Still trembling, Rain took a deep breath to regain some sort of composure before opening the waiting room door. Looking toward his group's shocked expression, he first carried over Officer Trant’s request:

  “Uh…Yuol…It's your turn.”

  Choking on his words, he seemed visibly out of it. Yuol slowly rose from his spot with a nod, while the rest were still locked onto Rain’s face. The first one to speak up was Elys:

  “Hey, you okay, man? You’re paler than Naomi was.”

  Sending all his strength to his brain to form a cohesive sentence, Rain cleared his throat and spoke:

  “Yeah…yeah…just tired…took more out of me than I thought it would.”

  “Oh, here, take a seat.”

  Naomi stood up and pushed one of the chairs towards Rain.

  “Thanks.”

  Plopping down on the chair, Rain noticed how little strength he had. With the pure adrenaline he felt now coming down, he was exhausted.

  “But, honestly, I did not expect you to have an elemental Reflection. That’s amazing, it is quite rare, right, Lance? We only met one older Blessed that could control the earth before.”

  Giving her a nod, Lance pushed himself from leaning on the wall:

  “Yeah, you’ll be quite the popular guy once you get back from the Mirror.”

  “Heh, I don’t know if I really want that to be honest.”

  Before anyone else could ask anything, Elys jumped in between the conversation:

  “Guys, let's let him rest for a bit. We can ask questions back at the dormitory, okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, of course.”

  With a smirk and a nod, Elys moved towards the window to resume watching the Reflections. At this point, multiple groups had arrived, and many others were showing off their Reflections around the enormous training hall. Powers of any kind were being showcased, most simply their Reflections, while a few others fought against grotesque Shards as part of the exam.

  Rain, however, did not pay any attention to it at all. All he could think about was the new vision he just saw.

  ‘Fuck, what is happening to me? It’s no coincidence, but I just don’t see the link.’

  What he saw was neither a memory of the past nor a vision of the future. Images of the lightless abyss flashed through his mind, seeking any kind of connection, but to no avail. All that was left were the words he clearly heard ring in his ears: “Come back”.

  ‘Come back…It makes no sense…I need help on this.’

  While he was quite the stubborn person, he also realized when he was way over his head, and this was evidently one of these cases.

  ‘I’ll ask one of the teachers once classes start, they must have witnessed tens of thousands of different students and Reflections. Someone will know something.’

  Perking his head up towards the drowned-out sound of his group, Rain saw that Rina was already coming back.

  ‘Oh, seems like I missed both of their Reflections.’

  She opened the door with a slight smile and spoke:

  “Uh, Jun, you’re the last one.”

  “Y-Yeah…I’m going.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The shy slum boy walked out, while the rest bewondered Rina’s Reflection.

  “Damn, Rina, creating and controlling vines and thorns is awesome! What a skill to have!”

  “Yeah, it’s really important you can create them yourself, otherwise in environments without plants you would be in trouble.”

  “Soo, to recap us all… I can see very far. Rain can control fire…ironic, Naomi bursts eardrums, Lance has ghosts, Yuol turns into a gigantic bear, and Rina can choke us all to death with plants. Nice!”

  Elys stood around the group with a smug grin on his face, as Naomi laughed it off.

  “Yeah, somewhat simplified but…yeah, it’s true! But we aren’t done yet, let’s see what Jun has got.”

  As they all looked out of the window, they only saw Officer Trant standing alone while scribbling down notes.

  Elys stepped closer to the window in confusion:

  “Where is he? Did he leave? He was right there, wasn’t he?”

  Rina spoke up:

  “He was…he walked by me through the door.”

  Incertitude filling the room, Elys stood up and opened the door leading to the hall and loudly shouted towards Officer Trant:

  “Officer Trant? Where’s Jun?!”

  “I-I’m right here.”

  Suddenly, standing directly next to Elys was Jun.

  “AHH.”

  Screaming from the top of his lungs, Elys felt his heart stop for a moment.

  “Oh my god, I’m gonna have a heart attack…Where the hell were you?!”

  “S-S-Sorry…It’s my Reflection.”

  “What?!”

  “I-I turn somewhat…invisible…W-Well, the exact wording is ‘presence harder to sense’.

  “Yeah, I can see that…Boy, I need to sit down after that one.”

  The room erupted in laughter as Naomi couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  “You should’ve seen your face!”

  “Did you know he was there?!”

  “No, so it’s even funnier.”

  Elys sat down again, his heart still racing from this near-death encounter. His sights thrown back to Jun:

  “Cool Reflection though…just..let us know when you use it.”

  “A-Alright…”

  Throughout all this, Rain had been quiet, though that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a kick out of Elys’s screaming.

  ‘What a useful Reflection too…If it works on Shards, it would increase his survival chances by a lot.’

  ‘Did they say Yuol turned into a gigantic bear?’

  Officer Trant walked back into the waiting room. With the showcase now over, they had some free time to explore the training camp.

  “Don’t forget, the first two weeks are purely physical training, so get a good night's rest. We will begin tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp. Rain, Elys, and Jun, don't forget your enhanced meals starting tomorrow as well. You’re all dismissed until dinner.”

  After the short scheduling session for the foreseeable future, Rain and Elys made their way around campus, discovering all the best spots to relax and have fun in the area.

  “Dude, they have a bowling alley here. How awesome is that…granted, I don’t think we are going to have time for it anyway. You doing better?”

  Looking to his side, Rain answered:

  “Hm? Oh, yeah…I’m fine…just…distracted.”

  “You wanna talk about it?”

  Hearing those words, Rain stopped in his tracks, unsure of how to continue. He trusted Elys with a lot, but this was no simple matter. Not only the second vision, but the first one also claimed his mind.

  ‘I don’t know if I should bear him the weight of it…Though he might also be involved. After all, he might be the other guy bleeding out. So, it also affects him.’

  Making up his mind, he decided to confide in his friend, with whom he may share a fate with.

  “You can not tell anyone about it. Seriously. Until I find some answers.”

  Seeing his serious tone, Elys took a step back and straightened his posture.

  “Of course, I promise.”

  Taking a moment to search for the right words, Rain studied the contrast in Elys. For most of the time, he was an energetic guy, saying silly things and making friends easily. In truth, though, Elys knew how to adapt to his environment; after all, he too, was a slum kid. If the situation called for it, he would be the most dependable person you can imagine.

  “It’s about my Selection…It didn’t really go as planned.”

  Tilting his head, Elys asked:

  “What do you mean?”

  Sighing, Rain spoke harshly.

  “I didn’t see my past…I saw my future.”

  Elys’s eyes widened in surprise, and after scanning his surroundings, leaned in closer to speak:

  “You saw your future? That’s great, no? Was there anything regarding the Mirror?”

  “...Sort of…I saw the landscape…But I also saw my death…and maybe yours too.”

  While he didn’t see the mysterious boy die…in the state he was in, he was quite sure he wouldn’t make it far.

  Elys took a step back, putting his hand on his face in a thoughtful motion. He uttered but a single word.

  “Shit.”