Nightmare Mythos

Cesar watched a bunch of students taking their physical examinations with stern faces. With how they rigorously showed their competence and were capable enough to be handled out with Nightmare Facets, the academy will still decide. It's just a matter of performance.

Speaking of performance, Cesar had done great for the past three days. He showed his rising potential by doing arduous tasks assigned by the people in charge. Now, he was only waiting for the results to come among others.

Class 1-A, specifically, were all talented individuals that some had stopped examining physically and immediately went to the evaluation process which will end in a good outcome for obvious reasons.

"Cesar Sparrow,"

Once he was called, Cesar stood from his line of seats and went to the person in charge. In front of a table, he slightly bowed his head with respect and called out.

"Instructor Dean,"

The person in charge was a woman in her mid-thirties. Her face was covered with macabre burnt scars that she proudly showed to everybody as if it were some sort of trophy. Even so, it didn't hide her positive attitude and beautiful sharp features.

With a beaming smile, Dean stood up and called out with an expectant tone, "Mr. Sparrow,"

Dean offered a gum from her pockets which Cesar respectfully declined as he sat down on an available chair at the front. Forming a fake disheartened face, she humped and slid over a sealed document.

Cesar received it with his two hands before opening the document as Dean explained after chewing another gum.

"Exceptional. Honestly, compared to how you started at the academy and today, one could find a definite difference between your physique. You followed what your instructors had given you and now you are ready to go. Yes, your body might look above average but not to me.

It's filled with vitality, muscles that are designed for battle and long expeditions, and a slender figure ladies would die to take to bed for,"

After skimming through the file, Cesar glanced at her for a brief moment and replied, "Your last words are unnecessary,"

Dean chuckled, "I know. Now, get away. I expect great things from you, Sparrow. I'm sure you'll be an excellent individual,"

Cesar stood up and bowed once more then left.

…

To others, the physical examination might be the hardest test to take but Cesar found it relatively easy. What worried others and him were the upcoming test which is the psychological or mental examination and the emotional test.

And it is showing, at least for him since he still had to take their examination right until the very end even though his class was top priority amongst others. In fact, he might probably be the only one left for their class to take such tests. He wasn't very sure.

'What am I doing wrong?'

Today, however, was the moment of truth.

He will have to know whether he passed on having a 'good' mental state and 'stable' emotional condition.

Right now, there are few people lined up in this particular area, the counseling residence. There's a whole building established meant for this place since observing the student's mental health took priority at this time of day.

Theories have even proven that corruption feeds into the fragility of a person's mentality and a bit emotionally hence a regular check for their well-being is a must.

He sat down, waiting for his time to be called, and quietly thought for himself.

After a while, he was called once more.

He stood up, went to the farthest room in the hallway, and was greeted by another woman inside.

"Oh, isn't this the diligent patient of mine? Well, you really need to worry if you're persistent on attending counseling sessions with me,"

The redhead woman chuckled as if she was amused seeing a familiar face. Her red dress revealed her dignified slim body as she stood up and it made it even more alluring with her lab coat. Her lips were dyed with a red gloss and her earrings hung on her ears like crimson gemstones.

Her black eyes, the only thing that wasn't red at the woman's, were smiling as she stretched her hand at Cesar.

Receiving the handshake, Cesar slightly bowed, "Ma'am Beatrice,"

He let go of her hand as swiftly as they shook and sat down. Stupefied and chuckling, Beatrice sat down as well.

"All right, Cesar. I'm almost done with your results but before that, there's something I have to talk about first,"

'Oh, not many questions but only one?'

Slightly gladdened that there was a difference between the tests he had from the past few days to now making his mood better. With a slight nod, Cesar waited.

"Okay," Removing the smile on her lips, Beatrice turned cold and spoke with indifference, "Cesar, you are not eligible to take the selection,"

Cesar's eyes wavered for a brief moment once those words came out of Beatrice's mouth. Feeling a sense of puzzlement, dismay, and upset, he pondered for a few seconds.

