3rd Year

A young white-haired man stood on a balcony, gazing across a small quiet lake. The misty morning air was cold, and every breath he took curled into the sky. Normally, Jackal wouldn't be up this early, but today was different. It was the final day. He felt like he had to accept something, though he wasn't sure what.

His academy life was coming to an abrupt end.

Looking down at the half-frozen lake, he smirked. He wrapped his hands around a small teacup, took one last sip, then turned away and stepped back into his cramped room.

"Ah... the memories."

He gave the window a final glance, sighed, and forced himself forward. The room was empty now—his belongings packed and gone. This was really the end. A dark expression crossed his face, twisting into a bitter grin.

"I'm such a failure. A loser, just like before. Getting chosen didn't mean anything. It was all a cruel joke... a fitting end for someone like me."

He lingered in the doorway, unable to move, staring at the hollow space that had once been his world. For a moment, he felt nothing. Then, shaking off the weight pressing down on him, he collected his thoughts and stepped through the door for the last time.

Outside, a young-looking maid gave him a quick nod and looked at him with a neutral expression

"Jackal of Room 596, your three years are up. No extension has been confirmed."

Jackal looked at her. His gaze was neither angry nor sad. In fact, he had known this would happen for a while now. After all, anyone who failed to awaken during their three-year stay was cast aside—ultimately a failure in the eyes of the academy. Just a normal human.

"Hand over the keys. The new students arrive tomorrow. Make your way to the hall."

Jackal shrugged.

"Here you go."

He felt nothing. His time was up. All his work—the brutal drills, learning how Blesses worked, studying relentlessly, trying to make meaningful connections—it had all led to nothing. Before he knew it, he had wandered into the hall, where the other students stood, waiting for the big moment.

But this time, only around 250 were on the floor. The other 500 stood on the platform above, looking down on the less fortunate.

Jackal could feel their stares. Just because they had been lucky enough to manifest their Blesses into a Manipura, they got to stand above the rest. But before he could take a good look around, a voice cut through the tension.

The Instructor spoke:

"We stand here once again. Three long years, and I am delighted to announce the success of the 500 students who have awakened their Manipura. But as you know, that is not why we are here. I was quite frank with you all on the first day."

"Here it comes," Jackal thought.

The Instructor continued:

"No matter what happened, if you failed to awaken and manifest your Manipura, you are no more than a normal human. Useless. As you know, once a person turns 17 years old it becomes nearly impossible to awaken. And now you all stand here, utterly a disgrace. Your families, your fellow students you failed everyone"

Jackal could feel the students around him beginning to shake. Reality was setting in. They had failed—forced to stand still and listen as they were discarded like garbage. Just to his right, he caught sight of a few students on the platform above, grinning down at them. Laughing.

The Instructor continued:

"But this year, we have a special opportunity for the less fortunate. The great clan of Eternal has made the Academy an offer. Normally, we don't allow the greater clans to interfere with government matters, but this year is different. Due to certain circumstances, we have a few opportunities for the rest of you."

The hall fell silent, but whispers spread like wildfire. Normally, failures were simply cast out into the normal world—stripped of any real education, left with no future. As Blesses, they were meant to awaken. Without that, they were nothing.

But now… there was a chance?

Jackal stole a glance at the teachers lined up along the sides. Their expressions were unreadable. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a man wearing the distinct earring of Eternal. It wasn't every day someone who had earned such an honor appeared in public. They were like celebrities—some even regarded them as myths.

Beside him, a woman in a military uniform stepped forward.

The mysterious man spoke:

I am here as the voice of Eternal, ill keep this short due to my time being valueable and limited. We are willing to give you failures 1 final chance to awaken, i know you all turned 17 years old. But we are willing to pay and arrange for you to stay 1 year longer in the academy.

Jackal could sense the hope from the other unawakened around him—a glimmer of hope in a dark, empty situation. But he knew that an offer like this always came with a price.

"But in return, we ask for one simple thing," the man continued. "You will swear allegiance and loyalty to the clan of Eternal. Of course, I wouldn't make this offer if we weren't confident in our ability to provide resources. We will ensure that most of you awaken. A small price to pay, no?"

Murmurs spread through the crowd, but Jackal saw it differently. Swear loyalty? Allegiance? This wasn't just an opportunity—it was a contract. If you accepted and awakened, your life was no longer your own. Your choices would belong to Eternal.

But… was that really so bad? You would live as a member of the esteemed clan of Eternal.

"Sigh, this didn't go as expected," he thought.

