"Results of the trial?"
"Excellent, Your Majesty.", the supervisor knelt before the Demon Emperor.
In his shadowed form, he sat on the throne in his palace. The lights were dim to accommodate his needs and the air was cold and stale. Black fog emanated from his figure, spreading across the spotless floor. It sent shivers down the supervisor's spine.
With a brief greeting, the supervisor reported everything that occurred in the third section to the emperor. He listened intently, scanning her for any fraudulent or impure words. She carefully held a paper slightly away from herself, documenting all of the sacrifices the applicants had made.
He raised a finger and the paper floated up from her hand and closer to himself. Spatial magic was artificially enchanted on the paper to allow it to hold much more than it seemed. He scanned through it in a matter of seconds.
The supervisor's brows furrowed, hoping the emperor would find it satisfactory.
He spoke in the silence, "Cael. The applicant who staked his life."
"Yes, Your Majesty! The applicant, Cael, was the only applicant who pledged his life.", the supervisor replied swiftly, "Shall an investigation be conducted?"
"Hm...No.", the emperor's tone was slightly pleased, looking at the applicant's profile on the paper, "Tell me the highest performers in the examination."
The supervisor recited a lengthy list of applicants, "The most notable are those from 1st to 29th ranking. Since this ranking was made in prediction of the performance inside the entrance examination, it is not official yet and may be subject to change. The 29th-"
For the next 5 minutes, she took the time to recite it all, but not an ounce of dissatisfaction was shown on her face. When she was done, the emperor tapped his chin.
"Investigate them."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After a few moments of deliberation, the emperor gave the paper back, letting it fall into the supervisor's open palms. He rested his hand on the throne's armrest.
"Dismissed."
Then, the supervisor vanished.
***
Amazing. This is what the academy looks like... My eyes widened.
In front, stood the towering Demon Academy. It was completely made of wood, polished and refined perfectly. Trees stood in the surrounding area. Gold and silver lanterns on black poles lined the stone walkway leading to the academy doors, while sunlight shone gently on certain parts of the academy, making it look ethereal.
If this was a classic fantasy novel, it wouldn't be described as demonic at all.
Breathtaking. I breathed in and out. The air was quiet, peaceful. It was one thing to write and describe it on a computer; it was another thing to see it in person--in real life!
At the moment, several students gathered in a large plaza, with the red demon guide standing in front of us.
"How does it look? This is where you will be learning for the next 5 years. The Demon Academy!"
"Ooh~", one demon exclaimed.
"And now, I will lead and guide you to the essential buildings on the campus. From the classrooms, cafeteria, library, to the dormitories. You will be given your room keys at the end of the day, so don't get lost!"
The red demon turned around and began guiding us through the campus. I knew we would be given a map in the next few days though, so I didn't bother paying attention.
I looked around. To prevent the place from becoming cluttered, the other student groups and their guides were made invisible to each other and the instructors. As such, the academy was unusually quiet--almost odd.
As we walked into the academy, while everyone admired the interior, I looked into a particular dark corner that the light didn't reach. I raised an eyebrow. There was something watching.
Not long after, we moved on to another area, touring the academy and visiting places like the library and cafeteria. However, when I looked down, I was shaking. I brought my hands to my face.
"..?"
It was cold.
But, the coldness didn't remain for long, and disappeared within a few minutes.
Danger, again? I tilted my head. Or maybe it's a clue on who's going to be my homeroom teacher this year. I went through my memories on the various instructors of the Demon Academy to figure out who it was.
Unknowingly, as my thoughts became more complex, more rapid, a specific feeling built up in my chest. Eventually, it formed a singular thought.
I want to rest.
I pushed it back down, continuing to deliberate.
If there's danger, I should come up with backup plans. Though, it's unlikely. I put my hand on my chin.
However, after that, the tour went rather smoothly. No incidents happened and everyone was successfully able to visit all the necessary academy buildings before nightfall. No ghosts, no monsters, nothing. I felt a little confused by the end of it, perhaps I was too used to danger at this point. The tour took around 2 hours in total.
An orange light descended from the afternoon sky.
Before I realized it, we ended up in the plaza again. The red demon turned around to face us.
"Alright, that marks the end of it. Does anyone have any questions?"
Several demons looked at each other, then shook their heads.
