Arlo had no lessons today, which meant that he could sleep in, but his body had become accustomed to walking up on an exact time, so unfortunately he wasn't able to sleep more.
It wasn't all that bad because he knew today's breakfast, lunch and dinner would be extra special and flavourful, his mouth was salivating just by thinking about it.
He happily made his way to the food hall with Seer. Surprisingly the atmosphere in the hall wasn't sad or tense, people chatted with others with a smile on their faces. Small giggles could be heard echoing throughout the hall.
Arlo tried to get as much as he could on his tray, his plan was to eat a great amount of food today, as he might not be able to enjoy such good food for quite a while.
"The mood in the hall is surprisingly quite good"
Luna said as she looked around
"People are trying to enjoy these last moments of peace to the best of their abilities"
The conversation didn't last long as every student in the institution was told to gather outside after eating their breakfast.
Arlo, Seer and Luna made their way outside and stood among the rest of the student body.
Far ahead stood the same man that had spoken in Arlo's gathering. His tall figure, broad shoulders and dead pan eyes gave off a fierce vibe.
Before speaking he coughed a couple times to clear his throat
"It doesn't matter when you arrived to this institution, your time here is unfortunately over. Tonight you will be sent to the Fallen world."
"You will have to fight for yourself, you will have to survive in the unknown and it is something you must do. However don't be mistaken by the fact you will only fight monsters"
"A fight doesn't necessarily mean clashing swords with monsters. Not all battles are fought by fists; some wars are won by choosing to stand up when everyone and everything tells you to sit down"
"Some of you have big goals and aspirations, you want to be seen as a hero in the eyes of everyone"
"You want to be seen as a somebody in the future, but you're somebody now. It's just that you haven't realised yet"
He momentarily stopped, his eyes glared over every student present
"Please do enjoy this beautiful day as much as possible, but don't forget about your responsibilities."
"I want everyone back here after dinner, so we can hand out tools to you guys. You'll be able to select a sword, bow or spear to keep with you during your journey in the Fallen world, it's not a lot but it's better than nothing"
Shortly after the students gathered outside separated into their own groups and went by their day.
"Were should we go?"
Arlo asked
His question was directed to Seer and Luna, who were currently walking next to him
"I don't really mind where we go"
Seer glanced at both of them
"Then how about we go visit our survival professor"
Arlo raised an eyebrow
"Why him?"
Seer continued to walk
"It's nothing important. I just wanted to know a little bit more about the Fallen world"
Arlo and Luna both nodded as a sign of approval
It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the professors office. Before entering Seer knocked on the relatively large wooden door and waited outside until he got a response from the professor. He twisted the handle and slowly opened the door, he smiled a bit and made his way into the room, both Arlo and Luna quickly followed.
The professor was sitting on top of a comfortable looking chair which was behind a large rectangular table. On either ends of the table were large piles of work, but surprisingly the center of the table was empty and clear.
"What brings you guys here?"
He asked as he got up from his chair
"It's our last day before we go to the Fallen world, so I was wondering if you could tell us more about it"
Seer said as he shut the door to the room
The professor face lightened up a bit, the corner of his mouth curled upwards
"I'm delighted to know the Fallen world is fascinating to you guys, it truly is a mysterious place, but as of this moment I can't tell you anything"
His eyes glared over all three of them
"You guys aren't worthy enough to know"
All three of them were puzzled by what the professor had said, maybe a bit taken back as well
"Not worthy?"
Seer replied
The professor shook his head
"I'm not trying to degrade you guys by saying your not worthy"
He slowly walked towards the three of them untill their were only a couple inches separating them
"Your souls aren't strong enough to grasp the secrets of the Fallen world, but don't be to disheartened about it"
"As your lives move on forward, you will inevitably start to learn more and more about the Fallen world and the mysteries that it's shrouded in. Either by exploring it or by going through another trial"
"Even if I was to tell you everything I knew, it would barely scratch the surface of the Fallen world, it's just so unknown to humanity"
He turned around and walked towards the edge of the table, he glared at the files for a couple seconds then picked one up and tightly held on to it.
"Today is quite a busy day for me, so I don't have time to chit chat"
He turned again so that he could face Arlo, Seer, and Luna
"However, I don't want our conversation to end on a sour note. So how about I tell you something interesting?"
Hearing those words come out of the professors mouth peaked Arlo's interest
"What would that be?"
Seer asked
His tone was calm, but Arlo could tell Seer was also interested in hearing what the professor had to say
The old man had a smile on his face as he approached the three of them, then suddenly stopped infront of Seer
"Dreams"
All three of them were puzzled
"Dreams?"