Eternal knew exactly what they were doing. They dangled hope in front of desperate young people, giving them something to cling to. And if they truly had the means to awaken people older than 17… Jackal couldn't help but laugh in his mind.

So this was how they recruited.

Then the man from Eternal stepped back, and the woman in the military uniform stepped forward to speak.

"Hello, Unawakened. I'm the representative of the Government's Army. Normally, we don't do this, but since Eternal made an offer, we'll put one on the table as well."

Intrigued, Jackal looked at her. She had long, bright purple hair and several armbands around her arm. Clearly, she was no ordinary soldier and exuded a commanding aura everyone knew she was definitely awakened.

"I'm here to offer a one-year early enrollment into the army's forces. This may not seem like a reasonable offer for any of you here—normally, we only allow those 18 and above to enroll with some form of education in battle. However, given the circumstances, we can overlook your age. We would appreciate people with your knowledge of Blesses and Nectures on the battlefield. But I won't promise safety; most soldiers die in the end. All I can guarantee is food and shelter while you're in the army."

The offer felt like someone kicking a defenseless person while they were on their knees. Suddenly, Eternal's offer didn't sound so bad. Going to the army? That was pure suicide. Every week, news circulated about casualties it wasn't pretty. But due to the state of the world, that was how it was.

"I won't pretend this is a reasonable choice. I know you young students have had it rough, but you have no places to go. Because of your inability to awaken, you lack a real education. You're disposable. So choose wisely—this might be the final chapter of your short story."

The purple-haired girl stepped back, and the academy instructor once again stepped forward. Out of sheer nothingness, he summoned two tables with papers on them. It always amazed Jackal to see the instructor's Manipura at work it all happened so fast, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

The instructor spoke:

"Once again, before you is a choice, like the first time you arrived at the academy. You have the option to seek the power you desire and gain one last chance to awaken by signing this paper. You will receive the tattoo of entrance to the academy, giving you one more year to awaken. On the other side, you can sign the paper over on my left and enroll in the army. Both tattoos last for only one year without them, you may not remain on the academy grounds. Of course, if you awaken, we will gladly extend your stay for a final fifth year."

The room fell deathly silent once more, but then one student stepped forward and signed his name on the paper—an allegiance to Eternal. This sparked a chain reaction. It was a clear choice. Who would be foolish enough to enter the army? Even swearing loyalty to Eternal was better than rotting away on the streets.

Jackal was about to take a step forward, having made up his mind. "I'm going to forfeit to Eternal. It's the only stable choice I have no place to go, no one to rely on outside the academy." But just before he could take that step, his vision went cold.

"Where am I?" he murmured in confusion.

Looking around, he found himself in a large room with red walls. He felt stuck in mid-step, and when he tried to move forward, a sharp pain in his heart stopped him. He sensed that if he took that step, his heart would explode.

A voice rang in his ear:

"One step is all it takes to change a man's fate, but I won't let you. A chance? Not for a loser like you."

"Who are you?" Jackal replied coldy

"Who am i? I am 0̵͓̥̠͈̑̄0̸͈̩̝̝̈́0̸̱̹̥̑̓̾̎͜0̷͖͋̆0̵̘̙̻̉͒̈0̶͙̳̿̓̐͠0̵̫͔̣̑" 

Jackal didn't understand what was happening everything felt wrong. He wasn't himself right now. Suddenly, he sensed someone behind him—a mouth beside his ear, whispering.

"If you take one more step, I'm going to stab your heart." The unknown being uttered

"Dead…" Jackal murmured quietly, the weight of the word hanging in the air.

Without warning, the sharp pain in his back vanished, and he was back in the hall, glancing around in confusion. He had no idea how long he had been gone, but only four students remained, each one walking up to sign the papers on the right where the Envoy for Eternal stood.

As he glanced at the esteemed member of Eternal, Jackal noticed the smirk on his face. Not a single person had signed the military paper yet. The purple-haired girl stood with a neutral expression, not even pretending to be surprised. Who would willingly choose to march off to war against such terrifying creatures without any compensation?

Just then, the last person beside him walked toward the Eternal contract, leaving him standing alone. The realization hit him hard he had to make a decision. Once the final person signed the papers, all eyes would be on him.

"I will die?" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

His body felt like it was crying out for relief, but his face remained expressionless, a mask of emptiness. It was the kind of look often seen on those who had faced death directly or had been very close to it—pale and hollow. As much as he wanted to walk over to sign the Eternal papers, something deep within him warned that if he did—or even took a single step in that direction—he would stumble and fall into the abyss and die.