Nico groaned as his eyelids fluttered open. Darkness occupied his vision. He was still a little dazed… all that happened in the trial leaving a brutal mark on him. One that he didn't know would ever fade.
Only time would tell.
Shaking his head, Nico slowly sat up. Looking around, he observed that the mysterious fog had retreated. The only source of light in the cabin came from the rectangular entrace, small pinpricks of light filtering through a tiny gap in the door.
That was enough of an illumination for Nico to gain his bearings.
He wearily stood up and staggered in the darkness toward the door, his hand in front of him to intercept any object in his path. After a minute or so of stumbling, Nico tentatively made contact with the wooden egress.
Nico pushed, and immediately winced at the onslaught of light which streamed into his darkness-adjusted pupils. He blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes to quickly become accustomed to his brightly-lit surroundings.
Slowly, he stepped forward, his nervous peers reflected in his gaze. Nico felt slightly uncomfortable when his fellow trainees who sought to undergo the trial of hope all shifted and stared at him… searching for any sign of how he had fared.
The brown-haired boy shrugged off the attention, keeping a neutral face. His gaze swept through the space surrounding the cabins and ancient effigies before coming to a stop.
William stood a fair distance away, engrossed with the clipboard in his hands.
Nico quickly strode over to his pale-haired instructor.
As he neared, the Head instructor lifted his head.
Nico swore that he could almost see a gleam in William's eyes.
"How did it go?" the scarred man casually asked.
Unbeknownst to the brown-haired trainee, his instructor was actually pretty anxious inside. He hoped that Nico had passed.
Why?
Well, William would say it was the same reason back during the duels. This student of his had a unique ability to get people to root for him… which was made all the more apparent by his complete charming of Phantom.
"The spirit said I passed." Nico spoke quietly. One would think he appeared to be despondent, if not for the slow curve of his lips.
William showed an uncharacteristic grin, "Great! With that, I can officially declare you have graduated from the Camp. Congratulations!" Maybe his student's euphoria had affected him, but the white-haired man spoke with less of a bite in his voice.
"Thanks." Nico grinned.
William promptly marked something on his clipboard, before nodding his head in a certain direction. "Go join your peers over there who have finished their trials. I'll make a collective announcement when everyone is done."
"Sure thing." Nico nodded and cast his gaze in the direction the scarred man had motioned to. There, a sizable number of youngsters milled about.
They were split into two groups.
The bunch to the right had lively expressions, conversing with those beside them animatedly. Satisfied grins coloured their features.
To the left, however, it was vastly different. Gloom encased those trainees in a depressing embrace. The mood was heavy, miserable and full of sorrow.
Nico observed his peers wear crushed expressions, their shoulders slumping down at their new fate.
He silently joined those who had passed their trials. Nico stood a fair bit to the side. He did not want to chat with anyone…
He promptly sat down, crossed his legs and closed his eyes.
The brown-haired boy regulated his breathing, scrunched his brows in a frown and entered the meditative state. However, this time it proved to be more difficult. The dark mass appeared to be stronger and more aggressive… as if bolstered by the events which had occurred during the trial of hope.
In this state of peace and clarity, Nico attempted to deal with his inner turmoil. If left unchecked, he had a feeling it might become something of a hindrance in the future.
'Ugh, why do I have to think so much?'
Nico inwardly groaned to himself. This was why he liked action more than reading… of which the latter had a hell of a lot more thought involved.
Henry's tome describing the events of the Second Great War may have changed his mind to some degree, yet there was a small part of Nico that still stuck to the opinion that fighting was better.
As he had just mentioned, conflict was simple, at least relatively so. All you had to do was bring your opponent down and make sure you lived to tell the tale.
Instead, being philosophical… ruminating over the importance hope had on an individual and attempting to dissect his emotions, was much harder and convoluted by contrast.
Nico sighed bitterly to himself. That trial had a profound effect on him… it was as if his whole outlook on life had just become that much bleaker.
'I guess seeing the actual reality of what happened and is currently happening against the Demons, gave me some sort of shock…' he mused.
