The vast hall was filled with the soft hum from the holographic panels on the walls, casting blue and green light onto the trainees' faces. Nadhyfa, Radhif, Dzoavha, and Dhoost stood in the middle of the crowd, their steel vests shimmering under the neon lights. The vests felt strange, lightweight yet sturdy, as if alive and adjusting to their every movement. The small screen on the chest of the vest displayed the user's heart rate and fitness status, keeping Dzoavha busy observing with narrowed eyes.
The two robots that had delivered the vests approached again, their red eyes blinking.
"Please gather with the others in the center of the hall," said the first robot in a flat voice.
Nadhyfa immediately stepped forward, her hands clenched.
"Wait a minute!Ryn hasn't arrived! We don't want to leave him behind!" she protested, her voice loud enough that several other teenagers turned to look.
Her eyes were fiery,but there was a slight tension on her face.
The robot tilted its head, as if processing her words, but remained unmoved.
"All Trainees must gather now, "it repeated in the same tone.
"Nad, that's enough. Maybe Ryn is already here, we just haven't seen him," said Radhif, his voice firm but gentle, trying to calm her.
But his eyes scanned the crowd,searching for Ryn who hadn't appeared.
"Or he got left behind. But that's impossible, right? Ryn wouldn't skip a PILAR summons," murmured Dzoavha, his voice full of doubt.
Dhoost just looked down, his hands holding his black vest anxiously.
"I hope nothing's happened to him,"he said softly, almost inaudibly.
Nadhyfa snorted but finally stepped with the others towards the center of the hall, where fifteen other teenagers had already gathered. They were all the same age, with varied expressions, some as enthusiastic as Nadhyfa, some as tense as Dhoost. But their attention was soon drawn to the podium at the front of the hall, where five figures stood with great authority.
These five wore similar steel vests, but with more intricate designs, full of metal details and small blinking LED lights. Two of them were immediately recognizable, Mr. Rusdi and the cleaning staff who had escorted them earlier. The other three were unfamiliar, but their auras were equally intimidating, like people accustomed to the secret world.
Mr. Rusdi stepped forward, his red vest reflecting the neon light. He took a deep breath, then spoke in a voice that echoed through the hall.
"Welcome,Trainees, to PILAR Tournament Season 1!" he said, a faint smile on his face.
"You are the chosen ones to prove yourselves as PILAR's future Agents,the agency that protects Maykarta from threats you've never imagined."
Nadhyfa nudged Radhif, whispering,
"A tournament? So we're joining some kind of competition?" Her eyes sparkled, but there was a small worry in her heart about Ryn.
Mr. Rusdi continued, pointing to the four figures beside him.
"I am Agent Rusdi Yorkshire, Anchor role, one of your mentors in this tournament. Beside me, Agent Fuad Jason, Shadow role."
The cleaning staff member nodded slowly, his expression cold but sharp, with his black vest.
"Next, Agent Revie Akira, Marksman role, the only female mentor here."
The woman with short hair and a sharp gaze nodded, a small smile on her lips.
"Agent Khai Senator, Techno role," continued Mr. Rusdi, pointing to a short man with futuristic glasses busy typing on a holographic tablet.
"And finally, Agent Thomas Kumala, Support role." The last man smiled warmly, his white teeth dazzling anyone who saw him.
Dzoavha frowned, noting the names in his head.
"Yorkshire? Senator? These names… are too cool for ordinary people," he muttered to Dhoost, who just nodded.
Radhif stared at the podium, his fists clenched in his pockets.
"They're all senior Agents. So, that cleaning staff… was just undercover at the school?" he asked softly, his voice full of curiosity.
Nadhyfa nodded, but her mind was still on Ryn.
"But where is Ryn? I don't believe he'd skip an event like this," she said, her voice now more serious.
---
Meanwhile, outside, in front of the remote old warehouse, Ryn sat on the ground, staring blankly at the locked steel door. The wind carried the scent of earth and dry leaves, but his mind was too chaotic to notice. He had tried contacting all his friends; Dzoavha, Dhoost, Radhif, Nadhyfa, but there was no answer.
