The sun had sunken just past the noon summit, leaving Daron and Julian to view the various shadows from the rays cast through the numerous trees on the campus grounds and leave their previous conversation still to bounce in their mind. As they walked, the conversations of students around them drifted close.
A liveliness filled the atmosphere as they talked about the morning, strange encounters in the campus, and their experiences with different professors.
The cafeteria, the epicenter of any campus' activity; the sound of trays and the smell of food, the walking and chattering of students, and a verified center for them to spread gossip.
Settling into their table, Daron continued off from their earlier conversation. "Julian, do you think there's a purpose to all these tests and challenges? It feels like there's something in the background of it all, a hidden plan, or something."
"I've thought the same thing. It's like the college is testing us past just our abilities. And Professor Senara's cryptic words... though only for you, it's like she's trying to get you to dig deeper."
Their discussion was interrupted as they dug into their meals. It was an odd mixture of flavors and textures, but their thoughts, or other students, made it too loud for them to notice.
As they ate, the conversations around them soon made their way into their ears. Snippets of discussions about the eccentric professors and strange tests only deepened their curiosity.
One group of students nearby was passionately debating the purpose of these trials.
"I heard they're looking for candidates for a secret program," one student said.
"Secret program? Like what?" another asked.
"Who knows? Maybe some kind of advanced training or special class. They say the ones who pass these tests are being groomed for something big."
Daron exchanged a knowing glance with Julian. It seemed their suspicions were shared by others. The cafeteria was filled the students' theories and speculations.
Finished eating, Daron and Julian decided to head back to their dorms while mulling over their thoughts about everything going on.
As they strolled through the campus, Daron voiced his thoughts. "You know, Julian, we should find out more about this college, just for the sake of curiosity. Who knows what stuff they could be hiding about this place out there?"
"Yeah, especially with everything that's happened on just day two of being here. Though it doesn't have to be anything big, just gather some information and see if anything piques our interest with what's going on here."
Back in their dorm room, they opened their laptops and began their laid-back research. Daron looked into historical records the college used for its building and any anecdotes about the college's past, however short that past may be; while Julian looked into academic journals and articles related to the college's programs and faculty.
The sun continued to lower in the sky as they researched, taking notes about any interesting facts and connections they came across. They stumbled upon mentions of remarkable individuals who had passed through the college, though details remained somewhat vague.
The sun started to set, casting a warm glow in their room, while Daron couldn't help but feel a bit lost looking at the sight. "Julian, I think we're finding some interesting stuff here. But looking at a few more things certainly wouldn't hurt."
Content with the work done so far, Julian leaned back with a small smile. "Absolutely. We should keep this up tomorrow, maybe even chat with some folks who've experienced the quirks of this place."
Daron nodded, feeling a sense of relaxed anticipation. "Tomorrow, I guess we continue our investigation. Maybe we'll even discover even more secrets this college is trying its best to hide."
Satisfied with the day's discoveries, they turned in for the night.
______
The barren landscape stretched on as the sun's rays beat down on the sand, a lone man watching the dunes. His weary face didn't fit the fiery look in his eyes, but he had never been all that good at hiding the emotions in his eyes. Silent winds swept sand to and fro, and Director Aaron wished he could find some meaning in this place, any at all, but the silence echoed no response to give him.
A faint voice called out in the still silence of the desert, "Director Aaron."
Again, the voice called out, a bit more insistent this time, "Director Aaron," perhaps used to such a thing.
But Director Aaron's gaze remained on the barren horizon ahead, ignoring any distractions around him.
Grabbing ahold of Director Aaron's shoulder, the other man shook him lightly to get his attention. Director Aaron's head jerked towards the hand holding his shoulder as he was broken out of his rumination.
"Director," the voice said, this time urging him to follow him.
Closing his eyes, Director Aaron sighed and nodded as they both began to walk toward the final coordinates calculated. As they reached the point indicated, the man beside Director Aaron deployed a strange piece of technology.
"Do your thing, Ethan," Director Aaron said.
Ethan had deployed something specifically tailored for the excavations of power artifacts, but which only his Ability Domain had power over. A soft glow soon enveloped the area, emanating out from where Ethan stood with his Ability Domain active. The device he had deployed soon started to etch symbols into the sand, which would then soon disappear. Some would last longer, some seemed to dig into the sand, but they would all fade away after a few seconds.
A few minutes of this same scene played out before anything changed. But then, all the symbols disappeared at once before converging over a single point in the sand. The symbols dived into the sand, and the surface was again devoid of their presence for a single moment. Sand soon started to fly into the air in what looked like a dust devil, but more controlled, symbols swirling around the entirety of it. A statue soon started to rise up inside of the sand, and the symbols took hold of it to bring it out.
Director Aaron was looking for a glimmer of hope from this power artifact, but as soon as his eyes landed on it, that went away. Maybe there was another slight glimmer somewhere in this desert, but it wasn't here. A Physique power artifact wasn't useful for Daron, but he supposed he would still send it. Perhaps he could have some use for it, however little it may be.