Episode 6 (part 1) : New Beginnings

My least favorite part of prep is the cosmetics. We have to conceal our marks and because we are both branded by demons, it is unnecessarily large and painfully visible. Burberry is getting nervous, I can tell by the way he rushes to paint over his giant marking on his left arm. I wouldn't say that it's the academy that's causing him to be frantic about things.

Maybe it's his distrust in me. I'm clumsy, not as intelligent, and most definitely not nearly as powerful as him. We're to head out in a few hours and basically all of the training we've done seems to slip out of my mind. I don't retain things very well.

Burberry: Did you pack your back pack?

Titus: Yeah just pretty much exactly with everything I came with. You said it's a boarding academy? Are we going to be dorm-mates? 

Burberry: I don't know. Once we step foot in there everything is up to the proctors. I have no foresight or control over anything. Which is why it is very important that you implement our training.

Titus: Right... No need to be nervous Burberry, I have a good way about improvising pretty well.

Burberry: Call me Burb, that's what my friends call me. I'm not nervous, just... excited. Please don't improvise. 

I thought he didn't have any friends. We both hop into our mechs and fly to our destination. Most students don't get a chance to experience piloting a mech before the academy, but all the royals arrive in mechs. They are much more convenient to travel in and they also work as a flex.

The academy's building is surrounded by divers who stand as guards. Their suits are much more decked out than ours, with fancy attachments. The building is mostly glass. It's tinted though so no one can see what's inside. It looks thick and tempered. Sculptures of mechs and ghouls carved from limestone are scattered throughout the gardens leading up to the door.

It's a beautiful sight, but it makes me dread what they are hiding inside. It must be a nightmare. A tall muscular man wearing a blue checkered uniform checks our ID's before allowing us to enter. I gulp as the giant doors open and an older gentlemen in a lab coat abruptly approaches us.

Proctor: Today is dedicated to testing your components. Be prepared to endure pain, mental fatigue and physical abuse.

That doesn't sound like the reception I was hoping for. I see a bunch of other kids lined up in a single file line, being led by proctors as well. They all just kind of blend into the background with their white and black outfits and hair. All of the proctors have the same outfit and facial features, I can't tell them apart at all.

The lighting in here is hella bad too. The ceilings are vast but because of the lack of light, it feels like an endless expanse of an empty void. The mood is ominous, and Burb is getting more and more fidgety as we approach the end of the line we are waiting in. At the end of the line is a veil, a cloth that covers sounds of whimpers of the previous person that entered. What the hell did I sign up for?

Burb is in front of me and he steps up to the veil. The proctor whispers in his ear. A bit creepy, but he seems to consent. Whatever he said made his ears perk up and a shiver to run along his spine. It doesn't take long for a contestant to enter and exit the veil. The sounds of agony can be heard in crisp clarity and it got more and more eerie as the we moved up the line. 

Before Burb enters the veil he mouths "remember training". Holy shit. It's happening. At first I don't hear anything. Burb is strong. He has the mental fortitude of an immortal being. He's endured the suffering of a thousand souls. Whatever is in that veil can't be that bad. 

I was wrong, because after a couple minutes I hear it. His moans are deafening. Maybe it's because I'm close to the veil. I can even hear the gasps between his screams, it's soul shattering. Gods. If the fucking vessel of the demon of death couldn't handle what's in there, I'm so done.

It ends faster than I had hoped. I mean I didn't really want Burb to suffer longer but my desire to avoid the veil was stronger. The proctor leans in close to whisper into my ear but I wave him away. Whatever he has to say won't change the outcome of what's behind the veil, and I don't need a creepy old man in my ear moments before me crying like a baby.

My life flashes before my eyes as the curtain goes over my head. The little memories I shared with my father that seemed so distant is now brought to the forefront of my mind. Tia was always ever present in my life, she as created before I was born. Father always encouraged her in any and all of her endeavors; But for me, my goal and purpose always remained the same. To replace father when he was gone. I was never envious of her, but I was certain my interests were never valued by anyone. They were always brushed aside for the main purpose that was pushed on me. That thought is enough to infuriate me and face whatever petty test these annoying proctors have for me.

It's dark. Pitch dark. I feel things slithering around me. My body tenses. I know that whatever it is, it can't possibly harm me. Although both Burb and I are trying to hide our blessings, mine is passive and can't be concealed. What feels like metal arms, drag me down and strap me to a spiked bed frame. None of the spikes break my skin. I'm guessing they are needles meant to inject me or to collect samples.

A series of things happen in rapid succession. Wires run up my leg and a weird sensation spreads across my body. I'm assuming it's supposed to be electricity? I don't feel a thing. If anything it's a bit ticklish. A light chuckle escapes my mouth. I hear several murmurs in the room. There's people around me watching this? That's a bit concerning. Maybe I should pretend like I'm in pain.

I'm thrown up into a standing position and two walls start to close in on me horizontally. I instinctively put up my hands above my head to push it away and use my legs to push down on the one below me. Without much effort I just hold it there for several minutes. I can tell that the resistance is being increased at a rapid pace but it still feels lighter than a feather for my enhanced body. Oh oops, I forgot to struggle. I start slowly going down to put on a show for the proctors watching me.

Once it reaches a close distance to the floor it stops and I am fully illuminated by light. After being in the dark for so long it wasn't a very pleasant experience for my eyes to adjust. I look down and notice that I am naked. When did they take my clothes off? Ice cold water splashes at me from all directions. It doesn't faze me. A screen appears before me with a series of equations for me to solve. Oh, well this is an area that my ability won't be of much use in.

I struggle to keep up with the content. I have never been a very studious person. My enhanced eyes pick up a flicker of something coming from the projector bot behind the screen. An answer sheet for the proctors to look at is right there for the taking. Thanks to my ability to see through things, I just start reading them off. I look at the proctors expressions to try to gauge when it's getting suspicious but they all have no emotions. Well that wasn't very helpful.

Eventually I got bored so I stopped answering them correctly and looked to them for a signal. Is the the test over? A moment of awkward silence passes before my proctor dry's me off, dresses me, and leads me out the veil. My eyes adjust to the group of new students that all have passed the veil. A voice erupts beside me.

Zara: How did you stay in there so long? Must've been in there for 30minutes.

What the hell is she doing here? Oh gods. Please don't kill me. I wait for the moment of her attack. It doesn't arrive. Oh right. She's never seen my face. I notice her uniform. It's the same one that the man who checked our ID's was wearing. Shit. She is going to be the commander training us. This is going to be one hell of an academic experience.