A devastated land
Total ruin
A sky whose color cannot be distinguished between black and red
Fires burning everywhere
People screaming for help in order to survive
Who did this? No one knows
A young man stood from afar, with white skin and messy black hair, gazing at the devastation that had befallen that area.
It looked like a painting drawn by a professional artist rather than reality.
Yet he did not know who this artist was who had drawn this ruin.
The young man saw someone who looked like him from a distance, kneeling on the ground, unable to do anything.
His eyes said that he had lost his desire to live, or that he was on the verge of losing something dear to him.
In front of the one who resembled him lay the body of a girl with darkened blue hair. Injuries covered her body, and blood stained her clothes.
She finally opened her eyes.
The young man regained a glimmer of light in his eyes.
She whispered in a barely audible voice,
"Rain? Am I still alive?"
His expression became more lively. His emotions intertwined between deep sorrow and happiness; he did not know what he should feel at that moment.
"Yes, you're still alive. Don't speak, that would be difficult for you in a state like this."
The girl pressed her lips together as tears streamed from her eyes. She wanted to say something that had been in her heart for a long time.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. If only I hadn't stayed..."
"It's alright, this isn't your fault......."
Rain did not hear those parts of their conversation.
He stood in his place, waiting until ash covered the world and swallowed it.
A level of ash was formed.
Rain stood upon it in the void, with nothing surrounding him.
He looked in all directions until he saw the edge of a cliff. He walked toward it, wondering, 'What is this place?'
Rain sat on its edge. He could see nothing but emptiness.
[This seems miserable, doesn't it?]
Rain heard the voice clearly entering his ear. He felt terror and clasped his hands together.
He tightened his lips and finally uttered a sentence.
"W-who's there?"
[Here, behind you.]
Rain felt his body stiffen suddenly. He turned around with difficulty and saw a human like himself, but he wore a crown upon his head. His features were unclear.
Rain finally felt relieved and let out a long sigh.
His lips regained movement, and he said in a grim voice,
"Who are you?"
They stared at each other for a period that was not short.
[Who knows?]
That was not the answer Rain was expecting. He had expected him to say that he was one of the powerful, or even a god.
But who was this powerful being who would want to meet him? Was that logical?
The more Rain stared at the stranger's face, the less he could make out his features; instead, they grew more blurred. In the end, he stopped trying to distinguish his face.
A cold sensation crept up Rain's lower back, and fear appeared on his face once more.
"Wait… am I dead? Am I going to hell?"
The stranger looked at Rain with a playful gaze and burst out laughing.
[Sorry, I couldn't hold it in. What hell? Have you lost your mind?]
[The bottom line is that you haven't died yet.]
Rain felt relaxed once again, but he finally realized how strange the situation he was in truly was: a cliff of ash floating in the void. In the end, he asked once more.
"Do you use ash?"
The stranger moved and sat beside Rain. Suddenly, Rain felt tense.
[Isn't that obvious?]
"Indeed."
Seconds passed, then minutes turned into hours, and neither of them spoke. In the end, the stranger stood up and turned his back, walking away.
[I think this is the time for you to leave. You must return; they are waiting for you.]
Rain voiced his question,
"Wait, who are you? At least tell me that."
The stranger continued walking, ignoring Rain, but he spoke.
[It's not the right time for you to know that. Just don't consider ash a weak element, and do everything you can to protect the things you cherish.]
Rain did not want that answer.
The shadow of the stranger vanished from the horizon, leaving Rain alone.
Rain screamed at the top of his lungs,
"Wait!"
Suddenly, the surroundings around him became completely black, and he fell from a great height.
###########
Rain woke up inside a room with a single bed he had been lying on. He looked to his side and saw a vase of flowers.
"Was I dreaming? But what was that?"
He was lost in thought until he heard the sound of a door opening.
Rain looked toward the opened door and saw a young woman with darkened blue hair and blue eyes, wearing the academy uniform.
