Nyx hesitated a bit before he opened the large door. He was unsettled about seeing his classmates again after last night. The flashes of the occurrences at the Wendi camp stacked up in his mind like building blocks.
With a deep exhale, he twisted the door handle and pushed the door open. Everyone looked right at him as the door creaked open—their mouths closed shut.
There was silence for about a minute.
"Nyx," Orion spoke up, "you're okay..."
"Yeah, I am," Nyx replied.
The silence resumed which welcomed some sort of awkwardness into the room. No one was speaking, not because there was nothing to say. No, it was quite the reverse.
"When did you wake up?" Orion broke the silence again.
"A couple of minutes ago," Nyx answered as he shut the door behind him. "What about you guys?"
"Well, we weren't exactly knocked out like you to begin with. The God Bison's paralysis was what held us down."
From the corner of Nyx's eye, he could sense a pair of eyes staring at him since he walked into the room—eyes filled with rage. Despite this, he decided to act like what they were all thinking was nonexistent. At least, he had no memory of it.
But not everyone was ready for this act.
Petal, the one who was unrelentingly staring down at Nyx, pushed Frieda aside and lunged at Nyx. He swiftly dodged her hand with a quick step back but was not fast enough to duck her palm which was headed straight for his cheek.
SMACK!
The room went silent again. No one tried to stop Petal or dared to intervene. Staring was the best thing they could do.
"Fuck you!" Petal shouted.
"Petal..." Nyx frowned and slowly turned his head to face her.
"How could you?!" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "We fought that thing for almost an hour, our classmates died, we were all injured, Alto fucking died and you waited for all that to happen?!"
"Petal... I'm sorry about Alto, but this isn't my fault."
"Whose is it? I mean I could blame myself or anyone else in this room, but guess what? We weren't strong enough to regardless of what we tried."
"I didn't fucking know!" Nyx yelled. "And as a matter of fact, I don't even remember or believe any of that bullshit Atlas told me or what all of you have in your fucking heads, so no, you don't get to do that. I didn't like Alto, but I didn't want him to fucking die. If I could've killed that bison I would've done so. Are you forgetting that I don't even have abilities to begin with?!"
"Nyx," Frieda spoke up, "we all saw you rip off the bison's head, with minimal effort."
"And I'm telling you that I don't even fucking remember that," Nyx scoffed.
"Alright, let's just calm down for a second," Orion said. "Let's be frank, what we all saw last night didn't even look like Nyx to begin with. Let's not also forget that if not for Nyx, we'd all be dead so instead of blaming him like sad little pieces of shit when we were the ones with actual powers that we were aware of, we should be thanking him."
"So then explain it to us," Kerith said. He wasn't angry like the rest, instead curiosity filled his mind.
An ordinary nexus with no powers instant-kill a scar which had the strength to take on more than three other nexuses?
"Explain what? Aren't you listening to me?" Nyx said.
"You said Atlas told you something, didn't you? What did he say?" Kerith asked. He was smart enough to know that Atlas could have an idea about how Nyx was able to kill the bison.
Nyx remembered what Atlas told him about the secrecy of his spirit core condition but he decided to tell them after what they were all put through.
"So... You're saying that your abilities bloomed late because your aether couldn't differentiate which part of your body was essence and which was the core? And that your core is decentralized across your entire body?" Kerith reasoned.
"That's what he explained to me," Nyx replied.
"How does that even work?" Orion asked.
"Look, I don't know and I don't even believe that's the case," Nyx exhaled deeply.
"So that's why it seemed like you were without an ability all this while," Freida joined in.
"Atlas's explanation makes some sense. However what I can't fathom is why you don't seem to know what it is you did or have any memory of it," Kerith stood up from the ground. "Everyone remembers what they did when they had first bloomed their ability."
"I know you all are angry," Nyx sighed, "but I'm not the one to blame here. No one is."
Nyx was right. However, they didn't understand the lore behind the bison's demise even after they had seen and heard Nyx's explanation.
Their attention was diverted when the door opened again. Atlas walked into the room with another legionnaire beside him. He stopped as soon as he got to the centre and looked at each of them for a brief moment.
"I hope I'm not interrupting the reunion," he smiled. "I have come to give you another chance to change your mind about participating in this exam. You surely must have to think about it before taking it. If you're sure you have no ambition or no need for it, you could say so now."
"No offence but why the fuck are we here again?" Daphne, who had been quiet the entire time finally opened her mouth.
Atlas still kept a smile on his face as he replied her. "Your parents and guardians have been informed. They're aware that you're here and would come see you this evening, be rest assured—"
"That's not what I meant," Daphne cut in. Her voice was dry and lifeless but stern. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"What happened to taking us to a fucking hospital? Why here?"
Their faces changed collectively into a frowning and upset demeanor. They wanted an explanation all of a sudden for they didn't realise they weren't supposed to be here if protocol was followed earlier.
