In a high-class home in Kheelburg, a loud and frightening altercation is occurring in the master bedroom.
"Why did you go?! You've put our entire family at risk now!" A powerful male voice shouted at the person in front of him, a woman.
"I had to do it to become one of them. They left me with no other choice." She retorted.
In the room next door, three little children had their eyes against the wall.
"Brother, what's happening to mommy and daddy?"
An alarmed six-year-old held on to her brother's clothes, tears forming around her eyelids.
"I-I don't know.."
It was Diallo. He couldn't help but quiver at the thought of his parents splitting up. They were the picture-perfect couple; not once had the children heard them quarrel.
The shouting continued.
"Nadia... They're going to hunt us now! They're going to kill us all!" Loud footsteps were heard from the next room over, it seemed like the man began to pace around the room.
Nadia kept her tone, "What's so wrong with that?"
Her husband, Maxhall, closed his fist and smacked the table beside him, the impact reverberated throughout the house. The windows and doors shook.
Maxhall Haidar was widely recognized as one of the strongest fighters in the Western Cradle. His ability to subdue opponents solely with his gaze has brought extreme attention.
Throughout the years, he has gradually stopped fighting. His strength is still there, but his will faded.
"Daddy!"
"Emilia, it's alright... shushh." Diallo embraced his frightened little sister. His other siblings hid under the blankets, their faces covered in fear.
The shouting continued.
"Nadia, you don't know what I know. You haven't experienced what I've experienced. Once you're exposed to information about 'Him', they will come for you, for us!"
"I am a Salient of Omniscience now, Maxhall. There is nothing that I do not know of."
Once a person becomes a Salient of Omniscience, no topic in the history of the world will ever leave their grasp.
The downside to becoming one, it makes you lose your handle and ability to recognize what is true and what is false. A contradiction to the 'omniscience' aspect.
To become a Salient of Omniscience, you must pray to the Being of Intelligence, Lorquiel, and offer a sacrificial item. 'He' will then decide whether to grant you omniscience or not.
Maxhall heaved a sigh of disappointment, while rubbing his temples, he asked, "What did you offer?"
Nadia stayed silent, the corners of her lips perked up ever so slightly.
"Nadia! What did you offer!"
With a low and somber tone, she quietly spoke,
"You."
. . .
"She laughed."
Diallo and Samuel went silent.
"Hey! Get a move on."
A guard shoved the both of them, "Line up and wait for your turn."
Neither of them replied, they just silently picked up their belongings and lined up.
After the inspection was complete, it was time to take the written portion of the test.
81 desks were evenly distributed throughout the hall.
"Find a desk," Nadia ordered.
Samuel and the rest of the applicants quickly found open desks and sat down.
Nadia began speaking, "In front of you is a stone, rub it 3 times. Now." Each participant including Samuel began rubbing the stones.
A surge of light blue magic was released, it began spinning and started to act as ink. "To prevent cheating, I have made it so that only you can see the stone's ink in front of you."
"Once you read the question, think of the answer in your head. If you are correct, the ink will begin to form a new question, if you are wrong, the ink will stay the same. You cannot move on to another question until you have got the previous question correct."
What? What if I can't get it right? A sweat droplet slid down Samuel's face.
"You will have three hours to complete, you may begin now."
Samuel looked at the ink flowing in front of his eyes, it read: "What is a Protector?"
She just answered this... Someone who serves His Majesty, the Emperor. The royal bodyguard is a person who must be ready to kill at all times, to put their life on the line whenever.
The ink began flowing into the image a checkmark. Correct!
The next question read: "Who are those with supernatural abilities?"
Who? Does she mean The Transcended?
The ink flowed into the image of an X. Wrong? Who else has supernatural abilities? Surely it's The Transcended..?
The ink remained in the image of an X.
Samuel began sweating profusely, It's only the second question, and I can't get it right! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to face Mom and Dad and Amariel and Heart? How am I supposed to heal Heart?
Samuel kept trying variations, Transcended People? Incorrect. Beyonders? Incorrect. Those with Powers? Incorrect.
Looking around, he noticed every single one of the applicants struggling. Their faces were either plastered with fear or shock.
*Are they also struggling with the second question?
Then, a voice spoke, soft and polite, yet spewing with power. "Madam, I believe there has been a mistake."
Nadia scoffed, "Mistake? You better prove yourself correct boy, or I'm going to kick you out."
The boy remained stoic, "The second question reads; Who are those with supernatural abilities? I presume that everyone here is only aware of The Transcended. However, It's strange how the ink remains on the X, have we been misled?"
The corners of Nadia's lips curled, "What's your name, smart one?"
"Blepharo Clemens." He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was of medium height and had a small birthmark above his right eye.
Nadia raised her arm and pointed at Blepharo, "You pass. Go wait in room C until the end of the examination."
Without saying anything else, Blepharo quietly left the hall and entered room C.
Nadia glared at everyone else, "Continue your test, the previous question will be omitted."
The room was left in confusion, many wondering how Blepharo was able to pass like that. Samuel exhaled before looking at the ink above him; "When was Lebrad established?"
Finally a question I studied... Year 1735
The ink spun and created a checkmark. For the remainder of the test, Samuel was not greeted with any trouble.
After three hours, it was over. Nadia took the podium once more and announced the results.
"Please look toward the ink in front of you, if it shows a check mark, you have passed. If it shows an X, you failed."
Samuel looked up, his heart palpating. The ink in front of him formed a checkmark. I passed! While scanning the room, the majority of the applicants had happy expressions.
He finally spotted Diallo, he looked grim. Hopefully he passes...
"Of the 81 of you who took the test, 74 passed. Congratulations, please proceed to room C."
The participants began moving towards room C, chattering loudly along the way.
On his way there, Samuel bumped into Diallo. "Hey, are you alright?" Diallo looked back and smiled, "Yup! I passed! I assume you did too?"
His original behavior had finally returned.
"I did, I'm happy we both passed."
As they walked into room C, they were met with 12 instructors standing behind Nadia, who smiled maliciously when she noticed her son.
"We will now explain the rules of the physical examination."