Elias Sikigiti POV –
I closed the wooden door of the office I shared with Darius after sending Lazar off to the dormitory where the cadets sleep and spend their time.
Right after shutting the door, I channeled mana from my Source directly into my eardrums, significantly enhancing my sense of hearing. From the other side of the wooden door, I could hear Lazar's soft, steady breathing for a few seconds. Soon after, the sound of footsteps joined his breathing, gradually moving away from the door and heading toward the dormitory.
I cut off my enhanced hearing by stopping the flow of mana into my eardrums and turned around.
Darius was watching me, sitting on a chair behind the large desk where we handled paperwork and administrative duties. Several sheets of paper of the exact same dimensions were laid out in front of him. In his left hand, he held an ink-dipped quill resting right beside the parchment.
"Oh, you're back," he said in an indifferent voice, dropping his gaze back to the paper and starting to write.
"Yeah," I replied shortly and clearly, walking closer to the desk.
Dust was everywhere I looked—above, below, left, and right. The only place untouched by dust was the desk the two of us used.
„How can it be this filthy in here?" I thought as I cast my eyes around the room, scanning our office. Could this place even be called an office?
"So," he started. "Where did you go with that cadet earlier?"
"Hm?"
"And why did you hit him so hard? You could have seriously injured him."
I sat down on a soft wooden chair.
"I didn't hit him that hard, Darius, don't exaggerate. I barely used any of my mana. I was going to knock him out. If you really want to know, I didn't even use 1% of my mana in that strike."
"Even that is too much for ordinary people, Elias," he retorted. "Especially for those who haven't awakened their Source yet. You should have hit him with energy instead, or without any essence at all."
"Geez. Since when are you so sentimental and caring toward your students, Darius?"
"It doesn't matter now anyway," he said, raising his eyes from the paper before dipping his quill back into the inkpot. "So, where did you take him?" he asked again, the scratch of the quill echoing through the room.
"I took him to our barracks."
The scratching of the quill stopped abruptly. He shot me a sharp look under his right eye—sharp enough to cut through glass.
"Why would you do that?"
"Well, where else could I take him to?"
"No one except you soldiers of Nivalis is allowed to know about that facility, Elias. Especially not new cadets. Word could spread, and that could cause serious problems."
"Relax, Darius. I'm positive he doesn't know the way there. All he knows is that it exists, nothing more."
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he placed his quill into the ink and looked me dead in the eye.
"You can ask Amira the same thing if my word isn't enough to convince you."
"Amira? How did she end up with you and that cadet? Isn't she in charge of the female project?"
"She was at the barracks too, so I asked her for a favor, to examine Lazar and 'fix' him up."
"Why?" he asked. "There's nothing wrong with him. Why waste that woman's time?"
"Well, you see, he actually has a huge problem, Darius," I blurted out. Curiosity and a slight, faint confusion crossed his face.
"He has PTESD."
"Ah. Okay," he answered quickly, completely uninterested. He grabbed a fresh sheet of paper, pulled the quill out of the inkwell, and began writing again.
"What kind of reaction was that?"
"?"
"Aren't you even a little concerned?"
"Why should I be? That's not a rare occurrence for essencers."
Well, to him, it probably wasn't much of a surprise. Darius had traveled all over the world to train and teach various students and nobles whether humans, elves, or other races his martial arts. He had likely encountered similar situations before, so it wasn't anything strange to him.
On the other hand, in all my twenty-eight years, I had never dealt with a student who had a problem like this.
"There's a difference between his case and ordinary PTESD, Darius."
"Let me guess," he said, looking up at me. "It has something to do with his Source, right? When he does something, it activates on its own or something like that?"
"Well," I raised my hand and scratched my neck, "you got the gist of it, but it's not quite what you're imagining."
"Then what's wrong with him?"
"He has a psychological problem, Darius. His mind and his Source are connected and in direct conflict," I said, leaning deeper into the soft chair and staring up at the white ceiling of the office. "The moment he faces a memory his brain cannot handle, his Source automatically turns on and starts burning his channels, while his brain attacks him with severe headaches to prevent it."
Darius raised his left hand, the one he had been writing with, and scratched his beard, gazing toward the corner of the room. The sound of him scratching his thick beard echoed while a thoughtful expression settled on his face.
"I've never heard of such a PTESD problem before," he voiced, still staring at the corner. "Usually, people with PTESD struggle with controlling their Source, or they can't regulate the amount of mana or energy they put into channeling their elements and techniques. Are you two sure that's what his issue is?"
"That was Amira's diagnosis and her professional assumption. I don't know much about human biology, so I have no right to speak like an expert."
"I see," he said, bringing his gaze back to me. "So that's why you struck him and knocked him unconscious when he started acting strange after finishing the obstacle course today?"
