Z was falling…
Falling…
Falling…
… falling in the depth of nothingness, her screams unheard over the pressure of her fall. She wanted so much to hold on to something, to stop the wind howling in her ears; however, she ended up wishing for death when darkness dominated her vision.
And then, her back hit something hard.
She gasped as she sat upright, catching her breath, as though she just swam underneath a deep ocean. It was hard for her not to notice the soft fabric of the hospital dress she’s wearing, as it was soaked with sweat. Her body’s still releasing more juices, though. It’s made it complicated to say she’s not bathing.
Until she wiped the sweat on her forehead did she realize the wires glued in there. Brows furrowing, she looked around and was highly interested in the beeping sound; it came from a monitor sitting on a high chair, a line moving up and down from there. Beside it was a study table wi
On the last night of June, Z was sitting in the far corner of the Noble's Quarter's second floor. Her ash gray hair was disheveled, her hands pulling its strand every now and then. Lines were creasing her forehead as she stared down at the pile of parchment messily placed on the study table.Yawning, she rubbed her stinging eyes and cursed her teachers for giving too many tasks. Apparently, her one-week rest did not guarantee a sound preceding days, because the moment she’s been back, she was asked about her health.Knowing full well Granny’s capability, she told everyone who cared to ask that she’s perfectly fine, which she regretted afterward. The teachers thought it unwise to have a Noble left behind, so she’d been given the tasks she’s unable to accomplish while fighting death's rotting hand.She glared at Mr. Porche's back-to-back essay, as though by doing so, it’d finish itself. It’s about the importance of training. It’s been over an hour,
“Times up!” said Mr. Porche, his eyes intent on his sliver stopwatch, his jaw locked. Z couldn’t blame him for being frustrated, because even if she’s paying lesser attention, she’d notice the lameness of the first ten Nobles.The try-out was simple. All of them were given ten minutes to capture the flag that was positioned fifty meters from them. Of course, it was heavily guarded by a teacher Mr. Porche assigned. To be given points, they would have to run back with the flag without being caught by the assigned teacher, and also, they mustn’t exceed the given time. However, the first ten Nobles ran out of breath even before they could reach the flag.Well, in all honesty, Z didn’t believe that thirteen-year-old Shadowests were up to the challenge, but their adviser was determined to give everyone a chance.“Next!”Z didn’t know whether she’s imagining it or not, but she heard desperation locked in the stillness of his voice. She looked
“This is the second time she collapsed, correct?” said Hail absently, his arms crossed.Granny sighed, scanning her notes. “You appear to be right. The last time she lost consciousness, her brain locked itself to prevent any damage. Right now, however, her heart protected itself. Any more collapse and she’ll actually die.”Though her voice broke, she tried to ignore it by writing more data in her notes.“How does it work? This Shraine, I mean.”It took her a whole minute of silence, translating some of her ideas into words, before looking up. “It is the body’s defense mechanism. Once a Wielder release some of her energy, the system moves in itself to protect what must be protected, which is why whenever there’s an overlap or draining of energy, the mind and the heart itself creates a wall to turn down any possible deterioration. But even this so-called protective system also requires energy.”“So does this mean, Blame’s just weak? Or this has some
Z glared at Hail who’s leaning against the wall as if he’s got nothing to do with her bruises and burns. Granny applied toothpaste to the reddish and dry part of her skin, which owed her something to scream for. Apart from that, three band-aids were covering the open wounds and scratches on her upper shoulder and two of them were positioned right on her knees.If Z’s not aware of Blame’s and Hail’s relationship, she would have thought he’s trying to kill her. But now it came to this, there’s a high possibility it’s accurate. He’s doubting her identity, after all.“You’ve gone too far, Hail. I told you, haven’t I? Shraine isn’t about being weak or strong. If you’re going to train her, at least do it the right way. It looks to me as if you’re torturing her.”Granny’s features were crumpled with anger that Z didn’t dare complain every time the treatment becam
Mr. Porche gave the team a good beating after knowing how much they’re thinking only of themselves. The point of the exercise was to see whether they’d help each other to get some more flags, but that wasn’t the case. Everyone made their own move, resulting for all of them getting nothing. Z, though closer to snatching one of the flags, was intercepted by Sloane who pushed her and tried to grab the flag for herself. They have a moment of fight, which allowed Mr. Porche to knock both of them. Just like that, they were disqualified, because whoever was beaten would be out. But there’s no one more wounded than Jake who ended up arousing a battle between him and Mr. Porche’s shadow. His brute strength and inferior speed did not affect whatsoever the shadow. In the end, he’s been left curling on the ground with the shadow’s simultaneous punch. Seeing what had become of them, the twins and Anastasia did not dare try to get anything. Though initially, the twins were
The week had gone by in a bland monotone. No unusual event bothered Z’s days, which, though quite masochistic, she hoped some disruption did occur. Given that she’d stopped being unconscious, she was always to be seen sitting on their chair and cheering her mind to have some motivation with listening to the rant-like discussion of their teachers. Their assessment in Ancientry Shadownian happened to be a prank. Ms. Marietta just wanted to see whether they’d take it seriously or not. Hearing them complain about the studying that had been wasted, she opened her book and started the class at once, satisfied that her subject wasn’t neglected. In Z’s opinion, the grumbles alone wouldn’t suffice as proof for such a claim, because they might be faking it, which she bet they would. Nevertheless, she was glad that the assessment didn’t happen. Yes, she did study, but she doubted her knowledge would be enough to pass her. Shadow Enhancement was no good either. They were
The demise of the most powerful class had been foretold when Blame went missing a year ago. Ever since then nothing seemed to have been right for the Skippers. Briane always complained to the teachers why they allowed Blame for a solo mission, which disrupted their classes, as Michelle would then start to argue that it was Blame’s fault for not telling them about it in the first place. Reigna always tried to stop them arguing while Jane would agree with Michelle. In the end, Hail would use his authority to make them go back to their seats, their mouth zipped. This scenario caused the teacher’s distress, owing for most instructors to be distant with the class, which was why, more often than not, their classes were suspended. Now that they have Blame back, they didn’t think she’d be separated from them once again. Even though she’d only been transferred to the Nobles, the fact that she’d never be with them irked Briane. He blamed and cursed the school’s system for putting Blam
Michelle was fuming as she massaged her throbbing head. She just woke up after she humiliated herself by losing consciousness. All the Skippers were at their Quarter’s Dining area, except to the two transfers who were still at the Infirmary. A part of Michelle kept nagging her, telling her that she stooped to the level of the transfers for not knowing her limit, but another part of her understood why such occurrences were to take place. She’s not weak, at least that much would never change. No matter what Mr. Heirt said, however mighty he thought of himself, he’d never get close to the comprehension of the Skipper’s ability, especially hers. Though yes, he did have a point that darkness wasn’t something a Wielder could control. Her mother had always been kind enough to remind her that every single day. “You were darkness itself, didn’t you know?” her mother would say, brushing her hair as they sat in the corner, facing the full-length mirror. The seven-year-o