Jack was an interesting person to say the least. He was one of the few people in the room with asian heritage, displaying pitch black hair and rounded facial features. It was possible for him to be older than he looked, but he certainly couldn't be older than Lars, who was eighteen-pushing-nineteen. So it was rare to find someone who had an air about them that didn't fit youth, but rather exuded the feeling of an aged man who had been through it all. That's how he looked sitting in silence while reading his book, anyway.
At first, Lars' attention was drawn to the unnatural white streaks in his hair. Unlike Nia, who had silver-grey highlights as a testament to her Tirynn heritage, Jack's pure streaks of white were reminiscent of snow as if he had albinism. However, upon closer observation, it was obvious that his complexion was suffering from something greater.
His skin was incredibly pale and you could see the veins in his hands or on his neck. A blue undertone was visible, and his lips hardly had any red to them. Considering his abnormality, which had an apparent affinity with ice, it wasn't hard to tell that his entire body was chillingly cold and stiff; if he remained still, then he could easily be mistaken for a corpse.
In a similar fashion as she had done to Julka, Natalya went around him, leaning over him and placing a hand on his head as she spoke: "Hey, Jack, why don't you wear more? You wouldn't be so cold if you added a few layers."
Jack simply responded, "That would only help keep heat in. There's no heat to internalise, so it's pointless to do as such. Besides, the cold doesn't really bother me." He then turned towards Lars, "You're the new recruit?"
"I am—it's nice to meet you," he responded. "My name is Lars."
"Jack. Likewise," Jack said succinctly. "What brought you here?"
"Hm… Well, I didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or death."
"A lot of us here have troubled circumstances, so I'm not surprised. Ossian and Nia, the two who were arguing, used to be leaders of gangs before joining. They were rivals until they ended up here—and now they're partners since their abnormalities fit each other and no one else works well with them. Although, the problem's mostly with Nia on that last part."
"Oh… Yeah, that's an interesting background."
Lars felt like he would be surprised again and again as he learnt more about these people. He himself had to admit that his circumstance were quite unique and warranted a story to tell on its own, so everyone who got caught up in Rhys' sticky web most likely had a troubled background and their own quirks to go along with that. Everyone, like him, ended up braving the singularity, in one way or another, instead of retaining a comfortable life.
As he was musing that, an abrupt shout echoed through the cafeteria.
Rhys demanded with a powerful voice, allowing no rebuttal, "Everyone, gather 'round! Don't make me get you myself, or you won't get off easy!"
"Let's get over there, then," Jack sighed as he started to shift his body. At the same time, although it was hard to discern since the noise wasn't isolated, it was possible to hear the sound of cracking joints that adamantly protested this movement. His abnormality appeared strong, but it clearly wasn't without its drawbacks.
The entire cafeteria slowly gathered, with the people collecting themselves in a rough semi-circle around its entrance, where Rhys was standing and waiting. Most were there within a short time, but Jack took the longest out of them all. Thankfully, Rhys seemed to have the patience to not reprimand him for taking the longest. His case was special after all.
"You've all had time to meet the new recruit now, but I'll give a brief introduction. He's Lars Wold from Denmark. He made his first return from the singularity today, and as such, has gained an abnormality and is officially a member of the team. In the overworld, his duties involve serving directly under me; while on the other side, he'll be paired with Natalya. Are the any questions?"
Nia raised her hand slightly before speaking:
"What's his type in women?"
"I wouldn't know," Rhys responded.
Nia then asked, "What about star signs? What star sign is he?"
Rhys sighed, then looked at Lars and asked, "Do you know your star sign?"
"No…" Lars said slowly.
Bypassing the need to go through Rhys, Nia approached him and hushedly asked, "What month were you born in, Lars?" When he confusedly responded, "January," she then took out her phone and went to the back of the crowd, turning her back to the meeting and typing something in to it.
"Any other questions…" Rhys said, seemingly not caring so much this time, however. When silence ruled the room for a few moments, and it seemed no one was going to speak, Thomas raised his hand and asked, "What type of abnormality does he have?"
It seemed at first that this was his only question, but he then suddenly cut himself off. "Is it suited for battle? No, actually, are we doing the thing? The usual thing? Can it be me?! Let it be me—!"
Rhys answered, "It's a physical enhancement type. So, his role is a fighter. Other than that, Natalya will be doing it. It's important for the two to understand each other's abnormalities."
Thomas protested, "But I haven't gotten to do it since long ago!"
Rhys reprimanded, "Teresa, you nearly killed Ossian during his recruitment, you aren't doing it."
With the ongoing vagueness, Lars finally stepped in, asking, "What are you talking about? What are we about to do?"
"It's a tradition for new recruits," Rhys explained. "For the sake of familiarising old and new members, and getting a grasp of each other's abnormalities, we hold a duel between the new recruit and an old member. Since you've already received a partner to pair up with, you're going to be sparring against Natalya. It's a fight in a controlled environment where you'll be going all-out with your abnormality."
"Huh…? Duel? Sparring? Fight?" Lars repeated blankly. He wasn't unfamiliar with sparring, engaging in that kind of thing with many people in his army training, and though putting it as a 'duel' was strange, it wasn't hard to fathom.
The problem was that his opponents and partners for sparring were usually grown men. If there was a size difference, then it was usually the other person being bigger. Now, he was being told to spar against Natalya—even if abnormalities were taken into account, this was a sixteen year old girl. How was he supposed to spar against her? Especially when it came to going 'all-out'...
