Nian had experienced such heartache that his body had somehow made him cough up blood. The pain in his chest subsided as he cried silently. No longer did he care about anything. He was incredibly angry at both Lucas and Alexis, though he knew he had no right to be.
This made him even angrier, he didn't even know whom to be angry at in such a position.
"Fuck...fucking shit!!!"
He began to punch his bed crazily causing the sheets and pillow to jump slightly and jumble.
"Not fair...NOT FAIR!" he roared.
The only thing that he was thankful for at the moment, was that the room would not allow sound to be heard outside to keep privacy. However, that was a fleeting feeling, as he continued to vent his bitter rage.
"DAMNIT!!!....WHY ME...WHY WHY WHY!!"
As minutes turned to hours, he had fallen asleep from exhausting himself. He awoke to the sound of a knock at his door.
"Hmnn…" he quietly grumbled, before leaning up and gazing at the clock. It was only 5:00PM.
"Nn...go away.…" he grumbled to himself, no longer caring about anything as he lay listlessly.
Nian's depression was soon forcefully held back as the day soon ended, allowing the next day to arrive.
He woke up and dressed himself by habit, for he had begun to see Alexis as a reason to continue to become something great. But her love for Lucas made him curse the world and no longer take Lucas's words to heart.
With his hair somewhat messy, and his face pale and a little sickly, he made his way towards the central area. As he walked past the school holo-board, he stopped for a moment to gaze at it.
A large announcement was on display, one that he had seen days ago, announcing that wardens were coming to visit in hopes of finding recruits. The reputation of the wardens, the defenders of humanity, was bad. They were looked down upon, especially in sectors that focused on mainly shift battles. That being said, they still needed to try and recruit any single mancer pilot, or even those who wanted to be wardens were not discriminated against.
From 10 years of age to graduation, if they wanted to be a warden, they would be taken in. This was due to a law that allowed freedom for one wanting to fight for humanity. It also allowed those people to skip all theory and focus instead on learning how to assist wardens. Eventually they may even get their own mancers by saving up enough credits, or trading something for one.
As he made his way past the schools holo-board, he headed towards class, hoping that he wouldn't see anyone he knew. But as soon as he finished the thought, two voices called out. What horrified him was that he knew both of them: Lucas and Alexis.
"Nian, you're awake! I was looking for you yesterday. I got worried when Alexis said you were sick, so when we were done at the library, I came to check up on you."
Gazing at Lucas's worried smile, Nian couldn't help but focus on him quietly for a moment; he felt a sudden surge of rage. For every second he looked at Lucas, he felt his hatred for him increase.
"Nian, are you ok?" Alexis suddenly spoke as she looked at him.
Lucas laughed quietly.
"Don't worry, he's resilient. In one day he's able to get back up on his feet."
As the two laughed, Nian gave a faint smile before Lucas heard his name being called out.
"Lucas! There you are."
Both Alexis and Lucas turned to see Mita and Karu calling him out. Alexis gave a strong smile with a resilient look as she thought of something silly.
"-R..Rivals…-"
Lucas waved over at them both.
"Hey! I'll be there in a sec. Hey, Nian, I'm gonna head off.."
Turning around, he saw that Nian had already left.
Nian decided that he didn't have the will to go to class, and had instead gone off to wander the central area a bit until he found himself at the top section. He casually sat on a bench, gazing blankly at a pond with a duck in it.
Forget it...forget them all...why do I bother when I'm let down….I can't go on like this...they're hurting me without knowing…
As Nian was lost in his thoughts, an hour had already gone by and class had begun with him skipping it.
In Star Mancer Academy, it was considered very rare for a student to not attend a single class unless sick, as the Headmaster's soft threat of the future and their failure would always knock sense into them.
What's more rare, was for a 3rd year to skip class in such a manner.
As Nian kept silent, a towering figure appeared before him.
"Boy, aren't you relaxing a bit too much?" The man said.
Gazing blankly at the looming figure, Nian saw a man wearing a warden military uniform.