"Nope!"
The demon guide smiled, "Then, if no one has any questions, I will hand out your dorm keys. Your assigned dorm is on the key."
He gestured where the dormitory was, "I already showed you the location of the dorms, but if just so no one forgets, it's straight to the left."
Afterward, he snapped his fingers, and 5 dorm keys appeared out of thin air. Ka!
They were black keys with tiny demonic chants carved all over them. Slowly, they floated over to their respective owners. One landed in my hand. I inspected it, it looked exactly like what I had imagined. Just in case, I inspected it a few more times.
"Hey, wait, where'd he go?"
But when the cadets looked up, the demon guide was no longer there. He vanished.
Everyone looked at each other, "I guess we go back to our dorm?"
"I want to go eat! Maybe the cafeteria has something now."
"I'm going to the library."
Meanwhile, I stared down at the key in my hand. My mind was quiet.
Without waiting to observe the cadets, I turned and walked to the dormitory building. The dormitory wasn't too far; it was only a 5-minute walk. It looked somewhat like the academy building, except it was shaped just like a wide apartment that was a little more sophisticatedly designed. It was quite tall as well, having 6 floors.
I pushed open the building doors and entered. I felt that cold feeling again but ignored it and went straight up the stairs to the 2nd floor. I looked at my key. When looking at it, a string of characters appeared in my head.
"120B...", I whispered.
I navigated the dormitory, the walls having symbols carved that indicated the letter section: A, B, and C. Going through section B, I quickly found my dorm among the line of doors. On it, a string of characters were carved into the wood: 120B
Krr. Putting the key in the keyhole, I turned it, and the door opened without struggle. Ka-cha!
Creaak- Behind the door was a quiet, simple room. Much like the inn I stayed at, there was a bed in the corner, a window looking out the dorm, and a table and chair. Except this time, the table also had a built-in mirror on the wall.
I entered and closed the door. The feeling that I'd pushed down before started to surface. Without bothering to look in the mirror, I took a step forward. Then another. I did so mechanically, my body swaying and walking carefully so as to not even trip.
I arrived next to the bed.
I let the key fall out of my hands. I feel...tired.
Clank.
Something pulled my mind down, and my thought struggled to complete itself. I got on the bed, lay down, then tucked myself under the blanket. I stayed still.
I recalled everything that had happened during the entrance exams, from the first section, the third section, then the maze. The dizzying fights, the constant highs of impending death--the image of the 5 charred bodies splattered all over the area was vivid in my mind. I wondered, muttering quietly.
"Would my parents be proud of me if they saw what I did?"
I blinked, and closed my eyes. My head sank into the pillow.
The bed was exceedingly comfortable. The pillow was firm yet soft, and the mattress was several times more comfortable than the one in the inn. I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness, but let myself go, without resistance.
Everything became dark. My breathing slowed, longer and longer intervals coming between them, before even the sound of it became muffled, and I stopped hearing it entirely.
It was like I was dropped into an ocean. My body became limp.
For the first time, I finally let exhaustion take over. Everything felt sluggish, and time seemed to move slower. I became unsure how long each second became, but I didn't pay it any mind. Over time, my head became increasingly heavy, and I couldn't imagine any place that could be better than this.
It felt comfortable. It felt safe. It felt...peaceful.
Everything that seemed to matter faded away. I sank deeper. I didn't want to leave.
The last bit of air in my lungs dissipated in the ocean. At some point, I heard something click, open. Then again. Huh, why do I feel like I'm missing something?
Something important...but that feeling, too, faded away. I felt the urge to smile, but couldn't move my body. More distance was created between me and the ocean surface, where light shone in. I sank deeper.
Deeper...deeper....deeper.....
I need to wake up.
Suddenly, I stopped sinking.
I need to wake up.
Something shifted in the water--growing even more tempting, making me want to forget ever existing in the first place. My body felt numb, fatigued even more than before I had fallen into bed, and I couldn't move.
My mind struggled to form thoughts. My heart was beating slowly. I couldn't hear my breath--as if I no longer had a body, a soul. No meaning.
But regardless, something I couldn't discern twitched. I couldn't feel it. I tried to clench my fist, but...how do I do that again? I wanted to bang against a window, scream "I'm here", but here where?
