The green-haired girl beside Adrian was shaking visibly. All those who had completed the Testing Procedure were escorted out through another door that had not been there before. About seven of them had gone through the Procedure, including Arche. Some of the results satisfied the masters, who happily remarked on them, while others did not. And now it was her turn. It seemed as if she had gotten her senses back. Her grey eyes darted wildly, and her body trembled. Master Kha'laar announced, "Next." However, the girl didn't move. She just sat there, a shivering mess. The masters said nothing about her disobedience; they silently assessed her.
"Is this the one they were talking about? Poor thing, she looks pitiful. Doesn't she, Su'maa?" Ja'saar said as he walked towards the green-haired girl along with Su'maa, while Kha'laar stepped behind them.
"She was transferred from Class A to Class Z. What a big jump! But at what cost? Sadly, it isn't something to be proud of." Ja'saar continued in his playful yet sinister voice.
On their approach, the green-haired girl scrambled back till her back hit the headboard. Adrian's eyes followed their movement. They moved with such fluidity and grace as if floating in the air. No footsteps. Just a silent, undetectable shift in position. Looming over her bed like Angels of Death had descended to claim her soul. The girl wailed loudly and high-pitched, and Adrian's hand twitched to block his ears from the horrendous screech, but he suppressed the instinct. The masters were very close to Adrian's bed, as the girl was his neighbour. Again, he felt an eerie sense of inhumanity radiating off them.
The girl had puked onto the white sheets, and the acrid smell of it spread like a toxic gas. He wrinkled his nose as the nasty odour invaded his senses. The vomit didn't contain any food particles like it normally should have, or even bile; instead, a dark black liquid dribbled down her mouth. It was a nauseating sight. Many others had looked away, and some made disgusted expressions.
"Well, here we go. Always end up with the fucking misfits." Ja`saar sneered.
Then the quiet Su'maa said in a calm yet cold voice, "You do know why she is here? They have trusted us with this task, so we must fulfil it, no matter what. Only then can we rise to the top. Now cease your blabbering and get to work."
"Okay, my bad, my bad, Su`maa. It's just that your and Kha`laar's unrealistic ideals stress me out. Poor me, I even get scolded for being worried about my comrades." Ja`saar replied melodramatically but got to work. He raised his hand over the girl's head and muttered something under his breath. Adrian noticed a blue circular disc embedded on the palm of his hovering hand glowed. The effect was immediate; the shaking stopped, and the girl calmed down. Her eyes closed, and she slumped down.
"Phew. I would love a massage from Doctor Tazim. Using Aetherflux always cramps my muscles." Ja`saar said in a pretentious voice.
"Quiet complaining, you mongrel. Keth'ra venak tor'mor. Tha'vek Zenar, Ja'saar. We don't have time, finish it quickly." Kha`laar growled, his tone carrying an unmistakable warning.
He had said something in a language unknown to the youths there, who narrowed their eyes in puzzlement at the foreign words. They were bickering with each other when, abruptly, a sizzling heat spread like a wave of boiling air from a hot furnace. The green-haired girl who lay unconscious just a second ago had her arm shot up in the air, and her eyes glowed golden with silver tendrils of light swirling in the depths.
A golden hue shot out of her hand and wrapped around Ja`saar's body like a noose.
"Oh no." Ja`saar sarcastically clicked his tongue as the golden ropes pulled him off his feet and threw him across the room. He crashed against the wall with a reverberating bang, which seemed to shake the whole room.
This inexplicable view unravelled before their eyes, drawing collective gasps from the subjects. Their selective memory loss still couldn't conjure up anything fascinating like the sight unfolding before them. The impossible unfolded before them. Somewhere deep inside, Adrian knew this shouldn't exist.
Su`maa exhaled in a manner that screamed exhaustion. Neither he nor Kha`laar made any move to help Ja`saar, nor did they do anything to stop the green-haired girl. They moved to the sides and just watched. Ja`saar rose as if the impact had been nothing more than a shove. The wall there had cracked, and bits of brick and cement fell off. Adrian's heart drummed against his chest as he watched Ja`saar approach the girl. He took a peek at the green-haired girl. She hadn't moved an inch from her previous position, her arm still upward, holding the golden colour hovering above it like water. Her eyes glowed unmistakably, but she made no move whatsoever. On reaching, Ja`saar stopped at the foot of the bed and lifted his arm. A black colour shot out of it and descended on the girl, shrouding her completely under the dark veil. She didn't change her posture, though the golden light on her hand and the shine in her eyes diminished. She seemed frozen like a statue. Then a purplish dark aura surrounded her veiled body. It seemed liquid-ish, and it spread over her bed. Adrian realized that the aura was engulfing her, or maybe she was drowning in that oblique sea. Adrian noticed that her lips silently moved and her dimmed eyes met Adrian's briefly before she vanished. In a matter of seconds, her body had completely disappeared, and the purple aura disappeared along with it.
