It was more than they had ever expected. Strange buildings of different sizes stood on either side of the courtyard. Each building appeared as if it came from a different period of time: tribal, medieval, modern and futuristic.
Yujin led them through into a cobbled courtyard and pointed ahead of them. “I must leave you now. The President is waiting up ahead. He will guide you next.”
Kry turned to him. “Thank you,” he said. “And I’m sorry for earlier.”
Yujin placed his hand on his shoulder. “You’re strong. There is no need to say sorry to me.”
Kry was thankful.
“When will we see you again?” asked Eclipse.
“Sooner than you realize.” Yujin gave a mischievous grin.
Whisper came up to Yujin and hugged his leg. “Thanks.”
Yujin picked Whisper up. “Little one! I’m counting on you to keep these two together,” he said. “You’re strong, too. Don’t ever forget.”
“I’ll look after them,” said Whisper.
Yujin laughed and placed him back down. “The President is waiting. Go.” He turned and left.
The three of them walked together in the courtyard looking at the strange buildings around them. The courtyard connected to another courtyard through a stone archway. A great golden clock stood above the entrance and chimed as they passed underneath.
“I don’t see any other students,” said Kry.
Eclipse removed Kuro from her scabbard. “Be alert. Let’s see what this President person has to say.”
Entering the next courtyard, they found more strange buildings, and at the center stood a red-bricked tower.
“I’m glad you finally made it.” A man with dark brown hair, sharp blue eyes, and wearing a green robe walked toward them. His face was aged and full of experience. He bowed. “I am President Katar.” His accent was unusual, and his skin had a golden glow.
Kry was not used to bowing but returned the gesture. “My name is Kry.”
“Ensis, yes,” said Katar. “And you are Eclipse and Whisper. Welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” said Whisper.
Katar bowed once more. “And you,” he replied with his mind.
Eclipse still held Kuro, wary of any attack.
“I would advise you to put your weapon back where it cannot harm anyone.” Katar then flicked his wrist.
To Eclipse’s amazement, Kuro flew out of her hand and returned to its scabbard. She looked to her hand and then to Katar.
“You will have plenty of chances to show your mettle here, Eclipse,” said Katar.
She never liked when a man spoke to her like that, but she sensed something in his eyes that kept her from making any unwise remark. Instead, she bowed in return. “Thank you for allowing us to train here.”
Katar waved his hand and turned. “Let me show you around before the sun sets. Then I’ll take you to your accommodation.”
He led them beyond the tower and through another archway into a further courtyard where seven paths split away in a semi-circular direction. In the distance, each path connected to a building which seemed different and unique in both size and architecture. No two buildings were the same.
Katar walked ahead and led them down the path to the farthest left. “This university is different to how you would imagine. Students who study here are usually between eighteen to their mid-twenties.” He looked at Whisper. “But in some cases, we’ve had students who are younger and some who are even older. As long as you work hard, that’s all that matters.”
Whisper widened his eyes in excitement as he listened to his every word.
“There are no seniors or juniors. Everyone trains together, but the students here have studied for one term already, and everyone in the current batch will graduate at the same time, including you three. There will be a lot for you to catch up on, and it won’t be easy, but I think you three will do just fine. Now, you may be wondering why it’s so quiet. All the students are in classes training for different skills. Let me show you,” said Katar.
“Yes!” said Whisper.
Kry was curious about the system here, but he knew the term they had already missed was only just the peak of the iceberg since he had never trained as a User before.
They followed Katar down the path. The first building was shaped like a pyramid with two golden doors. A word was carved above the entrance: ‘Telekinesis.’
“The first path.” Katar pushed the doors open.
They entered into a narrow hallway with several steel doors on either side. Katar walked ahead and signaled for them to follow. He stopped at the first open room.
Whisper’s eyes widened. Katar put his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet. Students were moving objects with their minds through a wall of shapes. Kry was amazed at how each object floated with such finesse.
“Focus! Your mind is a funnel. Guide it, and you gain precision.”
Kry could see a lady with a yellow-striped dress and golden hair teaching the students from the side. The students listened to her voice as they directed the shaped objects through the matching holes in the wall. One of the students dropped a diamond-shaped object causing a crash.
“Jackson!” said the professor.
Katar signaled it was time to move on as he spoke with his fingers for them to leave. They walked down the hallway and in each room they entered, students were moving objects with their mind and overcoming various obstacles. One room focused on using objects to defend oneself, whereas another room focused on moving a giant rock with shared telekinesis in a group activity. Each room tested different skills, but all were focused on the core of telekinesis.
“This is incredible!” said Kry. “I never knew a place like this existed.”
Katar looked at him. “There is much more to come. You haven’t seen anything yet,” he said, leading them out of the pyramid-shaped building and back into the courtyard with the seven paths.
Next, Katar led them down the second path and toward the next building. Unlike the pyramid, the second building was shaped like an oval. As with the first, words were carved over the entrance: ‘Barrier Training.’
