Year 526 A.B.
After a long drive, passing a variety of districts, fields and far-stretching roads, the cab comes to the end of its journey from the secluded Lilac Manor.
“We’ve arrived at your stop, sir.”
The cab driver announces, looking at Rai through the rear-view mirror.
Rai wakes up from the last of many small cat naps along the way, finally refreshed from the stress of the previous night.
“I’m sorry, what happened?”
“Your stop. We've arrived at the Registration Center.” The driver repeats.
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Rai notices a plain, grey building beyond, and slightly obstructed by, a small set of stairs outside of the cab’s tinted window.
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“Thank you,” Rai says, getting ready to open the door. “Wait, how should I pay you?”
He begins to erratically pat his pockets in search of his nonexistent wallet.
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“Well, normally people use money...” The driver pauses with a smirk as if he’s waiting for a reaction to his joke.
Rai obliviously blinks, waiting for him to continue.
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“And also: your parents paid me in advance, so you’re good to go.” He concludes, looking slightly disappointed.
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“O-oh, ok, thanks again.”
Rai opens the door of the cab.
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The driver nods his head with a tip of his cap.
“Good luck out there.”
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The cab drives off and in the wake of its exhaust, Rai stands with his suitcases. His view of the building is no longer obstructed. Stretching north, east and west of the unassuming registration building is an incredibly large complex of many other buildings that are large, small, tower-like, and unusual in their designs.
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Memories of the manor’s lonely and seemingly never-ending hallways play back to him as he takes in the sight before him.
“I guess the manor wasn’t that large after all.”
Rai recollects, beginning to walk towards the building.
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Once inside, Rai looks around the sparsely populated room for his destination.
From left to right he reads the signs above the room’s counters: Telephones. Academy Transfers. This is Air Freshener NOT Coffee. Exam Registration. Coffee.
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At the registration counter Rai spots a man leaning back in his chair, reading an electronic newspaper and gagging after taking a sip from a cup next to him.
He makes his way over to the counter, awkwardly sharing passing glances with the room’s few inhabitants.
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“Excuse me, I’m here to register for the Exorcist Examination.”
Rai asks, sounding even more polite than usual.
His voice might as well be a whisper.
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“Aren’t we all? So early in the morning too.”
The man lazily groans while still leaning back in his chair and swiping to another page.
“What’s your name?”
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“Rai.”
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The man picks up the cup again, taking another dreaded sip of the beverage that is most likely not meant for human consumption.
“Uh-huh, Rai what?”
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Rai responds somewhat hesitantly.
“Rai Lilac.”
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The man quickly lowers his device and falls out of his chair. His cup flies through the air behind the counter, spilling most of its contents on the ground while the rest evaporates and leaves behind the strong scent of cinnamon. Rai looks over the counter with genuine concern.
“Sorry, are you alright?”
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The man stands as quickly as he fell as if nothing happened.
“Hey, uh, ‘Rai’?” He rips a wad of paper towels from a nearby roll and lays them on the floor. “Are those contacts?”
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“What are contacts?”
Rai replies, looking confused on many counts.
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The man stops for a moment.
“I’ll be back soon; make yourself at home. Just don’t drink the coffee. It sucks.” He says before disappearing into a room behind the counter.
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Not knowing exactly what to do, Rai stands with his suitcases next to him, awkwardly fidgeting and looking around the room. After a few minutes, he glances at the warning sign and decides to make his way to the real coffee counter.
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On the coffee counter lies a somewhat large machine with many buttons and compartments. Rai takes a cup and begins opening them and pressing buttons at random to no avail.
Out of the corner of his eye, a hand accompanied by a young voice gently takes the cup from his hand.
“Excuse me, let me help you with that.”
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Rai looks to his side and sees a boy around his height and age with deep, emerald green eyes and blonde hair placing his cup in a compartment in front of the machine, pressing a small button above it, and handing him back the cup, now filled with coffee.
“Oh, um, thank you.”