"You're very correct," Atlas stopped smiling. "You aren't meant to be here and it is solely my fault that you are. However, when we got the report from Claudius that he needed back up after engaging a bison of such small magnitude compared to its actual output, we were shocked to find it dead upon arrival. Isn't it strange that somehow a couple of inexperienced nexuses were able to, not just survive but take down a scar that proved to be more formidable than an SR legionnaire?"
"So, the information you wanted is greater than our very lives?" Daphne shook her head in disappointment.
"Wrong. As a matter of fact, you are in better medical care here in the Legion."
"Okay, but then what is she doing here?" Freida pointed at Daphne. "She's not even a nexus and she didn't sustain any major injuries."
"Pardon, did you say she's not a nexus?" Atlas asked.
"I'm not," Daphne replied.
Atlas took a document from the legionnaire accompanying him without saying another word. "According to the vitals we took from all of you, you came out positive as nexuses."
"That's gotta be some kind of mix up. See, both my parents are humans so that's literally not possible," Daphne refuted.
"Hmm, I'm not sure what to tell you miss Daphne."
"Just let me go home, please," her voice softened a little due to the thoughts of the trauma she went through the night before.
"They'll be here shortly. Perhaps when they're here I'll come back and inform you. Then whomever is still interested in the exam can stay and who isn't can go."
"Why are you just giving this to us?" Kerith asked. "The opening to get selected for the exam is really tight. Lots of nexuses apply for it yearly and more than 60% get rejected but you're handing this opportunity to us for free?"
"Not for free, no," Atlas shook his head. "You all survived last night not because you were lucky. Luck isn't enough to sustain one's life in such a situation. See it like this: as a legionnaire who's been serving for more than 20 years, you all are what I'd call prospectives. You've proven you have what it takes to do extraordinary things."
"How're you sure it isn't just luck?" Orion asked. "The bison could've killed us all if not for Nyx."
"True, but wasn't it you all who decided to fight alongside Claudius? And did you not just say Nyx, an inexperienced nexus was the reason why you survived?"
Orion kept quiet.
"I'll be back in the evening. You could help yourself with some food prepared for you behind that door." Atlas pointed to a door at the other side of the empty room and walked out.
***
Claudius grunted as he attempted to sit up on the bed where he had been resting. The door opened and Ragnar walked in as soon as he sat up.
"Damn," Ragnar chuckled. "How the fuck did you even end up this bad?"
"Ugh, shut up, Ragnar," Claudius scoffed.
Ragnar sat down beside him. "Wasn't the magnitude like a 6? What actually happened?"
"It didn't behave like one. It was almost like the fucking thing could reason for itself."
"The paralysis put you in bed, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I think Dremont said the kids are up."
"Their bodies must've reacted faster to counter the paralysis." He looked at the mirror he was facing. "How was your mission?"
"Oh, it was a bit rusty honestly. The scar I encountered was actually a 15★ not a 12, so it was a little shock at first. But hey, nothing I can't handle."
"You went solo?"
"Velma sent her soul to guide me."
"Where is Velma anyway? I haven't seen her in months."
"Arachnidal abyss. She's still on the quest to hunt down Atocrysta. Apparently, it's taking longer than expected."
"I see... I heard you encountered small fry on the way back, yes?"
Ragnar laughed. "You wouldn't believe it. But a nexus was fighting the scar when I was passing by. I was shocked as much as you are right now, so for the fun of it, I teamed up with her to fight it."
"You sick little bitch, why would you do that?"
"Though, something was strange about that scar. I've already reported this but the scar was just a 5★ but it could speak. It didn't have aether at first but suddenly gained out of nowhere, not to talk of the emergence of other abilities it didn't possess at first."
"What?"
"I know right, crazy. But the nexus fighting with me was the biggest mystery in the entire chain of events. During the battle, she got poisoned by this scar and died from it. Only that about a minute later, she was beating the living shit out of it, right to its death."
"That's impossible."
"Which part: killing it or coming back to life? It was like she became a sort of monster when she came back. Plus, the scar was ignoring me and attacking her most of the time."
Claudius shared his own story about the Wendi camp to Ragnar.
"Where is this kid right now?" She asked in excitement.
"He's here in the Legion," Claudius answered.
Ragnar got up and paced around for a bit. "Claudius," she stopped, "I know Dremont wouldn't want to hear this but I think Atlas is valid. There's a chain of events happening here, something's going on that we're not aware of. Nexuses and scars seem to be both evolving in some way, but why?"
"That scar you encountered," Claudius got up, "you said it gained abilities from nowhere?"
"I didn't sense aether from it at the start of the clash."
"You don't think..."
"Someone's playing a silly game amidst all this uncertainty. That scar was way too suspicious. I'll speak to Atlas about my theory."