"Checkmate." The boy picked up his horse, and moved it to G3. He began to giggle as a disfigured smile crept across his face and he turned to look at the passing scenery. While watching the sun come up, a disfigured smile began to creep across his face. Black tendrils began to coalesce under his right eye, and his irises began to shine with a golden hue.

A sudden eerie atmosphere enveloped the cabins within the train, and there were instances where a faint clicking was emitted from various parts of the underside of the train. Within that short moment however, to many aboard, the world froze.

The sound of an explosion was heard within the next cabin next to the mysterious chess player and a shockwave followed soon after, forcing the train off its tracks. Within seconds, Emergency sirens began to wail in all cabins. Messages suggesting authorities had been alerted were played at at a set interval, assumingly to attempt to calm the passengers.

Under the dimly lit sky, a group of trains were slowly making their way across the horizon, their trails blazing with smoke as the electromagnetic tracks were straining under their full capacity. Numerous other trains however had been blasted off the tracks, lighting up the surroundings with an orchestra of lifeless bodies in tow. Numerous panicked and injured students were pouring out the cabins struggling to get as far away from the demon train as humanly possible. There were a few level-headed students however attempting to calm the mobs, ordering and controlling them to the best of their abilities.

These trains were filled with thousands of scouted students from all around the continent, all planning to go to the school of the Celestial Institution, and within the thousands of years the school has stood, many legendary figures had cultivated in the school and even returned to it after they explored the continent, failing to reach the Saint or Immortal stages of cultivation, instead choosing to live as honorary elders or tutors of different magical subjects. 

Today however, was the beginning of a new dawn. The first supposed terrorist attack on one of the most renowned magical institutes had occurred. Lives had been lost and the term hadn’t even started. Word had yet to be sent to the heads of the academy, however it wouldn’t be the last.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Within minutes of the hell settling down, a bespeckled kid launched himself out of a cabin. His auburn hair flowing in the wind similar to the flames around him. Landing and slightly stumbling he began to check around and look for other students. Strangely enough, other than the soot that covered his face he seemed relatively unharmed and not too worried over the entire situation, compared to the other 99% of students who had been injured, or were delirious.

Running through debris and flame he soon began stumbling, and tears began to condense in his eyes when he began to see a makeshift student camp. "Thank gods I've found people! I was going to give up soon!" The auburn shouted out.

He began to survey the camp and saw that a few groups of students had made themselves comfortable, some guys even deciding to hit on the distressed looking girls of the group, rather than discussing something useful like injuries, potential rations or other survival techniques as they had no clue how long they’d be stuck in this limbo. 

The auburn smiled awkwardly when one of the girls being hit on made eye contact with him, and nearly jumped out of his skin when she almost screamed "Luke, I'm so glad you're okay!" as she bolted over to him, beaming as she thought she’d outsmarted the shorty talking to her before.

The auburn, ‘Luke’ however was confused and also worried. Thoughts like 'Shit she knows me?' And 'Is Luke my name?' Began to surface in his mind. All of this shattered though when he saw her head turn, and she stuck her tongue out at him. 'I guess she just deceived us both?' he took a break thinking and chucked to himself. He was even more surprised when she dragged him behind some debris, quickly beginning to realise what she was planning. "I'm only young, we're only young, you don't need to do this so early!" He blurted out. 

She turned around quickly after that, her face slightly blushing. "Shut up, idiot" she exclaimed, as she stared at ‘Luke’ for a bit. She looked towards the camp and in a voice sounding as sweet as honey, said "I'm Anna, a Stage 2 Practitioner. How about you?"

He craned his head sideways, and after a short silence he replied "Practitioner Stage 3"

She looked at him a bit dejected, perhaps expecting more. After shaking her head a few times and knitting her brow, "Name perhaps? Or am I supposed to call you Luke?" the girl stuck her arm up as if to show she was puzzled, only to finally look at her to realise she was surprisingly cute when she looked at him as if he was an idiot.

With dark violet eyes and dark brown hair that trailed past her shoulders, if she wasn't caked in soot she'd be a beauty. Despite that however, to him, an electrifying aura surrounded her, discouraging him of any particular thoughts.

"I'm Lew-" he stuttered. " I mean, I'm not really sure. I forgot." He paused to think before saying "Just call me Art for now." He could’ve sworn he saw her eyes flicker with electricity before he put her arm down, sighed and gently replied "Well, let's go back to the group then, Mr. Art."