"Whose there?" The soldier moving about shouted when a stone Kai mistakenly kicked hit the metal pot halfway filled.
All four of them turned to where the sound erupted from, but only to find a small shadow moving out of the gate.
Kai leaned at the other side of the wall, panting. He stared at the sky filled with stars of different colors.
Hearing the then footsteps moving away from the wall, he stepped into the street, looking for a place to rest before dawn came.
He walked toward an open wooden box that seemed to be the container for cabbage, lowered himself, and closed his eyes.
…
The winds and wheels sound erupted when dawn finally came. When Kai cracked his eyes open, he saw a dog standing beside the box, barking. Quickly, he left the hiding spot, and when he escaped from the dog's sight and reached the wall that have the crossed swords symbol.
He sneaked and stood between two buildings facing each other, changed his dirty and torn clothes, and put on the only set he had in the bag.
When he set foot back to the wall, he saw one of the soldiers yawning while stretching his arms as he walked out of the entrance. Kai stopped, followed the soldier with his gaze until he saw the soldier open a door with a male figure drawn on it.
"Left with three. I should go now." He said, taking his steps toward the entrance.
The soldiers, upon seeing Kai enter the entrance, exchanged glances. One stepped forward and stopped Kai the moment he reached the pot; he mistakenly kicked a stone that night.
"Did you come to report something? Are your parent missing?" The soldier asked.
Kai stared at the soldier with a frown. He didn't think twice. "I came for the recruitment."
"Eh… what? You came for what?" The soldier asked, thinking he'd misheard the child's words. Meanwhile, the other two soldiers started laughing loudly.
"Did you hear that? Hahaha, that child says he came for recruitment." They laughed wholeheartedly, clutching each other's shoulders.
The soldier in front of Kai looked into his eyes, found the boy's bizarre dual eyes not to be normal, but it really didn't matter; he could see seriousness in the boy.
"Little one, go away. Your parent would be looking for you. This isn't something you can join." The soldier said, closing the gap between him and the boy.
"Grow until you're fifteen years and above, and then you can try joining the recruitment. Until then, don't interfere with our work." He placed his right hand on his forehead, amused by the boy's expression.
He then tried to touch Kai's shoulder. "Let me escort and hand you to your pare..." The man couldn't finish his sentence when he noticed Kai wasn't moving even as he tried to push him backward.
He tried making the boy turn by force, but before he realized, his hand was grabbed. And at that moment, he felt an immense weight pulling him down, something no child or youth should do.
"I'm here for recruitment. I know I can join with my age. Don't push me." Kai said calmly.
Without knowing the consequences of doing of resisting a soldier's calm gesture. All he thought was, they would let him join the recruitment.
But the soldier didn't think the same way. Anger filled him seconds after realizing what had happened, thinking a child had made him kneel in front of his colleague and a junior.
When he tried to get up and raise his arm toward Kai again, a loud voice sounded, sending chills down his spine.
"Stop right there!" A deep, loud voice rang out from a man who had been watching everything for some time from a distance.
Kai, who'd been staring at the guard's raised hand, turned his gaze in that direction. From the entrance, someone got down from a black car and began walking toward him and the soldier.
The two soldiers laughing straightened their backs as soon as the person moved from the entrance and walked past the pot. The soldier who was on his knees on the ground stood up, cleaned the dirt from his knees, and straightened his back with a tensed face.
"Lieutenant Gray!" all three of them said in unison and bowed in respect.
The man didn't care about the three soldiers and looked directly at Kai with interest.
Kai looked at Gray, who was taller and had the smoothest skin than anyone in Gilgal Village; in fact, the largest and cutest person he had ever seen. Blue long hair that seemed to cover his head to his shoulder, the only place uncovered was his face and his dark-blue eyes.
"Little one, do you have the strength and mind to become a soldier?" Gray asked, standing in a relaxed stance and crossing his arms.
Kai didn't hesitate and answered right away.
"Yes, I'm stronger than you think. You can test me if you want," Kai said, shifting his gaze to the soldier who had knelt before him, smiling.
The soldier frowned, alongside the other two who were murmuring something on their lips.
"Interesting. I love people who have this kind of courage. What's your name, little one?" Lieutenant Gray laughed, a rough sound that echoed through the silent early morning street. "How old are you?" he continued, placing his right hand on his cheeks.
"Kai, I'm five years old," he answered in a voice filled with honesty.
Lieutenant Gray was even more surprised, studying the boy and comparing the age to the height and structure.
His eyes landed on Kai's duel blue and red pupils.
'Where did this boy come from? Having the strength and mind to bring down one of my third-in-command soldiers before he could react. Besides, he showed no sign of fear in front of me, and seemed extremely confident in himself.' Gray thought quickly before speaking.
"Why the hell would a child like you want to throw the sweetness of life away and want to become a soldier at this small age?"
"To become strong and unstoppable. I see soldiers everywhere in the city. They eat well, train, and have many women following them. That alone is perfect for me to become who I want to be." Kai replied honestly.
If it was possible, he would want to start training and learn to fight quickly. Besides, he would worry less for food and shelter if he lived among them.