It seemed obvious to Kry what was inside. As he entered, Kry thought that this was one of the few skills of which he had a good understanding. That was shattered as soon as he saw the intense training of the students. The building was one giant hall with students scattered around in groups of five as they deflected beams of energy from the ceiling. The blasts seemed to gain in power the more the students deflected them. Their barriers shimmered with bright energy, and the students huddled together in their groups doing their best to resist the beams. He could see the stress they were under as they struggled against the onslaught.
“You are stronger together!” shouted a small, skinny man who appeared to be the instructor. He wore a blue cap and jeans as he shouted from the safe zone.
Katar made eye contact with the professor.
“Level five, activate!” said the professor.
The room vibrated, and the intensity of the beams increased to extreme levels, knocking the students of several groups to the floor. As each group fell, there was the sound of beeping.
“Davies’ group out, Riley’s group out, Lira’s group out.” The professor moved around the hall at lightning speed, moving the students to safety as their barriers faltered. He continued shouting names of each group until only two remained.
Eclipse had said nothing of what she thought since entering these buildings, but her face was like stone—unreadable.
Just then, Kry noticed one of the groups moved differently to the other. Someone inside the barrier was doing something with his hands and trying to hide it from the other group. He looked at Katar who did not seem to notice and neither did the barrier instructor. The beams were coming down at an astonishing rate as the last two groups tried to battle it out. Kry continued watching and noticed a faint line of energy coming from the barrier of one of the groups to the other. A young
man inside was moving his fingers by his side and smiling as he did so. Suddenly, there was a crackle of lightning as the barrier of the other group failed, and the beam of red energy came down before the professor could react.
It happened so quickly that no one noticed another barrier forming above the five students who lost their group barrier. The beams of energy hit the new barrier and deflected off without harming anyone.
“Kry?” said Eclipse, looking at his raised hand.
“Deactivate,” shouted the professor.
Katar turned to Kry. He then walked toward the professor and spoke to him. Kry lowered his hand. What did he do? It was instinct. There was no time to think, but he knew what he had to do before it was too late. Creating the barrier was a natural reflex.
Katar walked back to them. “Kry, you saved lives today.”
Kry looked around the hall. All the students were staring at him. The last group remaining had their barrier up, and Kry saw the young man who had been moving his hands looking at him with disgust.
“But you should never interfere with an exercise,” said Katar. “Students need to be strong enough to defend themselves.”
“He just saved those students from death,” said Eclipse with a sharp tone.
“Perhaps,” said Katar. “But now you have shown yourself as new competition, and you have also offended their pride. Be careful to watch your backs.” He led them away from the hall and left the building.
“You were amazing, Kry. How did you do that?” asked Whisper.
Kry was just as surprised. “I’ve no idea. It felt natural, like a long lost skill I’d forgotten. I can’t explain it.”
“This place is dangerous,” said Eclipse. “We may have made more enemies than friends by your display.”
How ironic it was that he had saved their lives and it made more enemies than friends. What kind of people lived here?
Katar moved back to the seven paths and led them down the third path toward a building shaped as a five-pointed star. This was perhaps the strangest building they had yet come across.
“It can get quite hectic inside, so watch yourself,” said Katar.
Kry looked at Eclipse and Whisper who also shared similar looks of concern. The words carved above the entrance were ‘Elemental Training,’ and another five-pointed star was carved above, each point indicating a separate symbol: fire, water, earth, lightning, and an unknown fifth element.
“What’s that last symbol?” asked Kry.
Katar looked up at the five-pointed star. “Dark matter. A very powerful source of energy.” There was a trace of uncertainty in his tone as if he were afraid of it. The symbol of dark matter was warped and ugly, unlike the other four which seemed natural and pure.
Katar pushed the doors open, and inside was a display of glass rooms, each one labeled with one of the five elements. From the hallway, they were able to see students training with each element.
“This glass will protect you from any stray blasts,” said Katar.
At that moment, a blast of fire hit the glass surprising Whisper. The heat from the flame was intense.
Kry pulled him back from the window. “Are you alright?”
Whisper spun around and went back to the window. “Did you see that blast?”
“This place is crazy,” said Kry.
Katar narrowed his eyes. “How so?”
“Training with the elements? Is that what Users do? Train to kill?” accused Kry.
“You seem to have misunderstood what this place is, Ensis,” said Katar.
“And what would that be?” interjected Eclipse.
Katar was calm as another blast hit the window. “We don’t train to kill. We train to survive. We train our minds to develop our identity. Every User is different. Every User can master any of the skills you have seen so far, but putting them all together is the key to success. Here, we train the mental, physical, and spiritual.”
Eclipse recalled a similar saying from the Master when she entered the dojo. Those three aspects were the core of all her training.
“We train you to be strong, to create a persona of who you were meant to be based on your mental prowess. Not everyone who attends this university makes it out alive, but the ones who do are the better for it,” said Katar.