He knew what they looked like; he had often seen them on the broadcasts to do with Devourer attacks, whether it be good or bad news.
"Relaxing?... Sorry, that's not it. Right now I would love nothing more than to get as far away from this shit hole as I can to vent a bit of frustration." Nian replied.
Nian spoke with a somewhat menacing grin, even the thought somewhat cheered him up. The man who had a rough unkempt beard and sharp hair laughed before he sat beside Nian and lit a cigarette.
"You and me both kid. What's your name?." The man asked.
Nian replied to the Warden that sat beside him.
"Nian… What about yourself, sir?"
The man looked towards the pond Nian had been gazing at.
"Sir is what my soldiers call me. You can call me Akin."
Nian nodded as he and Akin remained silent for a bit. Nian began to speak.
"What's being a warden like?"
Akin replied as if he had heard the question millions of times.
"Shit."
Nian couldn't help but laugh despite his frustration and anger at the man's straight answer.
"Why?.." he asked curiously.
Akin puffed on the cigarette a few more times.
"When you watch enough friends die...you start to lose more than you feel…"
Nian felt his throat tighten at how heavy the man's words were. Although he was 13, due to his intense study regime, he had gained quite a bit of intelligence. Yet despite this, he couldn't refrain from asking questions.
"How many is too many?…"
Akin gave a deep chuckle puffing once again on the cigarette.
"One too many.." he spoke.
Nian smiled.
"Why do you guys even bother recruiting in sectors that focus on shift battles?" He couldn't help but blurt out.
Akin remained silent. The cigarette that had been lit 20 seconds ago was already half way gone.
"You ask a lot of questions…"
Nian felt as if a mental hammer hit his head as he spoke
"Sorry." Nian replied.
Softly laughing, Akin even gave a soft chuckle before speaking.
"Humanity isn't going to defend itself.. Shift Battles are for those who like to prance around and gain easy money, fame, and women. The criminals that join up to lower their sentence have more guts and honor than anyone who Shift Battles..."
Akin's words made Nian somewhat irritated as his clan focused mainly on shift battles. Even his father was considered one of the top in the sector.
"If humanity remains afraid of the Devourers, wouldn't that be giving in to the fear and cowering?" Nian replied.
Akin nodded.
"I guess you could say that. Then again, when shift battles are promoted to the point where wardens are treated like dogs, even though we protect humanity, tell me, doesn't humanity need to be reminded of our role?"
Nian remained silent for a few moments.
"Did anyone sign up?.."
Akin shook his head.
"Not one person. And tomorrow it will be the same at the next academy, until I go back to the front lines."
As Akin finished his cigarette, he stood up and tossed the cigarette butt on the ground not bothering to step on it showing his dislike for this place.
"See ya kid. Good luck in life. No doubt you'll do better than me."
As he began to walk away, it was as though a spark had ignited within Nian's mind. Many thoughts weighing the pros and cons.
No it's crazy..me, a warden...my clan would call me an outcast...but then again, if I stay here, I'll be broken till nothing is left… There's nothing left for me here but misery. That's right, misery. Nothing but misery, and wardens are all people who suffer. People like me who suffer. Meris clan, screw it. Father doesn't care about me, and I can't stand to be around Lucas anymore. It's better for them if I go. It's better for me.
Nian stood up quickly and shouted.
"Let me come with you!"
Akin laughed, not taking Nian seriously.
"Kid, don't throw your life away on impulse…" Akin replied.
Despite Akin's hate for Shift Battle sectors, he would not allow a child to join and throw away their life.
Nian clenched his teeth.
"Please….I have nothing left for me here!!.."
Akin stopped for a moment as those words were something many wardens would utter before joining. Having nothing left, or wanting to help humanity was a warden's role. As much as people disliked them, they where humanity's first and only defence.
"Nothing left, eh?...I won't stop you then… I'm leaving tonight. Meet me at the 5th dock at 9:00pm if you're serious"