The training ground was alive with chaos. Cadets stumbled across the blood-soaked dirt, gasping for air as their bruised bodies strained to stay upright. The clanging of steel against the air, punctuated by the occasional cry of pain.
"Pathetic", captain muttered, leaning lazily against a post. His cigar smoldered in the dying light, casting a faint glow over his scarred face.
I stood near him, my eyes scanning the remnants of Squad five. What the old man called "training" looked more like a slaughterhouse. Cadets who couldn't keep up with the relentless brutality were left crumpled in the dirt, discarded like broken toys.
"You've seen the worst of them", old man said, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Now time to meet the best".
He nodded towards the far end of the field.
There, in a circle of cracked earth and warped air, stood a figure who didn't look like he belonged to this world.
His hair, silver like moonlight, fell messily over his dark blue eyes. His grin was wide and sharp, almost predatory, and he exuded an aura that twisted the air itself. The ground beneath his feet seemed to bend and ripple unnaturally, as though the laws of reality didn't matter to him.
"That's Xeraniel", Bran said, a rare grimace crossing his face. "Our squad's one-man disaster. A demigod reject who plays at being human when it suits him. He's strong, no question. But a pain in my ass".
Xeraniel tilted his head as if hearing the old man's words, though he was far away. His eyes locked onto me, in an instant he was in front of me, his grin widening.
"So you're the recruit everyone's talking about", he said, his voice deep and dripping with mockery. "Tell me, Modred, how long do you think you'll last before I break you"?
I stared at him, unflinching. The weight of his aura pressed against my body, heavier than anything I'd ever felt. It was like standing at the edge of an abyss that wanted to swallow me whole.
But I refused to let him see any weakness." I'd like to see you try".
His grin widened, an eerie laugh escaping his lips. "Oh, I like this one. Bran, where did you find him? The gutter? Or you just wanted to hand me a new toy"?
Bran sighed, waving a hand dismissively. "Enough with the theatrics, Xeraniel. Just show him what you can do".
Xeraniel's eyes lit up, his excitement almost childlike. "Gladly".
In an instant, the air surrounding him shifted. The ground beneath his feet cracked and rose, chunks of earth and debris floating as if gravity had forgotten them. A cadet who had been training nearby stumbled, gasping as his body suddenly yanked off the ground, hovering helplessly in the air.
"Let's make this fun", Xeraniel said, his voice filled with maniac glee.
The cadet screamed, flailing as Xeraniel twisted his hand. The floating debris swirled faster, forming a vortex of destruction. Just as the cadet was about to be crushed, Xeraniel snapped his fingers, and the whirlwind stopped. The cadet collapsed to the ground, shaking and pale.
After he was done with his show, he looked at me with his annoying grin. I stepped forward meeting his gaze. "Am sorry, is that supposed to impress me"?
For a moment, the grin dropped from his face, replaced by something sharper, hungrier. The air grew heavier, pressing down on my chest like an invisible hand.
Bran sighed heavily and punched Xeraniel in the head. "Alright that's enough dumbass, now Modred let me introduce you to the other two striders".
Next was a man who looked more like a fortress than a soldier. Draven stood well over six feet, his muscular frame covered in scars that told stories of battles no words could capture. His piercing dark eyes met mine with an intensity that wasn't hostile but wasn't welcoming either.
"Draven", he said simply, his voice a rumble that seemed to shake the air. "Frontline".
The last was a girl cloaked in darkness, her hood hiding much of her face save for her piercing violet eyes. She moved with an eerie grace, each step so silent it was as if the shadows themselves carried her forward.
"Arden", she said softly, her voice a whisper laced with menace. "Assassin".
"Good", Bran said, clapping his hands together. "Now that introductions are over, you should get ready for the mission we leave at her dawn, Emily will give you details of the mission." With that he turned and left.
Finally I get to experience the thrill of a battle.