"We could have teleported?" Szedra's voice sliced through the tense atmosphere, breaking the silence that had gripped the room.
Szedra's words confirmed the nightmarish reality Tess believed she was trapped in—a never-ending loop of torment.
Zino's brows furrowed deeper, confusion mingling with a rising sense of betrayal. Doubt gnawed at her mind, threatening to burst through the seams. She yearned for an explanation, desperate to make sense of the suffering they had endured.
Zack's gaze dropped to the ground, his hand instinctively moving to cover his face. The weight of Sensei's sadistic actions pressed upon him, questioning why their suffering seemed to bring pleasure to their mentor.
Lanse's arms tensed, his grip tightening on the bed's edge. Fury coursed through him like a wildfire. "Ten minutes to teleport?" he seethed, his voice tinged with rage. "We had more than enough time, waiting there like sitting ducks!"
Sensei's voice snapped back, cutting off any further outburst from Lanse, "Not in your case." He stepped away from the window, his piercing gaze shifting from one pair of eyes to another. "Your telecoms weren't bonded to individual transmission glyphs," he retorted sharply. " So that option wasn't available to you."
His words hung heavy in the air, their implications sinking in. "Sorcery chants are like a switch when made to be initiated by non-living objects. Hence, chants can not change to perform something other than what they were initially created to perform.
"The only resolution there requires different glyphs to be rebonded to your telecoms, and the idea of equipping each of you with two devices for individual and group teleportation, had been discarded. And why was that so?"
Sensei took a moment to answer his own question, his eyes never leaving theirs. "Having all of you rendezvous in one location before teleporting ensures that all five of you are accounted for and return here together."
A stunned silence enveloped the room as Sensei leaned back against the window, his gaze now fixed on the ground. His tone softened, carrying the weight of a tragic memory. "I know the nature of humans, how fear drives us to make selfish decisions. But I believe each of you was chosen for a reason. It will take more than one person to prevent the unspeakable from happening."
His last words doused the fiery rage that had burned within the recruits. For Tess, they stirred a profound sense of regret, as she recalled selfishly abandoning her teammates and using them as a diversion. Regret felt foreign to her, an unwelcome sensation clawing at her conscience.
Zack had left Szedra behind, forsaking her in the pursuit of his own survival. Deep down, he knew he would have left her regardless of her condition. The memory weighed heavily on his heart.
As Zino reached the forest, her original plan was to escape as far away as possible, leaving her companions behind. But the searing pain in her body and her unresponsive arm forced her to halt, confronting the consequences of her decision.
Szedra, aware that she couldn't teleport without her teammates, pressed the distress signal, knowing that if their pursuers caught up, they would all meet the same fate as the lifeless figures from her haunting vision. The desperation to teleport and save herself had fueled her actions.
Lanse, confronted with the sight of his fallen comrades surrounding him, had made a fateful choice. Rather than fighting the enigmatic figure with black hair, he surrendered the fragment, hoping it would spare his life.
However, awakening in the same room as the rest of his teammates shattered any hope that his plan had succeeded. He was acutely aware that his death mirrored Zack's, and he resolved to keep it a secret, never to be discovered.
The young recruits' gazes shifted aimlessly, their thoughts consumed by the weight of Sensei's words. If only they possessed the power to teleport independently, they would have seized any opportunity to escape, fragment or no fragment. The realization struck them like lightning, igniting a desperate need to find those elusive ten minutes that could have carried them away from the clutches of danger.
Szedra's mind raced, exploring the possibilities that could have saved her. What if she had feigned death, lying motionless on the ground, granting her the precious time needed to teleport?
But doubt crept in, tainting her hopes. The haunting question of the glowing blue light plagued her thoughts. What if their pursuers had seen it, deciphered her escape attempt, and swiftly ended her life? She bit down on her lip, frustration and regret intertwining within her.
The others, much like Szedra, retreated into the solace of imagined scenarios where they possessed the ability to teleport. In these vivid alternate realities, their minds spun intricate webs of escape routes and outcomes, the lingering traces of their selfish desires. Self-loathing seeped into their beings, intensifying the sting of Sensei's reasoning, leaving behind searing wounds of remorse.
In an attempt to divert the conversation, Zack mustered the courage to seek answers to his lingering questions before time slipped away. "Sensei, was it sorcery that healed our wounds?" he inquired, hopeful for a revelation.
Sensei's response cut through the air, dispelling any mystical notions. "No," he stated matter-of-factly, his words landing like a sudden gust of wind. "You healed on your own, just like Tess did when she plummeted from the mountain."
A smug smirk danced upon Sensei's lips, and Tess's intuition caught the mocking undertone. She recoiled, unease creeping up her spine, vividly recalling the day she woke up in the infirmary, with Sensei's smile mocking her miraculous recovery.
