Chapter 3: Chosen by Fate
Chosen by Fate
All the division heads had already taken their seats.
Beneath the platform, the young survivors stood quiet, their wide eyes showing both dread and hunger. To anyone raised in the Forsaken Domain, chasing cultivation meant more than desire - survival depended on it.
Beneath the flags of Celestis Academy, a single pace meant touching tomorrow. A step forward here wasn’t just movement - it pulled fate nearer. The air hummed, not loud, yet full of what might come. Shadows stretched long under those high emblems, shaping paths ahead. Each footfall echoed like a name being called. Not everyone noticed it - this closeness - but some felt their future breathe against their neck.
A single boy moved ahead of the rest.
A shake ran through him, yet he dropped to his knees anyway, face meeting the icy ground.
"Respected one... please help us..."
A hush broke when he spoke - raw pain rushing forth, as if a cut deep inside had just torn wider.
He moved ahead, so they came after. Behind his steps, the rest walked. Forward he went, then them too. Their pace began once he started. When he advanced, they matched it.
Kneeling began with a single child, then another followed close behind.
Justice is what they asked for. Pity never entered their mouths.
Shattered homes stood silent. Fire stole everything in just hours. Each gasp carried weight no one could see.
When the boy cried, feelings rose too fast to hold back. For just a moment, a flicker moved beneath his forehead.
A faint glimmer.
Hidden talent.
A whisper hides here, slight yet sharp when noticed.
A few of the teachers near Headmaster Mike looked at each other without speaking.
Their gazes sharpened.
Just as artisans recognize uncut jade hidden in soil.
A quiet look hid a spark beneath. Behind still faces, want stirred faintly.
A soft breath slipped out of Mike. Quietly, it filled the small space between thoughts.
"Ah... poor children. Stand up first."
Not loud, his voice instead came soft - worn down by what comes after seeing things you cannot unsee. One full day he walked through where the creature uprising happened, near the base of the hill.
Nothing left behind. Not even a sign. Only broken pieces remain.
Facing the hallway now.
"I already know your matters. Don’t worry. This happened beneath the mountain of our Celestis Academy. We will investigate - thoroughly - to the very end."
For a moment he stopped, his eyes moving over the group of division leaders, then spoke again
"But you must not rush. Such investigations take time. For now, stay on the mountain and cultivate. If there is news in the future, I will inform you personally."
"Thank you..."
A tremor ran through his voice as the boy stayed on one knee, head down. Only when he lifted himself did the sentence finally escape. The air held still between each motion.
A figure emerged from the group, not stepping forward but simply being there. Her hair, pale like moonlight, hung loose past her collarbones. Blue eyes held something broken inside, reflections split into pieces. She did not move, yet took up space unlike anyone nearby.
Selena.
Wet lines ran down her face, left behind by crying. A quiet sadness stayed in her eyes.
Fine words fell from Mike’s mouth like smooth stones. A quiet trust began to grow in the listener’s chest.
Yet beneath the surface, something in her chest sat empty.
Fire flashed before her eyes. Then came the shouts of her mother and father. Everything fell apart after that.
A hush, sharp as steel, pressed deep inside her. Stillness cut where words had failed. Quiet strength slid beneath her ribs like a secret. A calm edge settled in her core. Silence moved through her, slow and sure.
I need strength.
This burden rests on my shoulders alone.
A path of vengeance needs my own two feet on it.
One way forward stood clear
Start by following another’s path. Listen more than you speak. Stay through hard times. Strength comes later.
Now return each piece once more.
Only then did Mike pivot, his gaze meeting the instructors of the department lined up at his back.
"Fellow Brothers, what do you think?"
Everyone in the hall understood:
This was it. The second everything hung in balance.
The start of selection.
Folks showing skill often climb fast. The rest? Not so much
Finding work. Tasks that never ended. A long stretch of being unseen - assuming life gave them even that chance.
Earlier, Kevin had gone over it with them. Fists tightened among the young ones, breathing jagged.
Hope.
Fear.
Expectation.
Out of nowhere, a laugh cracked the silence. The air shifted.
"Haha - Senior Headmaster, since you’ve spoken, I won’t be polite."
Forward moved Shera, leader of the Secret Sword Summit. The fabric of his robes danced with each step taken toward the young speaker, the one who’d broken the silence first.
A flash of skill stood out the moment he saw the kid.
Mid thought, before Shera had time to size him up -
Into motion came a thick, circular shape. Heavy steps followed as it advanced.
Floorboards groaned beneath Yaman’s heavy steps, the summit’s lord, his gaze sharp with wanting.
"Senior Headmaster, I think this child is fated with me. Why not let him become my student?"
Folks leading divisions let out breaths. A few managers exhaled quietly.
Just like that, it showed up once more.
Here’s that classic move people call destiny.
Even so, he kept telling people. Nobody took him seriously.
Shera’s expression darkened.
"Junior Fellow Brother Yaman, I wanted him first!"
Yaman snorted.
"Does it belong to you just because you wanted him? What kind of logic is that?"
"You - "
"What? Want to take this outside and settle it?"
"So be it. Do you think I’m afraid of you?"
The air grew heavy - no hate, just sharp competition. Hot anger flared in Shera; only Headmaster Mike and the vanished Respected Zeon had ever made him hesitate. Yet here, now, even that meant little.
Footsteps halted just short of clashing steel. A breath apart, they froze mid-motion.
Still, some department leaders, once they realized winning wasn’t possible, turned instead toward the kids still left.
Half the sharpest minds were tagged long before. Yet others stayed hidden till now.
Left behind stood the ones whose roots lacked shine - ordinary, even weaker - lingering in worry, hoping something might come their way.
Slowly, reluctantly, the division heads picked what they could.
And soon...
Far behind, a hush of people kept to themselves.
Frozen. Hesitant. A twist in the gut, sharp with fear.
Left behind.