“So survival of the fittest?” said Kry. “The weak die?”
“Exactly.” Katar walked ahead indicating their conversation about this was over.
Kry grit his teeth.
Whisper looked back and forth between students who were controlling fire, ice, lightning, and earth. “I hope I can master my mind and use the elements.” He pressed his hands against the window in awe and then followed after Katar.
Kry pulled Eclipse to the side. “Do you really think this is the best place for us?”
“As much as I hate to say it, I believe it is,” said Eclipse.
“Whisper could die here. I can’t let that…” Kry’s words trailed off.
“Don’t underestimate him. I understand where you’re coming from, and I think the philosophy here isn’t perfect, but it might be what we need to stay alive and survive what’s coming,” said Eclipse.
Kry watched Whisper run from window to window with joy. “I can’t lose him, too.”
“We won’t,” said Eclipse. “If we stick together, we’ll be fine. I trust Rush, and he did tell us it was going to be tough. Look around us, Kry. It’s unbelievable that these things are possible, but it is, and we can also do them if we try.”
Kry peered through one of the windows where a student harnessed a bolt of lightning, targeting it at a plastic dummy. The dummy melted on impact and evaporated.
“We have a chance here to become stronger,” said Eclipse.
“I know,” said Kry. “But at what cost?”
They caught up to Whisper and Katar who were now at the end of the hallway. One room remained. The symbol for dark matter was painted on the door.
“Our students who come here usually can master one of the elements of their choice depending on their training and personality,” said Katar. “Some can even train more than one, but the most powerful of Users can control dark matter.”
Inside the room was a single student with a professor. The student seemed in good shape, athletic, and powerful; his dark hair and eyes matched his dark jacket and faded pants. He moved his hand in a circular motion causing the objects in the room to rise in the air.
“Dark matter is very dangerous,” said Katar. “Watch.”
The professor backed away as the student gained enough momentum from the movements of his hands. With a sudden flash, a bolt of red energy appeared from the palms of the student and toward a small circular object on the table. The bolt of red energy hit the object but then instantly dissipated into nothingness.
Eclipse was ready to grab her weapon. “What was that?”
“Dark matter is very volatile and difficult to contain. The circular object on the table helps drain and contain the energy when hit. We call it a flux. It drains all the energy before any damage can be done,” said Katar.
Kry had seen dark matter before. His parents had created red energy in their fight with Dominus. The power it created was immense, but it was not enough to stop Dominus.
“You don’t seem impressed, Ensis,” said Katar.
“It’s not that.” He was going to mention his parents but decided against it. “It’s nothing.”
Katar looked at him for a moment before turning back through the hallway. Kry prepared to follow him, but something about dark matter did not feel right. The professor in the room was watching the student, and yet, it felt he was also being watched. He put it out of his mind and caught up with the others.
“What you saw was the first stage of dark matter,” said Katar.
“First stage?” asked Kry. “How many stages are there?”
“Interested are we?” said Katar, curling his lips.
“I want to know as much as I can,” replied Kry.
“You will make a good student then,” said Katar. “The first stage is always red, even this is hard to master, and only the most gifted can train in dark matter. Orange is the second stage where I have seen only a few Users reach this level. The third and final stage is white, pure white. It’s said that this stage brings about the most energy and can destroy things with just a thought.”
Eclipse and Whisper glanced at Kry. He knew what they were thinking. When Rhea died, he had reached a level of power unthinkable, and it changed him to the very core. Even he could not remember what happened, but they had told him. His eyes had turned white, an energy unlike any other which had almost killed them all.
“Sadly, this stage is barred to most of us. It takes great concentration and emotion to reach this level. Some of us call the final stage Ascension,” said Katar. “Of course, this is just a name. Many Users have come here to reach the Ascended level as we believe it is the highest stage of a User, reaching a level of power unimaginable.”
“Has anyone become an Ascended?” asked Kry.
Katar looked grave. “The Shadow Government. They have all reached Ascension. They are the most powerful of us all.”
An image of twelve people, with eyes of white fire, sitting around a stone table appeared in his mind. Kry shivered. “All of them have reached the highest level?”
“You seem surprised. As you know, they rule us with an iron fist. No one can challenge them. If you follow their rules, then there is nothing to worry about. Some have tried to oppose them, but in the end, it’s always the same outcome,” said Katar.
Kry thought of his parents and wished things could have been different. Was there anything that could stop the Shadow Government?
“Anyway, that’s enough about dark matter and Ascension. We still have much to see before darkness hinders our tour.” Katar led them back out to the central path.
“Why are we skipping the fourth?” asked Eclipse, noticing that Katar had taken them out of order.
“The middle path is for last. You’ll see why at the end of this,” said Katar.
Whisper was still giddy with excitement as he jogged along the path after Katar. Kry was worried that he was too involved, too excited, and not truly understanding the dangers before them.
Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2) Page 5