Rai takes a sip from the cup, remembering all the times he had seen his mother and father drink it. Immediately his upper lip curls and he begins to cough.
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The boy laughs at the dramatic scene.
“It tastes a little better if you use cream and sugar, but I guess it wasn’t worth the trouble either way, huh?” He extends his hand for a handshake.
“My name is Bly; not B-Y-E but B-L-Y.”
He says with a smile.
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Rai freezes like a deer in headlights. Despite the fact that he’d practiced for situations like with Kahnyne over the years, he can’t help but turn into a puppeteered mess. After all, this is the first person he has met outside of his family and Kahnyne that he has interacted with in years.
Even so, taking a step outside of his comfort zone, but still feeling a bit hesitant, Rai returns his gesture and grasps for the best response that he can muster without coming off as aloof.
“That sounds kind of like my name; I’m Rai. Are you here for the exams?”
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“Yep, I was a bit surprised to see someone my age, especially since it’s so early in the morning, so I had to come over. Are you taking them as well?”
Bly’s gaze seems to pierce through Rai who for some reason can’t help, but keep talking.
Before Rai can answer, the man at the registration counter returns and calls out for him.
“Rai, to registration. Rai, to registration.”
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The two of them turn their heads.
“There’s my answer then. You must have been waiting a while, so I won’t hold you any longer. I’ll see you soon, Rai.”
Bly laughs and waves him off.
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“Mmhmm, see you soon.”
Rai waves as he walks away.
After a fair distance from Bly, he sighs in both relief that his encounter went well and social exhaustion.
At the counter, the man looks at Bly in the distance, then back at Rai.
“Hey, what do you think about just skipping the exams?”
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Rai looks slightly off-put by this question.
“Why would I do that?”
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The man smiles with the thought of this being beyond his pay-grade beneath it. “You’re right, Rai. You couldn’t be more right. Fill this out in the waiting room. The first round of exam orientations will begin soon. Good luck.”
He places a sheet of paper and pen on the counter.
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“Thank you.”
Rai nods his head and proceeds through the gate that opens up next to the counter.
Unsurprisingly, he is the only one currently present in the room. In his company are rows of chairs facing the front of the room where an empty podium is. Rai takes a seat in the room’s far edge, beginning to fill out his sheet.
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After filling out all of his personal details, he turns the sheet over, revealing a long list of names under the header, “Desired Division/Squad.”
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Rai focuses, reading through the tightly packed names and finally finds Xing’s near the bottom.
Soon after, Bly enters the room, scans for Rai and stands in front of the seat next to him.
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“Do you mind if I sit here?”
Bly asks with the same sincerity from earlier.
As much as Rai’s heart wants to say “no” to save himself from another awkward situation, for some reason he can’t decline the smile and gaze from the eyes piercing through him.
“No, not at all.”
Rai somewhat erratically moves his suitcases to the right of him, making space. “That was fast, did the guy leave the counter for you too?”
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“No, but he was cleaning up air freshener on the floor,” Bly says while shaking his head.
“So, whose division are you planning on joining if this all goes well?” He continues.
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“Xing’s squad, hopefully,”
Rai replies shortly, not knowing what else to add to his answer.
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“Ah, same here! Looks like we’ll be competing then.”
Before their conversation can continue, more examinees and a middle-aged woman carrying a microphone to the podium enter the room.
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“Alright, examinees, let’s begin. Because this group is relatively small, I won’t bother with this microphone.” She places the mic between a crease in the podium.
“I will be your main examiner over the course of this exam. You can call me Examiner Vi.”
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A projector powers on and displays an informational slide on the large white wall behind her.
“The exam will be spread throughout two days with the bulk of it taking place today. Please take a moment to memorize or write down the numbers next to your names, as these correspond to the rooms that you will be staying in for now and possibly during your time as an exorcist. But first!”
She claps, calling for a shift in the presentation’s mood.
“As customary for our diligent early risers, we have prepared breakfast. Please proceed through the door on my left. I will be staying behind momentarily to answer any other questions.”
