Arvium [I.L.S. Beta Game #1]

5: Departure

She shivered as she opened her eyes, but not from cold. A dark red sky soared infinitely above her, heat drying out her skin as it surged from beneath the earth from the rips and gashes in the ground. Explosions shook the ground beneath her feet, and all around her, all around the small hill she stood on top of, strange creatures and humans battled each other. The crash of metal on metal, and the inhuman growls of animals added to the noise. Screams echoed over the plains, and smoke made the air acrid. She coughed as she breathed it in, tasting metal and blood.

She brought her hand in front of her face, seeing dirt and blood on her fingers. Her skin was dark as night, and her white hair blew in the wind around her face, blocking her vision.

A man stepped into her vision, his hands raised in surrender. His eyes were golden, and his face was contorted, tears in his eyes.

"Please, El," he whispered.

She could hear him, even through the roar of battle. She stepped back, waving her hand at him. "Stand back."

"It's me," he said, holding out his hands to her. "You are stronger than you know. You can stop this. Trust me, El. Come back to me."

Aella shook her head, her heart rate racing. "Stop, stop it!"

"El," he said, stepping closer to her.

"No," she yelled, jerking away from him.

She jumped as her eyes opened to the leaves of the tree, the sweet smell of the greenhouse filling her nose. She gasped for breaths and turned over. Chloe had gone. She blinked in the bright sun that was pouring in from above.

It was only a dream. She sighed and tapped her fingers on the wood platform. The dreams were getting worse. Each one was of death and destruction, sometimes the same dream of the bloody plain and the man encouraging her, sometimes of different battlefields where he fought alongside her. And a few were when she was alone and facing a monster she had never seen before. And in all, she woke before she saw the conclusion.

She snapped her fingers and glanced at her notifications. Her eyes grew wide and her body tensed as she saw an alert in her score section. She sat up, her breaths rapid as her palms started to sweat. She reached forward to touch the alert and closed her eyes.

She waited several seconds, taking a deep breath that hitched in her throat as she tried to calm herself. Her future had been decided. "No matter the service, all citizens serve the Founder and United Earth in order to maintain a peaceful society," she whispered. She sighed and opened her eyes.

A giant, scarlet Congratulations, Aella Rynnex filled her vision. Aella frowned. Where was her score? There should be a section showing her what score she had achieved, what field she had been placed in, and what positions it had qualified her for. Then she would make a selection, and she would be alerted to the sponsor in that position.

She tapped the air and the message vanished, leaving only a black screen. To the right woman in a long, flowing white dress stood, a smile on her face. To the left, a shield with the number 1 rotated in a circle.

"Welcome, Aella," the woman said. Her voice was low and musical. Aella looked her over, frowning as she tried to remember where she had seen the woman before. "I am Yan, security advisor to his Excellency, Founder Aexander Diederik. You are about to embark upon a journey to help keep United Earth safe from any attacks, and help the Founder guard our citizens against the evils that await us beyond our borders. Your travel plans have been set, and your Facility will begin the process of transferring you to the Capitol immediately. Congratulations on your achievement, and I will meet you soon."