"R-Rafi?"
Rafi stared at him for a long time. She did not know what she should do in that moment; she had truly missed him.
"Rain, you've woken up."
She said that.
"What really happened?"
Rafi looked down and said,
"You were unconscious for two days."
Rain was shocked when he heard this answer, and his eyebrows lifted slightly.
"The doctors said you pushed yourself beyond your limits."
"Ah… so that's it."
Rain tried to stand up, but he staggered, so Rafi stepped forward and supported him with her shoulder.
"Don't move; that would be difficult for you."
Another voice was heard in the room.
"So, you've woken up. How lucky you are that you didn't die."
Rain and Rafi both looked toward the door and saw Nadiko-sensei leaning against it.
"Nadiko-sensei."
"Don't stay like that. Just go and restore your body's movement, because the real survival test will be tomorrow."
Rain felt as if a rock had fallen from the sky and struck his head. The news hit him like a thunderbolt.
"But I was injured."
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."
Nadiko-sensei truly could not do anything for him, as avoiding the test would certainly mean failure.
"Alright, I'll do my best."
Rain finally managed to stand on his own and was about to leave the room.
"I need to go regain my stamina."
But Rafi suddenly spoke.
"Rain."
"What?"
"Don't push yourself beyond your limits again!"
Rafi said that, and her cheeks reddened.
Rain received Rafi's advice with pleasure and happiness after seeing someone care about him. He smiled faintly and said,
"Alright, I'll do that."
He said that and left.
Only Rafi and Nadiko-sensei remained in the room.
Nadiko-sensei stared at Rafi and asked her,
"You… do you like him?"
Her cheeks grew even redder.
"What! Of course not, he's just my friend."
Nadiko-sensei laughed and spoke again.
"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing you."
"You should go as well and prepare."
"Yes, Nadiko-sensei."
Rafi carried out Nadiko-sensei's order and left quickly as well.
Soon, Nadiko-sensei was left alone in the room.
"I hope he becomes stronger one day as well."
The next morning in the academy courtyard,
All the students gathered from all levels: gold, silver, and bronze.
Rain stood among that crowd.
"Rain."
He turned around to find Rafi calling him.
They stood beside each other.
"This won't be easy."
"I know."
"We have to give it our best, Rafi."
"Yes."
A massive platform rose in front of the students. Nadiko-sensei, Professor Michael, and several other teachers stood upon it.
"Today is your test day. The academy will test your ability to survive in the wilderness. This will be a great opportunity to gain experience."
"As for team assignments, you will learn them when you arrive. The escort, Professor Caster, who will go with you there, will inform you."
"Enter the safe instant transfer gate. It will take you to your testing location. Good luck."
The students walked toward the transfer gate. It was glowing with a blue light.
Rain was about to enter, but his sense of danger told him that something strange would happen.
He saw Rafi behind him and pushed away those negative thoughts.
'I must ensure her safety no matter what happens.'
In the end, all the students entered the gate. Before it closed, its color turned red and then vanished completely.
The teachers saw what happened and were shocked.
"What happened?"
The teachers were panicked by what had occurred.
Nadiko-sensei stared in silence and said,
'I hope they are safe.'
Above the academy grounds once again, a masked person stood, staring at the gate that had disappeared. He took out a wireless communication device and said,
"My mission here is finished. The rest is up to them."
"Understood!"
############
The students and Caster emerged into the testing area.
The sky was clear, and a forest surrounded them with trees on all sides.
Rain took a deep breath.
"Ah… nature."
"What's wrong with you? You sound like an old man who loves nature," Rafi asked him.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Idiot."
"He—"
His words were cut off by the sound of students screaming.
Rain and Rafi ran toward Caster to find out what was happening.
"Professor Caster? What's going on?"
Cold sweat ran down Professor Caster's face, and he looked utterly terrified. He opened his mouth and said,
"T-This… this is not the testing area!"
---
End of chapter 6