'Please, close the doors after you, and remove your shoes before entering. That would be very much appreciated, thank you.'

The voice that spoke to me was low and soft, but extremely clear in these empty and dusty halls. The door slammed shut behind me, and I winced. The last thing I wanted to do in front of these examiners was to give them a bad initial impression.

Be inconspicuous. That was one of the teachings Mother had for me. She was afraid that if I made too much noise, death would just invite itself up to my door step. And there would be nothing a frail little boy with zero aptitude like me could do to stop it.

Especially so when times were so chaotic now...

'Remove your shoes please, and step forward.'

The voice came again and I gave a light start. Quickly, I peeled off the old Hush Puppies that I had found lying abandoned in the streets near my home. The rain had done it in quite a fair bit but it was still wearable.

Shaking a little, I took a few steps forward. There was a beacon of light that came in from the rafters above, and I quickly made my way into it. Suffice to say, I was almost blinded when I tried to look up while inside the light. Through my overly-hyped senses, I could barely hear a stifled giggle.

'Name?'

'Ciel.' I replied almost immediately.

'Last name? And you would do well to address me as 'sir', understood?'

'Undisclosed, sir. And yes, sir.' God, I said 'sir' twice. They must think I'm an idiot.

'Undisclosed last name... And it says here you have not shown any aptitude in the performance appraisals. Odd. You're an odd one, young Ciel.' The voice this time belonged to a woman.

'It matters not.' said the male voice again, 'Ciel, this is the last stage of performance evaluation. Before we continue, I am required to ask you if you are fully intent on proceeding. Please answer if you are ready to proceed.'

'I am, sir.'

'Very well. Let the test begin, then.'

I heard a finger snap, and the light immediately dissolved. A Thomas Young follower, someone who can control the flow of light.

Without the light source, there was nothing much I could see beyond my own fingers. It felt like an eternity waiting for something to happen but I knew it was just my anxiety to get this over with that was sending all my senses into over-drive.

A mild vapour trickled its way up my nose, and I recognised the source. It was the work of Nagai Nagayoshi, a scientist whose work had significant involvement in crystal methamphetamine. Though harmless-

And a dragon's face materialised right in front of mine. I yelped in shock and stumbled backwards, falling ass flat on the floor, which had turned into grass. This was the power of the drug users from the followers of Nagayoshi.

I knew this was all an illusion, a manifestation of my own mind's thoughts. Followers of Nagayoshi were all very experienced with using these poisonous fumes to fool their enemies by creating visions in their foe's minds.

Though I was aware of what was going on, this was chemistry at work; it wasn't a situation where there was a spell to break or something like that. When it came to science, you either come up with preventive measures, or you fall prey to even the simplest of attacks.

So even though I knew that this fire-breathing, angry-looking dragon was a figment of my own imagination, one wrong move and I'll probably remain a vegetable for the rest of my life.

The dragon took a step forward, and a low hiss escaped its nostrils, followed by a stream of, which I could only assume to be, steam that trailed its way centimetres from my face. Though I did not touch it physically, the heat was unbearably real enough.

Stolen novel; please report.

Nothing in my life up till now had taught me how to handle dragons, so you could guess how I felt about facing a dragon 50 metres long and easily 5 times taller than I was. And I must say, I was doing pretty well until it opened its maw and flames erupted out.

The scream that involuntarily escaped from my mouth probably deducted some of my marks but I could not care less as danger was merely just right in front of me.

The dragon could smell fear in me, and it was sneering, if dragons could even show humour in the first place. It's large scaled body was the only thing that filled up my vision then.

And then I heard it. The unmistakably piercing sound of a wailing child, definitely not more than the age of five. And it was coming from the back of the dragon.

What sort of sick test is this supposed to show? Am I supposed to save the child?

Questions ran like a river through my mind as I assessed the situation. The dragon was not particularly hostile... Yet. It was just regarding me with interest that was, interestingly enough, dwindling with every passing minute that I stood there transfixed. It decided I was too little a morsel for a meal and walked back.

I felt like this was one of those situations where I was playing those make-your-choice-or-die games. Y'know where one wrong move and it could very well be your last? Yeah those kinds. And I happen to suck at them.

Well, I was no gamer, and I definitely wasn't any famed hero, so this was something I could only do by myself. And trust my instincts.

I took a brave step forward, heart right in my mouth as I surveyed the dragon's movement. It took no interest in me. Feeling braver, I decided to make a mad dash for the dragon. I mean, what was the worst that could happen, right?

How woefully wrong I was. The moment I had tried to reach for the kid, the dragon swung back and roared at me. But I was carried forward too much by my own momentum, and even before I could even get onto the dragon's back, its whipped its tail in an arc, and I was lashed back with a gigantic force.

As I sat there dazed and confused, a shadow loomed over me and I was in too much pain to get up. My vision was blurry and I felt nauseated with all the impact on my stomach causing an upheaval of fluids upwards. And in a bad way.

And that was it. The world turned black.

------------------

'Well, that's it. Barely 2 minutes and he failed the test. Should we just discard him?' said one of the examiners as he bent down and checked Ciel's vital signs.

Murmurs of agreement broke out among the panel, but they could not make their decision without the chief's approval. He was the one who spoke to Ciel the entire time when he came in. The chief sat there behind his table, deep in thought.

When he stood up, the hall became silent. Everyone waited for his final vote. Which could only be rejection. That was the reality of the world. People who did not have abilities just could not fit into the Institute.

'I call for... Acceptance.'

All the examiners were taken aback. Nobody had expected the chief to actually want this Unattuned to join their ranks. Coming in here alone was already unheard of, but going so far as to joining the Institute? That was madness.

One of the examiners, the one who had Young's abilities to control light, stepped forward and pleaded with the chief.

'Chief, are you sure about this? Accepting someone like him would bring trouble for us. The Institute members will pick on him, and how would we be able to use him?'

Another examiner strode forward and said, 'sir, there's no way a boy like him can fit in. We won't be able to train him in anything-'

'Enough.' The chief put up his hand, cutting off his subordinate midway. He turned to look at all of them while stroking his white beard, the disbelief on their faces pleading with him to think again the incredulity of his decision. 

'My decision is final and I implore all of you to make the necessary arrangements.'

Silence ensued in the air. No one dared make a move. Nobody could believe that this was actually happening.

As Ciel was the last candidate, the chief packed up his things and walked to the door. Nobody was moving still. He heaved a sigh and turned back to face them again.

'I assure you,' he said, 'I have not gone senile. Neither have I lost my mind. I have my reasons for accepting this child. You will see so in due course.'

And he left, the door slamming shut behind him again. As he walked back to his study, he could not help but think about the boy's performance earlier, which they had all witnessed through the monitor that one of the examiners had set up.

True, it was madness that the boy displayed by rushing the dragon like that, but that was a sort of pluck that no other candidate has ever shown him before. Not even the talented ones. True, the boy was Unattuned, and he had no other options at that time.

However, it wasn't because of pluck alone that led to the chief wanting to induct him in.

That boy was definitely no Unattuned. In the brief moment before the boy thought that he would die, his inner ability had stirred just a little.

And it struck a chord with one of the chief's own abilities. And it wasn't just one of the common abilities. It was something ancient, something powerful that even the chief had never shown it to anybody. 

And that boy had the same ability. 

He had a hunch, and if he was right, this boy could easily match the entire Institute's strength.

But the boy must never speak of his last name. It would only mean his own downfall.