The moon cast an eerie light through a thin veil of clouds. Below, music pounded through the hall where the graduation celebration continued. The formalities were long over; now there was only dancing, food, and the hum of conversation. The instructors had departed, leaving the cadets to their own devices. A few had even taken to the podium, doing mocking impressions of the superintendent's speech to waves of laughter.
But on the roof of the hall, away from the noise, sat Kaile and Pathro. Their legs dangled over the edge as they shared a quiet meal: chips with chicken and salad, plus a tinned drink each.
"It's strange how quickly things can change," Kaile said, her eyes fixed on the moon above.
Pathro followed her gaze. "You talking about the weather or something?" He took a gulp of his drink and wiped away the stray drops.
"Well... kind of." She swept her hair back behind her ear. "When you went to buy supplies with Sumire, the clouds were so thick, and it started snowing. I genuinely thought it would be heavy snow by now. Looking back, it feels like I was crazy to even think that."
"Almost changes as fast as your moods, I guess," Pathro teased, side-eyeing her.
A flash of embarrassment mixed with indignation crossed Kaile's face. She caught his cunning smirk and sighed, taking a long sip of her drink. "Don't make me punch you, not now of all times. Can't I just enjoy the night in peace?"
Pathro let out a brief laugh, stirring his drink idly. "Fine, fine. I'll let you be, Red Porcupine." Kaile bristled at the nickname, already mid-scowl, but Pathro continued before she could retaliate. "But you do make a point..."
Her expression shifted to curiosity. "What point?"
She ate a chip as Pathro finished his drink, crushing the tin in his hand and tossing it aside. "We came here five years ago. But right now, it feels like it was only a few months."
He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I remember when I first arrived. I was scared. Being bullied... being far from my family... it felt unbearable. I almost regretted coming here entirely. But after a while, I got used to this place. It started to feel like..."
"Home?" Kaile finished.
"Yeah. I guess so." He let the word hang in the air. "And now I'm saying goodbye to this place. Feels a bit unreal." There was a trace of disappointment in his voice.
Kaile studied him for a moment, then punched him lightly on the shoulder. Pathro looked at her, curious.
"Don't be such a softie," she said. "I'm sure leaving your family to come here was even harder. But you pulled through. You became Cadet President. The strongest cadet. And you're turning nineteen next month, right?" She let the words settle. "You've grown up."
"Hearing a compliment from you feels weird," Pathro said, a grin breaking through. "Don't do that often. But... thanks."
Kaile laughed softly. "No need to tell me twice."
Pathro finished the last of his chips. "So maybe, after we're done with this test tomorrow... we could go see your parents. I've been wanting to meet the people who raised such a little devil."
"You want to meet my parents?" Kaile asked, sidestepping the tease entirely. "Why?"
Pathro blinked, caught off guard. "Uh... yeah? Why not? I mean, aside from the stories you've told me, I don't really know what they're like."
Kaile's expression hovered somewhere between thought and quiet amusement. She held her empty can, turning it over in her hands. "Yeah, that's probably not a good idea."
"Why not? Are your parents that unwelcoming?"
Her eyes drifted back to the moon, which had found a break in the clouds and now shone fully upon them. "No... but to them, there's no such thing as a boy and girl just being friends. Only something... deeper. They'd completely misinterpret."
"Well," Pathro sighed in defeat, "that sucks."
He leaned back on his hands. "Still. Maybe someday. For now, I guess I'll just focus on the present and do what I do best." He punched his palm with a smirk of determination. "Ace this test tomorrow."
Kaile watched him, something close to fascination flickering in her expression. Then she rose to her feet. "Seems like this graduation has gotten to your head," she said. "Get some rest. You'll need to be sober tomorrow."
She leaped from the roof in a blur, vanishing as though she'd never been there.
Pathro shrugged. An instant later, he too was gone.
---
Morning had arrived, but the sky gave no indication of it. A thick layer of pale grey clouds obscured everything from horizon to horizon, and a steady snowfall was beginning its descent. The evidence of its duration was already visible: rooftops dusted white, patches of snow clinging to the ground.
"No matter how long you stare at that mirror, you're still gonna look the same, dude," Kiligaku said, leaning against the wall with his hands pillowed behind his head.
Toshiro sat on the edge of his bed, fingers resting against his chin as he watched Pathro, who was thoroughly absorbed in his own reflection.