The lieutenant looked at the boy with disgust, but felt a determination far beyond all those he'd allowed into the camp throughout the years.
"Alright, you've convinced me enough. You can join this year's recruitment. But you'll need to prove that you're fit to become more than just a soldier like these guards." Gray said, with a strange smile on his face.
All the three soldiers including the fourth soldier who had now returned from doing whatever God know in the washroom, stood there with wide eyes and split mouths.
Kai saw a black glow around the man and felt a strange vibration that didn't have the happiness feel like the gray glow on the four soldiers made Kai felt how shocked they were.
"Come, follow me and show me you're not just a talkative." Gray said, turning and entering the barracks – the recruitment building for all new volunteers.
Kai didn't waste a time and quickly followed the lieutenant, passing the four soldiers without even staring at them.
The junior and senior soldier stared at each other shocked.
"This doesn't make sense, it's not right. How can a lieutenant let a five-year-old take part in this year's recruitment? The thirteen-year-old boy who'd the structure of a seventeen year didn't even get the change to join."
"I'm still thinking, if he gets hurt and it spreads through the city and outside the city, it's going to ruin the name of our barracks and also the government's name."
The so soldier who got disciplined by Kai walked to them with a still face.
"Shut up! What the hell do you guys know? That… that can't be the strength of a child, that's a little monster… didn't you see his left eye color?" he said, feeling awful, unable to believe he had less strength than a five-year-old child.
When he thought about what happened, he knew that no matter what he did, the result would have made him end his career of being a senior third in command soldier.
…
Kai followed the lieutenant into the barracks. They moved past countless extraordinary buildings that had images pasted on them until they reached a rectangular stone courtyard.
As soon as they arrived, he noticed the courtyard floor had numerous white marking resembling the one he saw outside the wall.
Some of the lines looked fresh as if just recently repainted, while others remained fading.
Kai stood still closer to the fresh lines after hearing Lieutenant Gray's words.
"The recruitment will begin in three hours, when everyone arrives. So, wait here and have a seat." He said as he walked away and soon disappearing into one of the buildings they passed.
Kai stared at his back until Gray vanished from sight, then opened his bag, and pulled out the last piece of the mangos he placed in it.
After devouring the last piece of the seedless mango, he closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap while he waits.
Meanwhile, one the third floor of the building, peering through a large transparent window, Gray stood there watching Kai.
'Let's see if you are discipline enough to wait for three hours in the same spot. Or if you'll just roam about,' Gray thought, a faint smile stretching across his face as he looked at the boy.
Deep down, he'd already accepted Kai to be trained based on the boldness he'd and his unrelenting stature even as a child. He saw himself in the child, and at long last he knew someone will be there to fend for the citizens when he's no more.
But he still wanted to see all the boy was capable of doing.
…
One hour after Kai had entered, young people of all kinds of sizes and genders began approaching the entrance, and lined up when they entered. Most of them were males, but just a little number were females, but the females seemed to have more courage than fifty percent of the males when approached by the guards.
After over two hour, one hundred and ten people lined up. Seventy percent among them were people between the ages of fifteen to seventeen, while the thirty percent included people between the eighteen to twenty-five.
Most were clearly children from families with huge sums of money, judging by their clothes and personal adornments. Others bore the marks of heavy labor on their arms and clothes.
Three of the four soldiers guided them to the from the entrance to the courtyard, ordering everyone to stand in a line. After a perfect line was formed, the soldiers joined the one outside and resumed their post.
For first twenty minutes, silence ruled, then when a deadly smell erupted from one of the elderly men among them, everyone remained still clutching their noses until a seventeen-year-old coughed.
It was impossible for people between those ages to remain silent, especially when the air had been spoiled by someone's inner gas.
Little by little, almost all of them began to talk with one main topic and a sub-topic.
When they arrived at the courtyard, they all looked at the child sitting at the first row in confusion.
"Why is that child sitting among the rows we should sit?" A beautiful white-haired lady with shimmering skirt and blouse asked.
"I don't really know, he hasn't flinched since we got here. Actually, I didn't even notice someone was sitting there when I was l looking for a seat. If it weren't for you, I'd say he was a ghost." Another lady by the white-haired lady said.
"Hey… maybe he's the son of the soldiers, or even a son of one of the top lieutenants. for a child of that age to be here, it needs the authority of those at the top hierarchy." A fair guy with black shades on said from behind the ladies.
Everyone accepted the answer since it was the most likely to solve their curiousness.
Kai, who had already been awakened about thirty minutes ago listened to the vibrations going in and out of the ground to his body. His eyes remained closed, he didn't need to open them to see, he could tell their reaction and group them by just focusing on a particular vibration.
After a while, Lieutenant Gray appeared, walking slowly until he stopped few meters away from courtyard filled with people of different nature and stature.
Behind him, were six soldiers all as tall as he was, three on the right, and three on the left, all holding weapons of different kinds. From kitana swords, spears, black sickle, and daggers.
As he felt a change in the vibrations, Kai finally opened his eyes.