The days flew by as cadets dropped like flies.
Each morning was filled with grueling physical training followed by an evening of being stressed and traumatized by simulations.
Marcus was progressively growing depressed and stressed after each simulation.
He found it harder and harder to grow accustomed to how real they were, the vivid images of his death being played over and over, each death coming by in a new and crueler manner.
The night terrors he would face kept him up for most of the night, and while his body could physically keep up with exams, his mind could not.
It didn't help that he didn't have anyone to share these things with, there was Felix and potentially Lance, but he couldn't tell either of them everything, as he'd get into serious trouble if they were to leak that information.
If only he hadn't pushed away Luna and Dr. Fletcher.
Their entire argument felt rather trivial now.
He wondered if getting angry at them for discussing his health behind his back was really necessary. Especially now when he needed their input and support now more than ever.
Marcus knew the answer was no, but he had already made his bed, and now he was going to lay in it.
On the last day of the exam, 80 of the initial 300 cadets remained.
They were organized in a 10x8 square formation, they all looked drained and worn out by the constant testing, their bodies sore and their eyes sunken in.
They all looked like shells of their former selves.
Standing in front of the group were the five lieutenants, with Lieutenant Revia in the front and two lieutenants on either side.
"Looks like we still have a couple of stragglers in this group." Lieutenant Revia began as she crossed her arms. "Luckily we have measures in place to cull what little fat this group has left."
Lieutenant Revia then pointed towards the training center they were standing in front of. "Since there is no way we can guarantee five of you will drop with one more day of training, we've turned one of the training rooms into a classroom, where you'll take a test on your anomaly-related knowledge."
She then gestured towards the cadets, "The five lowest scores will be disqualified from the exam, while the rest of you will move on to the second exam, understood?"
The cadets nodded weakly, even the most resilient ones of the group held little enthusiasm.
Marcus in particular was in an even worse position, a sit-down test was the last thing he needed right now. He could barely focus due to the vivid visions and sleepless nights, and now he had to look at a tablet screen while he racked his brain for answers he had probably forgotten.
"I'm doomed," Marus said to himself softly.
"Let's move cadets, we're burning daylight!" Lieutenant Revia barked out, even though the sun had barely risen.
She leads the group to one of the rooms in the training center. When they entered, Marcus noticed that all the training equipment was gone, and in their place were eighty, white desks lined in rows, each with a tablet on it.
Marcus felt his heart sank at the sight.
He had hoped that it would've been some sort of physical exercise, that was why she could just turn his mind off and work, but now he had to resort solely to his mind, which was barely functioning.
With a deep sigh, Marcus found his assigned seat and took it.
As he settled into his desk, he couldn't help but notice the eerie silence that surrounded him, and that only seemed to raise his anxiety.
"I along with my colleagues will be monitoring your work, there will be no cheating, no talking, and no 'breaks'." Lieutenant Reiva said as she began walking between the rows of desks. "You'll have until twelve o'clock to finish, if you finish your test before then, you'll sit quietly and wait, any questions?"
No one raised their hand.
Lieutenant Revia nodded. "You may begin."
Marcus sighed as he looked down at his tablet.
The very first question seemed almost like a joke at his expense.
'During the event of a rank four or higher anomaly exiting a rift, what is the recommended action to take?'
A retreat and wait for reinforcements.
B, attempt to hold the anomaly back while the barrier resets.
C, take no action.
Marcus groaned as he stared at the question.
This was going to be a long battle between himself and his mind.
Marcus answered the question with what he thought was the right answer, which was B.
The following questions only grew increasingly challenging, each one adding to the weight on his already exhausted mind.
As the minutes ticked by the questions began to blur together into I'm an amalgamation of various theories and hypothetical scenarios.
It seemed no matter how hard Marcus tried to focus, his mind would wander back to the horrific simulations he went through in the past two weeks.
As he answered question after question, Marcus's heartbeat seemingly grew louder and louder, until it echoed loudly in his ears.
His vision began to blur slightly, he blinked his eyes several times in an attempt to clear his vision. His mental exhaustion was constantly present, biting at his heels as he tried to push it away.
Marcus continued to to remind himself that this was the last test, that he just had to push through this one thing and he'd finally get to rest.
Marcus began to massage his temples as the next question came up.
'What is the leading theory on the basis of ethereal energy and the relationship they have with rifts?'
Marcus sighed heavily as he rubbed his tired eyes.
Marcus remembered something about potential energy in a physical form, but was it called the limitless possibility theory or the conformance concept?
Marcus forced himself into deep thought, what was it Elissa told him?
After a moment of pressing his mind, he remembered what Elissa told him, "Ether is the basis of all things anomaly-related, for example, an anomaly with the ability to create ice, has to use the ether in their direct surroundings and transform it with their core, this same process is what's used to create rifts over a given period of time and it called the limitless principle."