"That's right," Rhys answered. "Natalya, you want to see his abnormality, don't you?"
"Yes, I do, I do! Let's do it! Let's spar, Lars," she responded enthusiastically. Her eyes gleamed intensely, as if this was what she was truly waiting for since the moment she barged into the room and introduced herself early. It was hard to refuse but even harder not to.
"I can't spar like that against a child. Thomas wanted to spar, right? Let me go against him," Lars insisted.
Thomas then interjected, "Uhm, that wasn't me… Ma'am Teresa wanted to."
Lars furrowed his brows. "Same thing, is it not? It would still be you."
"Lars," Rhys sighed. "This is proof you're still ignorant."
"No, I understand what you mean…" Lars corrected. "I know that the abnormalities change things, so she's capable of holding her own, even if it feels strange. But even then, I'm an adult male and a trained soldier. She's a teenage girl. It's still not appropriate."
He had the ability to recognise why his mindless rejection of the spar could make him come off as ignorant. But on the other hand, there were his experiences on the other side that brought him to the conclusion that it still wasn't right. During his fight against Siegfried, he was at a major disadvantage, but he was able to close the gap between himself, who was effectively powerless in the fight, and Siegfried's abyss walker because of his physique, martial arts training, and experience. That element couldn't be ignored.
Fighting against each other without holding back, and employing their abnormalities—which added unsafe variables, was nothing but reckless!
"Lars," Rhys crossed her arms, her voice no longer accepting complaints. "You will spar against Natalya. If you do not fight like your life depends on it, then expect to be hurt badly. Xi Yun has an abnormality geared towards healing, so there's no need to fear sustaining injuries."
While Lars was still feeling indignant, he felt a hand rest itself on his shoulder. He turned back to unexpectedly find Ossian; a pair of sunglasses rested on his face, so it was hard to gauge his thoughts. "Lars," he said. "Don't underestimate Natalya. None of us are worried about her—in fact, we're more concerned about you."
"What…?" Lars responded.
"I'm telling you to really try," Ossian chuckled as he pushed him forward. In the next moment, they were gathered in the training hall. The team was scattered about randomly from bystander positions while Lars and Natalya squared off in the middle. It was a strangely tense atmosphere with a sense of competitive excitement filling the air.
These people definitely held interest in watching this play out; as Rhys had mentioned, this was a tradition of theirs. Many had gone through this as a rite of entry and it was always anticipated when a new recruit was brought in. The only one among the group who didn't look intrigued or concerned in the slightest was Julka, who sat nearby Jack and only paid attention because there was nothing else to look at.
Rhys stood as the intermediary, ready to start things off when the two were ready. "Alright," she exclaimed, "Besides actively trying to kill the other, anything is legal! Use of abnormalities is permitted for the duration of the match! On the count of ten, you will begin…"
"10…"
Lars blinked and his face tensed.
"9…"
Natalya smiled and looked Lars in the eyes.
"8…"
Lars sighed.
"7…"
Natalya raised her finger to her mouth.
"6…"
Natalya bit on her finger with tremendous force, breaking the skin instantly and drawing blood. Lars' eyes widened in response. He was tempted to speak, move, or do anything in protest, but a sharp look from Rhys communicated for him to remain where he was. For some reason, this action was passed as something normal or expected.
"5…"
With the blood flowing out of the breakage as ink, and her finger acting like the tip of a pen, Natalya startled to scribble on her forearm.
"4…"
She wrote from left to right. When the blood was insufficient, she bit down on her finger again without hesitation.
"3…"
She kept writing.
"2…"
The time was approaching, but Natalya was still writing.
"1…"
She finally finished. With the indiscernible writing now on her forearm, she reached into her coat and pulled something out. Once again, Lars looked on with shock, realising that the thing she took out was a pistol.
Lars questioned in bewilderment, Why is she taking out a pistol? This is supposed to be sparring, is it not?!
"Go…!"
With Rhys' announcement commencing the match, the pistol in Natalya's hand was steadily lifted and turned back until it rested beneath her chin. The barrel pointed upwards and poked the soft flesh just above the Adam's apple. A second later, she pulled the trigger.
A flash announced the reaper's judgement. It was a real gun, with live ammunition, and the safety wasn't on; Natalya really aimed at her head and shot herself. However, what happened next betrayed Lars' expectations. The puppet's strings were cut but it still stood. At the same time, he noticed the space around him distort.
Is this her abnormality?! What did it do…?! Lars hastily looked around himself, trying to understand what effect would come about. This was nothing like abyss walker, which was easy to understand as a simple physical enhancement, or seduction, which affected the mind; and even though Jack's ice-corpses or Rhys' teleportation were surreal, it was more than possible to understand their capabilities.
But Lars couldn't recognise what was happening to the world around him. It was as if they were no longer in the training hall, but someplace else. The bright sun shone on the two of them despite the fact they were indoors. The ground beneath them was coarse, shifting sand instead of the reliable hardness that should have been there.
Firing off the gun, by the end of the ten second countdown, they were no longer in a training hall. It was an intensely hot desert that stretched on infinitely. His throat dried quickly and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and neck, assailing him with an overwhelming thirst. Meanwhile, Natalya stood on the spot, looking completely fine and invigorated even.
"In Russia, it was always cold. I'm thankful for this heat," she explained. At the same time, she took off her jacket and threw it to the dune. The full extent of her arms and shoulders were revealed at the same time. Only one passage of blood was drawn across her clear skin at the time, but upon watching her bite another finger and draw more blood, it did not bode well for Lars.