All three wore the same attire: muscle-gripping shirts, grey military combat trousers, and black military boots. The same outfit Pathro and Kiligaku had worn during their spar.
"Relax," Pathro said, a proud smirk crossing his face. "I know I'm already handsome. I'm just making sure these clothes don't change that about me."
Kiligaku scoffed. "Is that why you're still single as hell? So much for being handsome."
Pathro flinched, visibly struck by the mockery. He turned to face Kiligaku. "Hey, it's not like I couldn't if I wanted to. Besides, you're talking like you have a girlfriend."
Kiligaku let out a shallow laugh. "I'm not the weirdo fixated on his looks." He tilted his head, eyes glinting. "Who exactly are you trying to impress? Kaile?"
Caught off guard, a flash of embarrassment crossed Pathro's face. Before he could muster a reply, Kiligaku pressed on.
"I saw you last night. All alone with her on the roof of the hall, eating together. Quite the quality time you were having."
He let out an evil laugh, clearly savoring Pathro's discomfort.
'So he saw us?' Pathro's mind raced. 'Wait... I did think it was strange he never came looking for me. And no one else showed up on the roof either. Did he have something to do with that?'
"You've got the wrong idea," Pathro said, forcing confidence into his voice. "Kaile's way too proud for my taste. And why would I try to date someone who punches me every two seconds? We were just chatting."
"Sure you were," Kiligaku replied, sarcasm dripping from every syllable as he smirked.
"Are you two done?"
Toshiro rose to his feet, glancing at the analogue watch he carried in his hand rather than strapped to his wrist. "Don't let the absence of sunlight make you lose track of time. It's almost time."
The watch read three minutes to eight. He tossed it onto the bed.
"Ah, right," Pathro said, the levity draining from his voice. "Then let's get going."
---
The finales were assembling at the designated point: a circular yard of stargrass, now partially blanketed by the morning's snowfall. The clearing measured ten meters in radius, bordered by neatly trimmed reddish hedges that left only a single narrow point of entry.
"Hey!" Sumire shouted, spotting the three of them approaching. She waved, and Pathro waved back in recognition. "Looks like everyone was already here except us."
Beside her, Kaile stood with her arms crossed, fixing Pathro with an unreadable look.
"Let's go catch up with them," Kiligaku said, slinging an arm around Pathro's neck. He glanced back at Toshiro. "You coming?"
Toshiro sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. There's not much else to do."
But the moment they drew near, all of them flinched in unison, their heads snapping toward the same direction as a sudden burst of energy rippled through the air.
"Ah. That was quick. I have your attention, it seems."
Instructor Kamir stood at the opposite end of the entrance, a subtle smile playing on her lips at their startled expressions. "I do tend to keep time. Apologies if my sudden appearance caught you off guard." She clasped her hands behind her back. "Now then, form up. There are a few reminders before your test begins."
The cadets moved swiftly into position, arranging themselves in columns and rows of ten. They stood at attention, arms straight, hands resting against their legs. Instructor Kamir hovered just above the ground before them, a pale greenish-blue aura shimmering faintly around her form.
"As you are all aware, this is your final test as cadets before you officially become known as soldiers. The purpose of this test isn't to decide whether or not you become a soldier. The fact that you are even taking this test already means you will become soldiers."
She paused, letting her gaze sweep across the rows of faces. Subtle confusion flickered among them, but she continued without acknowledgment.
"Not all soldiers are equal. In power. In skill. In mental capacity. And those differences do affect your ranking. This test is to evaluate those things, and it is not simply a matter of killing your opponents. We will be watching you, just in case. But know this: your performance here goes on your permanent record. So do not disappoint us. Understood?"
"Yes, Madam!" they shouted in perfect unison.
"Good."
Her gaze settled briefly on Pathro, who flinched slightly under the attention. She sighed. "Well. You already know everything else necessary. No need to yap about it now."
She snapped her fingers.
A burst of aura exploded outward, and the cadets gasped as portals shimmered into existence before each of them: eerie blue whirlpools of energy, their low hum vibrating through the air as displaced snow scattered beneath them.
'Portals for each person?' Pathro's mind raced. 'Are we being sent to different places?'
He glanced at Instructor Kamir. She met his gaze with a smirk, the exact same expression she had worn back when she had come to retrieve him and Kiligaku from the Incenero planet.
