Adam once again strolled into the Mess hall occupied by the applicants of the new new division. He grabbed a tray, got food, then casually walked over to a table. As it was already late into the night, only a few people remained.
Adam placed the tray on a wooden table close to the wall and settled on a chair. He looked at Nina, who was seated across from him.
Her hands were folded and pressed against her chest, and her eyes appeared unfocused. Her plate of food had been long cleared, indicating that she had been waiting for him for quite a while.
"What's wrong?" Adam asked.
The girl snapped back to reality. She shook her head and said, "Nothing. Just exhausted. Training is a bit… more stressful than I had imagined."
At the mention of that, Adam chuckled self-deprecatingly. He could relate. After all, he got his ass handed to him earlier that day. Even though he possessed far greater strength than the Marshal, he was unable to utilise it properly.
He sighed, realising that he needed to work on himself. The alien from that day probably had his guard down, enabling Adam to easily take him down.
He shook the thought and focused his gaze on Nina. He asked, "How's your sister?"
The girl's expression turned extremely melancholic, inciting pity from everyone who glanced her way. Her pitch-black pupils seemed to churn as she said, "We haven't spoken since I left."
"Oh…" Adam fell silent for a while. Then, he muttered, "You probably should call her. She's only looking out for you."
"I know. That's why I feel guilty about the entire thing." Nina sighed softly.
The both of them fell silent for a long time, with only the sound of Adam's fork hitting the plate audible.
At that moment, he remembered what had happened when he fell asleep. He cleared his throat and said to the girl, "I saw that beast again."
"In the dreamscape?" Nina's melancholy vanished, but there was still a hint of gloom about her.
Adam shook his head. "It– he told me that space is my 'island of subconscious'. It's a mindscape."
"Oh, I see…" Nina nodded in thought. "So, it's different from the dreams you fall into?"
"Yes." Adam nodded. "He also told me that those are actually vivid visions." Adam went on to recount everything the beast had told him, including the whole bit about Ascension.
After about a minute, he said, "I feel like we might need to study that Bible and try to see if we can glean any useful information."
"But wouldn't it be a watered down version? Or perhaps a lot of crucial information would've been lost in translation. After all, that elderly man seemed to be from a distant time surpassing that of Old Earth even. Would it even be a language we understand?" Nina voiced her doubts.
Adam thought for a moment and asked, "What about AI? Couldn't Artificial Intelligence track a Bible of ancient times and maybe translate it?"
"It might be possible." Nina nodded slightly. "But, we can't do that here."
"Nana could help with it." Adam suggested.
Nina fell into a prolonged silence. After a while, she said, "Alright. I'll call her tonight."
…
The next day, Tuesday afternoon.
Adam sat on a steel bench, panting heavily. He had lost to the Marshal again. No matter what he did, the man always seemed to have a way around it. And speed– he was gravely lacking in speed.
Though his speed surpassed that of the other kids, it couldn't be compared to the Marshal's. He clicked open a water bottle and downed the liquid, trying to replenish his energy.
Ahead, Arden and Arthur were sparring, but with weapons this time. The girl held a staff in hand, while Arthur utilised two steel batons. Their confrontation birthed sparks and blue pulses that rippled across the entire space.
The girl was a beast, contrary to her personality. So far, she had a perfect win streak. She beat Victor in hand to hand, and now she had the upper hand against Arthur.
After this round, the combatants would finally be able to use their various abilities. Adam was actually quite curious to learn what the others could do.
Soon, the bout ended. Arthur was on the floor, sweatinf rather heavily, while the girl stood over him, her staff pointed to his face.
"Well done," Marshal Mathew Bates applauded. "You're exceptional."
The girl nodded in appreciation and helped Arthur to his feet. She said to him with a contemplative look, "You should learn to utilise the superior forms of Ha Xhi. Those basic forms won't work quite well on me."
Arthur nodded, seriously listening to her advice. He sighed and said, "I still find it hard to use when weapons or special abilities are involved."
"You'll get it with time." She patted his shoulder.
Then, when she got to Adam's side, her bright, happy attitude resurfaced. "Hey!"
Adam bobbed his head with a soft smile. "You're really impressive."
"You really think so?!" The girl's eyes lit up. "I mean, I guess I do quite fine. But that's mainly because I come from a family of martial artists."
"That makes sense." Adam pondered for a moment, then asked, "Would it be okay to ask you to teach me a few things?"
Arden Jhumpa's smile widened. She glanced at the Marshal and giggled, "Tired of getting beat up by him? Sure, I can definitely help you out."
"Alright, cut the chatter." Marshal Mathew Bates stood in front of them and tucked his hands into his coat pocket. He said, "It's time for the third mode. After a friendly spar, I'll have you collectively use your abilities to fend off an army of robotic Overseers we created specially to beat you up."
He grinned when he uttered the last few words.
Then, He tapped his wristband and a holographic panel popped up. It displayed an image of Arthur Azrael and a few texts beneath.
"Arthur Azrael, possessor of the Ordinance Orb. Ability; Form manipulation." He didn't elaborate on the abilities, as it was up to the user to determine what he could do and what he couldn't.
Mathew Bates swiped his finger across the air and the next person popped up.
"Victor Bolakale, possessor of the Radiance Orb. Ability; Celestial flame manipulation."
"Arden Jhumpa, possessor of the Lumina Orb. Ability; Illusion manipulation."
"Aaron Blackwell, possessor of the Starforged Orb. Ability; Energy constructs creation."
Then, the holographic panel faded and the Marshal flashed a smile. He spread his arms and asked, "Who wants to go first?"