Prequel to the Ceremony

1st November, year 333 of the Dawn Era; the sun rose up, casting its gentle light on the cityscape, dissipating the mist that had formed, and generating a sense of warmth in the chilly air.

7th Ring, Sector 12, Baker Street, 3rd Residential Complex; a certain house on the 28th floor had its silence disrupted by the shrill screams of an alarm clock, its monotonous sound reverberating through the air, echoing across the halls.

7:00 AM, the sonorous buzzing of the alarm made the boy sleeping next to it feel irritated, tossing and turning around on the bed, clenching the bedsheet and wrapping it tighter around the ears.

The alarm buzzed nonstop for 5 minutes, the body getting used to the sound, falling asleep once again. Despite the shrill noise, the sonorous sound that had the same repeating rhythm was soon glossed over by his senses, his slumber undisturbed.

7:15 AM, another alarm buzzed, the sound arriving from a different location, its buzzing different. Like a chain reaction, the previous alarm too buzzed, its shrill sounds intermixing in the air, creating a distortion of noise, polluting the once peaceful surroundings.

Irritated, the boy could no longer sleep. He got up, his eyes wide awake, gazing at the two alarm clocks that felt like they were competing against one another—the prize being his awakening.

The boy looked at the time, feeling his eyes droop. "I can sleep for five more minutes."

Making the two alarm clocks shut up, he draped the bedsheet over him, seething with bliss. With a relaxed expression, he slept. No sooner had he closed his eyes did the alarm buzz, its sonorous noise ear piercing.

7:30 AM, the boy noticed the time, feeling tired. "I took a shit just before sleeping. My bowels are almost empty. So, I only need to brush my teeth and take a bath. I still have plenty of time."

No sooner had he closed his eyes did the alarm ring once again, the two sounds of different pitch, frequency, and rhythm intermixing with each other, generating an astounding racket of noise.

7:45 AM, the boy raised his eyebrow, slightly craning open his left eye, noticing the time. "Today is the Induction Day. I will probably swallow a disgusting parasite. What use is in brushing? Also, sister said everything will become messy at the end; so, do I even need to take a bath?"

"Five more minutes," The boy murmured, covering his head with the bedsheet. Followed by the sound of a door being opened, Heima entered, dressed in a set of baggy clothes, covering the battle gear worn underneath.

She walked towards the sleeping boy, her steps silent. She sent a kick to his stomach, giving him a slap on the head when he got up in protest. "Get ready!"

She dragged him to the bathroom, pushed him inside, and locked the door. With a grumble, the boy began to freshen up, taking his sweet time emptying his bowels. Heima slammed against the door, urging him to hurry. Letting out an exhausted grunt, she went towards the kitchen, making her a cup of coffee.

Holding a piping hot cup of coffee on her right, she flipped through the newspaper using her left, reading the headlines aloud, "A Shifter was jailed, heavily penalised for fleeing from the battlefield. Transformer Cosmi Tumbler has retired from duty, solely focusing on his Academic duties."

"What? It's already 8:30? Sister!" A voice trailed as a boy rushed out, a towel draped over his lower half. "We were asked to assemble at school by 8:30 AM. Sister, why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

"Take a look at the time," Heima pointed at the wall clock in the living room, her voice disinterested. The boy gazed at the time, his expression morphing into one of shock.

7:30 AM, Heima gazed at him, noticing his developing muscles, adding a bit of masculinity to his lean frame. "I changed the time in your alarm clock to an hour early. Otherwise, you would never get ready on time."

"So, I still have an hour?" The boy laughed, expressing his delight, heaving out a breath of relief. Humming a tune, he turned around, heading to his room to get dressed up.

Donning a well-ironed white cotton shirt over his cotton vest, he calmly buttoned them, noticing an extra button at the end. Seeing that he had buttoned it wrong, he unbuttoned everything, beginning from the top.

The black cotton pants were loose at the thighs but tighter at the legs, giving him the feeling of a jester. He then wore a half blazer atop his shirt, grunting. "Despite it being winter, it is still hot enough. This uniform is a pain to wear and has a stupid design."

The belt had a logo of 4 inscribed on it, affixed within seven concentric circles, showcasing his affiliation to the 4th Academy in the 7th Ring.

7:45 AM, he sat on the sofa in the living room, gazing at the clock. He then swerved his head to the right, gazing at his sister reading the newspaper with gusto, a second cup of coffee in her hands.

"Sister…" He hesitated, swallowing his saliva, his eyes darting to and fro.

"No games, just sit tight. We still have 15 minutes before the metro train heading towards your school will arrive." Heima replied, turning a page and gazing at a large banner of a man wearing a pair of shades, showcasing an array of spectacles at the bottom—an advertisement.

