The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. That was the only thing Kiehra could think of while standing in line with the other applicants for the Phantom Sentry exams. Many of the workers were surprised to see her turn in her janitor uniform and badge earlier that morning, with a few even laughing within earshot. She'd only had the job for roughly three months, and all of a sudden she wanted to join as a member of the active force? She could understand why they thought it so funny.
The towering, sleek white walls of the Phantom Sentry training complex loomed over them, casting shadows over the large courtyard. The examinees were all restless as they waited for the first phase of the application exam to begin, their hushed conversations and shuffling boots filling the air.
Kiehra's heart was practically banging against her ribcage, but it wasn't from nerves. She could feel the countless chains hidden beneath her exam uniform, their weight doing little to restrain her strength.
Three's "ancient" technique was using as much weight as possible to hinder her movements in an effort to contain herself, and to an extent it was helping, but even with it, she knew she was still holding back the majority of her power. Every movement felt awkward and stiff, the sheer mass of the heavy iron chains under her clothes pressing into her body with each step. She was grateful, though—the chains were somehow the only thing keeping her from breaking anything with just a touch.
"Just keep your cool hm?" Three's voice echoed in her mind, calm and soothing. "Remember, the key to passing this is convincing them you're just strong, not a walking extinction event. You're still learning, and we've only just started with control. Don't try off, and for the love of everything in this cursed world, keep the building in one piece."
"I know," Kiehra muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning the faces of other applicants. Most of them looked strong, with muscular builds and confident strides. Going off looks alone, almost all of them could be written off as more powerful than her. But none of them had an ancient spirit fused with their soul, and none of them were hiding the fact they could effortlessly shatter the earth with a light tap.
The first portion of the exam was the written test, held inside a large hall. The examinees were seated at desks spread evenly across the room, the sound of pens scribbling furiously filling the air. Kiehra stared down at the exam booklet in front of her, her mind completely empty.
"Let's get to it then. Section One: Spirits of Gehenna. I believe you already know the basics."
Earlier that morning, around four a.m to be exact, Three took over her body and woke her up shortly followed by hours of him cramming knowledge on an insane variety of things into her head, drilling her with facts and obscure details she'd never cared to learn. Now it all came rushing back as she skimmed over the questions.
She answered question after question, not really understanding a good portion of what she was doing, but putting her faith in Three's last minute lessons.
"See? You're doing just fine," Three commented, a hint of pride in his voice.
"I guess so. I'm barely surviving with your help," she muttered to herself, ignoring the occasional glances from other applicants.
The questions seemed never ending, testing everything from spirit classifications, to Gehenna's unique geography, to the history of some of the cities itself. Kiehra managed to hold her own, getting a score that was slightly above average. By the time the exam ended, she felt like someone had physically assaulted her brain.
Now unto the part she'd been dreading the most: The Physical Exam.
Kiehra felt the atmosphere shift the instant she stepped out into the courtyard for the physical portion of the exam. The grounds were lined with various kinds of equipment—weight stations, obstacle courses, long jumping pits, punching machines, and strength-testing devices. A giant digital board displayed the current records for all each test, most held by the Sentry's elite officers.
Applicants all around her were buzzing with excitement, some nervously speaking amongst themselves while others stretched and prepared their bodies. Kiehra tried to blend in with the crowd, which was ironic considering just how many layers of restrictive gear she was wearing.
Three sighed in her mind. "Remember not to overdo it. I'd say stay as far away from other contestants as you can."
"Noted."
-----
The first test was at the weight station. Before her stood a row of massive slabs of metal—each one heavier than the last, with the heaviest weighing well over four tons. It was a test designed to challenge even the toughest Lieutenants.
Applicants took turns in front of her, each one struggling as they attempted to lift the progressively heavier blocks. By the time it was her turn, many had already given up or reached their limit at much lighter weights. Kiehra approached the first weight—a daunting slab that most of the examinees could barely get off the ground.
She bent down, wrapping her hands around the cool metal surface. The chains strapped to her bit into her skin as she lifted. Unsurprisingly, the block felt like nothing. She tried to put on a show of struggling like everyone else, but the slab shot off the ground, nearly flying into the air before she corrected herself at the last second, bringing it back down with an audible thud.
"Okay okay," Three chuckled. "So maybe not that gentle next time."
