Eleonor Celeste had a dream.
A very familiar one.
She was in a cold place—alone, isolated. A lingering feeling of betrayal gnawed at her chest. Trapped. Suffocated. As if the only path left led to something she had already lost. Her head throbbed with pain, nausea rising in waves. Her body refused to move, even as her mind screamed for action.
And yet, amid the darkness, something warm surrounded her—like a protective bubble. A sensation that reminded her of home and sanity.
When she awoke, dizziness overtook her. The softness of the bed cradled her aching form, but it brought no comfort. Her vision swam—blurred by strange lights and an unfamiliar ceiling.
She couldn't recall what had happened. All she remembered was being in her treehouse—her sanctuary—watching Athenians farming in the distance. Then... she met someone. And everything became hazy.
Something inside her felt missing. Not just pain—but absence. A hollowness that made her chest tighten.
Trying to piece it all together only worsened the dizziness. The comforting warmth she felt earlier had vanished, replaced by the cold silk sheets pressing against her skin.
"Eleonor Celeste."
The sound of a man's voice snapped her back to the present.
Her heart raced. Panic gripped her as she turned toward the speaker. A man in a white top and black trousers stood nearby, his presence commanding, his voice edged with authority.
She blinked at the dark room. An oil lamp flickered near the corner, but it wasn't enough to reveal his features clearly. He sat on a stool near the bed, watching her. Quiet. Still.
Eleonor scrambled to sit up, pulling herself against the dusty wooden headboard. Her gaze locked on the stranger, filled with confusion and fear.
"H-ha?" she managed to whisper.
"This is not my treehouse," she muttered, glancing around the unfamiliar room.
"You are Eleonor Celeste. An intruder," the man said coldly, sending fresh waves of anxiety through her.
"I don't know how I got here," she replied, voice trembling.
He held an old notebook—her notebook. Recognition hit her like a slap. Her thoughts scattered as she lunged forward, desperate to snatch it from him. But he easily dodged her attempt, raising it just out of reach.
"Just let me go. Take me back home," she pleaded, frustrated.
"No."
The firm answer made her freeze. She stared at him, stunned.
"Who are you to decide that?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing in disbelief.
"I'm a captain of this nation," he said. "And you are an intruder."
Eleonor blinked rapidly. The word Athena echoed in her mind.
"Athena? I'm inside Athena?" She gasped. "I actually made it inside this... walled place?"
The captain nodded slowly, then continued, "You will be held liable for crimes against the security of Athena."
"That's ridiculous! I didn't do anything wrong!" she cried out.
Her voice cracked. "You must be mistaken. I haven't hurt anyone. I was just watching the fields from my home—my treehouse..."
He didn't respond. Just stared with unreadable eyes. His silence was louder than any accusation. Eleonor's legs trembled.
The notebook was placed carefully on the table. Its worn leather cover made her stomach twist—it felt like he was holding her entire life captive.
Then he stood, stepping forward. The light from the oil lamp finally reached his face.
A sharp jawline. Storm-grey eyes. A scar tracing from brow to cheek. He looked like someone who'd survived countless wars—and had been shaped, maybe even broken, by them.
"Eleonor Celeste, you're under watch. Until further investigation, you will be held under military supervision. If you cooperate, your stay might be... less unpleasant," he said.
"Unpleasant?" Eleonor echoed, stunned. "This is already a nightmare."
His face twitched for the briefest moment—like her words had struck something.
He turned to leave, reaching for the door.
"Wait!" she called out.
He paused.
"You will stay here in Athena. Serve the military or rot in the underground prison," he said flatly.
The words hit her like a dagger. She couldn't process them fast enough.
Eleonor stood near the barred window. The room was dim and cold, more like a cage than a bedroom.
"Why are you caging me here? Is this your house?" she demanded as Captain Levi re-entered the room, fresh from the Capitol.
He sighed, exasperated. "You're under my watch. I found you."
"Then let me go! Don't cage me and force me to join your army!"
"I live here in Athena. So do you now," he said quietly.
"Are you even aware you're accusing me of espionage?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"Espionage? I told you—I don't even remember how I got here. Take me back to my treehouse and we'll call it even," she insisted.
"No. You will stay."
"I don't want to be here," she whispered, voice trembling.
"You don't have a choice. Try to escape and you'll die."
Eleonor's eyes narrowed. "Do your people know this? That you're locking up outsiders like this?"
"No one will find out," he said with a smirk.
"Oh, they will. The moment I speak up, you'll lose everything."
"That won't happen. I'm more powerful than you think."
"If you're so powerful, then why do you cage your own people inside these walls?" she shot back, grinning.
"I'm not the one responsible for that," Levi said, stepping back.
"But it doesn't change your situation. You'll do what I say."
He placed a cup on the table.
"I need water—not coffee," she muttered.
"I know. But water would be too obvious. Now drink."
Eleonor stared at the cup in silence. The tension between them was unbearable.
Something was coming.
And she could feel it.
Elsewhere in Athena...
Captain Levi stood before Commander Chaim, waving a stack of papers casually in his hand.
"I have here the list of aspiring trainees," he said.
Chaim glanced up from the mountain of documents cluttering his desk and floor. "Why do you have that? You were just outside Athena days ago."
"I just happened to have it," Levi replied with a shrug, turning to leave.
"Did you find anything outside?" the Commander asked, voice tinged with curiosity.
Levi's steps halted. His jaw clenched, hands curling into fists. Memories of the ruins, the silence, and the absence of what he was looking for came crashing back.
"Nothing interesting," he replied curtly before exiting.
Soon, the Training Field at Gleason would begin its selection.