Once those seconds passed, Cesar looked straight at Beatrice and expressed calmly, "What's the question?"

Beatrice acted surprised as her mouth gaped but upon seeing Cesar was unfazed, she immediately removed her act. With a mischievous smile, she replied to his statement.

"If I told you about it, how would you react?"

Cesar who almost showed unsightly emotions just to retort back to his psychologist, waited for a while to see if there's any underlying tricks to the question. When he saw that she didn't have anything to add, he answered.

"I would definitely ask if the problem had something to do with this session. As for the judgment the academy decided, I fully trust their reasoning. The only thing I could do if that is proven true is to accept and move forward,"

"Woah…"

Beatrice clapped her hands as if she was really impressed. She grabbed a sealed document from her drawer and slid it through the table.

"Good. Your mental state is on a line where it is probable to take the selection. If you are any below that, you'll probably not be qualified for selection. Don't worry, my judgment is fair. So go live and strive to become someone you dreamt of. If you're having any problems, come to me,"

She paused, "Oh, we'll just have our usual appointment once a week as always."

"Thank you, ma'am,"

Cesar stood up and was about to leave when Beatrice called him once more.

"Oh, once you go out. Fetch one of your classmates there. She's already outside. As usual, you guys are top priority,"

'Another one of my classmates?' Glancing sideways, Cesar nodded before he proceeded to exit through the counseling door.

Once he did, Cesar's eyes darted through the line of people waiting for their turn before he found the person he was looking for.

With an awkward gait, Cesar quietly strolled in her direction before stopping right in front of the person in suspicion. The woman who was silently reading her book gazed upwards seeing a looming shadow covering the letters of the book's pages.

When she realized who it was, she raised a brow.

"What?"

Cesar awkwardly scratched the back of his head and looked at her intently before squinting his eyes. He then pointed his hand through Beatrice's door and left.

Raising her other brow in a questionable look, the woman tilted her head and closed her book. She stood up from her place and entered Beatrice's counseling room.

"Ah, welcome our top one."

…

The checking of how stable his one's emotion is located to another building within the school grounds. The same as the last examination, he was here to see if he had to take yet another exam or be the same as Beatrice's earlier appointment.

Alas, he was in luck.

The instructor in charge didn't pull off yet another devious trick like Beatrice or give a sexual verdict like Dean. She told Cesar that her appraisal of his emotional state was exceptional and nothing was wrong with his indifference to people.

It probably has to do with his traumatic childhood experience which the instructor discreetly mentioned afraid that it might revoke hidden emotions that should remain hidden.

In the end, he was good to go.

"Hell yeah!"

Suddenly, Cesar heard a loud shout coming from the entrance of the academy. He was walking back to his dormitory when he noticed incoming and unfamiliar people coming inside the huge hall with fervent, thrilled, and gleeful expressions.

These people are glad to be able to attend to academy, some more than happy while others were less pleased.

'They must be thinking this is their time to shine in this place, huh,'

Cesar had seen many people like that during his first year. They were all filled with eagerness to be the academy's top and they are right to imagine so since they've been very skilled to make it happen.

Yet they got slapped by the harsh reality.

Left and right, people got expelled. Millions had attended and only a few thousand remained until the fourth year. It is a harsh environment where only the strong and desperate survive.

What's the use of flamboyance in a battlefield?

The academy will teach that to them.

'Let me see if you can shout like that after your first year, rookie,'

He carefully watched the positive first-year made his way through the front of the group, his eyes burning with passion.

But to his surprise, the same first-year shouted with confidence, "Hello, my name is Amon Desmond! I'll promise to be the top student in the academy by the end of the year!"

A deafening announcement that nobody has done once in a while brought buzzing comments to the observers. Most of the new first years found it ridiculous. The second, third, and fourth years present on the other hand, merely gave him a cold shrug.

The last thing Cesar saw was Amon picking up a monocle in his pocket before placing it to his right eye, pinching it with a playful smile.