Kiehra moved on to the next weight, this time moving slowly, approaching the test more cautiously. But even with all the care she'd taken, the second block lifted just as effortlessly as the first. She placed it down gently, her eyes briefly meeting the instructors, who exchanged perplexed looks.
By the time she reached the final, heaviest weight, Kiehra's nerves were fried. She bent down again, internally begging her own strength not to go haywire. With a deep breath, she lifted. Her plan was to attempt to lift it, fail and walk away. Predictably, things didn't go as planned. The monstrous block came up, lighter than air as it hovered in her grip.
"Spectacular form!" Three cheered, though his tone was also dripping with sarcasm. "Do try not to send it into orbit though."
"I'm working on it Three…" she whispered in response as she set it back down. The other applicants stared at her in stunned silence, hushed conversations going among themselves.
Next came the obstacle course—a grueling setup of climbing walls, rope swings and tunnels designed to test the limits of one's endurance, strength, and agility. Kiehra found herself in the midst of applicants eager to prove themselves, each of them pushing through the course with grit and determination. She, on the other hand, had to temper every move made.
She approached the first wall, a mighty structure with minimal footholds and a rough surface. Kiehra figured it wouldn't be too hard to go about it without putting herself in the spotlight, but her body had its own plans. Before she knew it, she found herself on the top, her hands barely making contact. She paused, staring down at the applicants below her who were still struggling to pull themselves up. She quickly scrambled down, in such a hurry to leave that the impact of her landing sent a low tremor through the ground. It was barely noticeable, with those who felt it looking around in confusion.
"You're like a wrecking ball with legs. Intriguing. Three said, laughing softly.
She grit her teeth. "I'm trying Three, I swear."
The spirit stayed silent before responding sympathetically. "I know."
Everything else—the ropes, nets and tunnels—it all passed by in a blur, too fast for Kiehra herself to properly grasp what she herself was doing. At one point, she'd tried leaping between two platforms, only to accidentally jump right to the other end of the obstacle. Kiehra quickly ducked, trying to disappear into the crowd of spectators and applicants, but several instructors had already taken notice, murmuring amongst themselves.
The long jump came next. A series of sand pits had been marked out, with the farthest line set by at a distance only a handful of Lieutenants had ever reached.
Everyone who went before her did so with great effort, many landing short and a lucky few barely going over the edge of the final line. When it was her turn, Kiehra hesitated, just wanting the day to be over with. She crouched, focusing every ounce of her energy into limiting her strength, while adhering to Three's words: Learn to move within the confines of your limits.
She launched herself into the air, and just as she expected, her body rebelled against her wishes. Kiehra sighed internally as she soared over the last marker, flying past the pit entirely. She landed several feet beyond the final line, nearly crashing through the wall and causing a shockwave that sent dust and dirt flying into the air.
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Kiehra's heart raced as she stood there, too stunned to move while the instructors checked the measurements in disbelief.
"A perfect landing," Three joked. "If you were trying to reshape the entire field."
Kiehra went red as she shuffled to her place, the increasing stares of other applicants becoming harder to ignore.
She stepped up to the punching machine next. It was a sleek, reinforced device designed to measure a person's raw punching power. From the looks of it, the machine was incredibly durable—literally designed not to break under circumstances. The applicants before her delivered solid hits, each punch producing deep thuds and respectable readings. The digital board nearby read that the record was held by Lieutenant Vela, with a punch force of 1.5 tons.
"Think of it as tapping someone on the shoulder," Three chimed in again. "That thing's made of Ephemeral Ore. Most higher class spirits would have a hard time scratching it. Breaking it would draw you MASSIVE heat."
Kiehra nodded, cocking her fist back.
Her knuckles connected with the machine, and the display exploded into red lights before shutting down completely. Alarms blared, the machine crumpling like foil under the force as the number 7.7 tons blinked on its dying results screen. Kiehra backed away in horror as the machine finally shut down, unable to withstand the power of her blow. Her fist was visibly imprinted in the side of the broken metal.
Three didn't even comment this time, instead bursting into twisted laughter. She couldn't help but wonder if he was alright in the head sometimes.
Everyone else stared in awe. One of the instructors scratched his head in irritation, mumbling something about a service malfunction, but the damage was irreversible. She had broken—shattered—yet another record.
