~Tummy grumbled.
Soren opened his eyes. Before him was the half-eaten chocolate cake.
Having gone through a similar event not so long ago, he instantly understood what was happening.
I died.
He frowned, sitting upright. He needed to think.
As usual, a bunch of questions stormed his mind.
Firstly, who killed him?
Why him?
What was the person to gain by killing a cadet of the Imperial Soulforge Academy?
What kind of audacity did such a person have to do such a thing, on a train filled with Soulbound knights?
After all, as far as he was concerned, this was probably the most secure place in the world.
There was no way the superiors would compromise on the safety of cadets, future Soulbound Knights of the empire.
There was also the fact that this train was moving.
He turned to the square-shaped window by his bedside.
Sure enough, he was right. It was moving fast.
Then again, another thought came to his head.
Could the intruder have invaded when the train made the last stop?
"Aarhhhh!!!" He scratched his head in frustration.
Only a few hours ago, his biggest problem was getting the First Form. Now, he had to look for his future murderer.
Obviously, the latter was of more importance. But still, what did he do to deserve a kill target on his back?
"Aarhhhh!!!" He scratched his head in frustration again.
"Dude, what's all the noise about?" Tommy yawned.
Soren turned to his bunkmate. Tommy had lazy, sleepy eyes.
He looked at his wristwatch. It was a few minutes past 11.
It was late morning.
"Why do you look so tired?" Soren asked.
"Well... I was out gathering information on... Hey, you brought cake?" Tommy's eyes brightened; he leaned for the chocolate cake on Soren's bed.
"How did you know I was hungry? Awwwn, Soren, you care for me too much." His eyes watered as he dug into the chocolate cake.
However, Soren's mind spun.
Tommy wasn't the one who left me the chocolate cake? Then who was it?
"Tommy, what time did you come back last night?"
"I don't know, maybe 3 or 4 AM. By the time I came back, you were sleeping dead on your..." He pointed to Soren's face.
Soren reached for it. He had almost forgotten the dagger plastered on his face.
He pulled it off.
~Ring~
The comms lit up as an announcement came from the speakers.
"This is to inform all cadets to be present in the lecture area by 18:00 this evening for evaluation of their First Form technique."
"Oh, they are doing it already? It seems we're getting closer to the academy." Tommy peeped through the shared window.
Far in the distance, carved into the center of the greenery, was a huge wall with a height that seemed to touch the clouds.
There were scattered buildings around its exterior, but it still looked grand and commanding.
This was it. The Imperial Soulforge Academy.
They were getting closer now, but it would still take them a few hours to arrive.
"That reminds me, were you able to get the First Form?" Tommy asked, still stuffing his mouth with cake.
"Forget about that for now. There's something else I need." Soren shook his head. "Tell me, are there people on this train who would want to kill me?"
Tommy paused. "Where did that come from, Dude?"
"Just tell me. I want to know." Soren leaned in.
"Well, if you say so." Tommy went back to his bed and then brought out a notebook.
It was titled: People That Want To Kill My Buddy, Soren.
Soren froze, eyes twitching at the title. He turned to Tommy.
"Don't look at me like that. You know how I am. I got curious and... you know." He shrugged. "Besides, I hear there are a lot more waiting for you in the academy. I really don't want harm coming to you."
Soren wanted to say something but instead gave a loud sigh.
At least Tommy's never-ending curiosity about the world around him had saved him a bit of time.
He opened the notebook. The first name he saw was.
Pill Polystar.
Soren wasn't surprised. Polystar had tried to kill him during their quick sparring session. There was a huge possibility that he was the one that did it.
Soren's mind flashed to that blade. Subconsciously, he massaged his neck.
On the previous day, 'today,' Soren had been too concentrated on attaining the First Form that he didn't do any other thing aside from training for it.
He hadn't even seen Polystar all day. Now that he thought about it, it might be true.
Polystar might have actually been his killer. He did not even need to look at the others.
"Tommy, where is Polystar right now?"
"Hmmm... considering his kind of Shade and curse, I think he should be in the garden."
Soren leaped down from the bed and headed for the garden.
.....
Again, on his way, he met Vass and, of course, the cadets vying for his attention.
But Soren could not be bothered with that right now.
He asked for directions and finally made it to the garden.
On getting there, the first thought that came to his mind was this.
This train is truly a mechanical marvel.
It was only natural he thought so.
After all, this place. Could it even be called a garden? It was a whole world.
Firstly, the entire roof above him was made of glass in the shape of a dome, stretching the full length of the conjoined carriage like the belly of a giant crystal whale.
This allowed sunlight to pour through it in golden streams, scattering into soft, dancing beams as they touched the leaves below.
Soren had never seen sunlight look like this inside a moving vehicle before. It looked like the heavens themselves were riding along with them.
Additionally, there was this warm, earthy smell that filled the air, as if welcoming him—
fresh soil, floral perfume, and a hint of sweet sap.
The floor here wasn't metallic or tiled.
Instead, it was soft, springy emerald moss, woven so perfectly it felt like stepping onto a living carpet.
Above it, a narrow stone pathway curved through the greenery; each slab looked polished smooth as river pebbles.
And the morning dew still glimmered faintly off them. Which naturally added to their beauty.
To Soren's left and right was a cluster of trees that grew tall and vibrant.
These were real thick trees and not holograms—
Their canopies brushed the edge of the glass ceiling.
And the pale sunlight filtered through their leaves, making overlapping shadows ripple like ghostly dancers over the ground as the train sped forward.
Soren wondered why this place was not just called a forest instead of a garden.
Because it even had animals, birds chirping here and there, and little animals like frogs.
It felt like this place had its own ecosystem.
Soren remembered whispers from the cadets. All the academy's transportation systems were made to mimic the academy's environment as realistically as possible in order to facilitate growth even during trips and excursions.
It now made sense that they had the lesson area and even a training area.
This was practically a mini school on tracks.
For a moment, Soren wondered what other incredible places this train had.
But right now, that wasn't important.
He followed the narrow stone pathway, careful to only step on the stone slabs.
It felt like a maze in here.
But Soren still moved. And then he arrived at a spot. It looked to be the center of the garden.
He summed up this conclusion because of the little fountain in the middle.
It seemed to be the water source for the entire garden.
And beside it was Polystar.
But upon seeing him, Soren froze.
Is he dead!?