"What's wrong with them? Did they really leave me behind?" he muttered, his unease now mixed with annoyance.
He fumbled in his jacket pocket, pulling out the PILAR watch that was still blinking slowly.
"Okay, if the phone doesn't work, maybe this can help," he said to himself.
He pressed the button on the side of the watch, and the small screen lit up, displaying a row of unfamiliar icons. There were images of a map, a key, and some strange symbols he didn't understand. Out of boredom, he pressed the map icon.
The watch screen changed, showing a digital map with many blinking coordinate points. But the map was… empty. No street names, no buildings, just random lines and dots.
"What is this? A fake map?" he grumbled, twisting the watch before finally putting it back in his pocket in annoyance.
Ryn stood up, looking back at the keypad on the warehouse door. He squinted, thinking hard.
"PILAR is a sophisticated agency, they can't just use a password," he said softly.
He began inspecting the side of the door, looking for something, maybe a fingerprint scanner, or even a camera for facial recognition. He pressed his hand against the wall, feeling every crevice, but found nothing.
"If my fingerprint isn't being read,do I really have to press my face against this panel?" he joked to himself, though his voice was full of frustration.
He took a step back, staring at the door again. But before he could investigate further, his watch vibrated hard, and the screen lit up with a new message,
"PILAR: Authentication Required. Place Watch on Keypad."
Ryn froze, his eyes widening. "Huh? So that's all it took?" he said, half-annoyed, half-relieved.
Ryn stared at the old warehouse's steel door, now wide open after he placed the PILAR watch on the keypad. A dim light from inside the warehouse seeped out, carrying the smell of metal and dust. He stepped inside, his heart still pounding from both relief and irritation.
"Finally, this door opened," he muttered, but the joy soon faded.
Inside, he was only greeted by an empty room with five pillars colored red, black, blue, yellow, and green standing in the center, just like he saw yesterday.
"Now what do I do?" he said, his voice echoing in the quiet room.
He tried to remember what his friends did yesterday to get down to the PILAR headquarters, but his mind was blank.
"Damn, I didn't pay attention to how they opened the access yesterday," he grumbled, kicking a small pebble on the floor.
Half-heartedly, he walked to the yellow pillar, the color of his Marksman role, and placed his watch against its side. Nothing happened. He tried again, this time more aggressively, pressing the watch against every side of the pillar. Still nothing.
"Seriously, PILAR? What now, playing guessing games?" he said, annoyed.
Ryn moved to the red, black, then blue pillars, repeating the same process with the same result. Finally, he gave up and leaned against the green pillar in the center of the room, his breath heavy with frustration.
"I'll just wait here until—"
Suddenly, the floor beneath him vibrated. Before he could react, the warehouse floor beneath his feet opened, and Ryn fell with a short yell.
"SHI—!"
He landed hard on the floor of the PILAR headquarters lobby, his body sprawled on the cold tiles reflecting the blue neon light.
"Ouch, that hurt like hell!" he complained, getting up while holding his waist.
He looked around; the lobby was the same as yesterday, with steel walls and lights blinking slowly. But there was no sign of his friends.
"Where are they? Don't tell me I'm way behind," he muttered, unease creeping back in.
Ryn stared at the PILAR watch on his wrist, which was still blinking.
"Please, help me now. Quickly, give me a clue!" he said, half-talking to the watch.
He pressed a random button on the side of the watch, and the small screen lit up, showing a green arrow spinning slowly.
"What is this? PILAR's version of GPS?" he asked himself, but the arrow seemed to point down the corridor in front of him.
Hesitantly, Ryn stepped forward, following the direction of the arrow, his shoes echoing in the cold metal corridor.
"If this is a trap, I'm going to smash this watch," he threatened, though he knew no one was listening.
---
In the vast hall of the PILAR headquarters, nineteen teenagers stood in rows, their steel vests shimmering under the neon lights. Nadhyfa, Radhif, Dzoavha, and Dhoost stood in the front row, still stealing glances at the crowd, hoping to see Ryn's face. Agent Rusdi stood on the podium, his red vest radiating an aura of authority. Beside him, the four mentors, Agent Fuad, Agent Revie, Agent Khai, and Agent Thomas watched the Trainees with unreadable expressions.