"Right," Marcus told himself as he marked the answer with his stylus.
As Marcus continued to answer questions, he found himself slowly slipping in and out of consciousness. His fatigue continued to rise as he squeezed his mind for every drop of knowledge it contained.
Despite this, Marcus was making great strides in progressing through his test, this wasn't totally unexpected, but it was an impressive achievement that Marcus didn't believe he'd accomplish.
Time continued to creep by second by second, until finally after what seemed like an eternity, Marcus had finished his test and submitted it.
He then exhaled s long sigh of relief as he placed his stylus down on his desk, he then looked around the makeshift classroom, with drowsy eyes.m
It seemed he was actually one of the first to finish his exam.
"Great," Marcus said to himself with a whisper.
He could use this opportunity to try and get some sleep.
Marcus stood up from his desk and pushed his chair into it, similarly to how he was taught to do in school.
Lieutenant Reiva turned to look at Marcus with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing?" She asked in a stern tone.
"Bathroom," Marcus replied in slightly slurred speech. This was the excuse he always used when he finished a test in school, depending on how fast he finished, he usually got 8 to 10 minutes of solid nap time. "Gotta get some water…."
Lieutenant Reiva raised an eyebrow as she uncrossed her arms. "What are you–"
Marcus couldn't even hear her voice anymore as his mind had already wandered off completely and a loud noise began ringing in his ears.
His heartbeat began to slow as slobber began dripping from his mouth.
"Just a little water," Marcus repeated this time his words completely mumbled.
Marcus stumbled forward a few steps before eventually passing out, collapsing onto the floor with a thud.
"Shit, get a Doctor in here!" Lieutenant Reiva commanded to one of the other officers in a concerned shout."
— — —
Marcus found himself in what looked to be a snowy mountain, standing before an altar of some sort, it was made of gold and silver, and all around it were long flowing curtains or sheets that were blood red.
Marcus began to wonder where exactly he was, turning to look around in all directions, only to be met with snow and mountains.
The snow and winds were fierce, yet Marcus didn't feel cold, and strangely enough, the wind didn't seem to affect the curtains on the altar either.
"Did I just die from sleep exhaustion?" Marcus asked aloud in disbelief, as he recalled the events that led up to his point.
"Marcus." An ominous voice called out to him from within the altar. "Are you alright?" It asked, in a calm yet caring tone.
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he stepped towards the altar, his steps not leaving a trail in the snow.
"Hello!" Marcus called out to the altar. "Are you talking to me?!" Marcus asked loudly, his voice barely audible over the wind.
"What's wrong with him?" A voice asked in confusion, it was light and feminine, yet emotionless."
"He's fine." Another voice answered, "he just needs rest."
"Rest?!" Marcus shouted questioningly, "I need answers, not rest!"
The wind continued to howl loudly as it circled Marcus, eating his words and carrying them away.
Marcus stepped closer to the altar in an effort to speak directly with the people behind the altar, his curiosity getting the better part of him.
"Can you hear me?!" Marcus called out to the altar as he grew closer.
"So he's just tired?" A voice asked.
"Seems so, I guess his body was going to get its sleep one way or another." Another voice answered.
Marcus grew frustrated with the voices ignoring his calls, he moved closer toward the altar wanting to give the voices inside a piece of his mind.
When he finally reached the altar, it seemed to have grown over ten times its original size and the voices from within it began to echo around him as if he were in a chamber.
"Marcus." Their voices called out as they continued to echo around him.
Suddenly, Marcus felt a soft finger graze against his cheek.
He jolted at the sensation and collapsed into the snow ass first.
"Who?" Marcus was confused as he began to look for the person who had touched him, yet there was no one but himself and the altar.
The finger Marcus felt on his face grew into the sensation of an entire hand massaging his cheek.
As the hand rubbed Marcus's cheek, their voices began to die down into a low and soft whisper.
Marcus's bewilderment grew, yet the sensation was surprisingly comfortable for its intensity.
As Marcus made an attempt to understand what was happening, he could feel a cold breath on the side of his ear.
"Marcus." The breath called out, sending a jolting wave of adrenaline rushing through Marcus, causing him to awaken with a jolt.
Marcus sat up straight with on swift motion. His eyes were wide as sweat dripped down his forehead.
His breathing was heavy as his eyes darted around, quickly scanning his surroundings, Marcus realized that he was sitting in the same room as when he got his head cracked open like a walnut by the administrator.
Marcus sighed heavily as he looked down to see that he was in the same hospital bed as well.
"What the hell was that?" Marcus asked himself groggily as he rubbed his eyes.