Her interest piqued, she looked through the spectacles, noting the address of the shop, planning to make a stop later. She then noticed Jyorta gazing at the wall clock, hands folded before him, his chin resting over them. His leg tapped on the floor, its rhythm rapid.

'He's getting nervous,' Heima sighed, planning to distract him when he abruptly stood up, rushing towards the restroom.

"What happened?" She shouted, her eyes widening.

"Loose motion!" Jyorta screamed, his figure dashing past her, in a fluster.

7:58 AM, Jyorta returned, hand above his stomach, looking distressed. He looked uncomfortable, seemingly as if he would rush to the restroom any moment.

"Let us depart," Heima placed her newspaper—folded perfectly along its folds—on the glass table before her. Carrying a handbag, she fetched out her ID card and Jyorta's, placing them both in a front zip.

Wearing a school bag that looked heavy, Jyorta accompanied Heima, hurrying towards the metro station. The train had arrived by the time they reached, prompting them to break into a sprint to enter a compartment before the doors closed.

"There's a vacant spot at the end, sit there." Heima pushed Jyorta, making him occupy a vacant seat. A lady who had eyed the seat and was surfing through the crowd cussed in anger. Hearing her cuss, Heima laughed, sending a glare in her direction, shutting her up.

She inched through the crowd, standing beside his seat, placing her handbag atop his school bag, all shifted to over his lap.

"You know," She began, "They are launching a new game today. The one you had been anticipating for the past 3 months. What was its name again? …Doragun Sash?"

"Dragon Slash!" Jyorta shouted in excitement, covering his face immediately, hiding his embarrassment. "The launch is today? Great!"

"I saw it in the news when you were taking a bath. The graphics were quite stunning. It also said it has a feature where you can control the movements of your characters using just voice input. How do you even use that?" Heima said, showing a look of curiosity.

"It is quite simple," Jyorta spoke, his tone calm and steady. "You enter an interface where you can customise many actions to a single keyword. Suppose you want to move the character 5 steps diagonally to your right, you can set it to 'Jumbo'. So, whenever you say jumbo, the character moves five steps diagonally to the right. You can specify many things in this manner, and use whatever words you want to invoke them. Once you get the hang of it, it is quite fun."

"The way you speak…" Heima laughed, "Is no different from a brat that just became a teenager."

"It is good to be young," Jyorta sent a provocative stare at her, "Unlike a certain someone who gets called aunty by children. How many times was it in just this week?"

"Brat," Heima tickled him, making his jerk violently. The middle-aged man seated next to him sent a glare his way, adjusting his overcoat whose ends were a bit crumpled due to his jump.

"Hehe," Heima laughed, staring at him, disdain in her eyes, "You are 100 years too early to retort me."

Jyorta let out a sigh, looking at the ceiling of the train, his expression etched with arrogance. "It is not my fault for being eternally young."

Seeing his facial expression, Heima's eyebrows twitched, resisting her urges to beat him up; a smile crept upon her face, 'He's finally become calm.'

8:20 AM, the metro train arrived at their stop; the two alighted, hurrying towards the inspection counter, waving their IDs through a machine that allowed them passage. Security personnel stood on the sides of the machine, their expression bored as they watched the flurry of people walking to and fro.

Passing through numerous hallways, the duo began to sprint. They had less than 10 minutes to arrive at the designated location.

8:29 AM, the duo arrived before a classroom labelled, '11B', Jyorta panting. Heima handed his school bag over, making him enter the classroom, "I'll be waiting here. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Okay," There was slight nervousness in his voice but, Jyorta entered the classroom, occupying his seat. Heima stood in the corridor, gazing at the students that entered. Either parents or legal guardians of the students stood in the corridor, creating a hushed silence, their face depicted with nervousness.

'He'll be fine…' Heima thought, noticing her lack of confidence. She then shook her head, opting for an optimistic mentality. Seeing that none of the people near her were familiar, she chose to remain silent, standing at her spot like an erect statue.

There were hushed voices from some people, from the ones who apparently had an inkling of her identity. She could hear voices spouting 'Bone Family this…' and 'Bone Family that…' from them, making her shake her head.

'He can display his overwhelming advantage once the ceremony ends but, the ceremony itself is a big risk factor for him. Gajara too suffered from it, almost failing. I hope everything ends well.' She thought, silently praying.

A teacher entered the class, prompting the students to get up and greet her. She looked at the nervous faces of the students, her booming voice striking the eardrums of everyone present, "Everyone, follow after me. We will be moving to the topmost floor. Your parents or guardians will wait here."

Without any noise, the students stood up, following after the teacher. Once they exited the class, they emerged into the corridor, forming a long line. As Jyorta entered the hallway, Heima approached him, whispering into his ears.

"All the best!" With a nod, Jyorta walked away, following the line heading towards a lift that took them to floor 32, the topmost floor in the 4th Academy.