At World's End

Entry 7

The time to part had come. 

I couldn't but sigh because even though I prepared mentally for this moment, it was hard to let go. 

Spending time with Leila, I realized that even though dad was dead, I still had someone I could call family. 

She did everything to make me forget but I always kept the memories of dad. 

But I was grateful. 

If not for her… there were several nights I couldn't sleep because the memory of five years ago kept coming back. 

Darn it… my eyes stung a little as I tried to hold back my tears. 

I turned to face Leila to say goodbye when her slender finger touched my lips. 

She applied no force but I didn't try to speak. 

For that brief moment, we met each other's gaze, and the world around us seemed to disappear. 

"Don't say anything. I'll be waiting for you so do your best and come out on top, okay." She spoke softly but her words resounded deep within my heart. 

With no words to respond, I merely nodded while smiling sheepishly. 

Wrapping my arms around her, I drag her in for a hug. It would be a whole year before I could see her again. 

It was like a last-ditch effort to imprint her scent in my mind. 

Taking a deep breath, I tightened my grip slightly at which point I feel her arms wrap around me as well. 

We stayed like that for a few seconds. 

Of course, I didn't care if anyone was looking, after all, those that came with their guardians and parents would be engaged in something similar. 

Just then, the announcement came again. 

[All Academy aspirants should move into the next room for the registration process to begin while all others should leave immediately. Thank you.] 

It sounded robotic but it was a male's voice. 

With that, Leila pulled away after patting my back. 

Running her palms from my shoulder down to my hands, she added. "Good luck." 

"Thanks." 

I squeezed her hands after which I let go and moved toward the door on the right. 

At the top was a blinking sign with the words, "Registration", imprinted on it. 

Sixty other aspirants moved with me as we got to the open doors on the other side. 

We got into a single file and walked into the other room. 

I turned back one more time and waved at Leila. 

She responded with a smile until I stepped into the room and the doors closed behind me. 

This was goodbye. 

Temporary but still significant. 

I took a deep breath to clear my mind before attempting to survey the room I was in when it suddenly went dark. 

It was so dark that I couldn't make out anything. 

I closed my eyes and opened them again but regardless, I couldn't adapt. 

Instinctively, I gulped. 

At the same time, similar gulps rang out from all around me. 

This reassured me that I was in the room with the other candidates but it then made me wonder what happened. 

Was the Heart acting up again? 

If that were the case, then that would mean the situation had gotten worse as it was normally only once a day. 

It started as once a month, then weekly… it's only recently it became a daily occurrence. 

If the situation had indeed gotten worse… Time wasted would only allow the situation to devolve to an irredeemable level. 

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves. I can't rush things so it was best to focus on my current mission. 

Anyway, with no way to figure out what was happening, I remained silent, waiting patiently for something to happen. 

A second hadn't passed after I decided to do that when an eerie sound played in the background. 

I thought it was only me but when I heard the sound of feet shuffling, I realized the others heard it as well. 

It started monotonously and was quite low that if one were noisy, they wouldn't be able to hear it. 

But the room right now was so silent, I was sure I would hear a pin drop. 

So what the hell was that? 

Suddenly, I heard a voice. 

It sounded like a little girl but the contents were incomprehensible as she spoke at a very low volume. 

At the same time, the sound of water droplets echoed. 

Just like that, weird and eerie sounds played one after the other. 

I thought I could get used to it but at some point, I instinctively hugged myself. 

The different sounds played simultaneously causing me to gulp down saliva. 

Some were grating, causing me to wince as the sound were annoying to the point of getting on my nerves. 

The others were just downright uncomfortable. 

I closed my eyes and tried to hum a melody to get the sounds out of my head when a sudden brightness hit me. 

The sounds reduced in frequency allowing me some sense of reprieve. 

The moment I opened my eyes though, I couldn't help but wonder if I made the right choice. 

Several screens appeared on the room walls, ensuring that not a single part was left uncovered. 

I tried to squint to figure out what was playing when the light dimmed and the content of what was playing was shown. 

The moving images weren't bad though. 

First, it was the scene of a woman bathing her kid. Based on the sunny scenery, I could guess that this was footage from the outside world. 

It looked quite beautiful, just like I had imagined. 

Suddenly, the image changed to a man riding a bicycle. I was familiar with the contraption as a few individuals on the 20th floor had used it as a sign of wealth. 

From then on, several feel-good images were played in quick succession, slowly removing the uncomfortable feeling I had experienced from the eerie sound. 

Regardless, my gut told me something was up, and no sooner was that thought planted when a terrifying screech echoed in the room and I felt my soul escape my body. 

What the hell was that?