"That's right," I nodded. "I sensed something was wrong with his Source, so I forcibly knocked him out. I don't know if it was the right decision at that moment, whether I should have let him deal with it on his own or not, but I felt an urge that I had to do it, so I reacted instinctively."
"I understand," he nodded. "Good job, Elias."
"?"
"Thank you," I answered without thinking. For some reason, Darius's praise made me feel happy. It wasn't the kind of joy that could compare to finding out my wife was pregnant, but it was there. I wasn't sure why, but maybe it had to do with Darius being one of the most famous masters traveling the world.
"So, what do we do with him now? Does this limit him in our training?"
"Yes, it limits him, but we don't need to worry about him too much."
"Hm?"
"Physically, we can push him as usual. We just mustn't mention his past or force him to think about it. Otherwise, the same thing that happened on the obstacle course today will happen again."
"I see. So you'll be the one making sure it doesn't come to that."
"Pardon?"
"You're the one who took him to the barrack, aren't you? You'll do it again if necessary. I'm giving you an extra assignment. You don't mind, do you?"
"No."
"In exchange, I'll make sure not to remind him of his past. Do we have a deal?"
"You really take advantage of your position as the lead instructor, don't you?" I said, nodding once.
"Being famous comes with perks what can I say?" he replied, shrugging his shoulders before grabbing his quill to write on the paper again.
"Hm?"
As he was writing, I noticed another sheet of paper lying on the right side of the desk. It was a freshly printed copy of the Nivalis Herald, folded in half. The paper was fine and smooth, and the dark lettering, written in the precise, uniformed hand of a royal scribe, was clear and sharp.
It was the official newspaper of the capital.
I reached out my hand and took it from the desk without asking.
"I didn't know you read the news, Darius," I said, scanning the headline...
TURMOIL ON THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN BORDERS: REBELS OR TRAITORS OF THE ESTATE? Was printed in large, bold letters in the center of the paper.
"His Highness King Eler III Villhein announces stricter checks at city entrances and borders, as well as public trials for anyone spreading propaganda against the Crown and His Highness..." read the introductory paragraph. "All gatherings, large or small, without official authorization will be considered acts of revolution."
My eyes drifted a bit lower to a framed section displaying a sketch of a man's face alongside a generous reward. A feeling of insecurity and nausea built inside me the more I read this issue, a sense of dread regarding my pregnant wife, Ana Sikigiti, and her future.
MOST WANTED ENEMY OF THE CROWN COUNCIL: PRINCE LEON VARKAS. "Accused of organizing deserter squads and burning grain fields in the southern valley. Reliable sources also charge him with involvement in the deaths of three innocent soldiers near the border with the Vallarian Kingdom to spread propaganda in the southern provinces. For information leading to his arrest, or for the traitor's head — DEAD OR ALIVE — REWARD: 70 GOLD COINS."
"Seventy gold coins..." I muttered, flipping through the fine paper. "Is it really possible that King Eler is offering that much for Varkas's head? Is that man truly such a threat to this land?"
I read it aloud as hatred toward Leon began to swell within me. "And these stories about burning the granaries in the south... Do you think it's true, Darius?" I asked, looking at him while holding the newspaper in my hands.
Darius let out a short, cold laugh without lifting his gaze.
"The only granaries Nivalis possesses are in the south, Elias. It's the only place where the soil isn't soaked in snow and where agriculture actually succeeds. Why would Prince Varkas burn down the food supply of the very people he's trying to win over?"
"Isn't it obvious?!" I raised my voice. "He wants to starve us into serving him!"
"The Crown manufactures lies to portray Varkas's squads as monsters who want to starve and conquer their own people. A frightened populace is easier to control."
"That's impossible!" I snapped. "There's no way King Eler is enacting these measures just to protect his throne... Leon did something terrible here, I guarantee it!"
"The King is in a panic, Elias," Darius said in a calm tone, as if all of this were perfectly normal to him. He placed his quill back into the inkpot and leaned back in his chair.
"The tighter he squeezes his fist in an attempt to control everything, the more sand slips through his fingers. The people are hungry and tired. When you strip away people's freedom, accuse them of arson, and threaten them with the gallows for every spoken word... you aren't putting out the fire. You're just building pressure in a boiler that's bound to explode sooner or later."
"Isn't news from the capital under complete censorship?!" I added, looking at the bottom corner of the page where reports detailed the arrests of Varkas's sympathizers and members of his family. "How did this even pass the royal censors?"
"It passed because the Crown or rather, the King himself wants the public to read this. This isn't just news, Elias. It's a warning," Darius replied, crossing his fingers on the desk.
