Human Spirit / 3

Another class session was done. Surprisingly, math tends to be hard for almost a lot of people.

Chai on the other hand, was suffering because of it, mainly because it's one of the subjects that she has trouble about it. That's why she mainly copies from Zodiac.

"I really want math to disappear..."

She sighed as she looks at her classmates that were leaving the classroom, it was about to be P.E next, a subject she can actually be confident in. She would turn around and ask Zodiac.

"Hey dude, you coming-"

But once she turned, he was nowhere to be seen, this raised her suspicion even more, slowly standing up from her chair, his bag was still below his desk, it was weird.

"Where is he.."

She stepped outside to look at each hall, to the left, there was nothing, and the right hall was where her classmates were walking to go to the gymnasium.

Chai began thinking even more about the sudden disappearance Zodiac just did, she thinks someone had kidnapped him, or maybe worse..

Unfortunately, she couldn't focus much on it, she needed to get to her next class. So she followed behind her classmates while looking behind the the opposite direction of the hallway.

A familiar voice would speak at the corner of the hall. It was Zodiac, their head turned to hide at the edge of the wall, seeing Chai walk away.

Their phone suddenly rang in their pocket as he took it out, answering it as he puts it near his ear, and from the other call, was a woman's voice. With 'Zodiac' speaking first.

"I'm sorry boss. I couldn't retrieve the orb just in time. The person I'm impersonating had found it first.."

"Found it? Don't tell me he started the trial?!"

"Unfortunately. But it didn't seem like he knew either, it seems like the orb.. Chose him."

"Chose him? That's impossible.. The most talented soldiers we have tried activating it but to no avail! And you're telling me, a random student from some random city had gained its trust?!"

"...Yes. It seems like it."

"Tsk.. But maybe, he could be an asset."

"What do you mean?"

"He could be of use to us. If.. we just manage to gain his trust, then he will use his system for our gain."

"I understand.. But with that type of system-"

"I'm not hearing any other reason you have. Get the boy, now."

"..Understood."

The call ended with the imposter sighing.

"What a pain in the ass.."

They sighed while chuckling, a system screen appearing in front of them as they looked at it.

[Changing..]

"When was the last time.."

[Change complete! Taking Chai Ho's appearance.]

They snickered slightly, as they turn to walk to the emergency exit's door, entering it and closing it, a face on their hand as their body began glitching.

"I used my own face?"

A wicked grin would appear on their face, sliding their hand down, their entire body changing, their face glitching, the clothes transforming into.. Chai.

---

On the other dimension of the school, the buildings were ruined, the half of the entirety of the building disintegrated into nothing but just air.

A smoke of dust in the middle at the front of the school. Suddenly, Zodiac would jump out as he got pushed back, his feet pushing hard against the ground as the dirt below it would slide on his shoes. His hand trying to steady himself as he panted heavily.

"Shit.. That was some parry."

The dust of smoke would fade, showing the Judge standing still, their face cracked, twitching annoyed while keeping up the poker face.

"And that was a fabulous punch. I must say, you almost killed me if I had not parried it."

She said while dusting off the dirt from her clothes, slowly, she lifts herself off the ground by floating up, then landing elegantly back on the ground.

Walking towards Zodiac while he'd struggle standing up, he can feel his right arm in pain, the force that he had done wasn't something he was used to.

He held his right arm while panting heavily as he chuckled, still smiling confidently before standing up straight, despite his right arm unable to move, he refused to give up.

The Judge stopped at her tracks, her eyebrows would twitch, his will to not give up made her shocked.

"Mortal.. Do you not see the difference in our strength?"

Zodiac would snicker before answering.

"I do.. You're stronger than me and faster, but that doesn't mean I don't have a chance at beating you."

"I see."

She sighed, her hand moved down to her stomach, phasing through the middle of her body before pulling out a brightening light sword, they way it shined felt like it was burning in intense heat.

