Alma 92 No Rest For the Wicked

It happened during the first winter after he'd been moved to the Outer Nursery.

One of the children, Madel, had miserably failed the endurance test. An important test where the children would be subjected to highly condensed Anima in a small room.

It was a relatively simple test as the name suggested. The only thing they had to do was endure the pressure of the Anima in the room.

If you passed out at any point, the test was over. The individual with the longest time in the class would be rewarded and the person with the shortest time would be punished.

And Madel, having ranked last, would have to go without dinner for the last night of month.

It had to be emphasized that the last night of month was anything but normal. At the end of every month, a celebratory feast was had that was stuff of dreams for the children.

A single night the children would be allowed to eat real food until they were satisfied. Although it was a short-lived event — only last a single evening — the children lived for the end of every month.

It beat eating bland nutrient paste and water by a country mile, that was for sure.

Unfortunately, Madel had ranked last. His punishment would be to endure. Seated beside his peers, he'd have to watch them enjoy themselves while he sat there with an empty plate.

As if to add insult to injury, the bottom scorer was given the seat of dishonor, which was positioned right in front of the top scorer, who sat in the seat of honor.

The top scorer, as a reward, was given the right to ask for any meal he desired, whether or not it was on the menu for the night. They would be given the proverbial keys to the kingdom and allowed to feast on a prepared meal of their own choosing.

Sebastian, who had scored the highest score with ease, did not understand.

Why does it matter so much to him? Why is he crying over a meal?

How is this a punishment?

He'd spent days without food back when he was still with them — his original peers who'd he grown up with for years. Not as a punishment, but as a normal, every day occurance.

Back there, only those who passed the daily tests would be allowed to eat nutrient paste.

A fucking joke.

That was what Sebastian thought of Madel's tears. He'd even suspected that his placement into this new class had been some kind of secret test that had been created by the Elders, the ones who had raised him and the others.

That was the only conclusion that Sebastian could come with that he'd accept. He didn't belong here with these… weaklings.

He belonged with his siblings. He belonged with her.

Sebastian turned toward the tall, older butler beside him and said, "I want nutrient paste."

I will return back to them — back to my real home. This will not stand.

...But it would never happen.

The young boy's dream would never come true. He would never return home.

Days turned into weeks and they, in return, turned into years.

In the blink of an eye, six years had passed since the day he'd promised himself that he'd return back home.

He'd turned sixteen and had fought long and hard to prove himself greater than anyone for a single reason. The selection of the chosen.

Only the brightest, most talented individuals would be allowed to bear the mark of the chosen — the entrance ticket that let men become gods.

A special, magical brand that would allow one to become a legendary contender and embark on the path of toward godhood. They were in limited supply; the family was only allowed to nominate a select few.

He knew that she'd probably received her entrance mark already. If he was to ever meet her again, he'd have to get his own entrance mark.

Those who failed to receive the entrance mark would never get another opportunity again. They'd have to live in the mortal world as normal people until the day they died.

They would become common members of the family and be sent out of the main house to work in some mundane, boring position of power in the mortal world.

And naturally, once they died, a new replacement would be sent to take care of their original job.

That was all mortal family members were — expendable cogs for the family's businesses in the mortal world.

But it wasn't as if the family abused, discriminated, or disowned those who were not chosen. For all intents and purposes, the ones who failed the selection would still live a wealthy, comfortable life of peace... in the mortal world, of course.

Their lives wouldn't be as exciting or glorious as the life of a chosen, but they'd still live like royalty compared to the average mortal...

Thankfully, Sebastian's efforts had paid off in full. His efforts had all but guaranteed him a nomination and for once, in more than half a decade, he finally felt his shoulders ease up…

Until he met her.

For six years he wondered what his real siblings had been up to. How she had been doing. He'd missed them all so, so much.

They were his real brothers and sisters who'd suffered with him during the difficult, borderline insane tests that the Elders had created for them.

