Cassandra made her way among the crowd as if she was an idol of the old times, back when the news would be filled with celebrity gossip instead of government propaganda. Walking in between her mesmerized fans, people stared at her with admiration in their eyes and some of the most daring even attempted to speak to her, but they were quickly met by an icy glare.
"I see you made it, midget." Cassandra scoffed.
"I'm glad you're alright too Cassie" Luna said impassibly.
"You know I hate that name, geez! Anyways, I'm Heavenly Sword now." Cassandra said.
"That is... uh... too long..." Luna said in a stutter.
"Speak properly would you!? Why did I even bother coming here?" She said as she gazed at her sister's companions. "Hey you! do I know you?"
"I- Uh... ah... I take the anthropology course with you." Uriel said after flinching.
"For the love of... Huf! is the stutter contagious or what? Hmm... I remember now, you're the idiot that pulled my hair the other day! I see you made new friends, Luna, and they're just like you, that's good. Now come with me." With that, both sisters left towards the colonel who was already waiting for them.
The reason why she was called by the colonel was because he suspected that Cassandra might be the VIP Mister Flanagan was talking about, but Uriel didn't even bother trying to take a guess because he was still in a daze.
Cassandra wasn't just pretty, she was a force of nature and, if before meeting her in person Uriel was already interested in her, now he was starstruck.
"Uh, Uriel, are you still there?" Medusa said hovering a hand in front of him but he was unresponsive and the rest of the group chuckled.
The trip back to the city was safe and comfortable, the flight assistants made sure to hand over hot beverages to students and soldiers alike, they also provided snacks to go along with the drinks, something Uriel in particular really appreciated.
'Nothing tastes better than free food!' he heaved a content sigh after eating his full.
"Dear students, no, that's not it..." Colonel Windfire made a dramatic pause he rehearsed just a few minutes before standing up in front of everyone. "Fellow citizens, because that is the correct way to address you now, I stand before you..."
Uriel made his best effort to stay focused on the colonel's speech, but as soon as the propaganda started his mind drifted. There was no space inside his mind for useless information and he was still drowsy and tired.
His tired expression, his distracted demeanor and his carefree attitude, all changed the minute Cassandra was invited to stand besides the colonel.
"This is Sword, the only one among this year aspirants to acquire a Heavenly rank trait and I'm glad to announce that she will be joining the army ranks."
Uriel's attention was drawn towards the apparently emotionless girl on the podium thinking that maybe she would introduce herself, but she quickly stepped out and left the scene leaving him disappointed.
'What am I thinking, Tina just broke up with me, I shouldn't be acting like this." He softly slapped his cheeks to regain focus.
"As you all know..." Colonel Windfire continued his boring speech, but now he had Uriel's full attention. "We had many victims this year. I would like to tell you that something like this has never happened before, but it's time for you to know the truth. You're not kids anymore and your days of being sheltered end today.
"Year after year, you may have heard about the army forcefully drafting the strongest students... I'm sorry to say this, but that's not the truth. Even if we wanted to forcefully draft students, we would be left with reluctant soldiers who wouldn't perform their duties. No, that's not it. Those students weren't forcefully drafted and taken out of the city to a training facility, the sad truth behind that is... they're all dead."
The students reacted just like kids who were told Santa doesn't exist. They couldn't believe his words, but there was no trace of his usual kind smile nor did he squint his eyes. Colonel Windfire was dead serious.
"You may be wondering how could something like that be the truth, how come none of you knew about it. It's only to protect you, to protect your childhood... your innocence. If this was the old times, some of you may still be in highschool and your only worry would be which career path to choose, but those days are over, times are difficult and you've been deemed worthy of acquiring a trait. That's a responsibility as much as it is a privilege, from now on you're all considered adults and proper citizens of our beautiful country."
He proceeded to explain how they were forbidden to share this information with people inside the city, remarking the fact that it was considered a capital offensea, and the only ones who would be notified about the deceased students would be the closest relatives.
Finally Uriel understood why everyone's mood turned grim whenever the army announced the drafting of young students, why they wouldn't let kids acquire traits in spite of it being a 'safe' process, why so many people joined the army despite the pay being so low and also, why lieutenant Dragonfang acted so strange in front of them.
Humanity was actually fighting a losing war.
'Maybe Sam's theory isn't so crazy after all... maybe there are entire cities being wiped from the map...' He thought back on the lost city he briefly saw during his incursion.
Among the students, there were those that seemed shocked after the grim revelation made by the colonel, but there were also those who didn't bat an eye, as if they had known it from before.
Most of those students were, precisely, the rich ones.
'Just how unfair is this society that only the ones with enough money are allowed to know the truth of what happens behind the scenes? it's as if even if the world was to end, they would still keep everyone in the dark just so they kept doing their jobs. They still need their drivers, maids, plumbers... janitors.' His very own thought was a revelation, it was like opening his eyes to the truth for the first time.
'No way, this can't be it... could it be... Did the world already end!?' Uriel's eye twitched and he inadvertently took a step back. 'this is... the world after the world ended. We are a lost civilization!'