Correction. This was not a teacher but the Principal of Wingram Academy. From his seat, Chunji dug his nails deeper into his skin for that mistake. However, what proceeded after didn't seem relevant. Gulliver was, in fact, correct about already being a student, which was surprising since how spectacularly hard he failed to give a good first impression; whoever gave the idea of giving a position of authority needed to re-evaluate their job and its security.
Paying attentively to Principal Raja's speech, Chunji couldn't help but feel apathetic. The speech was inspirational, but to Chunji, it didn't invoke any sense of the word. Whenever winter fades, spring is sure to come. It was only obvious that he would constantly change within due time.
At the change of subject, a blue light appeared in front of every student in the auditorium. The manifestation came in the form of a book, an Adapa, that hovered right in front of him. Chunji didn't interact with it, but seeing Davil, from a few seats away, fall unconscious, it seemed he had made the right choice. Another trial but for the mind, as Principal Raja had put it. Without further ado, he grasped the book and fell unconscious.
Green. The sharp blades of grass tickled his skin. Green. The sky was covered in leaves, leaving little left to the blue sky. Getting up from the ground, Chunji checked himself. Judging by the size of his hands and feet, this must have been around the time he was still ten years old. It was clear to him what this event was.
Something growling was heard. Turning to address it, an enormous white tiger was moving towards him. Its teeth were bared, its majestic white coat shined even with the shade of the forest, and the scars that littered around its body told many battles.
It was already clear what he had to do.
Producing a knife from his pocket, Chunji went for
"Aren't you afraid-" A voice spoke in a voice completely identical to his own. Its tone is similarly vacant of emotion but at the same judging. However, that did not stop the swing that Chunji did with his knife. As if a repeated habit, the movement was precise.
"No, I am not."
"They will be no reward for doing his."
Blood erupted from his wrists. A sanguine pool started to grow beneath him. His feet were muddied by the red ichor that was his own blood. Chunji could only stare at his reflection. "I do not expect a reward, nor do I expect anything from others." That was the resolution he came up with many years ago.
"If there's no expectation, what is the point of continuing."
"脉动. 死而复生." The incantation had started. The White Tiger roared and charged at him. There was no fear, nor was there hesitation. Keep moving forward and never look back. "I continue for the sake of continuing." Life moves with or without. It is impartial yet equal to all. It doesn't matter who you are; all it does is continue in its cycle.
"Yet, we both know that is wrong. It is the sake of our parents.".
Chunji stopped the next part of the incantation. Was it out of shock, or was it out of nostalgia? It didn't matter as Chunji's small body was thrown across the forest with one swipe of the Tiger. A trail of blood follows him thanks to his bleeding wrist.
"A lie within a lie. To expect a reward from your parents, you continue regardless.". The words were mocking, and Chunji could not refute them within spoken words laid a grain of possibility. At one point, he did yearn for their affection. Yearn for the unconditional love he had seen other children receive. Run across the field and embrace their parent.
A thick paw stepped onto the rib cage. Instinctively, Chunji rushed to push against it out of survival instinct. The breath of the Tiger brushed his face as it leaned closer to him.
But still.
"蠕动. 脱壳." The pool of blood rippled. The rest had been disturbed, and it had been called. "Yet, is it bad to follow a lie?" It didn't matter much to Chunji at the end. At the end of the day, a lie was the same as the truth. Motivating people to follow a path, they guide them to their destination.
"You won't be happy.".
"从一开始 它一直都在."
"I'm fine with that."
"无龙之福，亦无虎之威."
"You won't be satisfied.".
"被海洋拒绝，被大地拥抱."
"I'm fine with that."
"脉动。抵抗命运!"
"You won't be loved.".
"蠕动。破壳而出!"
"You don't know that."
"召唤 - 神花的人生八景!"
It happens in an instant. Blood started raining from the sky. The white Tiger was immediately subdued by several tentacle-like appendages. No, the appendages were wrong. They were heads. The Snake God's presence made itself known. All eight of the eights hissed as they wrapped themselves around the white. The struggle of the white Tiger was evident but fruitless against the Serpent.
"After all, the only people who can say that are the people in question themselves."
All eight heads bared their wrath at the White Tiger. Blood gushed out of its wounds, and a sickly poison followed with it. It didn't take long for the White Tiger to fall limp underneath the Snake God. Standing above its crumpled foe, the Serpent roared into the sky. Was it relief to overcome a rival? Or was it a grudge that had been lifted over a millennium? Chunji didn't know, but-
Green. The sharp blades of grass tickled his skin. Green. The sky was covered in leaves, leaving little left to the blue sky. Getting up from the ground, Chunji checked himself. Judging by the size of his hands and feet, this must have been around the time he was still ten years old. It was clear to him what this event was.
A breath. The dragon appeared above him. Its eyes scrutinized him, its scales perfect and enviable. Everything that the Snake God had aspired to be but could never reach.
"Even if they're the ones doing this?".
This was a dream. A dream created by his mother. A training that would persist even in his sleep. There was no reprieve in the realm of the living, nor would there reprieve in the realm of the dead.
Yet still.
It was already clear what he had to do.
Producing a knife from his pocket, Chunji went for his wrist.
Blood sprayed every. Blood splashed in the appearance of the Snake God. Another obstacle vanquished. Another dream.
"Even if they're the ones doing this.". Chunji himself would see to it what their answer would be.
Chunji awoke in his seat. As if nothing had happened, he glanced around to see his other peers. They were still unconscious, still taking their trial. Relaxing against his seat, Chunji produced a book from inside of his pockets and began to read. It was something he had more than once, maybe even a thousand times, but it was still comforting.
He wasn't shaken, but his resolve was tested. No matter what, he would complete his stay at the academy and fulfill his family's goal. That way, the answer he yearned for would finally come to him.
Estylwen
mickilennial
LG
Feyblue
TokyoPewPew
CitrusArms
stone
Izurich
Marlowe
The Otter