few days passed.
The guidance sessions continued as usual—children gathering each morning, practicing abilities, refining control. The crystalline walls caught light and scattered it in familiar patterns. The cushioned seats had worn from months of use. The space had taken on the weight of routine.
Then the Elder arrived with news.
---
Elder Pei Leng stood at the raised platform, surveying the gathered children with an expression that revealed nothing.
Inside, he was pleased.
One hundred and seventy-eight out of two hundred had evolved. Far beyond expectations for the group with abstract concepts—the ones sorted into the second tier, deemed less immediately valuable.
Something had happened with this generation.
He didn't know what. Didn't particularly care to investigate. But the numbers spoke for themselves. Perhaps the natural awakener's emergence had blessed this cohort somehow. The histories spoke of such things—natural awakeners bringing glory or doom, their presence rippling outward.
Glory or doom.
Time would tell which this one brought.
For now, the results were good.
"The guidance period is complete," he announced, his voice carrying across the pavilion. "Six months, as promised. You have exceeded expectations."
A ripple of reaction moved through the crowd—relief, hope, cautious optimism. He let it settle before continuing.
"The evaluation was originally scheduled for year's end. It was meant to determine which of you had proven your worth."
He paused.
"That is no longer necessary."
Whispers. Confused glances exchanged between children who didn't yet understand.
"Most of you have already evolved. The evaluation will instead determine where you will be placed. How your abilities can best serve."
His gaze moved across the crowd, lingering briefly on certain faces.
"Your concepts are unusual. Not straightforward physical applications. There will be tests to determine whether you can affect or influence battlefield conditions. Based on results, you will be assigned appropriate paths."
The Elder's expression didn't change as he delivered the next words.
"For those who have not evolved."
Silence crashed down. The twenty-two who remained at Awakened stage seemed to shrink into themselves, bodies tensing, faces going pale.
"Your one-year grace period is hereby terminated."
The words landed like hammer blows.
"The purpose was to give struggling children time to find understanding. But your peers have succeeded beyond expectations. Continuing to wait for those who cannot keep pace is inefficient."
No softening. No comfort. Just cold, administrative logic.
"You will be given an opportunity to discuss which paths you would prefer." The Elder's voice remained neutral. "His Eminence is generous. He does not discard without consideration."
Generous.
The word hung heavy with irony the Elder either didn't notice or didn't care about.
"For those who have evolved and have siblings in Group One—" A slight shift in tone, almost approaching warmth. "Congratulations. As promised, you will soon be permitted to visit your family members."
A few faces brightened. A few shoulders relaxed.
"For those who have not evolved and have siblings in Group One—" The warmth vanished. "You must hope your siblings accumulate sufficient achievement points to earn permission to visit you here."
The cruelty was elegant in its simplicity.
Succeed, and you could see your family. Fail, and you became dependent on someone else's success. Your siblings would have to earn the right to acknowledge your existence.
The Elder didn't elaborate.
"Rest. You will be summoned when the evaluation begins."
He turned and walked away, robes whispering against crystalline floor.
Behind him, the children remained frozen—some celebrating quietly, some comforting each other, some staring at nothing with hollow eyes.
The Elder didn't look back.
---
Most of them will probably die.
Simple calculation. They were being trained for war. War killed people. The evolved ones would be sent to the front eventually—not immediately, but eventually. And the battlefield didn't care how much potential you'd shown in training.
Their siblings too. Group One has already been blooded. The attrition rates there are higher.
The children excited about visiting family might find no family left by the time permission was granted.
As for the unevolved ones...
He didn't want to think about what awaited them. The "paths" they would be offered. The roles that remained for those who couldn't manifest useful abilities.
What a cruel world we live in.
The thought surfaced without bitterness. Without anger. Just tired acknowledgment of a truth he'd accepted centuries ago.
He was doing the job he'd been given. Following orders. Maintaining the machinery that processed children into soldiers and soldiers into corpses. He hadn't designed the system. Hadn't asked for it.
He was just a cog.
Everyone was just a cog.
Each to their own fate.
The Elder sighed quietly and continued walking, leaving the pavilion and its cargo of hopeful, terrified children behind.
The evaluation would begin soon.
And fate would do what fate always did.
---
End of Chapter 33