Graduation

Resisting Academy

An elite academy that facilitates students from different parts of the world to train them basing their accomplishments through meritocracy. Gathering and forming a cohort of humanity that protects and keeps humans from perishing under the gazes of the Nightmares. A facility that kept its students focused on doing one job; ending the Nightmares.

-Resist as long as you can. The one who persists will continue to hold on. Stopping only results in death.

That was the motto of this academy.

Located in the heart of the continent, Cesar's school encompasses a land of mass where every needed learning, tight protection, and varying facilities are placed under the same land. Even conventional amenities such as recreational and malls are also built.

An academy that can almost host every possible thing an individual could even imagine.

The academy had a four-year curriculum where students trained in various skills and learned different information relating to Nightmares. It had world-class teachers willing to teach their expertise and share their experience of encountering harrowing Nightmares themselves.

Now, Cesar was sitting down in front of the line of seats where third-years rests down. Along with others, seats started to become full. The first and second years sat at the back of the third years while they waited for the fourth years to come on the stage.

The fourth years are finally graduating yet such joyous event thousand years ago spell doom to most of students at this time of age.

Graduating from the Resisting Academy is a wonderful thing as it raises the worth of the person but in this meritocracy-based school where skills and performance matter, a student who didn't do their job well might just become cannon fodder from an individual who wielded authority outside of this academy.

A graduating student only has two fates; the first is to become enlisted in the army which has its perks and downsides. The second is to fight in the front lines with the army, which wielded the authority to control men and has control over the frontlines.

Being on the frontlines is simply a way of saying being on death's doorstep.

In any case, both choices have the same job. It's just a matter of position and significance that matters when being enlisted.

Hence when the fourth years are walking through the stage to line themselves, most faces appeared fearful. Even the ones with a confident gait are nervous as well.

Was our efforts good enough to be enlisted in the army? Is it not enough which is why we got placed on the frontlines?

Questions ranged inside their heads.

Cesar could only watch them quietly, knowing quite well he was going to feel the same helplessness most students had felt this day.

Still, such an image left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Finally, the large hall quieted down as sound of footsteps slowly diminished until nothing was left. The instructors place themselves in front of the third-years watching their students on the stage whom they taught for years setting off to their next pages of life.

It will be a dreadful next page of life though.

Once all was set, a man in his middle age walked into the middle of the stage who came from the backline of the fourth-year's students.

Permeating a domineering aura that spoke authority, the current headmaster of the Resisting Academy came to a halt once he reached the podium. His white hair swayed along the wind as his shady brown eyes fell below.

Looking around the hall where thousands of students gathered, the headmaster nodded once.

"Welcome, students of the Resisting Academy. This is your current headmaster, Arnold Virgo, thankfully standing in front of you all,"

In unison, the third, second, and first years stood from their chairs and formed a salute. The fourth years on the stage also raised their hand and placed it on their forehead in a straight manner which was the salute form for the army. A custom where a person greets a person with great authority that extended for the whole millennium.

"At ease,"

Everyone swiftly brought their hands to the side and remained motionless on their footings. For a while, Arnold quietly observed before he continued.

"Graduating fourth-year students, I'm very pleased with what you become. Trained under the tutelage of competent instructors and learning from them, honing your skills to the fullest to perform and protect the people in need, and lastly, strong enough to endure the harsh training given to you all, I couldn't be prouder to watch it all from here."

It was such a simple message. There is no sugarcoating or any kind of unimportant wording added to the message Arnold relying upon.

He felt proud of them as if they were the sons and daughters he took care of during their four years of staying here. It was sincere and full of emotions.

Most of the fourth years also seemed to be emotional as well as they started crying, expressing a bunch of emotions of leaving the academy where they lived for four years.

"I'm entrusting humanity's fate in your hands."

Arnold ended the rites of graduation with a single sentence that brought nervousness to the rest of the students because every single individual present knew one single thing next to happen. 

They were finally starting the culmination order of the graduation.

"Let's start,"

Arnold's voice reverberated across the huge hall as he slightly bent down and searched for something from his podium stand. After reaching out to it, he tightly grasped it in his hand.

It was a white kerchief.

Arnold wrapped it around his head where it covered his eyes. It didn't matter what was covered anything else as long as the eyes were shut off from visioning something through.

The fourth years nervously grabbed something out from their pockets. The same kerchief appeared on the palm of their hands but its color was entirely black. All of them did the same thing by wrapping it around their head to cover their eyes.

The students and instructors on the stage also took something out of their pockets or under their seats. Once they did, the same white kerchief appeared on their hands, nothing different from Arnold who was now done covering his eyes, completely blind.

Fearful and nervous, most of the students hastily and tightly checked how strong the wrap around their kerchief was.

Cesar also did the same thing but he was one of the last students to do it because he was still curious throughout the years even though he already knew what was about to happen.

But upon remembering the warnings and heeding them was the best choice, Cesar resigned to being unable to do anything and wrapped the white kerchief around his eyes.

Blinded by the bandana, all Cesar could see was full black of nothingness. He could hear and feel but being unable to see made him nervous.

After all, for him, it's better to pry into the unknown rather than be in the unknown.

However, only this time, he had to abide by the rules because the same rules would not protect him for what was to come.

After a while…

Silence…

At this point, no one can even hear a slight breathing from their fellow students and schoolmates. Everyone stood on their post. Some were fidgeting, others were shaking as their hips couldn't help but shake.

Every person who attended the graduation hall appeared on the same thing; blinded by the kerchief covering their eyes.

After a while of nothing but tranquility, Arnold finally spoke.

"Resist all you can,"

Clap—!

Suddenly, a clap resonated. It was very subtle but everyone can hear it very clearly. Everyone felt it was coming from the side of their ears.

Clap—!

Another clap resonated, this time, coming from Arnold.

He then continued reciting the academy's motto.

"The one who persists will continue to hold on."

Clap—!

The third clap permeated throughout the hallway as if to answer Arnold's clasp.

Everyone held their breath.

Arnold slowly raised his head before ceasing from ascending as if he were looking at something through the veil of his kerchief.

"Stopping only results in death."

Then he clasped his hands twice before silence surfaced in the grand hallway once again, Arnold's voice trailed off to the ears of the people present.

"…"

A few seconds passed and they didn't hear Arnold's voice. Even so, they remained standing in their position.

"…"

A little more than that, it was still the same quietness.

"…"

The minute mark already came yet Arnold's voice that felt so strong a few moments before was absent.

Clap—!

Finally, the silence that almost continued for eternity was interrupted by another two claps.

"Wait,"

Arnold's voice woke those people waiting in nervousness to hold whatever they were thinking of doing.

"Wait…"

Cesar took a mouthful of saliva down his throat due to how worried he was like others. Distressed, he, like others, followed Arnold's orders.

In a while…

"You can remove them now,"

Cesar placed his hand on the back of his head to remove the bandana before he hesitated. Composing himself, he let his worries cast aside before removing the kerchief entirely.

His eyes darted to the front of the stage where a lone man stood silently. The white kerchief on his hand was grasped tightly while observing the student below the stage with indifference.

"Everyone, get back to your rooms,"

Arnold turned around, placing both of his hands on his back as the white bandana on his hand swayed.

Unlike a while ago when he entered the stage, he was the only one exiting the stage without saying anything else.

The fourth years standing behind him earlier vanished without a trace.

Thousands of those students who were only standing alongside Arnold appeared to have never existed in the first place.

"All of them are gone…"

Even if it was his third time witnessing such a phenomenon, Cesar was still in disbelief.

Even though he tried to shake it off, the eerie foreboding still bothered him.

"All of those people are gone…"