"Then I shall kill you."

She would hold the sword in one hand on the handle, performing some tricks such as spinning and whatnot.

"Flexing on me before I die huh?.. That's just cockiness in another level."

"Cockiness you say, but it is merely confidence. Now then."

She prepared herself, raising her left hand which was gripping the sword up above her head, ready to perform a downward slash.

"May you rest in peace."

That was her last words she had said to him. Suddenly speed blitzing in front of Zodiac as she was pulling down the sword to slash him in half.

But to Zodiac, everything was slow, staring at what seems like death's door already. His mind beginning to cloud with memories of his entire life. As he thought to himself.

' This is it.. I'm really about to die. '

He chuckled, closing his eyes, accepting his end.

' ..Hey! '

' Hey! '

Until a past memory of him and Chai would play in his mind, confused as to why this played, he laughed weakly.

"Man.. Last memory before I die huh? What's this even about.."

He said in a weak state, letting the memory play. The scene was him and Chai, swinging back and forth in the playground they had used to be in. With Zodiac's memory of himself asking Chai.

' Do you think.. Dying is a suitable option? '

' ..what? '

' Like, most people do erm.. You know. And they mostly do it because maybe they're tired of life, or are bombarded with problems they can't solve. Debts and whatnot. For me, I honestly don't know if I'll succeed in anything in the future.. '

Zodiac sighed before suddenly receiving a hard punch on the face, causing him to fall from the swing and his back laying on the ground. As he looked up at Chai who was standing with her head low.

' What the fuck dude?! That hurt! '

Before Zodiac could continue, Chai would straddle his stomach as she gripped the collar of his shirt tightly, bringing his face close to hers.

She suddenly spoke, but her voice was cracking and angry. Once he fully saw her face.. She had tears in her eyes, while having an angry expression.

' Don't say that! You're making me worry you stupid idiot! '

' I.. I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to make you.. '

' You're.. You're someone I care about deeply.. Ever since we were kids, nobody wanted to be friends with me. But you were there, and you helped me get friends too. '

She sniffed, wiping her eyes, trying to compose herself before speaking again.

' If you ever die, just know that you'll die from my hands instead! And what would your family think about it?! Your mother and siblings especially! '

She was right, he had never thought about what other people would think he if suddenly died. It doesn't just affect him entirely, but the people around him as well.

' You're right.. I wasn't thinking properly, sorry Chai. '

' Just.. Just don't say or do anything stupid. '

Chai would hug him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder, with Zodiac hugging her back as he chuckled.

The memory would fade, Zodiac in real time had realized that there were still people who cared about him.

His eyes would open back to reality, the Judge had the sword above her head, about to lunge down at him, he knew he had time, but with a cost.

In an instant, he moved to the left, as the slash happened, cutting the ground deep, but ultimately, cutting his right arm clean.

"Gah! That hurt!"

The Judge suddenly turned to look at him, shocked at his sudden movement, making her stunned for a few seconds due to the amount of strength she had to use to lift and use the sword.

"I.. Impossible!"

Zodiac snickered, sliding smoothly to her side as he balled his left fist hard. Having a smirk in his face despite his right arm losing a lot of blood.

"Never underestimate.. The indomitable human spirit."

He spoke as the Judge tried to move, but to no avail. With Zodiac landing a clean hard punch at her face, putting enough force and strength to send her flying.

Causing her to bounce off the ground three times before crashing at the now storage building that she had destroyed earlier.

Zodiac would pant heavily, unable to feel the pain in his right hand as he tried to ignore it, but it was too painful to do so. As he fell to his knees, his left hand trying to grasp his right arm, but to only feel that it was hollow, the blood streaming down was the only thing on it.

"Ha.. Losing an arm, or dying.. Yeah that was the right choice I made."

He chuckled, as the smoke cleared in the storage building, the Judge was stuck to the wall in a very painful position, her head was twisted to the other side, he knew that he won.