"A warning aimed directly at Leon and his fighters. Eler is trying to make an example out of Leon Varkas and anyone who even thinks about revolution. But in the shadows of the capital and in the warmer south, Varkas's squads are already gathering thousands of deserters and discontented soldiers. On top of all that, your command is pushing Project S in complete secrecy... What do you think will happen if the people find out what we will be doing with the new cadets here?"
I ran my hand over my forehead, feeling fatigue accumulate in my temples. His words carried a heavy truth. On the outside, Nivalis might have seemed like an impenetrable fortress, but on the inside, everything was beginning to crack under the pressure.
"I have a feeling this is going to be one long winter, Darius," I said, folding the newspaper and putting it back where it had been.
"It's always long in Nivalis," he answered briefly, rising from his chair. "Well, I'm off." He said as he walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Prepare a few rags and wooden buckets for me will you?"
"Rags and wooden buckets?"
"I have to hand out a punishment, remember?" he said as he stepped out into the hallway of the building.
Kiyokazu Lazar POV –
Right after Tavon's introduction to Luiz and Kieran, a gentle silence fell among the four of us.
It wasn't as heavy as the silence today while I was walking here with Elias, but it was there.
"So!" Tavon started, breaking the silence with his quiet, high-pitched voice. He wore a broad smile on his face, as if he didn't know how to make any other expression besides grinning. "How did you guys end up here?"
"I received an invitation," Luiz said, leaned back against the metal railing of the top bunk to my left.
"Same situation for me," Kieran added.
Then he turned toward me.
"Me too," I said, nodding my head. Once again, I gave the same answer to that question. Once again, I lied, to him and others, though the truth was, I didn't even know how I ended up here in the first place.
"Lazar," a voice called out from my left.
"What is it, Luiz?"
Luiz stood there, staring at me with slightly narrowed eyes. I looked at his suspicious face as I spoke, while his red eyes locked onto mine, burning with a strange intensity.
"Is everything alright with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you completed all that training today, and then Elias hit you in the stomach that hard," he continued, straightening up from his leaning position. "You don't feel any pain?"
"He doesn't look like he's in any pain to me," Tavon chimed in, casting glances all over me.
"That's exactly why I'm asking him, Tavon. It's impossible that he just took a blow that powerful without consequences."
"Well, he didn't really 'take' it, did he?" Tavon interrupted again, looking at Luiz with the same expression he had when glancing at me earlier. "It knocked him out cold right away."
"Are you stupid?" Kieran cut in, glaring at Tavon. "That's not the point, Tavon. Look at him." Kieran fixed a sharp gaze on me.
"Elias blasted him with immense force, and Lazar just walked back in here a few hours later without a single broken bone or bandage. An ordinary person would be unconscious from such hit for days. You didn't just 'endure' that blow Lazar, you look better and more ready now than you did earlier. Like it was nothing. How?"
He pointed his finger at my stomach as he said it.
The question hung in the air while all three of them stared at me, waiting for my response. I looked down at my palms. I couldn't tell them about the second facility, nor about the doctor who injected or did who knows what to me while I was unconscious. From what I had noticed, none of them three had any idea that another building besides this one even exists. To them, this was all just a brutal military training ground in the snow from which I had disappeared and returned a few hours later.
"The truth is, I'm not really sure myself," I lied once more. "I just woke up in a small building." Another lie. "Elias was beside me when I woke up, so he brought me back. I guess I was just lucky... or maybe my body is more resilient than I thought."
"'Lucky'?" Luiz laughed softly, devoid of any warmth. His red eyes didn't stray from me. "When it comes to either of the two of them, luck doesn't exist. But if you say so..." He said, his voice carrying a suspicious tone.
"Wait, wait a minute," Tavon started. "What you to tell us is that Elias knocked you out, put you in some small building, and then brought you back?"
"That's right," I answered coldly, trying to stick to my false story.
"I probably shouldn't tell anyone about that facility, though Elias didn't explicitly say I couldn't." I thought as I looked at him.
"Elias isn't the type of guy to just carry any of us on his shoulder to some room unless something is wrong," Luiz said. "Something smells fishy here, Lazar—"
SLAM!
His sentence was cut short in an instant. The massive wooden doors of the dormitory burst open abruptly, clattering violently against the wall. The air in the room instantly turned colder as we stared at the doorway, and the conversation among the four of us was replaced by a heavy, uncomfortable silence.
Darius was standing in the doorway. His broad frame looking as imposing as ever."
His sharp, cold, emotionless gaze swept over Tavon, Luiz, and Kieran before finally settling on me.
"Kiyokazu," he spoke in his deep, commanding voice, which echoed through the entire dormitory like a sudden chill. Everyone present in the dorm was looking at me again.
"Yes, sir!" I stood up from the bed, snapping my legs together and lowering my arms to my sides, my eyes fixed straight ahead on him.
