In a dimly lit alleyway, three figures could be seen standing around someone that was curled up on the floor, his cloths tattered, bruises and blood could be seen at some part of his body.
"Stupid weakling, how dare you try to resist, tch"
One of the boys standing spat out, delivering a hard kick to the boys stomach.
After beating the boy on the floor, the three boys walked away, one of their voice hung in the air.
"Try this shit next time and I'll send you to your parents."
After making sure the boys were gone, the curled up boy stood up, revealing the smirk playing on his lips.
"Fools... All brute and no brains" his raspy voice muttered.
he stood up and dusted himself, walking towards a garbage bin and putting his hands under the small space beneath it.
He pulled out a small brown chocolate box, his face relaxed as he smelt the fragrance coming from the chocolate.
After securing the chocolate, the boy stepped out of the alleyway and and onto the sidewalk, the bright lights and cacophony of sounds from the bustling street enveloped him, a stark contrast to the darkness and violence he had just escaped.
'hahh.. Time to head home.' he sighed
Waking up from his reverie, he walked down the street, after a few minutes of walking, he stops in front of a small dilapidated building, the building looked like it was devoid of any living being, the only thing that made the building noticeable was the flickering lights coming from within.
He walked into the building, the smell of rusted iron hit him, he scrunched up his nose as he walked through what looked like a living room, broken tables, burnt couch and cloths littered the place.
His steps echoed through the place as he stopped in front of a door just after the living room, pushing the door open, he walked into a small room, the room looked more organized and clean.
Stopping in front of the mirror at the other end of the room, he placed the chocolate box on the table and stared at the mirror.
Adrian stood at 5'6" with a lean, almost gaunt figure that seemed to accentuate the sharp lines of his bones. His dark hair was cropped short, framing his heart-shaped face and drawing attention to his deep, brown eyes that seemed to hold a quiet intensity.
Adrian's eyes lingered on the bruises on his face.
"so much for a box of chocolate, haha" he chucked as he picked up a small rag laying on the floor, using the wet part to clean the blood on his face, he winced a little as the cold rag touched his open bruise.
After cleaning the blood, Adrian opened up the box of chocolate and took a bite,
"Hmph.. So good.. Was definitely worth it!" he savored the taste as the chocolate melted in his mouth, his face relaxed as he put down the box of chocolate, saving it for later.
"Time to train, the alliance assessment would start tomorrow, I have to make sure I pass the physical test, I can't fail... No, I won't fail!!"
A sharp glint streaked across Adrian's eyes, he moved to the side of the room, picking up what looked like a dumbell, a short bar made of wood and two rusted disk attached to each side.
He picked it up after exerting most of his strength, letting out a sigh of relief, he put it down and added more disk.
Then he tried to lift it, but he couldn't, the dumbbell wouldn't even budge.
"Now.. The fun part!" Adrian said as a large grin spread across his face
Adrian closed his eyes, silencing the whirring sound coming from the flickering light, after a few seconds, something deep within him steered, surging towards his palm that wrapped around the dumbbell.
In the next instant, the dumbbells wooden bar bent slightly as he picked up the dumbbell, Adrian's eyes widened in shock as he let out a stiffled laughter, causing him to lose focus, which resulted in the dumbbell falling to the ground.
"Hahaha.. I did it!... Never knew I'd be able to harness aether before I awaken."
Aether is the prominent energy that appeared after the aliens invaded, those who harness the energy are able to display unmatched strength.
Aether is also the energy source that powers the abilities humans awaken, although not all humans are able to awaken even after reaching the required age, thus living their life's as normal human, while few of them are able to wield aether without having an ability, allowing them to archive great feats, such as, increased strength, speed and defence.
That was as much as Adrian knows, he noticed he could harness aether a few days ago, when he reached 17.
He didn't awaken any abilities like other's would, making him lose hope of passing the assessment.
Although he's been trying to control it, his attempts have been futile, still trying again and again led to this moment, the aether finally moved.
He always felt it circulating around his heart, making him feel energized and light, although he still got tired quickly, but not as much as before.
"With this I'd be able to pass the test tomorrow!" Adrian pumped his fist.
Picking up a small broken watch on the table, he looked at the time and it read "10:32 PM" he gently put the watch down and headed to the other side of the room.
On the floor was a small mat and a pillow made up of cloths taped together, he lied down and set his head on the pillow.
He stared at the shining stars through the cracks in the roof, an image of a middle aged man and a woman flashed across his mind, "I miss you.. Mom and dad.."
'Time to sleep... I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow... I just hope I'll still be able to awaken, would be sad if I didn't ..' Adrian's thought's drifted away as he fell asleep.
***
6:30 AM
*BEEP BEEP*
Adrian woke up to the sound of the watch beeping, he stretched his body for a few seconds before standing up, gazing at the shimmer of sunlight coming from the cracks on the wall.
"Today is gonna be a great day!" Adrian exclaimed.
He immediately picked up a small brush on the table. entered the toilet outside the room, his eyes took in the charred walls and a slightly bent shower and a broken sink, he turned on the switch beside the shower, causing a brownish colored water to stream out.
" Tch. Not this shit again" Adrian clicked his tongue, waiting for a few minutes before the water finally cleared up.
A few minutes later, Adrian emerged from the shower, water droplets glistening on his refreshed face.
He walked back into the room, picking up a small leather bag close to his mat, he opened it and revealed it's content.
A clean black hoodie with white stripes and a long blue pant, Adrian's smile widened as he put on the cloths.
He adjusted the pants with a rope, as his waist was too small to hold it up, then he put on the hoodie that covered his lean figure.
"Damn.. I look like those rich kids out there" Adrian exclaimed as he looked at himself in the mirror, he nodded as he shifted his gaze to the watch.
7:38 AM
"Time to head out, the candidate assessment begins at eight.."
he took one last last glance at the mirror before heading out.