Agent Rusdi took a deep breath, his voice echoing in the hall.
"You might be wondering why we, the mentors, disguised ourselves as workers at your schools," he said, his eyes sweeping over the faces of the teenagers before him.
"It was to make it easier for you as Trainees, so you could come to headquarters without suspicion. We were watching you, ensuring you were ready for PILAR, without attracting outside attention."
Nadhyfa nudged Dzoavha, whispering, "So Agent Rusdi was undercover as a teacher at your school? So cool!"
Dzoavha nodded, but his eyes didn't leave Agent Khai, who was busy typing on his holographic tablet.
"This means our schools are just being used as tools, huh? Damn, how advanced is their system," he muttered.
Agent Rusdi continued, his voice now more serious.
"The secret doors you used to get to this headquarters are scattered all over Maykarta. But only the PILAR department heads know all the locations. And you, the Trainees, are not allowed to know more than what is permitted. Because PILAR is not just an agency. PILAR is Maykarta's last fortress, founded by Mayor Angeliano Dharma, without government intervention. PILAR existed even before Maykarta was established as a city."
Radhif frowned, whispering to Dhoost, "Before Maykarta existed? That means PILAR has been around for decades, right?"
Dhoost swallowed, his face pale. "Maybe they have technology that's more modern or… something even stranger," he said, his voice trembling.
Agent Fuad Jason, with his shimmering black vest with purple accents, stepped forward.
"One more thing you need to know,"he said, his voice deep and authoritative.
"Not all of you here are from Maykarta.Five Trainees among you are from overseas, representatives from PILAR's Asian branches. This tournament is not just a local test, but part of a larger network."
Nadhyfa's eyes widened, and she immediately whispered to her friends.
"Damn, PILAR has branches in Asia? An agency this big, and no one knows? What level of secret is this?"
Dzoavha nodded, his eyes shining.
"Their security system is incredible. No data leaks, no traces. I want to investigate further to find out how," he said, half-joking.
Dhoost looked down, his hands holding his black vest anxiously.
"If it's this secret, it's possible that people around us are PILAR Agents, right? Teachers, shopkeepers, even our neighbors…"
Radhif stared straight at the podium, his expression serious.
"Or maybe… the missing people in Maykarta are actually Agents who tried to leave PILAR?" he whispered, his tone full of suspicion.
Nadhyfa turned, her eyes wide.
"Huh? You mean, like the urban legend of people disappearing at Limestone Hill? Maybe PILAR really made them disappear!"
Dzoavha shook his head, but his face showed he was starting to think about it too.
"That…makes sense. But if it's true, we have to be careful. We're in too deep already."
---
In the headquarters corridor, Ryn was still following the arrow on his watch, which was now moving faster. The corridor grew darker, but the arrow remained lit, guiding him in an unfamiliar direction. His heart pounded, but there was a small smile on his lips.
"Okay, PILAR, you win. But if this still makes me miss the tournament, I'll be seriously disappointed," he said, quickening his pace.
Suddenly, the corridor opened into a vast hall full of teenagers and mentors. Ryn stopped at the threshold, panting. He saw his friends in the front row. Nadhyfa whispering, Radhif staring at the podium, Dzoavha busy tapping his blue vest, and Dhoost looking like he wanted to disappear. But before he could call out, Agent Rusdi turned towards him, a faint smile on his face.
"Trainee Ryn Dandelions from SMAN 4 Maykarta!" he said, his voice echoing.
"You're late. But at least you made it."
Nadhyfa spun around, her eyes shining.
"Ryn! Where have you been?!" she exclaimed, making several other Trainees turn to look.
Ryn just shrugged, trying to look relaxed even though his face was still pale.
"I got lost, damn it. The entrance was so complicated," he said, stepping into the front row with a grin.
Agent Rusdi nodded, but his eyes were sharp.
"Now you are all complete. Prepare yourselves. The Technical Meeting will begin shortly."
TO BE CONTINUED…