It felt like a stain upon his soul.

When Z’s eyes blinked open, they were met with a school of startled fish swirling around him. He groaned, keeling over in pain as his stomach tumbled. Gritting his teeth, Z forced himself to calm down, taking a look at his surroundings.

Evidently, he was underwater. Perhaps in a river or lake, judging by the freshwater critters that swam past him in their hurry to get away. Closing his eyes, he focused his senses on the rumbling sound of the rapids that seemed to come from varying sources. Opening his eyes, he kicked and propelled his arms to push him what felt like up.

Something wasn’t right. The water pressure only seemed to weigh down upon him more the further up he swam. Z’s breath was starting to run out, and his vision was fading fast. He opened his mouth to cry out for help, but only air bubbles dribbled out. With shifting eyes, he watched as the bubbles floated down, towards his legs.

With a kick, he flipped himself upside down, trying his best to force his mind to focus on the rising bubbles of air. He was close to the surface now. Once again, he reached out for the bright, bright sunlight above him. And this time, he made it.

Z’s head breached the surface of the water, bringing bouts of freshwater with him. The kids surrounding the river were shocked, some of them jumping back to avoid the splashes. Z gasped for air, scrambling to grab onto land and pull himself up.

He shook his head, water droplets soaking the grass beneath him. Chest heaving, a strange feeling curled up in his stomach. It was suffocating, yet freeing. Like an imprint on his soul. Z glanced at the other kids staring at him, mouths to the ground and eyes flabbergasted. He huffed. If only they knew what he’d been through.

Z shook off his legs, reaching down to squeeze the water out of his shirt. He must’ve been a curious sight. The onlookers sure thought so.

Glancing around, Z determined that the Water Deity had indeed kept their word. From what it looked like, he’d been transported to the exam site for the Queen’s Guard. Ignoring the bystanders who gaped at him, Z made a beeline for a small table with a sign that read ‘Sign-Up Here’.

The guard sitting at the table raised an eyebrow at him curiously. He looked Z up and down, taking in his disheveled figure. Huffing with laughter, he said, “Name?”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Z Akol.” The guard’s eyes flashed green, and he seemed to zone out as he searched the database for Z’s name. A few minutes later, his eyes returned to a churning brown.

He nodded at Z and handed him a translucent white wristband. “Put that on. Next time, give your full name.” The guard didn’t spare him another glance before waving the next applicant forward.

Z clicked the wristband onto his right arm, the two ends automatically fastening together when they touched. He walked past the crowd of chattering contestants to a large gladiator-style arena, whistling at the sheer size of the thing.

Dirt covered most of the ground, except for the audience quarters. Their floors were paved with marble, and their seats were lined with a silk-like fabric. The seats slanted outwards like a set of bleachers, running all around the arena so all that were seated had a clear line of sight. The entire thing was very obviously designed with only the comfort of the rich in mind.

All the wannabe guards were gathered in front of a semicircle stage of stone protruding from the ground in the middle of the arena. Z’s wristwatch beeped, and he looked down to see a holographic arrow hovering inches above the ground pointing toward the stage. He slowly made his way to the crowd, blending in among dozens of optimistic teens.

There was a woman who looked to be in her thirties standing on the stone stage. She was saying something or another about the rules of the first test. Z didn’t— couldn’t— listen.

His head was pounding, and his skull felt heavy as it carried the weight of recent events. His legs could barely support the rest of his body. Z was tired. So tired. All he wanted to do was sleep.

“. . .your test begins in two days. For now, you’ve all been assigned a dormitory to stay in for the duration of the test period. There is a kitchen in each of the dormitory buildings, and food can be purchased through the stores provided. They’re around a mile’s walk from here, so don’t plan on making multiple visits a day.”

Z stopped listening after the word ‘dormitory’. He immediately tapped on his wristwatch, selecting the ‘sleep’ function out of the options that popped up. Another arrow formed in front of his eyes, sinking down to hover gently above the floor. As Z moved, the arrow did too, remaining around a foot in front of him at all times.

It took thirty minutes to walk to the dormitories from the arena. Z’s legs burned. He was afraid he’d collapse if he waited any longer. The boy trudged towards the building entrance, the doors opening automatically upon registering his wristband.

He was let into his room— thankfully on the first floor— with a beep from his wrist. A brief look around told him his roommate wasn’t there yet. Good. He could have some peace and quiet.

There weren’t any sheets on the bed, but Z didn’t mind. His knees nearly buckled before he flung himself onto the bed. Sleep came in record time, and the boy could feel the exhaustion seeping out of his bones as he let himself drop into the void.