The day's classes continued, a blur of lectures and exercises, until they reached Talon's favourite class:
Introduction to Supers and the Modern Battlefield.
The classroom buzzed with muted chatter as the students settled in. Talon slouched in his seat, idly spinning a stylus between his fingers. Beside him, Jason leaned back, grinning like he owned the place.
Instructor Jarek strode in, his heavy boots echoing off the tiled floor. The holoboard lit up as he placed his hand on the console, projecting a swirling image of the galaxy. He turned to face the class, his scarred face set in a stern expression.
"All right settle down, cadets," Jarek began, his gruff voice cutting through the noise.
"Today's session is different. No lecture. This is your chance to ask questions, real questions, not the nonsense you whisper to each other when you think I'm not listening. And let's keep it focused on Supers, seeing as most of you are obsessed with what might happen tomorrow."
Jason's hand shot up before Jarek had even finished speaking. "Why don't they call S ranks something cooler than World-Enders? I mean, it's kind of… literal, right?"
A ripple of laughter spread through the room, but Jarek only smirked. "Straight to the most powerfull I see. You think naming a rank after what they actually do is boring? Fine. Let's call them planetary obliteration experts. Better?"
The class laughed, and even Talon cracked a smile.
"But seriously," Jarek continued, his tone growing darker, "World-Enders are exactly that. Their power is beyond comprehension for most of us. When one shows up, you're not dealing with a soldier, you're dealing with a force of nature."
Talon leaned forward, intrigued despite himself.
A girl in the back raised her hand. "Sir, have you… ever seen one?"
Jarek hesitated, his gaze distant for a moment before he shook his head. "No. And I hope I never do. When a World-Ender is deployed, it's not about fighting battles. It's about erasing them. Entire fleets, armies, even planets, gone. I've been in wars where rumors of one showing up were enough to send entire divisions into a panic."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words settling over the students.
The man continued, his tone grave. "Quadrillions of people across our proud nations, yet we have fewer than 500 World-Enders. And not all of them fight for our side. Pray you never see one."
'Well, that escalated quickly,' Talon thought. He couldn't help but wonder if Jarek was being entirely honest about never encountering one. For a guy who seemed to have a story for everything, he sure got awfully cryptic whenever the big guns came up.
Another student, a boy with glasses, raised his hand. "But why doesn't humanity just use World-Enders to win the war? If they're that powerful…"
Jarek crossed his arms, his expression hardening. "Because the Xa'tarii have their own. For every World-Ender we deploy, they send one of theirs, sometimes, more. And when they clash, one dies. We can't afford to lose any more than we already have. They're not just weapons; they're deterrents. Losing one tips the balance, and we need to keep ours alive to keep them from sending theirs."
Talon couldn't help but imagine it, a clash on that scale, where entire planets trembled under the weight of such power. The thought was both thrilling and terrifying.
A man can dream.
Jarek clapped his hands, the sharp sound snapping most of the class out of their daydreams and thoughts. "Alright, that's enough fantasizing about S ranks and World-Enders," he said, his tone somewhere between stern and amused.
"Let's shift gears and focus on what really matters for tomorrow: awakening. Shall I quickly go over the basics one last time, so you're not caught off guard? Then we can get back to your random questions about stuff that's only going to scare you for now."
The class murmured their approval, some nodding while others chuckled nervously.
"Good," Jarek said, turning back to the holoboard. "Here's what you need to know. Tomorrow, during the ceremony, you'll be tested to see if you have a Super gene. If you're one of the lucky two percent who do, you'll awaken your gene and begin your path toward ascension."
He gestured to the glowing chart that still displayed the ranks from F to S. "The ranks you see here, F, E, D, and so on, are the official terminology, but no one really uses them anymore unless they're filing paperwork or making reports. You'll hear people refer to you as Soldiers, Sentinels, Titans, or even World-Enders depending on your rank. It's more about what you do than what letter they slap on you."
He turned back to the class, hands on his hips. "Does everyone understand the difference between a Super gene and ascension rank?"
There was a beat of silence before someone yelled, "No!"
Talon turned his head, spotting the source of the voice, a guy in the back who always seemed half-asleep in class.
'How has this guy not flunked out yet?' Talon thought, shaking his head.
'Seriously, is he just here for the free meals?'
Jarek sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as the class stifled their laughter. "Alright, let me spell it out for those of you still trying to piece it together."
Jarek tapped his fingers against the chart, leaning slightly against the holoboard. "A Super gene determines the power you get. The better it is, the more powerful you are at your rank compared to others. Think of it like the weapon you're holding. The better the weapon, the easier the fight."
He paused, letting the readers absorb his words. "But ascension rank? That's how far you've pushed yourself, how much of that potential you've turned into actual power. For example, a D rank with a common gene can still wipe the floor with an E rank who has an epic gene. But if they're both at D rank? Let's just say the odds tilt heavily the other way."
He let the chart fade, crossing his arms as he took a step back. "The ceremony's pretty simple. You'll place your hand on the orb, and it'll either glow or it won't. If it glows green, congratulations, you've got a Super gene. If it glows red, you're a non-Super. More will be explained tommorow."
A few students exchanged nervous glances, while others looked like they were already planning their triumphant awakenings. Talon sat stiffly, his stomach twisting into tighter and tighter knots.
He hated that it all came down to luck.
Jarek's tone grew more serious. "For those of you who awaken, don't let it go to your head. Awakening is just the first step. Ascending through the ranks takes effort, discipline, and, frankly, a bit of luck. You're not becoming a god tomorrow, you're just opening the door. So don't start sketching out your World-Ender titles just yet."
That earned a round of laughter, albeit tinged with nervousness. Even Talon cracked a small smile, despite himself.
"Alright," Jarek said, clapping his hands sharply. "That covers the basics. Now, back to questions, anything else you want to know before we wrap this up?"
Hands shot up across the room as students eagerly sought every bit of information they could squeeze out of the instructor.