The final test was the speed trial, and Kiehra was just about ready to crawl in a hole and die. A set of tracks had been laid out with timers set to record each runner's top speed. The current record was held by one Captain Redford, an officer known for his unmatched quickness, clocking in at 80 kilometers per hour—an impressive feat even by Phantom Sentry standards.
Each applicant took their turn, with everyone running the track with varying levels of speed,the fastest pushing into the mid-60s. When it was Kiehra's turn, all eyes were on her, like they were just waiting to see what she'd do next. She tried to mentally prepare herself, reminding herself to take it slow.
The whistle blew.
Kiehra pushed off as lightly as she could, starting off normally much to her relief. But with each second, her legs moved faster than intended, and soon the ground turned to a featureless blur as she accelerated at an unprecedented rate. Wind howled around her, and before she realized it, she was nearing the end of the track with speed that was borderline reckless.
Just meters away from the finish line, she felt the air around her warp and distort—telltale signs that she was about to break through the sound barrier. She threw herself into a skid, her feet digging into the ground, leaving deep gouges in the dirt as she slid to a halt, narrowly avoiding what could've been a sonic boom. What made it worse was that she didn't even feel tired, not a single shred of fatigue. She wasn't even panting.
Nervously, Kiehra glanced around. The entire field was looking back at her in stunned silence.
"Almost a sonic boom, eh?" Three asked, sounding just as surprised as everyone else. "The laws of physics ain't got nothing on you girl."
The instructor at the timer gawked at her device, which had stopped at a figure nobody could have expected—over 200 kilometers per hour. She grumbled about the equipment being faulty, but that did nothing to relieve Kiehra of the weight of everyone's eyes.
By the time the physical concluded, Kiehra had unintentionally broken every single record in the field. She couldn't imagine how horrible things would've been if Three hadn't instructed her to wrap those chains around herself. The other applicants eyed her warily, unsure if they should be impressed or terrified. As they all left the courtyard, Kiehra could feel her stomach knotting with guilt, knowing she had done everything possible to hold back.
"Things went better than I expected," Three said gently. "You tried, and I guess that's what counts. Plus I think this helped you to get a feel for what you could really do. Watching you wreck house was also kind of fun to watch."
Kiehra sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Yeah…but now everyone probably thinks I'm some kind of monster."
Three chuckled softly. "I wouldn't call you a monster. You haven't killed anyone yet. What you are…is a legend in the making."
----
As she stepped out of the exam grounds, Payday appeared at her side, her ever present ditzy smile even wider than usual.
"Heya! Saw your work out there. You did preeeeetty well huh?"
Kiehra blinked, caught off guard by her sudden appearance. Luckily she didn't scream this time. "I…I wasn't trying to show off…."
"Oh I figured that out easy," Payday replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "But you kiiiiiinda did anyway."
Before Kiehra could think of a proper response, a cold voice cut through the air.
"You."
Lieutenant Vela stood a few feet away, glaring at her with narrowed eyes. "You must think you're something special don't you?"
Kiehra tensed, the hostility in his tone apparent to anyone near. "I'm just….I'm here to take the test like everyone else." She tried to keep herself cool and controlled. An incident like the one from earlier in the week would just make Vela even angrier, which could lead to a disastrous outcome for everyone here.
"Test? Please." Vela scoffed, folding his arms angrily. "You only broke some records, but that doesn't make you anything close to a Sentry. I can bet my position that you cheated somehow, but that's besides the point. Tomorrow's the real test—the spirit capture. We'll see how well you do when you can't use brute strength to blast through everything."
Kiehra swallowed her frustration, her hands balling into fists. "I'll be ready."
Vela sneered, turning his back on her. "We'll see. You'll be back in Abyss before long."
As he walked away, Payday let out a low whistle. "He's probably pissed you broke his record."
"The guy's got some serious issues…" Kiehra muttered. An unnervingly large part of her wanted nothing more than to turn him into a bloody paste on the wall.
Three's voice echoed in her mind once again. "Tomorrow is the real challenge, Kiehra. Just stay focused, don't kill any lieutenants and we just might make it through this."
Kiehra nodded, her determination solidifying. Tomorrow, she would have to face a rogue spirit—and she knew it would be the ultimate test of her control.