It was to the point that Nico wondered if he was slightly crazy for seeking such conflict.
'Nah, there's no way I could be crazy. I haven't experienced anything truly dire for that to happen...'
He shook his head and paused his introspection.
He slowly opened his eyes and shifted his gaze to the sky. By his own estimation, Nico guessed it was currently mid-morning, nearing noon.
The trials were too go on for a few more hours at least.
Nico rubbed his face, before the sound of hurried footsteps streamed into his ears. He turned his head… and found Henry's scrawny form rushing up to him.
He couldn't help but feel a bubble of panic rise up, but that soon died down.
The reason: his friend had a bright smile on his pale face.
If all the euphoria in the world were to be combined together, it would fail to reach the sheer joy his farmer friend exhibited, Nico thought.
"Nico! Nico! I did it! I passed!" Henry enveloped his friend in a crushing hug once the brown-haired boy stood up.
Nico laughed in delight and returned the green-eyed trainee's unexpected embrace.
A few seconds later, they parted. The raven-haired trainee failed to suppress the elated grin on his face.
"I'm glad you passed," Nico said, meaning every word of it.
"Thanks!" Henry replied giddily as his smiled widened…which was somehow still possible even after grinning from ear to ear.
"How was your trial?" The farmer asked suddenly, his curiousity overflowing.
"It was… certainly something, to say the least," the maroon-eyed boy sighed, his face darkening briefly.
"Ah, sorry!" Henry issued a hasty apology. It seemed his habit of asking insensitive questions had flared up in full force.
He then clenched his fist, what he had experienced in the trials flashing before his eyes. He pressed his lips together into a thin, determined line.
Eventually, the young farmer sighed.
The duo idly chatted with each other as time continued to tick by. Soon, they learned another piece of great news.
Leon had passed his own trial as well!
The half-blood had walked up to them wordlessly without showing any emotion. This had scared the two of them and for a heart-stopping second, they briefly wondered if their friend had failed.
That theory was thrown out the moment it formed… as Leon grinned and announced his success in the trial.
"It was never in doubt!" Henry joked, slapping his stocky companion on the back.
Leon only smiled in response.
Nico studied the burly half-blood. Leon seemed to to stand straighter, his posture more stalwart and unflinching… searching his eyes, the brown-haired boy was shocked when his friend did not refuse his gaze.
In fact, he stared back at him in the eye with confidence.
Nico's curiosity piqued. He inwardly wondered what his burly friend had experienced in the trial to cause such a transformation.
Eventually, the trio from the third hut grew tired of conversing and each sat down, entering the meditative state - as Nico had done prior.
Several hours passed quietly like this… until their instructor's clear voice reverberated through the space, snapping them out of their introspection.
"May I have everyone's attention please," the Head instructor cleared his throat. "First of all, I would like to congratulate those of you who have been successful within their trials. This should go a long way in building your confidence for what you're about to face next," Willam's gaze swept through the large bunch of trainees who piled up to the right.
He estimated about thirty to thirty-five of his students had passed, based on the size of the group. About sixty percent were more or less successful.
Which was not bad. At all.
William's face darkened briefly. He sighted Lucas standing amongst those who had passed. The stanburg heir was destined to succeed in the trials. That, however, didn't make it any less unpleasant.
"Secondly, a little message for those who failed: Keep your chin up. This is not the end of the world. There will be many more opportunities for you to prove your 'worth'. I promise you, all's not lost." the white-haired instructor's gaze rippled with sympathy for the poor trainees.
He knew more than most what it felt like. He was one of the mundane, after all. However, he did not give up. Look where that got him: a distinguished mercenary and an employee of one of the most prominent academies in the whole Empire.
"Now that you're time in the Camp is coming to a close, I have sent out a message to inform your parents or guardians to come pick you up. The agreed rendezvous point is the City of Valdence, which is just next door. We well be departing in an hour, make sure you have all your belongings with you…" William took a deep breath and stared his students in the eye, before he intoned for the final time:
"Dismissed."