"You're finally awake." A light, yet analytical voice spoke from beside Marcus with a soft tone.
Marcus quickly jerked his neck to the right, where he saw Luna, sitting in the same chair from last time, in that same dress, with those same silver eyes.
Yet something was off about her.
She didn't have that classic deep voice anymore, and even more surprisingly she wasn't holding a book.
"What are you doing here?" Marcus asked almost completely on instinct.
Luna's expression softened as she lowered her gaze. "I-I heard what happened, and I just wanted to check on you." She said earnestly.
Marcus was taken aback by how honest and forward she was being, he knew it had been about two weeks since they last spoke, but he didn't think that was long enough for her to change this much.
"What happened to you?" Marcus asked.
Luna looked up to Marcus with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Why are you being so nice, and what happened to your voice?"
"Oh," Luna said in awareness. "I had voice therapy from Dr. Fletcher, she had been teaching me every now and then, but after our falling out I finally had enough time to learn her method completely." Luna answered, "And as for my change in attitude towards you, quite frankly it's because… well I…."
Luna seemed to be having trouble finding the correct way to express her feelings, her eyes drifting toward Marcus before quickly darting back to the floor.
Marcus' eyes widened at the potential possibility that he wasn't the only one who missed the other.
"You missed me?" Marcus asked almost in disbelief.
Luna's pale face flushed with embarrassment as she turned away her head. "No." She said defensively.
Marcus's expression fell into a frown as he looked away from Luna and towards the window.
"I see," Marcus said in soft disappointment.
The room fell into an awkward silence, with neither party speaking their mind.
The silence persisted for what seemed like an eternity until finally, Marcus gathered up the courage to break it.
He had been begging for a chance to speak with Luna and Dr. Fletcher, to apologize to them for his lashing out, and here was his opportunity to do just that.
So he took it.
"I'm sorry." Marcus said as he closed his eyes and turned his head up towards the ceiling before opening them again, "I shouldn't have gotten angry at you and Dr. Fletcher, it was stupid and I overreacted."
Luna turned to look at Marcus but kept silent.
Marcus continued. "Without you, that entire exam was hell," Marcus said as he tightened his fist in frustration. "I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, every night I woke up in a cold sweat because I kept reliving my deaths in those stupid simulations."
Luna remained silent.
"And throughout it all, I just wished for someone to talk to about it, you know?" Marcus said with a sniffle as tears began forming. "I kept thinking to myself, I wonder what Luna would've said if she had seen me like this, I know you probably would've made fun of me, laughed even."
Luna's expression turned into one of anger. "That's not true!" She exclaimed. "I wouldn't have laughed at you." She said with frustration evident in her voice.
Marcus shook his head. "You don't have to lie, I know we were never friends in the typical sense, just forced together because you needed me, but when I say your presence had become necessary, I mean that, even if you were just belittling me, mocking me, or even just ignoring me, your presence alone was enough to keep me going."
Luna frowned as she spoke up. "That's not right, that's not right at all Marcus, I…" Luna fell silent once more, still struggling to answer honestly.
Marcus looked at Luna with tear-filled eyes. "You what Luna?" He asked, "What am I missing?"
Luna sighed as she looked away from Marcus. "At first I disliked you, that much was a fact." She began, "But as time went on and you continued to do more for me, I began growing accustomed to your presence."
Marcus fell silent as Luna began opening up.
"I didn't mind the limbo we had fallen into, where neither of us pushed the boundaries of the other and we just coexisted, however, that changed significantly when Dr. Fletcher approached me about well, you."
Luna sighed heavily as she turned to face Marcus, who was now giving her all his attention.
"She began to tell me how lucky I had been to find someone like you, a human with the ability to house my core."
Luna balled up her small fists as she continued. "It was then that I realized that she was right, anyone else would've gotten possessed or died after about a week at most, but you persisted, and as time continued to pass I understood that we'd be together for a while. It was then that Dr. Fletcher suggested that I get to know you personally, to hold your hand, to talk to you, to just be with you, so I gave it a try, and eventually, I enjoyed it and wanted to share so much more with you."
"It was around that time you were about to begin the first exam, Dr. Fletcher and I wanted to test how well my core would do within you, but…"
Marcus felt his heart sink as Luna explained everything to him. If he had known then what he knew now he would've never gotten angry.
That entire time he was concerned about them hiding potentially crucial information about himself when in reality they were just trying to understand him better.
Marcus was now riddled with guilt.
"I understand why you were mad Marcus, we shouldn't have hidden our conversations from you, but at the time I was just happy being with you, I should've told you from the beginning," Luna said softly with her head drooping low.
"I really am a piece of shit." Marcus said softly as he grabbed at his forehead, "a selfish piece of shit."