AETHER NIGHTBLADE
Monday had finally come. Just for today our schedule had been different, my friends and I were now heading towards the measuring room after leaving our battalion's building.
Behind us were units 01-05 and ours leading the battalion – unit 00. I was the squad leader and also the operations commander for my battalion.
We reached the abode of ascension and entered the building. It was a large and wide building, the walls coloured white and panes of glass ran through the walls, making the building seem even larger than it actually was.
Bright rays of light were falling on us as we entered this building we had heard about from our teacher – the Professor. The floor was of white marble with intricate patterns of dark blue stone.
Much to our confusion the building was cold and very much so at that.
The Professor and the Giver were standing beside a large amethyst crystal. The Giver was an old man with white hair and greyish eyes, he was wearing a long white robe.
The Giver then spoke, his voice echoing throughout the building, "I see that all the Users of the 7th battalion have assembled here, we shall now begin the force value tests, I request the battalion commander to ask units 05-01 to begin sending Users one at a time for value determination."
I gestured for NightFox to head over, I could see the worry and anxiety on their faces as they went to the crystal and placed their hand on it one by one. Unit 05 was done with the tests in a few minutes and they came back with looks of relief on their faces.
The Giver then spoke, "Unit 05 has finished testing, each member has successfully passed the threshold of force value 4000, collective class has been decided to be C"
"Class placements and weapons will be allotted at a later date, 04 please head forward."
The other units too qualified without a hitch and then there was also something that none of us had expected.
"Your excellence is proved, well done unit 02. You have managed this feat within phase one of your training."
They were given B as their collective class.
Each individual rank had 10 sub-ranks, 1 for every 100 values. Units on the other hand, were given classes based on the overall force of the team.
Unit 01 qualified without any problems either. If things continued this way, we would all be placed in the intelligence units.
It was now unit 00's turn, my teammates headed over and came back one by one, they seemed happy and Venti was practically beaming.
"I got Rank-B10 for sure", said Venti grinningly.
"Calm down, it's not over yet, besides I'm pretty sure I got a Rank-B10 myself.", Arthur said camly.
Nevera headed over to the crystal and placed his hand on it, it shined brightly and gave a faint sound.
Gasps were heard not long after, the Giver and the Professor seemed happy about his result.
"Nevera Daylight, you have surpassed our expectations, you are a Rank-B2 User, your force value is 2200", said the Giver while spreading his hands in approval.
"You will be sent to the Central dominion for further training alongside your team."
I thought hard about what the Giver just said, the Central dominion- the capital of Verdana, a place where people other than Users resided. There were rumors that 'normal' people and their families lived there.
A place where there were bustling markets and malls, long highways and underground trains.
Of course this was all just a rumor.
The place where the Central Classroom was situated…
My battalion was trained and stationed at the Hallways of Eden- a place far away from the Central dominion, out in the outskirts of Verdana. Large Classrooms were said to be in the 'Gardens of Eden'.
"Thank you, it is my honour.", Nevera and returned to where we were lined up.
"Finally, Captain-Commander, please come this way for testing."
My heart raced like never before. My throat felt dry and my senses were heightened. I realized I was being overly conscious of myself and decided to calm down.
I walked at my own pace towards the crystal, my footsteps unheard. I could hear my own breaths, there was no other sound after all.
I had gained some fame for walking while making absolutely no sound.
What happened next was something completely unprecedented, something that put Nevera's achievement to shame, in fact it was something horrifying and it could change the course of my entire battalion's life.
I placed my hand on the crystal, it didn't glow.
It didn't react to my force at all.
But then, the deep purple colour of the crystal started swirling around.
It's colour got darker and it started changing in shape.
From a large crystal, to a tetrahedron, to a pyramid then a dodecahedron before finally became a cube.
It became black in colour and started pulling in light.
Strong winds blew and we lost our footing.
The cube expanded and grew bigger.
I held on to a pole and avoided being sucked into the cube shaped void.
As if it had enough, it shattered and broke to splinters that shot out in every direction, breaking some of the glass panes in the process.
"Aether Nightblade." The Professor said palely.
"Special grade."