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In the middle of a crowd of examinees, Rai and Bly enter the dining area. Right beyond the doors stand lines of servers with large tins of a variety of foods on the tables in front of them. Bly taps Rai, who is mesmerized by all the food despite the fact that he ate on the way there, momentarily taking him out of his trance.
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“Hey, I'm not super fond of meat, so I'm going to check out the oats on the far right. I'll find you once I'm done.” He says.
Rai rapidly nods his head and begins scanning the room for a place to start.
After moments of indecisiveness, Rai decides to start at the very front of the line, thinking that he'll just stop when his plate is full.
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The first server looks at him with surprise.
The third with fear.
The sixth avoids him altogether.
By the time Rai reaches his goal, the hit to his morale almost steals his appetite and sends him back into his bubble.
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He finds a table with only one side occupied and sits on the empty side of it. Nevertheless, the other examinees whisper amongst themselves and abandon their spots, leaving him behind.
“That’s fine. I’m not really here to make friends or anything. I kind of expected this,”
Rai thinks to himself.
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He begins eating his food ignoring his lost appetite, but it’s not long before another stab is made at him.
“You must be the Lilac kid taking the exam.”
A less than friendly voice says standing next to Rai's table.
Rai looks up and sees a group of examinees looking down at him. He ignores them and continues eating. The looks on their faces are just like those of the servers, but worse: pure, childish hatred. He’d rather just wait for them to get bored and leave him alone.
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“Ignoring us, huh? You're the last type of person to be taking the high ground” He leans in closer to Rai. “You must think you're special, but just know that there is no place for you here.”
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Rai doesn’t show it, but it cuts deep. Not because of what they said, but because he feels like everything except the last thing they said couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Special? Someone like me who can’t even use a coffee machine by myself? Was I always this pathetic, Kahnyne?”
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They all begin to laugh and sneer until they turn around to walk away. Bly stands in their way, glaring and furious. Yet, his expression changes into a sinister smile so wide that the window into his soul, those deep, emerald eyes, almost close shut.
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“Disgusting.” He approaches their crowd, sending them into a panicked sweat. “I never want to see your faces anywhere near us again. And you call yourselves nobles? You're peasants,” he whispers. The coldness in Bly's voice sends them quickly walking to another end of the dining area.
“Oh, by the way! You are the ones who have no place here!” He says while cupping a hand around his mouth to make sure everyone hears him.
Bly takes his seat next to Rai.
“What a difficult bunch. Are you alright?”
Bly asks.
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“I'm fine. I had heard already that I might be treated differently.” Rai takes a moment to think, digging up an old memory with Kahnyne as encouragement to truly show his gratitude.
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“If someone helps you when they seemingly have no reason to, either be very wary or very thankful.”
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“But, um, thank you, Bly,” Rai says sincerely with a slight bow in his seat.
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“Ah, no need to thank me! You’ll embarrass me like that. Instead, why don't you just tell me more about yourself? Starting with why you want to join Xing's squad.”
Bly gestures, pointing towards Rai.
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Suddenly, Rai feels like he can talk so much that he doesn't know where to start, but first answers the question at hand.
“There's someone I care about back at home. I want to join Xing's squad because I heard that if I want to reach the goal I'm imagining, that's where I should start. How about you?”
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“Hmm. Someone you care about, huh? You could say that it's kind of the same for me. I guess I want to prove myself.”
Bly looks up thoughtfully at the ceiling, revealing a small crack in the confident smile he‘s worn so far. “But the more I exist, the more I really don't really know about all this anymore, Rai. What I’m seeking is confirmation.”
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They take a couple bites of food in silence for a moment before breaking the silence with small talk that carries on until Examiner Vi steps into the middle of the dining area.
“Alright, I hope you all had your fill. Drop off any luggage you have at your designated rooms and fill in any information missing from your registration sheets. The exams will begin in 15 minutes!”
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