Lieutenant Carris was already seated at his place.
A man with sharply cut features, short hair hidden beneath his cap, posture unwaveringly straight, and a scar that ran diagonally across his face from the upper left. He was not someone who had learned to lead – he had been born that way.
Yet something broke the severity of his appearance: two rings on his right hand. One dark green like moss after rain, the other orange, glowing like molten metal.
Darek stood hesitantly before him. Carris looked up, his gaze sharp but not hostile. He looks like the kind of guy who would still give orders in his sleep, Darek thought.
"Darek," Carris said, without looking up.
The student stepped forward, hands in his pockets, his face caught halfway between exhaustion and indifference. That stick up his ass must've come free with the uniform, Darek thought as he sank into the chair.
Carris leaned slightly forward.
"First question: What were you holding in your hand during the bang?"
Darek frowned. "What I was holding? Uh … I was sleeping."
"Sleeping?" Carris' eyebrow rose slightly.
"Yeah, I mean … probably my pillow, or the blanket, mhm, depends, I guess. Yeah, no, definitely the pillow, I've got it. It felt kind of strange too."
Carris sighed quietly. He doesn't believe a word I'm saying, Darek thought, grinning faintly.
Carris made a note. "Shouldn't you have been at school?"
"Overslept … hehe." Darek's smile was half apology, half pride in his honesty.
Carris' gaze remained cool. He hates me…
"Pillow, then," he murmured. "Second question: What is your greatest wish?"
Darek blinked. What is this? An exam or a job interview for a nap?
He scratched the back of his head. "Being able to keep sleeping today would've been nice."
Carris was about to reply when the dark green ring on his hand began to glow – faint at first, then stronger, until the light pulsed.
A deep, echoing voice spoke from the ring:
"Truth."
"W–what was that, Lieutenant Carris?" Darek asked uncertainly and hesitantly. Why am I even asking a question to a military officer during an interview? Am I completely insane? He's going to kill me any second… fuck.
Carris remained calm and answered in a firm, factual voice:
"That was the ring. It is a kind of lie detector that I use in situations where I suspect I am being lied to."
Darek couldn't hide his surprise and stared at Carris in disbelief. The ring… a lie detector? One that even talks?! And he says it so casually, as if it were nothing special…
For a moment, absolute silence filled the room.
Or is he messing with me right now… being ironic?
Carris' eyes narrowed. He definitely hates me, that much is certain.
He calmly wrote something down, then gave a short nod. "We're done. Call in the next one."
Darek stood up and stretched briefly. Well, if honesty counts, at least I'm doing okay.
The school dismissal bell rang, but that day everything felt different. The students were sent home by Lieutenant Carris with a curt command. Confused, some still frightened, others full of questions, they left the building. What had happened did not fit into their normal routine – a strange weight hung in the air.
Only one seemed relaxed: Ben. A wide grin on his lips, hands buried deep in his pockets.
"Well, at least no school!" he called out, laughing.
Darek walked beside him, frowning. "So… what did you answer?"
Ben shrugged. "Nothing. I wasn't holding anything."
Then he burst out laughing, louder than necessary. "And the wish question? No school! HAHAHA!"
Darek sighed and shook his head. If carelessness were a weapon, Ben would already be a general.
He smiled briefly – he still liked that unshakable nature of his.
≋⟡≋
Later that evening, the heavy door to a darkened conference room opened. Carris entered – steady steps, precise, almost silent. In his hand lay the collected reports – neatly bundled, not a crease, not a stain. The room smelled of cold smoke and paper dust, the air stood still, as if afraid to move.
He stopped exactly two steps before the table, placed the documents down with his left hand as protocol demanded, and waited until the figure in the shadows stirred.
Only one lamp was lit, its light barely reaching beyond the edge of the table. A calm, dark voice broke the silence:
"Report, Lieutenant Carris."
"The data evaluation is complete," he reported matter-of-factly.
"84% of adult students possess a Soulbound. 52% of those are usable, 11% show increased potential, 21% are presumably useless."
A dry clearing of the throat from the darkness. Then the voice – cold, controlled, direct:
"Integrate those with increased potential as quickly as possible. Reevaluate the remaining students – those who are suitable will be selected. Cassian will begin with the opening of the ASU – the Aquilara Soulbound University."
"Yes, Chairman." Carris nodded briefly.
≋⟡≋
Diana sat in the dojo, her hands resting on her knees.
"Soulbound," she repeated softly, the word tasting unfamiliar.
Sensei Daro nodded. "Yes. The object you were holding during the shockwave is bound to your soul. But that alone is not enough."
"Then what is needed?"
"Resonance," Daro said. "It decides whether a bond becomes strength – or remains useless."
Diana fell silent. My rapier… then it really is a part of me. If that's true, I have to learn not just to fight, but to listen.
