'Haah. When is this going to stop?', thought Luciel as the capsule continued its seemingly endless descent.
It had been a few minutes since the long descent began; the air felt thinner and less with each passing second, as though it was being sucked out of the capsule. And most of the children had stopped yelling and screaming as they ran out of oxygen, their minds slowly drifting away.
Luciel was regulating his breathing, conserving as much oxygen as possible to remain one of the few remaining conscious children.
'Damn it. I can't keep going.', thought Luciel as the oxygen in the capsule dwindled even more, causing the burning sensation in his lungs to become unbearable as his mind raced to find a solution for his current predicament.
And as he thought of many plans, he came up with a dangerous yet almost genius plan.
'I just have to make my body need less oxygen.', Luciel thought, and as he slowed down his body's metabolism to almost zero using his ethyr - reducing the oxygen usage in his body - he died.
For a few seconds, Luciel died, his senseless body floating motionless in the air as his mind drifted into his subconscious.
[Luciel. Luciel.] Faint whispers pulled at his conscience as he dived deeper into his subconscious, but before he could comprehend them-
BOOM!
A loud crash reverberated through the capsule as it crashed to the ground, immediately pulling Luciel out of his daze.
KKHHAAUP
A sharp gush of air rushed into his lungs as he regained consciousness, immediately spreading out his ethyr.
COUGH
COUGH
'I am not doing that again.', thought Luciel as he coughed
Luciel could sense that the capsule had come to an abrupt stop, which brought a wave of relief and a new set of questions. Because despite the capsule coming to a stop, he and all the other children remained floating in the air.
'What's happening?', thought Luciel.
But before he could dwell on the question any longer-
THUD
All the other children, including Luciel, crashed to the floor in unison, yet the girl next to him landed smoothly on the ground. Surprising him as he lay on the floor, face-first, groaning internally from the pain of the impact with the capsule's metallic frame.
BEEP
A loud electronic chime resounded through the capsule as the black-haired girl helped Luciel to his feet, his breath slowly stabilizing.
"Are you alright?", asked the girl.
Luciel parted his mouth, but before he could say a word-
The voice of a middle-aged woman, resonant and artificial, rang through the capsule, grabbing the attention of all those who regained or maintained consciousness.
'What's going on, now?', thought Luciel as he listened intently to the unknown voice.
In an instant, the devices around the children's necks lit up as they displayed information about them on small virtual screens, yet for Luciel nothing happened; the device around his neck simply remained inactive.
In the next moment, 15 distinct waves of ethyr burst forth within the capsule, barraging Luciel's senses as the door of the capsule slid open.
<10>
"We need to go now.", said the black-haired girl, her tone carrying an edge of urgency as she led Luciel out of the capsule.
<9>
Luciel didn't understand her urgency, but he knew she was not lying, and besides, he didn't have a good feeling about the countdown.
<8>
<7>
"What is happening?"
"No, not again."
Whispered some children as they tried to make sense of the cryptic words. But as a certain bright-colored-haired girl noticed Luciel and the black-haired girl make their way out of the capsule, she immediately followed.
'My Knight!', she thought.
<5>
<4>
Noticing this, a few other children followed them out.
<3>
<2>
And as the timer ended, some children remained inside the capsule, too afraid of the horrors outside.
<1>
***
In a dimly lit room, the silhouettes of two figures could be seen having a conversation.
At first, the figure of an iron-clad man could be seen kneeling on one leg in front of an empty chair, his glowing red eyes focused and eager for something or someone to arrive.
And in the next instance, a black-furred cat strolled through the open window as the cool night breeze flowed in behind it, making for a grand entry.
"What's the report, Ghost?", asked the cat as it made its way to the kneeling Ghost, its melodic voice carrying a casual yet deadly undertone.
"The cadets have made their way onto the island, Your Highness.", replied Ghost.
"Good. Very good.~", said the cat as it settled into the chair in front of Ghost, its form changing into that of a stunning black-haired young lady.
"Thank you, Your Highness.", said Ghost.
"And the boy?~", she asked, the light of the moon reflecting perfectly off her amethyst-like eyes, as they focused on Ghost.
"His name is Luciel, Your Highness. And as you ordered, I did not touch or lay a single finger on him."
"Hmm~ Great work, Ghost. You may leave."
In the next moment, Ghost's form faded into a small cloud of mist before completely disappearing.
"Luciel~" whispered the young girl as her long black hair swayed graciously in the night breeze, a small, sly smile creeping onto her face.