Inside a dimly lit room, a brutal scene was unfolding.
A man was suspended on the wall, held with chains, his form completely battered. He was currently naked, and every single inch of his body had been brutally bruised, completely marred by red blood marks.
His face was filled with snot and mucus as tears fell freely from his eyes.
"Pl-ease, you-ng miss, I'm so-orry," the man pleaded in a desperate tone, even though he knew his tormentor better than to expect any mercy, he still begged for his life depended on it.
His pleas were met with stone cold silence for a few moments, a flood of tears gushing out of the man's eyes at the countdown of every second.
His mouth quivered and shivered greatly as his gaze met the icy amethyst-colored eyes of his tormentor, his bladder immediately draining as he peed himself.
After a few torturous seconds, the individual finally spoke, "You brought this upon yourself," the voice sounded feminine, very feminine. It sounded as though it was a fairy speaking, which was baffling considering the gravity of torment she was currently inflicting.
She continued, "She clearly refused, begged even, but you didn't listen. So why should I listen to you?" She said as she closed the distance between both of them, her flawless hands tracing across the sharp corners of the gleaming razor-sharp blade she was holding.
The man shivered as she got close; he instinctively tightened his thighs together, hiding away his delicate rod as if foreseeing what was coming.
She continued, "Men like you are scums of the world, mindless beasts in human skin. And you should always be treated accordingly," her amethyst eyes gleamed in the darkness, making the man's heart clench.
Without hesitation, she drove the razor-sharp blade directly into his flesh, "Haaaaaaaaaa!"
The man's screams were deafening, but despite the intensity of his screams, her eyes never wavered for even a single second as she continued her actions, digging through his flesh as she finally got to her target, cleanly severing it, eliciting another piercing scream from the man.
Three maids stood with their heads bowed behind the girl as she carried out her brutal actions, one of them gazing at man being tortured with a gaze filled with hate, and the other two shivering.
Just as the seconds ticked by, a woman suddenly entered the room.
Seeing the unfolding scene, she shook her head slightly and sighed. With a bow, "Young miss Zoey," she greeted, interrupting the torturous scene.
Having fulfilled her goal, Zoey stopped torturing the man and turned to gaze at this new person. "Hmm? I thought I asked you to stand guard at the door, Lucy, what are you doing here?" She asked.
Still in the bow, Lucy replied, "Yes, young miss, but the Lady requests your presence. The airship is about to leave for the academy," she explained.
Zoey sighed, 'Do I really have to go?' She thought, seemingly to herself. But surprisingly, a voice responded to her thoughts, 'You should go, Zoey. Apart from it being compulsory for every 15-year-old to attend, who knows, you might finally meet your 'the one' at the academy,' the petite cute voice added the last bit with a chuckle.
Hearing this, Zoey grimaced inwardly in disgust. 'I doubt it. Every single one of the men I've met are all very disgusting and stupid.'
'Oh come on, Zoey. How are you ever going to get married and have kids with that mindset?' The petite voice asked.
But this time, Zoey chose to ignore her remark. She brought out a pure white handkerchief from her storage ring, and she started wiping away her hands.
After a few seconds of thoroughly wiping her hands, she threw the handkerchief away on the floor and started walking out of the room, with Lucy stepping out of the way for her to pass.
As soon as she walked out of the door, sunlight gracefully bathed her form, unveiling a breathtaking sight.
She possessed flawless porcelain skin, a visage of ethereal beauty that could cause wars. Her amethyst eyes completely complemented her features, giving her a sense of danger to those who met them. Her purple hair flowed gracefully down her back.
At the tender age of 15, she radiated an innocence that seemed to embody the essence of a fairy. Which was surprising given the recent act of torment she had committed, both unexpected and intriguing.
"Let's get this over with," Zoey muttered as she started walking down the hall.
All across the human domain, different 15-year-old youths, some talentless and some talented, with some being eager and some reluctant, were all getting ready to head towards the academy in sector one.
…
Atticus sat cross-legged inside a room within the airship. The airship was big enough to house every one of the youths, providing each with sizable rooms.
Although the rooms were practically basic, they were still a luxury to many.
Atticus came out of his meditation and opened his eyes. 'Time sure flies, huh,' he thought. The past 5 years were completely routine for Atticus. Wake up, train, eat, hang out with the family, train with Magnus, with the routine repeating itself every day.
Training with Magnus during these years had only gotten harder and harder, but Atticus never once complained; in fact, he was happy, happy at his progress. The Atticus of now, compared to back then, was like night and day.
'The academy,' Atticus's thoughts suddenly shifted towards the academy they were currently heading to.
Before, when he had first learned about the structure of the human domain, Atticus had initially believed the academy was located inside sector 1, but boy was he wrong.
He had recently found out the enormous scale of the academy, the entire sector 1, spanning hundreds of thousands of kilometers, was the academy.
Of course, when it was almost time for him to go to the academy, Atticus had tried to find out everything about it, but unfortunately, just like the Raven camp, the information was tightly guarded.
And after Caldor had returned from the academy about 2 years back, he had given Atticus one piece of advice: prepare for war.