Her words from that day surfaced in his memory: 'The purpose of the final test has never been for you to pass with flying colors.'
'Has the academy changed the structure of the final test because the old format became too easy for their objectives?' A chill ran through him, though he masked it better than his classmates.
"Wh-what? Why multiple portals? I thought we were all going to the same place!" a voice called out from somewhere behind Pathro.
"That is none of your concern," Instructor Kamir replied, her voice cold and absolute. "Focus on doing as you were told. The battlefield is never what you expect it to be. Consider this an opportunity to demonstrate how well you adapt to a new environment. Now go. Complete this test as swiftly as possible, and officially become soldiers of Japan, Zunan Fighters."
Pathro drew a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the portal before him, its surface rippling like liquid glass.
'Here goes nothing. Let's see what these Zunans are really made of.'
He stepped through. One by one, the others followed.
---
The scene unfolded around Pathro as he plummeted from the sky. The portal had manifested high in the air.
'I'm falling? The portal I entered was vertical, so why is this one horizontal and above the ground?' His thoughts scattered as the wind howled past him. 'Dang it!'
His descent was rapidly accelerating. 'The gravity here is too strong. Focus on landing first. Too bad I can't fly yet.'
He released his crimson energy outward, pushing back against the oppressive gravitational pull. The effect only slowed his fall, and he flipped repeatedly midair, redirecting his momentum toward the peak of a mountain below.
His legs slammed onto the summit, the impact sending a violent tremor through the rock. An avalanche thundered down the mountainside, but Pathro remained fixed at the top, steadying himself. He watched the portal that had dropped him shimmer and vanish into nothing.
A low hum escaped him as he finally took in his surroundings.
It was a frozen wasteland. The mountain had been fully cloaked in snow before his landing had stripped it bare. Above, dark grey clouds churned, thick and oppressive, as though threatening existence itself, and from them poured a continuous, unrelenting stream of snow. The land stretched endlessly before him. A few other mountains rose in the distance, but mostly the terrain was low and jagged, ice formations jutting upward like pointed sand dunes frozen mid-wind.
'Where is this place? Definitely not Earth.' He scanned the horizon, then lifted his boot, testing the ground beneath him. 'The gravity here feels even stronger than the Incenero planet... but the cold isn't as harsh as it truly could be.'
He leaped from the mountain, descending rapidly and landing on one knee with a fist driven into the ground. Massive cracks spiderwebbed outward across the ice. He steadied his footing carefully to avoid falling through.
A smoky breath escaped his lips as he rose and surveyed his surroundings once more.
'We're trained to endure extreme weather. The cold clearly isn't part of the challenge.' He extended his senses outward, searching. Nothing. 'And I can't sense anyone else. I really am alone here.'
His thoughts drifted back to the look Instructor Kamir had given him just before departure. 'I wonder how the instructors plan to watch us. One hundred cadets is too many to track individually... unless they're only observing a select few right now and simply recording the rest. That's the only reason I can think of for that stare she gave me.'
He frowned, his mind beginning to spiral into overanalysis, then smacked his own forehead sharply.
'Focus on the mission, Pathro. Kill some Zunans.'
But as he extended his senses again, searching for his targets, he felt nothing. 'Are the Zunans hiding? I should have no trouble sensing them if they were already here. They have Meta-Energy, just like us.'
He began to run across the frozen landscape, pushing his legs to adapt to the crushing gravity while covering ground. 'The Zunans used in this test are the ones captured alive from the Primevault realm. So I guess they haven't been released here yet.'
Then, like lightning striking his skull, he felt it.
Multiple Zunan signatures erupted across the planet as portals flared open and closed in rapid succession. He flinched involuntarily, a chill that had nothing to do with the cold running down his spine.
'So this is what Zunan Meta-Energy feels like...'
It was sinister. Wrong. An oily, malevolent presence that clawed at the edges of his perception.
'That's more than twenty Zunans I just sensed.'
He shook off the creeping unease and forced his focus to sharpen. 'Doesn't matter. I just need to kill them all as fast as possible.'
He honed his senses, mapping the ominous energies scattered across the planet, feeling their positions like dark stars in his mind. His gaze settled intently on the direction of the closest one.
"So then..." he murmured, his breath misting in the frozen air. "Which one of you is my first prey?"