Chapter 53 | Selected

Knock knock.

"Leon, it's me. Can you let me in?" Nyra's voice filtered through the door, soft but edged with concern.

Leon lay curled on his bed in the darkness, knees drawn to his chest, a pillow pressed over his head like a barrier between him and the world.

Knock knock.

"It's almost time for lunch," she tried again. "Can you open the door? You missed breakfast... Mason and I are getting worried."

Leon uncurled, staring blankly at the ceiling. After a moment, he sent a silent pulse through his CRI. The door lock disengaged with a soft hiss.

Light from the hallway spilled in, outlining Nyra's silhouette in a glowing halo.

He squinted. Her face was hard to see against the glare, but he didn't say anything. Just turned back to the wall and dragged the pillow over his head again.

"I'm fine," he muttered. "I just need to be alone."

Even he didn't believe the words.

"Mason told me what happened," she said in a gentle tone.

Leon stiffened. The air in the room grew heavier.

"It was self-defense," Nyra continued. "And from what Mason told me, it was him and Ravi who collided into Malric—"

He flinched again at the name.

Nyra paused, then added, softer, "You didn't kill him on purpose."

Leon remained silent. The moment kept replaying in his mind. In an endless cycle, each loop burning deeper, like a memory etched into his neural pathways. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it stop.

"With Malco, it wasn't anyone's fault. I lost three guys too. Fulgaris know the risks. This is what they train for at a young age," Nyra said. "Don't beat yourself up."

Her hand found his back, resting there gently. His muscles tensed on instinct.

He swallowed, then exhaled shakily. 

"You wouldn't understand," he said. "Even if I didn't mean to... I still killed someone."

For a moment, silence returned. But it wasn't the awkward kind, it felt heavy. Like Nyra understood more than she was letting on, and chose not to say it.

Then, softly, she began patting his back.

"My mom used to hum for me," she said. "It always helped. Why don't you rest? I'll wake you up for dinner."

Leon opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, she started humming.

Not to his surprise, Nyra was not great at it. Her rhythm was off, her pitch wandered everywhere. But somehow, it comforted him.

He focused on her uneven humming and the gentle rhythm of her hand. The thoughts didn't disappear, but they slipped further away, growing quieter. His body began to relax.

The room faded. The guilt faded. Everything softened, like the world was being quietly turned down.

His eyelids grew heavier.

The last thing he was aware of was her off-key humming.

Then—quiet.

He fell asleep.

The three days bled together for Leon. He hadn't noticed time passing. Nyra stayed close, offering quiet comfort and helping him fall asleep when the nightmares clawed at the edges of his mind.

Mason tried too, in his own way, but while his presence could distract Leon for a while, when it came to resting, the big guy would crash first and start snoring like a broken engine, keeping Leon wide awake.

Still, the nightmares had dulled. They lingered like echoes from a distant place, no longer vivid but not gone either. Guilt would still rise up, but now he could shake it off.

During that time, the recruits were granted clearance to access more sensitive files.

"The Unbounded?" Leon muttered, slouched across his bed, a protein bar clutched in one hand while he scrolled through his datapad with the other.

"Huh? Oh yeah, you probably haven't heard the name," Mason replied from the floor, where he sat cross-legged, picking at the wrapper of his own bar. "They're the terrorists in the news."

"They have a name?" Leon asked.

Mason nodded, wiping his fingers on his pants before grabbing his own datapad.

"Yeah, the Imperial Covenant doesn't like saying it out loud, but most of the Fulgaris in the Upper Levels know. They're more organized than people think. Way more than what the public sees."

"What do they want?"

Mason shrugged. "No idea. My dad and the others never told me much."

Leon scrolled further. The file was bare. Only a short profile labeling them as high-priority threats with authorization to kill on sight.

A few attached mission videos showed black-armored Fulgaris killing them.

The door to his room slid open.

"What are you guys talking about?" Nyra's voice was quiet.

"Nothing much. Just told Leon about The Unbounded," Mason said, chewing.

Leon glanced up and froze.

Nyra stood in the doorway in gray pajamas, her damp hair clinging to her face. She didn't move. Her head was tilted downward, eyes hidden beneath the curtain of dark strands. She looked like she was somewhere else entirely.

Something flickered in his chest.