I am... I am... My name is...
Wake up.
Eventually, I stopped caring about trying to remember who I was. Knowing my sense of self wasn't necessary. My name isn't important, not who I was, nor what I was. The most important thing is that... I want to live.
Then, I felt something new.
Desperation.
Thump. My heart beat. Foo... I could feel my breath. Something disturbed the ocean, and I could feel my finger twitch. I tried with all my might to open my eyes. They were heavy. My breathing became faster, sweat drenched me all over, and I could feel termites crawling on my body. I screamed.
WAKE UP!
I opened my eyes.
The ocean turned brown, with both shadows and light. It became...a ceiling. The ceiling of...my dorm. Now, I remembered.
I'm not done yet. The protagonist is still out there. In a few months, he'll hunt me down. Fate encourages my death regardless if I was the one who created it.
If I stay, I'll die.
So I need to do something about it.
But there was still that sluggishness in my body, like I was moving in a swamp. My thoughts still struggled to form. I realized--simply waking up isn't enough.
No matter how tired I felt, I pulled myself, sitting up. My body swayed, and I couldn't sit up straight. I raised my hand weakly, then dragged myself out of bed. I stood up, and gritted my teeth. Still sluggish.
Walking to the table, I grabbed the chair--and threw it. CRASH! The chair was thrown onto the ground with uncontrolled strength, but internally, it did nothing. Again, I opened the drawer. I grabbed everything in it and banged them on the table, then smashed them on the wall. BANG! Again, again, DO IT AGAIN!
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!
My breathing became ragged and my limbs twitched. I nearly stumbled trying to get to the broken pieces of chair on the floor. I grabbed anything I could to get myself to move.
THUD! CRACK! CLATTER! Banging, throwing, punching. The blankets tore, the mirror shattered, and my head felt dizzy from breathing so fast. But I could feel it, the tiredness slowly becoming disturbed and being replaced with a rush. At some point, I felt pain. But it was only more proof that I still existed.
And after an unknown amount of time, the tiredness disappeared entirely. Immediately, I stopped, breathing heavily.
I'm in...my dorm? I looked around, eyes wide and fists clenched. I stood in the middle of the room, unmoving. My gaze moved slowly. The chair, broken into several pieces scattered all over the floor. The table that was on the verge of collapse, the drawer pulled too far out and about to fall. I noticed a comb snapped in half, and the dorm key lying across the room. The blankets and sheets were all torn up, and the air was stale--full of dust.
I didn't know what to think. I looked down at my hands, and they were full of cuts. My knuckles bled, the blood dripping onto the floor.
Then, at that moment, I heard a knock.
Tap tap.
"Cadet Cael. Are you awake?"
I looked up from my hands, at the door. The person behind it didn't say anything more. However, even after several more knocks, I didn't move or react, just staring blankly. Unexpectedly, I heard the knob turn.
Click. Ka-cha.
The door creaked open, and standing behind it, was the entrance exam supervisor. She didn't blink as her eyes moved across the room, then to me.
Then, I regained clarity, and a single thought appeared in my head. ...What a familiar scene.
She said calmly, "Greetings, Cadet Cael. It seems there is no problem."
"The academy has a policy to disqualify cadets that haven't regained mental clarity after 3 days. You have been sleeping for 2. We advise you to replenish yourself to prevent malnourishment."
Then, she waved her finger, and pieces of broken wood floated up. They pieced themselves back together, and in just a few seconds, everything had been restored to how it looked a few days ago. Wisps of black mana surrounded me, healing the cuts on my hand and returning the blood.
She looked at me again, and nodded, "Then, we look forward to seeing you in class."
Ka-cha. She closed the door, and left. Her footsteps faded into the distance. Step, step...step...
I waited until her footsteps faded entirely, and tilted my head. Well, I guess that's that.
I dusted myself off, and walked to the corner of the room to pick my dorm key up. I still felt the adrenaline rush through my blood, making my steps a little faster than usual. I placed it on the table and raised my hand to open the window curtains.
However, just as I was about to open it, I heard another knock at the door.
Tap tap tap.
I paused, and retrieved my hand. I approached the door and opened it. There was no one behind it.
But when I looked down, there it was--a simple, black box. I smiled.
Ah, this must be my uniform.