"I.. I did it. I actually did it.."

He said, but the energy he had was now gone, slowly closing his eyes as he passed out while his body fell to the ground with his face flat on it.

The system screen appeared above him, with the words showing:

[Mission Defeat The Judge. Completed!]

[VN System's access is now granted.]

[Time Completed: 00:25:25.]

[Returning to the real world...]

---

"Ugh.. Where is he?!"

Chai said, P.E couldn't happen because of a certain student that was absent, which was Zodiac.

As she would walk through the bottom floor, she looked outside the window at the school yard, then seeing a familiar person underneath a tree, laying down.

"Is that.."

Without hesitation, she would run through the opposite direction of the hall, heading towards the exit, continuing to run towards to Zodiac who was asleep underneath a tree.

She reaches him before crouching down, her hips closed then grabbing his shoulders, in an attempt to wake him up.

"Hey! Wake up!"

Zodiac would groan softly, his eyes opening slowly before seeing Chai at his side, her expression was filled with worry and relief.

"You're awake.. I'm glad."

"..where am I?"

"You're still at school dude. What were you doing out here?"

"I.."

Zodiac then remembered what he experienced just earlier, he slowly sits up while rubbing his head, before turning to his right arm to see that it was back there.

His entire body now unscathed and uninjured, he was confused yet a bit relieved. But the dark orb on his right hand was gone too. For now, he wants to calm down and try to explain to Chai what happened.

He can see her face worried and curious why he's here of all the places he can sleep at.

"I just had-"

He stopped himself from continuing, knowing that Chai won't believe what he just went through, a corrupt angel called the Judge killing him because he obtained a system? Unlikely.

"I think I just fell asleep here during recess.."

He chuckled while scratching his head, but was everything he went through even real?

"Alright.. Well, I was going to talk to you earlier but you disappeared, you left our math class quickly."

"Math class? I was there?"

"Yeah! Don't act dumb with me now. You were sitting behind me then you were gone!"

"Oh.. Right, right, sorry, I had to go to the restroom immediately that's why I was gone."

"Whatever you say. Come on, class is about to start."

Chai would stand up, before walking back to one of the doors, as the two would go up the stairs to head back to their classroom. Zodiac followed behind her but he knew something was off. How could he have been there when he was at the schoolyard, he thought to himself.

' I was with her in math class.. But I was never there, and I don't remember being there either. '

' Then who.. '

The two would arrive back at their classroom, the teacher looking annoyed once they opened the sliding door.

"Where were you two.."

Chai would look away before pushing Zodiac inside.

"Ask him!"

"What the- Dude?! We uh.."

Zodiac would clear his throat while chuckling nervously.

"Sorry ma'am.. I just had a really.. Bad experience in the bathroom. What I ate wasn't helping me at all."

The teacher would glare at the both of them, before clicking her tongue, the long ruler she held would smack down on her table before pointing at their empty seats.

"Go back to your seats, class is starting."

Zodiac and Chai nodded, closing the sliding door as they went to their designated seats, with that, another boring class session began, thankfully, it was the last.

---

On top of the other side of the building, 'Chai' was chilling on the roof, a pair of binoculars in their left hand as they were lifting it on their eyes. The direction they were looking at was at Zodiac's classroom.

Before taking out their phone with their right hand as they called someone. Putting it near their ear as they spoke.

"Boss.. They succeeded in the trial."

"They what?! That's impossible! Only those who are the strongest have the chance of succeeding!"

"I'm not lying, he's at class right now."

"This is unbelievable. To think a kid would gain that system.. It rivals the systems of the founders from the Order Syndicate!"

"Unfortunately."

"Whatever! Just gain the boy's trust, and make sure you bring him here. Alive."

"Understood."

The call ended, with 'Chai' continuing to watch Zodiac from afar with the binoculars they were using.

"Let's see if he's truly the chosen one for that system."