She must be remembering the simulation, he thought. That weird phrase about The Unbounded. Maybe it had shaken her more than she let on.

"What do you think your rank will be?" Leon asked, hoping to spare her from the memory.

"Definitely not top thirty," Mason mumbled, shoulders slumping.

"I think you did fine," Leon offered. "Nyra?"

"Oh, um... I think we all did," Nyra said. "I think part of the assessments were to see growth and potential. Each Phase seemed to be a building block to the next so I don't think they were just testing us for what we know. The simulations can do that."

"We'll find out tomorrow," Mason said with a sigh. He looked down, the weight of expectations dragging on him again.

"Cheer up. Don't overthink it. Here, take the rest of mine." Leon held out the remaining half of his protein bar.

Mason grinned and took it like a lifeline. "You're the best."

Leon chuckled, but his gaze drifted back to Nyra.

She hadn't smiled.

The next morning after breakfast, the three of them gathered in Leon's room, waiting for the rankings to drop. A message had gone out that rankings and specialized track selections would be sent directly to their private datapads.

Beep.

All three datapads lit up at once. They exchanged quick glances before looking at their screens.

Fourth?

Leon blinked. He didn't know how to feel. He figured being vora lead might put him somewhere in the top ten, but after the last assessment?

He'd expected to drop, not climb.

"I GOT IN THE TOP TEN!" Mason jumped up from the floor and held out his datapad like it was a trophy. "Tenth place!"

"How about you guys?" he asked, grinning.

"Fifth," Nyra said.

"I got fourth," Leon mumbled.

Mason and Nyra both turned to stare at him.

"Wait—what?" Mason said, eyes wide. "How did you beat Nyra?"

Leon scratched the back of his neck. "I have no idea. I thought I'd get bumped out of the top ten..."

"What about the tracks? I only got Command Track." Nyra tapped her datapad.

"Same here," Mason said.

Leon glanced at his screen. "Where do I check for that?"

"Tap your rank," Nyra said.

"I did. It's... just blank."

"Let me see." Nyra took his datapad and tapped around. "Did you break it?"

"No..."

"Let me try," Mason offered, stepping closer.

"NO," Leon and Nyra said at the same time.

"You already crushed yours two weeks ago just from gripping it too hard," Nyra added.

Mason winced and backed off.

Beep.

"Huh?" Nyra looked at Leon's datapad. "You got an order notification."

She handed it back to him.

REPORT TO WARCENTURION VAUHN'S OFFICE

"What does it say?" she asked.

"I... need to report to the Warcenturion," Leon said, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Maybe he's gonna congratulate you personally," Mason said, perking up. "Top five and all."

Leon followed the map to Vauhn's office and knocked.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in," came the voice from inside.

The door opened and Leon stepped in to see the middle-aged man sitting behind the desk.

Leon gave a salute.

"At ease. Grab a chair and take a seat." The Warcenturion gestured to a spot in front of his desk.

Leon dragged a chair over from the wall and sat stiff.

The Warcenturion laced his fingers and stared at him in silence.

"...Sir?" Leon finally asked. "You wanted to see me?"

The Warcenturion picked up his datapad and flicked through something. "Yes. It's about your track assignment. You're being placed in the Command Track."

Leon nodded. "Yes, sir."

I got Command Track? he thought after acknowledging the Warcenturion.

Vauhn raised an eyebrow. "You don't look happy."

"No…I mean Yes, Sir, I am."

"Don't lie to me recruit, I don't like ass-kissing."

Leon hesitated, then found his voice. "Sir, why me? I am a Nullari and—" he swallowed. "I got some of my members killed."

The Warcenturion held his gaze for a moment.

"Basic isn't just to weed people out. It's to identify potential. You had the most growth in the shortest time. Your leadership skills are rough, but not unsalvageable. With experience, that can be fixed."

Leon nodded in a slow motion, trying to absorb it all.

"But that's not the only reason you're here."

The Warcenturion tapped his datapad again. A hologram flickered to life and displayed Leon's file.

It was detailed. Too detailed. Things he'd never told the Army. Even names of people he went to school with.

Leon stiffened. He suddenly felt exposed. He thought of all the things he did growing up and tried to remember if there was anything that might get him in trouble.

They know everything. Even about that time I stole bread from a Mid-Level... is this about that?

"You've been selected," Vauhn said, "for the Ruinari Program."