He had formed an unbreakable bond with his siblings over the course of their many trials and tribulations. Growing stronger and sharper beside them as they faced whatever the Elders threw at them...

They had lived to prove the odds wrong and had shown that they were a cut above the competition. Together, they'd been a force of nature that could not be stopped…

But now…

Marlow.

Safista.

Alfonso.

Viktor.

Laluna.

Sophie.

"H-Hey, where are they? This where we're all supposed to meet! All of us!" said Sebastian in denial.

In a detached, eerily calmly voice, Astrid said, "They're not coming, Sebastian."

"W-What do you mean? Did the Elders take them somewhere or are they—"

"They are not coming."

...What?

Denial was insidious, much like quicksand. The harder one struggled against it, the deeper one would be dragged into it.

Six years.

Six long, arduous years of hardship in solitude only to learn that his world had died while he was away.

What he was supposed to do? Supposed to say to her? Supposed to feel?

It was an peculiar thing — how quickly joy could turn into despair.

He was going to become a chosen member of another world, far removed from the mortal world but now, he felt as if it didn't matter.

Only he and Astrid were left.

That day a part of his soul had died despite the fact that it should have been the best day of his life.

Sebastian and Astrid had become member of the family's inner circle with their nominations. They were now privy to secrets that they had not known before about the world. About the ancient history of the continent and the inner workings of the Four Empires.

In addition, they'd been given a special mission from the Elders as soon as they'd been given their entrance marks.

They would surprisingly be sent to the North, their ancestral homeland, for their mandatory training as contenders — the same empire that the family had forsaken millennia ago.

The mission they'd been assigned?

To find someone: A young boy roughly their age. Although no details about his appearance had been given, the Elders had informed them that he would likely be extremely easy to identify.

He would be incredibly talented, more so than anyone in his batch of peers — even them, who'd proven themselves as the brightest of their generation within the family.

Another major tell would be the target's affiliation. He would have no connections to any empire, nor any major organization.

They had been assigned to identify the target, befriend him, and then gain his trust. Integrate themselves into the boy's life as best as they could. The final task was to report on his behavior, growth, and relationships with other trainees.

He was a high value target and because of the unique circumstances surrounding the boy, they had been selected to run the operation. Only they could be trusted with a mission as important as this. 

Failure was not an option.

The Elders even vouched that if they completed the mission successfully, they would both be allowed to request a single thing from them, no questions asked.

A personal favor of the highest degree from the Elders who ruled the family.

It had sparked a flame of desire inside of Sebastian that could no longer be put out from that moment on.

With that favor, he could request that he and Astrid be freed from their obligations to the family. Wipe the slate clean and cut off their ties from them in a single move.

The family had almost taken everything from him. They were all supposed to have been the brightest members of their generation that family should have valued.

Instead, his siblings had been culled out like bad apples until only Astrid had been left alive. 

All that he had left was Astrid and he could not bear to think of losing her.

If he lost her, what would he have to live for?

He knew the reward sounded way too good to be true, but he couldn't resist the temptation.

He couldn't let the family take her away, too. He'd save her if meant spying on some genius motherfucker from who-knows-where, easily.

Whatever beef the family had with poor bastard was none of his own damn business. It was nothing personal; he didn't even know the guy.

A job was a job and he'd been trained to deliver.

He'd lie through his fuckin' teeth and play whatever role he had to play in order to get into the schmuck's good graces. Act the fool, the nice guy, the cowardly idiot, whatever… it didn't matter.

He'd act as the fucker's personal servant as long as it got the job done.

I'm going to get MY golden ticket, one way or another… come hell or high water!

The young man had left out to earn his freedom and now...

He'd been locked away in a coffin, deep in the pits of hell.

"I guess hell came, after all. I might've jinxed myself back then…" said Sebastian and hoarsely laughed in pain. He couldn't help but find it humorous even now as he neared the end of his life.

"What a fucking joke this turned out to be…"

Chapter end