Sensei's eyes drifted upward, fixating on the ceiling as he pondered his next words. "Healing through sorcery, to achieve the state you currently embody, is... yet to be discovered," he finally admitted, the weight of uncharted knowledge in his voice.
Zack's shoulders slumped in disappointment, his gaze falling to the ground in resignation. The allure of magical healing had been shattered, leaving him disheartened and yearning for answers beyond the realm of his grasp.
Intrigued by the topic, Tess summoned her courage and posed a daring question. "Are you a wizard, Sensei?" Her choice of words held a hint of mischievousness, knowing the potential trap she had set.
The term "wizard" carried various connotations throughout the ages, often veering between a skilled magic practitioner and a madman.
Lanse, observing Tess's audacity, leaned back on his arms, shaking his head in anticipation. He recognized her cunning, unveiling her hidden intentions behind the query. A subtle flicker danced across his lips, a valiant effort to suppress an emerging smile, acknowledging her wicked genius.
"No," Sensei replied, his gaze fixed on an unseen point above their heads. "If you want the answer you seek, ask my lieutenant, Annie." The gravity of his words hung in the air, causing their eyes to widen in astonishment.
An incredulous expression painted Zack's face as the revelation settled in. "Annie's a Chewlete?" he blurted, unable to fathom the idea, especially considering her seemingly normal appearance with brown hair and glasses. "It's always the cute ladies that keep secrets right under your noses."
Sensei's eyes descended, narrowing as he assessed the audacity of the cadet's remark. The teenage lingo and casual admiration for his second-in-command left Sensei bemused. What was it with teenagers these days?
Tess, her arms folded defiantly, interjected, probing for more information. "So, I guess you and us are the only non-Chewletes in this place, huh?"
Sensei met her gaze with a stoic expression, unperturbed by her unwavering resolve. He sensed her unspoken message, her determination not to be controlled, whether he knew her status as a Syb-victim or not.
In a twisted twist of her own words, he cryptically replied, "Don't worry, that burning question in your mind will be answered sooner than you think. It's always the weird ones that keep secrets right under your noses."
His statement perplexed the others, who interpreted it as a general promise to answer their questions in due time, unaware of the hidden meaning it held for Tess. Their brows furrowed in confusion, assuming Sensei was merely referring to his lieutenant as being peculiar rather than cute.
Yet, Tess understood his veiled reference all too well. He knew about her status as a covert Syb-victim, the one concealing her crest and pretending to be ordinary, hiding in plain sight. As if time stood still, she stared into the void, unwilling to accept this undeniable truth.
Locked in a silent standoff, their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity, each testing the other's ability to shield their emotions behind impassive masks. The sudden creak of the door snapped them out of their trance, redirecting their attention to the elderly figure who emerged.
The memories flooded their minds, transporting them back to that pivotal meeting in the dimly lit room on their very first day at Primus. The elder, draped in long, flowing yellow garments, glided toward them with an ethereal grace, almost defying gravity itself. Each step seemed to hover above the ground, intensifying the air of mystique surrounding him.
Sensei leaned away from the window, his hands falling to his sides. "Professor, you're right on time," he acknowledged, his gaze shifting to the five teenagers perched on their beds. "Let's delve into those burning questions you all seek answers to."
A hushed silence fell upon them as they observed the enigmatic figure, whom they had encountered only once during their orientation. His name eluded their memory, leaving them wondering why he had appeared now. He halted in the center aisle, commanding their attention.
"Don't tell me you cadets are afraid of the Professor?" Sensei taunted. "Why is everyone so silent?"
"Verily, I hope not," the Professor uttered in a tremulous voice. "I do humbly beg thy pardon for the tardiness of mine arrival," he spoke, bowing his head in deference. "An unanticipated conclave with the other venerable council members concerning the safeguarding of our fair city did hold me captive, I must confess."
The peculiar speech concealed the message of alarm and peril within the Professor's words. Sensei caught a glimpse of Tess, and she took notice. She surmised that the old man too was privy to her secret, which infuriated her.
She blurted out, "Not the old man and his freaky dialect," she whispered softly, hoping her words reached his ears.
Sensei eased backward, his back meeting the cool surface of the window. With a fluid motion, he lifted one leg and pressed it firmly against the sturdy wall. His voice, rich and authoritative, pierced the air like a blade through darkness.
"No doubt," he began, his words laced with a foreboding sense of imminent peril, "that has to do with the five guardians here and their failed mission." His piercing gaze penetrated the Professor, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. "Tell me, Professor," Sensei demanded, his voice carrying the weight of urgency, "was that the last fragment and is the world really ending?"
The room seemed to hold its breath, anticipating the Professor's response.