've taught you about it."