Within the premises of the wide spread compound of the prestigious school, chortles and juicy high school gist thrived in the tranquil environment.
The piercing rays lit up from the roofless above alongside the serene calming breeze flowing in the company of the humid spring air which contributed substantially to the pleasing and easygoing vibes that everyone delighted in.
Unfortunately, such cheerful ecstasy leaned singly on the grounds of the older students.
On the contrary, in the school's courtyard, were a group of students, who after a year-long training were finally prepared to face their first dungeon assessment – a test which results weighs heavily in defining the future of any individual.
This was a day most people looked up to in their lives but at the finality of matters only a diminutive percentage ever survived.
The demeanour of most of the youngsters was a hybrid between fear, apprehension and confusion.
The age of 15 was truly a day for all to remember.
Not only was today the day that multiple students will awaken god-like concepts and powers and spark their mark on the face of the earth but was also the remembrance of the day such powers came to life in human history.
Exactly a decade ago, demons encroached into existence and tore wastefully through the fabric of life.
The beast relentlessly destroyed all in their path and killed millions of people.
The human race were shoved to the verge of extinction and would have been done for.
But in that moment, necessity no longer was the mother of innovation.
Survival was.
Unknown power surged through the few survivors and transcended them to new heights of power.
Humans gained the ability to manipulate and stir through unmaterialistic existences and unseen forces which packed them with unbelievable power and comprehensive authority over things now known as concepts.
Even with these powers, fending off the demons was no easy task as it only levelled the playing field but in the end, the humans triumphed and claimed victory over the devastating creatures.
But the celebration wasn't long lived.
Gateways shot up and within lurked a plethora of monsters, even deadlier and more ferocious than the last few.
More appeared and appeared until it became clear to the primitive survivors that something drastic had to be done.
Quizzed with the difficulty of evolving and induction, an option was it no longer termed but rather the future.
And just like that, mages were born.
Loaded with catastrophic blessings, so the chain reaction of battles between monsters and humans began.
…
"Max. Max. Max!!!", a friendly voice called a young white-haired boy named Max sitting on the stairs lost in the haze of past memories.
"Huh," Max reacted, slightly caught unaware.
"What's up with you?", his friend Chris asked. "Cold feets?"
"Emm. No, that's not–"
"Don't be so insensitive," another voice jumped in. "Don't you remember today is the day," Max's other very close friend, Leo sternly stated.
"How are you holding up?", he asked with a compassionate contrast, his hand sympathetically on Max's shoulder.
"I'm fine. Thanks," Max responded, obviously not looking as fine as he said he was.
"You sure?", he further queried.
"Yeah," Max responded with a melancholic expression. "Just been thinking, how different things would have been if I had been able to save them," he said wistfully.
"I'm sorry but what are we talking about here again?", Chris rudely enquired after being told for the thousandth time.
Leo shot him a piercing stare which seemed to do the trick in forcefully jogging Chris' insensitive memory.
"Oh. That thing. I'm sorry Max but you know my parents too died in the war and you don't see me– Ouch!"
Leo elbowed Chris quickly.
"What?!!", Chris retorted.
"Dude," Leo whispered angrily to Chris before turning back to Max.
"It's okay. It's not big deal," Max intervened. "Its my fault. I wasn't strong enough."
"No. Don't say that," Leo said.
"Ya, don't beat yourself up about the past and live in the future like me," Chris added.
"Announcement student. Your first dungeon battle is about to begin. Please come and grab your comms and prepare to commence," the principal announced.
"You coming?", Leo asked.
"Ya. Be there in a few," Max replied.
Chris and Leo nodded and left to get their comms.
Meanwhile, Max pulled out an object from his left pocket.
A Nexus.
The last gift his parents gave him before they died.
A hexagonal star shaped objects with curvy ends with a gem at its core.
He carries it with him everywhere and had never seen a replica of it anywhere before.
'Some luck before the big game,' he thought as he flicked the Nexus into the air and caught it.
Even though he knew that his superstitious routine was invariabe to anyhthing he continued the ritual as a way of honouring his parents in all his ventures.
But just as he was about to put the Nexus away back in, something unusual occured.
It started glowing.
'That's a first.'
From glowing, it began pulsating in dim green light. Its shine was so rhythmic it felt almost as if the Nexus was speaking to him.
Caught in the hypnotic shimmer, his eyes too reflected the sparkly glister of the object in his palms.
If he wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he heard a voice.
Austere, baritone and commanding.
Though unseen, its sounds indicated that disobedience was an option.
A single word.
DESTROY!!!
That is what the voice from the Nexus commanded.
He repeated those words in a silent order and something took over.
His body gained instant weight unable to subconsciously support his entire weight.
It felt like his bone were cracking and breaking. Slowly crumbling under the intensified air pressure surrounding him.
His muscles felt like they were grinded into pulp, then solid then pulp again.
His entire blood heated up like molten larva.
The agony was terrifying and all densed into a single moment made the impact more cataclysmic.
He was loosing grip of consciousness and sanity.
And his head ached and sonared. His brain was churning and liquifying. The pain was too much to bear.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain past and he was back to normal.
Without fully suppressed awe and shock, he steadied his breath and calmed himself before he then realized that he could find the Nexus anywhere.
He searched for a while but couldn't find it.
"I don't have time for this," he said as he heard the final announcement.
It was already time to walk into the dungeon.
'I'll look later.'
He ran up to the test, took his comm and walked through the magical spiral.
As he walked through, after the chaotic impulse, he might have felt normal but he wasn't.
Something dark had just been deposited into him.
Something of which he had no control over.