A man out of nowhere came onto the stage situated just before the wall all eyes had steered to. He wore a fine suit and looked as though he was in his sixty's . He stood before the crowd confidently and began.
" Hello, Fellow APTITUDERS . I welcome you all to the renowned institute of the *University Of Eminent Ages*. The reason why you find yourself standing in this hall at this very moment is because you are a qualifier and the reason why you are going to find yourself on this campus from here on out is because you are an aptituder. Now the word aptituder is simple. One who makes use of aptitude instinctively as a potent means to acquire excellence in the smallest things to the greatest of things. I hope you take these words into careful consideration and now that you're here, I should take this chance to wish you the best of luck for tomorrow." He ended his speech quickly and exited the hall.
Soon after he left, a digital list menu popped up covering the wall everyone faced which appeared to be an electronic board. The pop up had what appeared to be a array of all the selected participants of the written assessment. It bore the names of the selected ones, their coded identification number, assessment rankings along with the scores, as well as their selected courses.
The first few,
°°°°
1st.Felix Kyle[00864]. Score. 1700/1700 2nd.Amy Whitaker[00563] Score. 1699/7000 2nd.Mia Kyle[00863]. Score. 1699/1700 3rd.Charles Tusk[00005]. Score. 1600/1700
°°°°
"Our ranks is nothing short of predicted but it's shocking to find out a human could rank this high." Khemia said as she directed her gaze towards Amy's name on the screen.
"Indeed, she isn't a simple one. Albeit our intellect spans higher than the fake recorded rankings, it is out of the blue for her to be this smart." Fizikiel remarked.
"Maybe Amy is the only intriguing human out there. I wouldn't expect much from the rest."
"khemia, here's one advice you needn't forget..."
"oh, and that is?"
"Never look down on humans. You might never know what these beings who lost their link with the supernatural and spiritual are capable of." Fizikiel said in a tone that was neither threatening nor comforting.
Khemia after thinking for a while assured, "I'll take your word for it, brother."
Meanwhile, Amy in an isolated part of the crowd was staring at the screen with a sullen expression, 'I expected Mia to be a smart one but to actually end up in a draw, it's definitely something out of my calculations.'
'Apart from her, who is this Felix Kyle. His name rings a bell. I wonder if I know him from somewhere. Perhaps, we'd had an encounter in the past or is he Mia's brother or something.' she sighed
"Is he out of our radar? Hmm, He must be one of them" she exclaimed with an unprecedented gleam in her eyes.
She turned towards the reception area of the chief receptionist with the aim of getting things done quickly.
Fizikiel and Khemia after taking a final glance at the display moved to find the receptionist. And after dealing with the necessary applications, left the academy.
They boarded a train home traveling south of the school. A Luxurious estate was what could be seen after leaving the train. The duo walked for the next few minutes on an artificial path. An exquisite garden ordained with a myriad of beautiful flowers surrounded them but they paid no attention to the scene as if to mean it as an everyday experience.
A mansion of architectural design was in sight. Fizikiel nonchalantly went in front the door and knocked. Soon enough, a man in a fine black suit opened and greeted him, "Greetings, young master"
"Gerald, I see you're doing great." Fizikiel said as he ushered Khemia in.
"Welcome, young mistress", Gerald directed to Khemia.
Khemia nodded as Fizikiel asked, "where is mother and father?"
"Madame is in her room as usual and the master is away on a meeting." Gerald responded
"Thanks, you can get on with your duties. I'll take it from here"
"Yes" Gerald bowed as Fizikiel and Khemia went to the madame's abode.
"My dear, Felix, is that you?", the duo heard a call halfway to the room.
Fizikiel sighed as he marveled at his mom's increasable senses. Khemia could only be just as impressed. They quickened their steps and reached the room.
A residence decorated with portraits probably from different eras could be seen on the walls. It could only be described as spaciously lavish with furniture of intricate patterns. Every other modern household artifact could be found. The room was also ordained with iridescent chandeliers and fancy tiling. A glittering trophy case could be seen in a certain corner of the room. Inside were several trophies and awards presumably from the movie industry with names inscribed on them: Amberlynn Kyle.
Inside the room stood a tall woman with a build that was akin to that of Khemia's but with more maturity. Black eyes that seemed to sparkle with golden brilliance complimented her blonde flowing hair. Clothed in a black dress ordained with ornamental jewels in the lining, her appearance was nothing short of gorgeous.
A wide and welcoming smile was what awaited Fizikiel and Khemia.
"Yes mother it's me. Mia and I just returned from the University." Fizikiel said with an alexithymic look.
"Aren't you the least bit happy to see your mom and how many times must I ask you to stop calling me mother. There needn't be any formality between us. Just 'mom' would do." Amberlynn proposed
"But I see no flaw in using the term 'mother'" Fizikiel declared in an apathetic tone.
'hmm, so his condition still hasn't improved just as the physician diagnosed. Those emotionless eyes are nothing new to me. There's still room for hope, I guess' Amberlynn thought
"Fine then, it's your choice. Anyway Mia sweety, hope you're in good health." Amberlynn directed her gaze towards Mia who had been standing beside Fizikiel.
"As good as I've always been, mother. You do know it's nearly impossible for us to attain ailments, right?" Khemia asked.
"Off course but it's always reassuring to know" Amberlynn smile softly with a sad gleam in her eyes.
"Alright, let's talk over dinner" with a clasp of her hand, she directed her children to the dinette. Just on the other side of the dinette wall was the dinning hall for formal meals. It wasn't that far from the kitchen. The dinette was an alcove area Amberlynn liked to used.
They sat around the table as Amberlynn summoned Gerald to prepare a brief meal. Soon enough the meal was presented on the table and a little conversation ensued before the meal.
"How was the ceremony?" Amberlynn inquired.
"All necessary procedures have been fulfilled. What's left is to leave for the academy." Khemia responded apathetically.
"Did the academy meet your expectations?" Amberlynn was expectant.
"Barely but it does leave up to it's name." Khemia replied simply.
"May I ask what you were up to when we arrived." Felix inquired bluntly.
"Oh nothing much, just contemplating on a suitable background music for the latest upcoming movie. Truly sorry, but can't reveal much Intel as the director asked of me." Amberlynn exclaimed in a delightful tone.
"Oh, I'm Intrigued." Khemia uttered in a literal uninterested atonal
'Intrigued she says, with an expression like that anyone would think the opposite. What would come to be of my children' The madame thought with a generally saddened expression.
The family began enjoying the meal and in this moment of silence, the mother of the duo began to reminisce about the dark past of how her children's emotionless state came to be.
***
An entity that brings nothing but pain and suffering. Slowly stripping life away from it victims. A sole hindrance to progress and a not-so benevolent pathway to death. This is how one would see the entity- disease.
There came a time when a horrifying disease revealed itself unto the world. Exotic Reaper Syndrome (E.R.S)is the the term that befits it.