Back in the familiar building complex, William was close to unlocking the door to a luxurious apartment. Unfortunate as it was, loud steps behind him prevented him from finding peace.

  “Hey, don't be so upset about that. Who knew that guy would come at us like that? I didn't. Wait. No. I did care, and I did help!” Mi-Yung argued, sober, and holding the package from Rose in her hand. Her eyes, hair, and body had cooled down by now, looking exhausted yet ready to have another fight.

  Even though Reaz's cloak wasn't too cozy, she took good care of it.

  “I don't really care, Mi-Yung,” William said without even turning at her.

  “Really?”

  “No, I am kidding. I didn't ask for anything like this, let alone this home, but it is here, isn't it? I have my key, and it feels wrong and makes me a little mad. Why wouldn't it, when some people act and do whatever they want? I wish I could do the same. Like... I don't want Kaufman's care like this. You are also... well, a little odd and all that, but I feel this is just the beginning. How long am I here again?”

  “A few days.”

  “How long have I known you?”

  “A day?” Mi-Yung figured there was some truth in that, and the way she acted and worked around him sounded harsh, if not that amazing.

  William didn't know the entire story behind her work, her efforts, and how she found him. At this point, maybe it was brutal across the board because he was just beginning to seek the life he was meant to have.

  “Anyway, I am sleepy and dead tired, so if you excuse me,” he said after being a little bit fed up with everything. Frankly, he wasn't kidding; he was exhausted, confused, and fatigued out of his mind. Odd. Today, his Emblem hadn't escaped, yet it was such a shiny yet shitty day at the same time; it was almost shocking that it hadn't escaped.

  Maybe there was a way to see it as a good and bad omen at the same time. No. That sounded like a stretch. With an already full and blissful stomach, he had nothing else on his mind but a good bed.

  “Hey... wait. I hadn't planned for this situation to go off like this. That damned Kaufman and everything and....” Mi-Yung stomped toward the floor, unhappily thinking about those annoying flies. More might be coming, so how to ease her worsening impression?

  Many ideas flashed in her mind, and they might follow something stupid or clever. Maybe both. After pondering, she gave up on trying the impossible because it was too late. William walked inside, no longer in the mood for her problems or her voice, and went straight to his room.

  Mi-Yung once more found the apartment empty; just where was her young brother at this hour, or... at all? He wasn't that young to wreak havoc or cause problems, and her doting wasn't weak. It was a bit troublesome, and then Luke wasn't there either, which worsened her mood even more.

  Checking the package left by Rose, she stored extra food for the upcoming days in the fridge. It was a good solution to a small problem called cooking.

  Mi-Yung had no idea what sort of problems might occur next in her work, or what this whole issue with the Academy would end up doing. Fain might get involved if things went too far, and if anything ever made any sense to her, then being savage yet reasonably devilish sounded great.

  Her first day of fun was over, and other worries were about to come at her in one way or another. She wished to follow it with another one and give William and Celeste even more attention.

  Now, it seemed her promise to Dreadus was way too heavy, or... solved? It was a matter of deals and perspectives, yet Mi-Yung believed she was fine with leaving it at that. She trusted Ellie was great because she had known her for ages, and there was no way her mistrust would do anything good. Doing the same with William sounded clever, too...

  Her primary worry was what Dreadus would soon uncover. The Assembly and the Academy were about to show their interests and hands in this madness.

  Sighting for who knew how many times already, she washed her body to ease her mood and was fine without sleep.

  In the meantime, Luke arrived at midnight, tired, in one piece, and glad to see Mi-Yung already home. It was far from common in recent days, so he appreciated it because he thought he wouldn't see her for a while.

  “What do I smell? Did she go to the Pit again? Nice!” Luke cheered and checked the fridge for something fancy to eat. Rubbing his palms, he saw refreshed containers with cooked meat and rice. He couldn't wait to try this premium quality meat for a lot of credits.

  Alas, as he eyed this blissful meal, a hand came like a snake behind him, wrapping around his shoulder and neck. He continued to praise the contents of his fridge.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Night, Luke,” Mi-Yung said, half-naked as usual.

  “Azure night to you as well, dear,” Luke murmured to ease the tone of his precious foe.

  He failed to notice his mistake.

  “Ahhh.! Wait! I haven't tou..” He flew up, and his head banged on the fridge's door, closing it. Then, he felt like a twisted toy, before he flapped to the ground, where he felt her softness and strength. Her bare body, etched with sweat, mist, or water, left many thoughts in his mind. Eyes were most notable, lazing on her face and above latched lips.

  “I am rather irritated today, Luke. How about solving this issue for me, with me?” she whispered to his ear, giving him a passionate kiss right afterward.

  She had no desire to hear his reply tonight.

  It hadn't lasted forever.

  “Sounds like an excellent idea.” He cheered, lightly complaining about his lack of dinner, and embraced her.