"Come back tomorrow," he said quietly at last. "With a clear mind. And an open soul."
Diana nodded, stood up, and as she left, every step sounded like the soft beating of a heart – cautious, but steady.
Clear mind, open soul… she thought, smiling slightly. But first, a full stomach.
≋⟡≋
The table was richly set – steaming bowls of vegetables and potatoes, and a ruby quail whose skin gleamed a deep red. The sauce, cooked from the berries of Aquilar's forests, gave off a subtle scent of herbs and sweet fruit. The meat was tender and juicy, with a fine aroma of berries and herbs typical of Aquilar, accompanied by fresh bread. Diana and Darek sat opposite each other, their parents at the short ends of the table.
Their mother smoothed the napkin and slid it neatly under Darek's hand just as he was about to put down his fork.
"I like it when everything looks a little tidy."
She smiled warmly, her movements calm and composed. Almost casually, the table looked more orderly, the glasses slightly aligned, the napkins neatly folded.
Typical Mom, Darek thought. Even in chaos, she thinks about order.
He just shrugged and grinned. "I know, Mom."
Their father chuckled softly and reached for the breadbasket. "And I make sure the plants don't fall behind."
He placed a piece of bread next to the flowerpot on the windowsill. Within seconds, the basil leaves stretched forward slightly as if guided by an invisible hand, glossy and full.
"Dad!" Diana stared at the pot. "That's… unusual."
"Maybe a little," he said calmly, "but it doesn't hurt anyone. Making plants grow faster was always my wish – and something good. Your mother's little love of order… well, I don't even know if that's her power, she's always been like that, hehehe."
Great, as if we didn't already have enough plants.
"Soulbound…" Diana murmured.
Their mother nodded in agreement, without much excitement.
"It's just something we have to deal with. Besides, the food is getting cold – I didn't stand in the kitchen all day for nothing."
That already sounds like a threat again, Darek thought, but smiled lovingly.
The family had just finished the last bites when Darek noticed the television on the sideboard and turned up the volume. On the screen appeared the familiar face of the news anchor. The moderator cleared his throat and began in a serious voice:
"Good evening. The past few days have shaken our country. Much chaos and much change – people are developing abilities that appear to be connected to their souls and the objects they were holding at the time of the bang. The government calls them Soulbounds and today announces the opening of the ASU – Aquilar Soulbound University, an institution designed to train young adults with Soulbounds and systematically develop their abilities."
Diana and Darek exchanged a glance. The information confirmed what they had already suspected, and yet everything still felt surreal.
So it's official now, Darek thought. And they're revealing this much to the public. But something doesn't add up. How can they already know so much about these "Soulbounds"? If I'm putting this together right, that "survey" was probably just a pretext – to separate the wheat from the chaff. Students with potential, that's why they were there. All of this for a school. A school for people with sleep disorders and superpowers.
Diana sighed softly and said, "Then I still have a year before things really start. If only I were already eighteen."
Darek leaned back, grinned, and said half to himself, "Sounds like less sleeping in."
Diana looked at him curiously. "So, Darek… what was your object anyway?"
He grinned mischievously. "The lieutenant noted down… my pillow."
Their father, as always, just shrugged calmly. Their mother, however, perked up slightly.
"All this oversleeping! You really should be more disciplined – take an example from your brother for once."
And there it is again – the eternal hymn to David.
Darek rolled his eyes slightly but said nothing.
Diana burst out laughing. "Why would a school ever sponsor a pillow? Hahaha!"
Darek shook his head, laughing. "Not my problem, zombie freak."
Diana stuttered, not knowing what to reply. "Zombie freak?! You… you… uh, sleephead!"
Creative as always, Darek thought, leaning back.
"If your insults were half as inventive as your unhealthy obsession with zombies, I'd have a real problem. Wouldn't surprise me if your Soulbound were a zombie plushie, hahaha," Darek said with a hint of malice in his grin as he rocked slightly back and forth on his chair.
"You… you pillow freak!" Diana said indignantly, puffing out her cheeks and crossing her arms. "And no, my Soulbound is my rapier!" she added, sticking out her tongue.
Darek laughed quietly. Typical. She's never held anything else, really. But teasing her is just too easy.
"Stop arguing, kids," Dad said with a slight grin, shaking his head. "You're siblings."
Yeah, Darek thought, glancing briefly at his sister, who was still glaring at him. Still, somehow, a bit of normality.
≋⟡≋
Ben sat alone in his kitchen later, on an old chair, a piece of bread in his hand. The golden plastic pendant on his necklace swayed gently.
He looked at the pendant as if it might answer him. Maybe I have one too. Maybe it just takes time.
Then he grinned crookedly. Or I'm just hungry.