"You've rested enough," he said, taking a step forward. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"Because of what happened on the obstacle course today?" I answered, looking directly at his face.
"That's right," he nodded. "In this camp, weakness and disobedience cost you dearly. And you caused a scene in front of the other cadets, slowing down the entire group. Elias might have spared your bones, but I won't spare your back."
"You and whoever is on the bunk above you report to the office immediately, or you're both expelled."
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Then I am expecting you in the office any second now." He turned around and left without another word, leaving behind the open entrance and a heavy silence.
I turned and looked at the person above my bed, Tavon. At first, he had a terrified look on his face because Darius had pierced him with that sharp glare. As I kept watching him, his expression slowly morphed into pure horror.
"Lazar," he called out to me. "Did he... did he just say that whoever is above your head needs to come too?"
I nodded once.
"No way..." Tavon grabbed his spiky hair with both hands, his eternal, gentle smile vanishing in a second. He looked at me with a mix of shock and utter panic. "Why me?! I was just sitting here asking you how you were! I wasn't even near the obstacle course when that happened!"
"Welcome to our little group, rookie," Luiz chimed in from the upper bunk where Tavon had been hanging moments ago, crossing his arms behind his head with a dark, ironical smirk. "When you're with us, expect the unexpected."
Kieran didn't say anything, but he slightly turned his gaze away, obviously glad he wasn't the one on the top bunk above me.
"Hey, Kieran," Tavon called out to him. "Do you want to swap bunks? I think i don't want to be his roommate."
"Ahem, ahem," Kieran cleared his throat several times and shifted his eyes to the side. "No, but thanks for the offer"
"What about you, Luiz—"
"Let's move, Tavon," I said quietly, not wanting to test Darius's patience for another second. If there was one thing I have learned in this camp, it was that every second of hesitation only increased the number of push-ups or duties you'd have to do.
"But I don't want to!" Tavon whined like a toddler as we both headed toward the room's stairs.
We exited the room and closed the giant door that Darius had thrown wide open like an eagle's wings. After that, we set off down the cold hallway toward their office door. The crunching sound of our boots kept us company as we moved along. The office door wasn't too far down, being on the right side of the corridor.
I knocked three times on the door, pulled the handle, and stepped inside, with Tavon right behind me.
The smell inside their office was similar to dried mushrooms, and dust could be seen in every corner. Darius stood beside their large desk, while Elias sat in the chair behind it with the folded newspaper beside his hands.
On the floor between Darius and us stood two medium-sized wooden buckets filled to the brim with water, along with two rags hanging over the edges of the buckets.
"Nice of you to come so quickly," Darius said, his voice as cold as the snow outside. "Tavon, since you had so much extra energy to ask questions and spread rumors around the room, you shall share the same fate as Kiyokazu."
Tavon held his breath, not daring to make a sound.
From the desk, Elias stared directly at him with snake-like eyes, ready at any moment to sever his head from his shoulders if he wanted to.
Gulp.
I heard a faint swallowing sound from my right. When I turned my head toward it, Tavon stood like a stone statue, completely motionless. A drop of sweat ran down his forehead while his gaze remained fixed straight on Elias. Specifically on his meadow-green eyes.
"Your punishment is simple," Darius continued, pointing toward the buckets. "You will clean this entire office. Every square inch of the floor, every corner, and every crevice. Dust must not exist, and the room must be spotless and ready for use by tonight. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!" Tavon and I answered at the exact same time, as if our throats were connected.
"If I catch either of you slacking off, you will start over from the beginning. And early tomorrow morning, a regular strength exercise in the freezing cold awaits you. So rest well" Darius added, then turned to Elias. "Let's go."
Elias stood up from the chair, picked up the newspaper, and passed by me. He brushed past me with a brief glance, a mixture of a stern warning and a quiet check-up within it. Then both of them walked out and closed the door, leaving us alone in the dusty office with two buckets and two rags.
I looked at Tavon. He was pale, holding his head with one hand.
"I'm going to kill you, Lazar... I swear to Goddess, I'll kill you if only I survive this day," he muttered in a trembling voice as he approached the first bucket.
I didn't answer him. Instead, I bent down, grabbed a rag, and plunged my hands into the water along with it.
A sharp, stinging pain instantly shot through my fingers and wrists, forcing me to grit my teeth.
"It's so cold…"
"I become your roommate, and this is how you repay me..."
"How was I supposed to know this would happen?"
"Shut up," he said as he lowered himself onto one knee, staring into the wooden bucket. "GAAAH!" Tavon let out a quiet yell as he pulled his hand out of the bucket with the rag. "How on earth is this stuff so cold?!"
"Where should we start?" I asked him, looking through the room's window.
The Nivalis winter was long, but it looks like this day will be even longer than her...