—Until a figure suddenly stepped in front, grabbing the instructor's foot before it could strike again.
Soren raised his head at the person. He was surprised to see that it was Vass.
There was a time in his life when Vass had been his bully. He had hated seeing his face then. Although he no longer considered Vass a threat, that did not mean they were in each other's good books.
Not after what Soren did to him.
And yet. This bully was standing up for him?
Marcus's brow raised. "WHAT are you doing? How dare you, a mere cadet, touch me?" He pulled back his foot. "It would seem you have forgotten your place. The lesson I taught you when you first arrived must be lacking in that thick mush you call a brain."
He reached for the whip at his waist, but then he paused, eyes darting around the place.
Instructor Marcus could feel a kind of pressure on his back. When he raised his head to look, he saw many pairs of eyes like stars in the night, all focused on him.
The pressure was mounting, like a strike would reach him—soon.
A drop of sweat ran down his forehead, and then—
"Instructor Marcus..." A feminine voice suddenly called out. A slender woman stepped forward. Like Instructor Marcus, she also wore a red tunic that matched both her lips and her status as an instructor. Her blond hair fell to her shoulders, and her face was oval, with a confident smile that only added to her charm and beauty.
Soren came from a town that was mostly filled with poor, dirty, and malnourished people. This was the prettiest he had ever seen a woman or a person.
"Instructor Marcus... How about you temper justice with mercy? As you can see..." She turned to Soren bleeding on the ground, a fond look in her eyes, and then quickly turned to the audience the scene had drawn. "...The Hero," she said sweetly, "...is still recovering from his injuries and is not yet aware of his place."
Her words had a lot of layered meaning to them.
Marcus nodded at her, "As you say, Lady Ivory." He turned to Soren and Vass, still frowning. "Both of you, twenty laps around the station." He ordered and then walked back to the assembly of cadets.
Lady Ivory leaned in, smiling. Her image, especially with the rising sun kissing her face, could only be described as that of an angel. "Make sure you visit the sick bay before running your laps, okay?" She brushed Soren's black hair to the side, revealing his eyes. "Such pretty, pitiful eyes." She bit her lower lip. And then, as if to hold herself back, she turned, blushed a little, and walked away, leaving everyone stunned. However, one person was annoyed.
It was the girl with red hair and a serpent's tongue.
Through the pain, Soren struggled to get up. He raised his head and hand to Vass, expecting help. "Thank you."
However, Vass turned to him with a heated look in his eyes. "You saved our town. I saved you. Now we are even." He smacked Soren's hand away as he began his laps around the station.
Soren sighed.
How does saving the entire town equate to you standing up for me one time?
He pulled himself from the dirt. He now had injuries added to the previous ones he was yet to heal from. But he had suffered worse than this before.
He felt his left side with a hand. It felt like he had broken a rib.
His eyes darted around; not far away was a building with the sign "Sick Bay."
Slowly, he limped, making his way there. Tommy and Pencil, in line with the other cadets, watched his bruised, receding figure.
Commander Jared, looking from the distance, nodded, eyes smiling. "Good..."
By the time Soren came out from the sick bay, he did not even need to run his laps around the station. It was time to leave. Vass on the other hand was already soaked with sweat. He kept murmuring words, mostly regret for stepping into a battle that wasn't his in the first place.
Soren, by now, had already started to understand that the color of uniforms worn by the superiors had their own status symbols.
Blue tunics represented Soul mecha pilots. Green tunics represented Soulbound warrior knights. Red tunics were the instructors. But he had clearly seen that Soul mecha pilot badge on Lady Ivory's chest. Clearly, she was a Soul Mecha Pilot too. But her position as an instructor required her dress color to be red and not blue like Commander Jared and Boyed.
The second thing Soren noticed was that even amongst Soulbound Knights, there was a kind of divide. While everyone took orders from Commander Jared, the instructors acted independently from other Soulbound Knights. Also, they had a kind of disdainful look for the Soulbound Knights in green tunics. At least all of them did, except Lady Ivory, who gave a smile every turn of her head.
She seemed just as influential as Commander Jared.
This was the same for the Cadets.
Soren was once a victim of bullying. He was sensitive to hierarchy.
"Do the Soulbound Knights hate each other?" He whispered out loud.
"Ahhh, you noticed it too, right?" A voice peeped from behind his shoulder as they boarded the train.
Soren turned—shocked.
A familiar oval-headed face with a finger in the nose.
It was Tommy.
"Am I missing something?" Soren asked.
Tommy nodded. "You were out for a long time, and Commander Jared forbade anyone from disturbing your recovery, so yes, you are."
He placed a hand on Soren's shoulder and whispered lowly, "I'm sorry about Machos. I really liked him too. He was a great guy."
Soren did not know if 'Great' was the word to describe late Machos, but he really appreciated the thought.
He nodded at Tommy.
There was a brief silence between them.
Tommy did not know if it was the right time, but he spoke up anyway. "Soren... thank you. Commander Jared ordered that my mother be taken into the emergency station's medical care. I know you requested it."
Soren nodded. "Don't worry. It's nothing." He waved it off.
But Tommy grabbed his shoulder tighter. "No. It's not nothing, okay! I really owe you one for this."
Soren saw the fervent look in Tommy's eyes. He smiled. "Then just take it as a better payment than the half-eaten Soul Breaker candy bar."
Tommy could tell his friend really did not want him to think too much about it.
He smiled back. Soren had always been such a person. "Nice try. You would need to save the lives of nine generations of my family to make up for your Soul Mecha rants." He rolled his eyes dramatically.
Both boys burst into laughter.
"No noise!" Marcus interrupted, turning in their direction with a stern look.
Both boys immediately gave stoic expressions.
Marcus looked away.
"I know how much your mother means to you." Soren whispered. "This way, you can concentrate on your life as a Soulbound warrior. Besides, what are friends for?"
Tommy felt really touched, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "The things you do for the people you love."
At such a time, both of them subconsciously turned their eyes to Pencil.
He looked at them, obviously envious of their relation with one another. But he immediately looked away.
It felt awkward.
After all, Pencil had abandoned them when they needed him.
The mood seemed ruined. Tommy decided to change the topic. "So... I guess you don't know then."
"Know... what exactly?" Soren raised a brow.
"The Grand Order of Soulbound knights are divided."
Soren paused.
He thought about those words.
But he already knew this.
Just like there were the Judicators of the Glass that handled the study of the Glass and its matters. There were also others like the Explorers of the Glass that dove into the glass. That was how metals like Soul steel, which was used in building Soul Mechas, were discovered.
However, Tommy interrupted his train of thoughts.
"I am not talking about the division of sectors that we are familiar with. I am talking about division in status and ideologies..."
At such a time, Marcus turned towards them again, and the boys shut their mouths, pretending they were admiring their Glasshearts instead.
"Let's get in; I'll tell you more." Tommy whispered.
Most of the cadets were from poor towns and therefore had little to nothing to take with them to the academy.
But there were still some with huge luggage. And some others with up to three.
Their boxes were fancy, and one box even moved without touching it.
Soren had never seen things like this.
The Soulbound Knights did not put a restriction on the amount of luggage one could bring with them. These children were about to begin their new lives; they were allowed this much.
While the exterior of the train had a slick, nearly futuristic design, the interior was a whole new world.
[Author's Note: Please add the Book to your Library.]