  With the incoming fierce duel ahead of him and her tight clutch, they soon reached their bedroom.

  This time, Luke forgot about that fridge or meal, even though he would love to have a single bite. It was hard to pass it off as something simple. Meals in the military were way too crude, and being a Walker barely helped it. Thankfully, bad times were in the past, helping to build stamina, establish greatness, and pursue happiness never failed such a warrior!

  Nothing was cheap or free. The military had to press on, and humanity paid many prices to keep going. Nowadays, rules were no exception.

  ***

  At the end of a rather long day, the Federation was full of incredible stars. Expectations of many people below were almost as high as some of them, far in the sky, and hiding behind the others. Their light or presence no longer mattered. It was about so-called light years and the way light traveled from far away and into the vast cosmos. It was hidden, yet still out there, creating life and stars that might hold interesting secrets, but they were barred from humanity's point of view.

  Not like anyone would make this analogy down here, for stars no longer mattered to most humans. The Federation was a humble force, and stars were mere lights in the skies. That was the truth of the night.

  In the mornings, the closest star came over instead, shining and giving time its laws and flaws. It was penetrative, spreading beyond the horizon like a Plague Fog, but brighter, prettier, and giving humanity new hopes.

  It was unlike the moon, with its hostile and immense, red, crevice-like wound and menacing aura. The sun preserved its mark, washing the waters and clouds with orange, then yellow, and brighter lights.

  Every morning, William woke up feeling an attack from his worst enemy—the morning. However, maybe there was something worse than that. This place... That night?! After yesterday, he slept like a baby and quite past the sun's crawling. It was 9 PM already, according to the clock on his desk, or one round oddity on his wall that clicked in a very soft noise.

  Rubbing his eyes, he looked at his right hand. Good. His crimson was still there, shining in the luster of his good ol' Emblem.

  Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he woke up and it would be a different color or shape. What would change? At least it was there, so he couldn't complain. That meant a good day according to his made-up logic or a lie.

  Its disappearance was neither a source of trouble nor a bit of good luck. It was a farce made up of words and hard-to-see situations from his past. It wasn't about statistics either. William found no answers about his disappearing Emblem yesterday, although he heard and read about many other things, and found playing with chances and numbers to be confusing and convoluted. It wasn't as complicated in nature, but he rather aimed at much more important topics.

  Moaning, he faked a cry. “What in the lighting sun am I going to do with my life? Where to go? Oh... there is also no Dann. Weird. I kind of miss his voice already. Is that even right? Oh, crap. I think it isn't so bad. I bet he is crying in boredom that he has no one to pester.” He spoke to his forearm, eyes deep, and mouth yawning. He knew the answer to this question.

  It wasn't a bad farewell.

  Getting up, he stretched his upper body, legs, and neck with a few exercises before putting on his clothes.

  Since he had no responsibilities like in a camp, he planned to do what he could with his fateful choice instead. That would be becoming a Walker. The starting line was to become less of a clueless Outside bastard, so that was fun.

  The library was waiting, and he had less than six weeks to catch up with some of those young soldiers whose choices had already been processed. He hadn't done that; he merely wrecked his life out there, hiding, or trying to live his life.

  Mi-Yung said it best. William wasn't the most stupid idiot out here, but he wasn't the brightest. There were youths far ahead of him, brought from unique places, proper families, and much greater starts. It wasn't all about knowledge or talents. When one had a proper teacher from a young age, it was better.

  Who was he? What could he offer to humanity?

  William wasn't sure how fitting those questions were, considering this wasn't a competition. There were promising youths and those who were not. That much was true, and most places had limits for recruitment, with most organizations and places being better than others, so William felt a competing spirit was better than a weak spirit.

  It was true that most Divisions should have a limiting number of recruits, and something like the Academy could choose whoever they want to take or not.

  Mi-Yung said a couple of things about it, although not to her best ability. There were two factors: Emblems and the whole person.

  Some places didn't care for every little piece, but rather aimed at the entire package. So far, he had obtained the following: the military wanted youths with passable Emblems and a strong all-around base to work with. Personal traits became important depending on which Division came forward and what Walker Ranks would give to each individual. Then, the personality was secondary, or not even important, because recruitment never ceased, and needs never faltered.

  As for outside places like Japan and others, William wasn't sure how one got recruited by them. Perhaps it worked with personal invitations, or one could choose and attempt to ask? Mi-Yung didn't talk much about it because the quality of the Emblems posed a multitude of choices, and then there was haggling. One might even attempt to do it himself and try his best to appease the indecisive elders or challenge their assumptions.

  Simply put, poor youths wouldn't be able to choose shit. They should be glad to take any starting positions in the military and do what they ought to do.

  Then, there were those freaks, or decisions that came right before the fateful, dark room. The Awakening...