"They surely weren't lying about the dates, were they?"
"They weren't. We're late, but we should still find the fuse unpolished at our time of arrival, right?"
"You shouldn't worry about such things now. Unpolished or polished, we should deliver it. Although I wonder how good the polished one would be."
"Yeah, the other candidates didn't put much on the table. Let's get going before the storm revs up again. Pack up."
The two figures continued onward into the sandstorm, disappearing into dust.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Aıdauuı"
"Arııoıd"
"Araf"
"Aras!"
As Aras awoke and looked around the purely white room he was in, he felt the pure pressure put onto him by the distortion fields placed everywhere around the room. He was shackled to a chair so tightly that just attempting to move his hands was burning and bruising his skin, getting it stuck.
"Aras, you are awake, and yet you have provided us no answer. What the hell were you trying to pull back there?"
Trying to pull something? Wasn't he attacked by someone with those weird static fields?
"Whaat? Did I pass? Is this another test?"
"Aras, this is no joking matter. Provide us with the answers we need and both parties will be safe and happy. What were you trying to do back there?"
"I was trying to do what? I don't even know what this place is. Damn, these lights are bright. Isn't there an AC or something? It's like I'm getting crushed by the air here!"
The question was the same for many more hours following this interaction. It was filled with guards Aras could not recognize, asking him things he had no idea about.
"Aras, we're not going to sugarcoat it. Are you a Veil in disguise?"
This statement irritated Aras, but he was able to keep his composure.
"How were you able to get this high up in y'alls ranks being this much of an idiot? I'm more human than anyone in this district, dumbass!"
"Language, Aras," Rhydan said, looking Aras dead in the eyes with no emotion visible to Aras or anyone else, as it seemed.
"Aras, please cooperate with us. What were you trying to pull off back there? The amount of Pulse you emitted wasn't normal. We deeply hope you aren't an enemy. That would make you a great waste of an asset, so please cooperate with us. How and why did you perform such an extreme act of destruction?"
"As I said, I don't even know what you're talking about. And did you guys even fix me up properly? I can still feel stinging as I speak throughout my entire body."
It was like his entire skeleton and muscles were getting peeled off the bone, but it just burned and stung when he moved his limbs.
"Show the recording."
Rhydan still had that look on his face, somehow irritating and making Aras feel like a genuine criminal.
"Recording 1301, playing from 0:17 to 0:49."
The recording started with Aras stepping onto the platform and then closing his eyes. Aras faintly remembered this part, but only this, as the other few seconds were just faint moments of distortion.
After they activated the boosting chamber, it was like a warzone in there.
It was surely caused by Aras, as static and flickering started with him escalating toward the obelisks and shortly after around him as a whole. Watching this was like witnessing a Veil outbreak animation he had seen in class a few months ago. Although he was sure he wasn't any type of Veil, it was still strange, to say the least.
The recording continued with Aras screaming and obelisks shattering as the lights shut off, while Aras continued to emit that electricity-like static around him. The recording ended with Aras getting shot with a few bullets, and the video paused, closing a few seconds later.
"We are fully aware Pulse-type techniques and rhythms are explosive, but this is just pure destruction, even yourself couldn't seem to control. What do you have to say for yourself, Aras?"
Aras was grinning from head to toe, not even trying to hide his excitement.
"I must be pretty strong, right, Mr. Rhydan?"
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Excuse me, have you seen my friend? His name is Aras. He's this tall, has brown curly hair, and is a bit loud."
"..."
"No? Thanks for the help."
He kept searching and searching, yet to no clue. He had just disappeared after the guards took him into custody. The evaluation exam was postponed, although Miran actually was the last student permitted to use the platform. His technique was just a plain regular type, so he was placed into the Iron Wall.
It didn't matter at all, since he could still be in the same strike team as Aras and watch his back. The corridors seemed like mazes with no end. Students were whispering of the "incident," which made them miss their "most important day of their lives."
"You'll still be placed in the Iron Wall if you fail, idiots. Just focus on the fundamentals like Rhydan, and maybe you'll amount to something in your life."
He wasn't this aggressive normally, but knowing Aras was somewhere in this building yet being unable to reach him was pissing him off to the point he wasn't asking — he was demanding if people saw Aras or any other "incident" factor.
"Hey, kid, weren't you there in the room when that short kid exploded the obelisk? Kids gotta learn how much those cost, but that's beside my point."
"Yeah. Have you seen him anywhere?"
"Actually, I'm not permitted to give you this information, but I just want to go home and spend time with my lovely, pretty wife. I bet she made those meatloa—"
"Sir."
Miran gazed at his uniform that was a little messy and unbuttoned from the top (one button, but it was noticeable).
"Jax, please cut to the chase. We both don't have much time, as you just said."
"Yeah, yes, you're right." Coughs."As I said, you didn't get this info from me, okay?"
He pulled out a small map from his pocket of one-fourth of the facility they were in and pointed at a corridor with a few rooms scattered around the area.
"Your friend is probably behind one of these doors right there in one of those interrogation rooms. I don't recommend you going there, but would appreciate it if you did, if you catch my drift."
The actual corniness of that sentence made Miran giggle slightly, erupting into laughter as they both looked at each other with faces trying not to laugh.
"Okay, okay, I do. Thanks."
"Be careful, and you do NOT know me!"
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aras was grinning from head to toe. Even though he didn't quite understand what happened in the recording, it was obvious he wasn't attacked or framed. It was him that broke the obelisk and actually emitted all of that electricity.
"I'm a Pulser, as you just said, and I'm a strong one, as you just showed. Why are we still here? Just let me under Mr. Rhydan, and I'll grow stronger, controlling this static and beating the Veils to a pulp."
"You know we can't do that, Aras. Unless you agree to our terms, of course."
Well, that was pretty easy, Aras thought, as it literally was. District 11 was in dire need of strong soldiers, as their only strong fighter was Rhydan, who didn't even possess a Rhythm or Technique. I mean, sure, he could hold his own against a Shade 2 or defeat a newly formed Shade 2 (possibly), but in case of a bigger outbreak, the whole district would get eaten.
Although Aras probably would die against a Shade 1 without even being able to control himself and die painfully, the potential was there, and the higher-ups saw it.
"Sure, want me to get on my knees and tie my hair?"
"Language." (Rhydan actually liked that joke, but it wasn't the time.)
"We will monitor you at all times via trackers and recorders. You are not permitted to take these off unless we grant you access or you're deceased. You will sleep in a cell watched by cameras, including during your restroom breaks. Any physical touch is prohibited and out of bounds. Rhydan will be assigned as your mentor for your strike team. Disobeying him means we activate your suppressors and close all your bodily functions. Got all of that?"
Aras understood the importance of this offer. It was either this or being stuck in a cell for six months before a death trial, suspecting him of being a spy.
"Yes. What is your answer? Note that you are temporarily not assigned to any group, since we will keep your awakening classified. We don't want an extermination squad coming here 'just in case' and you dying of natural causes. Hence why I'm saving your ass and being your mentor until you become a true protector of the people."
Rhydan had a valid point. Aras had made up his mind.
"Sure, whatever. As long as I can hunt those Veils down, I couldn't care less about y'alls offers or restraints."
The recording was enough to show Aras what he could do, but it felt as though it wasn't just him that caused those distortions and damages. It was as though he had no control, and that kind of scared him. This wasn't the place to show it. He needed to be strong. He needed to be great.
Aras could feel the static throughout his entire body, lingering faintly.
"You keep smiling not because you are sure of yourself, but because you need it in order to keep your composure. You are afraid, Aras. And that's a good thing, for it is what's kept me alive all these years."