"Well, well, the problem is finally resolved. We already knew her results, and if we wanted, we could examine her later." Ja`saar said, dusting his covered hands over his suit like he had done it tons of times.
Kha`laar grumbled out in reprimand, while Su`maa stood silent. Many subjects looked at the place where the green-haired girl had been a while ago with fearful eyes.
"As this little inconvenience is out of the way, we can resume the Testing Procedure." Kha`laar proclaimed.
"Not like this hasn't happened before," Ja`saar mumbled under his breath at Kha`laar's tone.
Kha`laar clearly heard that as he slowly looked towards the culprit, and Adrian did too.
"This time, we will not choose the person chronologically as the next candidate. You all will have to come up and sit on the throne, voluntarily." Kha`laar further added.
They all resumed their earlier positions. However, no one from among the subjects made a move. If they had followed the previous sequence, it would have been his turn. But now the choice was up to them. Adrian was confused by their actions.
What were they playing at?
But Adrian would not go just yet, he would sit back, watch and then decide after confirming their motives. Not like he had any choice in the matter. Sooner or later, he had to go up there. But while he had the opportunity, he would sit back and examine. A hand went up in the air, followed by the sound of a click.
"I thought no one would get up, and at last I would have to choose. But I see, all of you aren't cowards." Ja`saar commented in his usual arrogant tone.
A brown head stood up and marched towards the Throne. Lee Hakyung climbed the three steps and sat up on the Throne with an unreadable expression. His eyes rolled up, and he shuddered, just like the previous candidates. The big screen showed Lee Hakyung's information.
54Z
Name: Lee Hakyung
Subject No: #Z115
Age: 15 Years
Core: Foundation
Affinity: Earth, Sand
"Another promising candidate. He has two affinities," Ja`saar jeered excitedly, "I can't wait for their Aptitude Test."
Then, the shuddering stopped, and Lee Hakyung swayed down and towards the black metal door at the other end of the room. Soon, three more candidates had gotten up and disappeared through the back door. There were promising candidates this year, Ja`saar had said. Now only eight subjects were left, including Adrian. Currently, Enoch's info was displayed on the screen.
54Z
Name: Enoch Sinclair
Subject No: #Z113
Age: 15 Years
Core: Tempest
Affinity: Magnetism
Enoch had already left, but the masters were whispering amongst themselves. Ja`saar whooped in joy, "A Vae'khar affinity."
Even the quiet Su`maa joined in the conversation. After that, the Testing Procedure progressed as usual. Eden and the other six had already vanished through the door. He saw Eden smirking as he left the room, as the masters sang his praises because he had a very great affinity. Now Adrian was the only one left in the room. The masters faced him as he got up. The marble floor was cold against his bare feet. He crossed the distance in five steps and started climbing the Throne. He didn't look anywhere, just at his feet. He could feel the eyes of his masters boring him. Adrian had thought he would finally get out of this uncomfortable situation if he got over and done with the procedure; however, now he felt as if he was walking towards his own prison willingly. But his curiosity had kept him glued to his bed till he remained alone in the room with the masters. A strange, nauseating sensation passed over him as he looked at his reflection in the glass shards embedded in the Throne. For a moment, he thought his own reflection shifted strangely. He shook his head to empty his head of any weird thoughts and sat. There was a scream, Adrian didn't know whose, but it echoed in his ears. Followed by a feeling of being dissected. He felt as though every part of his body was getting sliced. Shivers racked through his body, but soon it ended, and the silence returned. Adrian flopped back onto the chair, panting heavily. With great strain, he staggered down and dragged his body towards the back room. Unaware of the turmoil he had left behind.
—
Ja`saar had never seen such peculiar results since the day he became a master. He stared at the back of the last kid as he disappeared into the Void Room. He gave off a very peculiar aura. Ja`saar noticed that the Aetherflux around him fluttered, which he had never witnessed before. He had met many powerful people, yet none of them had ever made Aetherflux waver around them. The divine energy specific to every individual—Aetherflux bowed to no one; it gave them the ability to command over certain things. You learned how to use and control the energy just because of its compatibility, but it was never meant to be ruled. Kha`laar stared at the screen, which exhibited Adrian's unusual profile.
54Z
Name: Adrian Gray
Subject No: #Z109
Age: 15 Years
Core: Error
Affinity: Unknown