Seer replied
The professor nodded
"In the Fallen world, oracles or people with similar power's get visions in their sleep, but for everyone else all they see is pitch black darkness, however on very rare occasions people dream"
"Nobody knows why this happens or what makes it happen, but it just does. And even though we barely know anything about this phenomenon, I'm sure each of these dreams are very meaningful"
This was all so new to Arlo, his mind was swirling with questions, but it was also very intriguing.
"How can Oracles differentiate between a vision and a dream?"
Seer asked
The professor's smile got a bit wider
"A moon is always hidden inside a dream, and when you find it, either in the sky or ingrained on a large piece of rock or somewhere completely bizarre , you will be certain you're in a dream"
After a little while he coughed a bit to clear his throat
"Now if you will excuse I have places to be and things to do"
He walked forward and open the door, before leaving he said
"I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, goodbye"
Shortly after the three of them also left the professors room and made their way outside the building
Whilst waking Arlo continued to think about what the professor had said
'A dream?'
It sounded very interesting to him, he wondered what people had seen in that dream or what it had felt like. It made him question if their was a chance for him to dream as well in the Fallen world. But that question could only be answered when he was in the Fallen world, so for now his only option was to wait.
"How about we look around the institution?"
Luna asked
Nobody objected, so untill lunch they wandered around the place looking at the various buildings, the somewhat tall trees and the magnificent looking sculptures placed throughout the institution.
During lunch Arlo tried to congregate as much food as he could onto his tray, unfortunately for him some pieces of the food fell onto the floor as he managed his way to one of the corners of the food hall. Nonetheless, he digged into the massive pile of food the moment he sat down. The meat was very succulent and juicy, the sides were filled with various different aromatic flavours and the juice was refreshing to gulp down.
The rest of the day went by like a calm breeze. All he did after lunch was go to his room for a while to practice using his power, his control and speed had gotten much better, he was very pleased with the results he was getting. Then he talked with Seer and Luna, till dinner rolled around.
Unlike breakfast or lunch Arlo took his time eating his dinner, he wanted to savour every single bit of it.
Not long after Arlo, Seer and Luna made their way outside so that they could choose their tool. Quite a long line had already formed, so they had to wait a while before it was their turn to pick a weapon.
"What weapon would you like?"
Asked the lady
Arlo hesitated for a moment before saying
"A sword please"
She smiled at him, then pointed her finger to a man sitting on a chair
"Go to that man, he will give you a sword"
Arlo nodded and headed towards the man. He stopped a couple inches away from him, the man extended his arm to grab Arlo's forearm. He held it tightly for a very brief moment before letting go.
Arlo heard a voice
[You have been gifted a tool]
His face lit up
Before leaving he thanked the man and then made his way to where Seer and Luna were
"I picked a sword, what about you guys?"
Arlo asked with a excited tone
"I also picked a sword"
Seer replied
"I picked a bow"
Luna replied
Seer slowly exhaled, he tilted his head upwards and stared at the night sky for a while, the stars and moon shined quite brightly
"Getting a weapon took a while, we should make our way to the bunker and prepare ourselves for what's about to come"
Arlo also looked up at the sky for a couple seconds
"Yeah, let's go"
With a tense atmosphere all around, they steadily made their way to the bunker, a place where they would rest until they ultimately had to go the Fallen world.
The bunker was a relatively large building, it looked similar to any other building in the institution, but its main purpose was underground. It had many levels below it to keep the students soul crystal safe, whilst they managed their way in the Fallen world.
The three of them and many other students were led underground the bunker by a professor, as they continued to walk through each level Arlo couldn't help himself but glare at each door. He wondered what was behind that door?
Most of them were closed, but some were open, and Arlo was able to see what layed behind those doors.
It was lots of human shaped boxes with white crystals floating in the centre of the box. It made him let out a small wow in shock, Axel had already told him about what was going to happen to him when he would go to the Fallen world, but actually seeing it was completely different.
Arlo wasn't just shocked, it also made him realise that people were still in the Fallen world. They have been in there for 6 months now or maybe even longer, and still hasn't found a way back.
Before entering the bunker the students had been given a piece of paper with a number written on it. That number represented where their personal human shaped box was.
The students walked for a while longer untill the professor made them stop
"This is it. Please make your way to your own box"
Arlo gripped the piece of paper tighter
"Hopefully we get thrown in the same place, but nonetheless good luck"
Seer said with a little smile on his face
"I hope so as well. Good luck"
Luna replied
"Yeah me to"
Arlo glanced at the piece of paper
"Good luck"
He said with a bright smile
After a bit of walking he made his way to his box. He glared at it for a while before opening it and making his way inside of it.
A clock was placed on the very top of the box
'A minute left'
He closed his eyes and waited for his consciousness to fade away. The ticking of the clock got louder and louder, till it suddenly
stopped.