Rain hadn’t expected to tell Elys about his predicament so soon; however, due to the new vision, he had let his guard down. While it also might be his concern, Rain had hoped to have at least found some well-needed information on visions of the future.

  ‘Well, maybe it’s for the best. After all, two people work faster than one.’

  Seeing Elys pace around the park reminded him of himself just yesterday. It has only been one day, and already things are looking grim. Elys sat down at one of the available benches and spoke:

  “Damn. And here I was thinking that our first day went well. What are we gonna do about it?”

  He looked up at Rain with an uncharacteristic serious look, while Elys wasn’t always a jokester, seeing him like this was quite rare. It reminded Rain of their numerous close encounters in the slums. He walked towards him and sat down next to him on the bench, a heavy sigh leaving his lips while he looked up towards the sky.

  “I honestly don’t know. In my opinion, there is no way I’m the first person in existence to have gotten that…So, the only idea I had was to ask one of the teachers later. Someone with a lot of expertise in history.”

  “Yeah, I was about to say the same thing. Officer Trant seems trustworthy…He is in the military, though, so who knows. What about the girl in your vision?

  Rain took his eyes from the sky and looked at Elys.

  “The girl? Why?”

  “She’s part of the vision, right? Wouldn’t it be good to find out who she is?”

  “I mean…I am curious, but she’s not a priority. You’re also part of the vision and were clueless, so. Plus, how would we even find her? There are thousands of girls in our camp alone, add dozens of other camps…the chances are minuscule.”

  Elys let out a slight laugh.

  “There you go, always thinking so much before acting. Good to know that the Selection didn’t take that from you.”

  “Hey, my thinking has gotten us out of trouble plenty of times…Remember stealing food as kids? You got caught twice before I had to tell you to use a distraction.”

  The pair laughed out loud, and while Elys shrugged, he added:

  “What can I say…I was hungry and not thinking straight…Life was simpler, wasn’t it?”

  “Not really, survival back then, survival now…In the end, it's all the same.”

  “Ughh, back then we weren’t nearly as fucked as we are now.”

  Rain gave him an acknowledging nod, speaking with a light tone:

  “Yep, we really are. We always make it through, though, don’t we?”

  “Have to.”

  Elys held out his fist toward Rain, and after a short delay, Rain bumped it. Taking a look at their bracelets, they realized it was time to get back to the dormitory, but not before Rain took one last look into the open skies, and this time, finding the moon he always searched for. Its dim light shone over the park, almost as if it were directed at him.

  He remembered being on the roof of his building many years ago, trying to see shooting stars with his parents.

  He remembered asking his mother if the moon ever felt lonely high above the sky, and her telling him the stars were with it. He never quite bought it, as he knew the stars were farther away.

  After his parents passed, he had always kept his affection toward the moon, perhaps because he, too, was alone. Moments passed in silence, with the wind bringing its gentle song to his ears. He didn’t need to be alone anymore. Surrounded by thousands, all with the same goal, he braced himself for the days to come and caught up to Elys.

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  ‘Thank you, Mom, Dad, I’ll try not to be as alone.’

  The rest of the evening was quite uneventful; the group made small talk with each other, mostly about tomorrow’s agenda. Rain was pretty excited to start his training, but even more for the food, since kids from the slums, for the first time, received special benefits. These Blessed-made meals would skyrocket their weight and muscle buildup, so that when the time came for the Mirror, they would at least have a proper physique.

  Checking their bracelets before bed, the group found themselves split into two training teams, presumably so that Officer Trant could properly guide them. Rain himself was with Lance and Yuol. While Elys had Naomi, Jun, and Rina. Since their group didn’t have any crafting or otherwise special Reflections.

  ‘So tomorrow early we train with Officer Trant in our Reflections, and in the afternoon is weapon training with…Officer Beck. Alright then.’

  Rain was quite happy with the groups; while he and Elys were separated, it didn’t matter much, as they would be too focused to talk anyway. And on the other hand, he had Lance, who demolished his exam and was willing to help him out.

  As the last bit of chatter clung out, the lights went off, and the group headed to a much-needed rest.

  Still heavily asleep, Rain woke up with the thunderous alarm ringing in his ears. A suffocating trumpet blasted throughout the entire camp, as everyone jumped from their beds in disarray.

  “God damn, how long does this thing go?! I’m awake, damn it, the whole city is!”

  In Rain’s eyes, Elys already seemed high in spirits. In the next moment, Officer Trant walked through the door, and the alarm slowly died out.

  With an amused grin on his face, he readied his words:

  “Good morning, everyone! I hope you slept well and that the alarm did not kill anyone unprepared. As you hopefully saw yesterday evening, we split you into two groups for easier management. Breakfast is in half an hour, after that you will go to your designated training. There is a map function in your bracelet, so anyone late will face a punishment. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Good.”

  ‘This really is a military camp.’

  After getting themselves ready, the group headed out towards the cafeteria. While on the way, Rain noticed the other dozen different groups in their dormitory building, also on their way. Everyone seemed mostly normal, exchanging short greetings but mostly minding their business. A couple had received some aesthetic changes due to their Reflection. For one, a boy’s skin was completely covered by scales, while another girl was lightly hovering through the air, her legs unmoving. It seemed that many Reflections weren’t easily turned off, as his was, and so were allowed to be used inside the camp. Throughout the whole way, Rain kept an even closer eye toward any girl resembling the one in his vision, though to no avail.

  ‘Dark hair, shoulder-length, fair features…It’s…not much to go on.’

  Indeed, it seemed as if his side quest of finding out who she was was going to be harder than anticipated.

  Arriving at the gigantic cafeteria, he stood together with Elys and Jun, waiting for their special meal service. Around them, hundreds of other slumborn were also awaiting their meals, and while Elys and he seemed in high spirits, the same could not be said for the rest. As it arrived, the smell was amazing. It was a simple, sweet porridge, along with some fresh-looking fruits, but still, something about it was clearly different. Rain took a second and opened his mana for it, when he sensed an overabundance of mana inside it.

  ‘So this is how it works.’

  The blessed meals were virtually a syringe full of mana to build up their bodies. Even while eating it, Rain noticed his fatigue fading and an energy boost replacing it.

  ‘Finally, some good food.’

  After finishing their meal, he said his goodbyes to Elys and made his way toward the training hall with Lance and Yuol. Compared to the day before, the camp truly felt alive. Most had been preparing for this their whole teen years, with the exception of Rain’s fellow slum born, who weren’t taking it well. One thing rattled his brain, however, and kept him in a nervous state.

  The vision.

  ‘Am I going to see a new vision every time I use my Reflection? I need to focus on my training, I don’t have time for all this seemingly cosmic bullshit.’

  “You nervous?”

  Yuol’s voice interjected from the side, bringing Rain back from his thoughts.

  “A bit, yeah.”

  “We are all beginners here. So don’t worry.”

  That was indeed true; they all had received their Reflections mere days ago and by definition, were complete beginners.

  “Yeah, until the weapon training starts, then I’m going to get my ass kicked.”

  “You’re gonna do fine.”

  Yuol simply left it at that and continued walking confidently in silence. He was two meters tall, with a heavy body equally as broad as his height. Looking to his left was Lance, also taller than Rain and with far broader shoulders than him; even so, his body was light, with no excessive muscles to slow him down.

  ‘I’m going to die if I fight either of them.’

  Arriving at the training hall, the trio was met with Officer Trant standing in wait.

  “There you are, let's begin, shall we?”