Supervisor 1:
“Team 117… noticeable improvement in coordination and control under pressure.”
Supervisor 2 (pointing at Levan):
“That boy… no Tendency, no weapon… yet he completed the task.”
Supervisor 3:
“Fast learner. His body movement, dodge angles, strike timing… unnatural for a trainee.”
Supervisor 2 (gazing at the screen):
“They say the former Commander of the Orders—twenty years ago—began training unarmed as well.”
Supervisor 1:
“And what became of him?”
Supervisor 3:
“He vanished into the Abyss… and no body was ever found.”
In a shaded courtyard, trainees gather, eating quietly.
Rumo stretches with a sigh:
“Feels like I fought time itself.”
Ena checks a bruise on her arm without a word.
Levan sits silently, staring at the wall in front of him… as if reading something unwritten.
Another student approaches:
“Team 117… starting today, no one will see you as the odd ones anymore.”
Rumo half-smiles:
“Or maybe… even more mysterious than before.”
[External scene – Beyond the state wall]
In a shadowed mountainous region, where no light from the state reaches,
Commander of the Tenth Order stands still, his gaze lost in the void.
Beside him stands a tall man, white hair blowing in the wind, a dark band covering his eyes.
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Varos Zayn – Commander of the Sixth Order
● First to surpass the 50th floor and return alive.
● Creator of the artificial Abyss system for elite training without real exposure.
Darioval (Commander of the Tenth):
“We haven’t stood on this cliff in years, Varos…”
Varos (calmly):
“You haven’t changed much… though you seem to lose more faith in everything, day by day.”
[25 years ago – A training ground in the state – shaded stone corridor]
Young Darioval (brash):
“You know, Varos? I don’t just want to descend the Abyss…
I want to find its heart… and destroy it.”
Young Varos (colder, calm):
“Destroy what you don’t understand? Or just can't bear its mystery?”
Darioval:
“And the King… a man unworthy of his word. We live under his shadow… why?”
Suddenly, firm footsteps echo.
A third young man enters—tall, commanding, with icy eyes.
The future Commander of the Orders.
He approaches, smacks Darioval lightly on the head with an open palm:
“How many times have I told you not to question the King aloud?
Not because you’re wrong… but because you’re not ready for the consequences.”
Darioval (angrily):
“I’m not afraid of him.”
Future Commander (quietly):
“You don’t need to be afraid… you need to understand timing.”
Darioval (gazing into the Abyss):
“Do you think any from the new generation can surpass what we failed to?”
Varos:
“Perhaps… or perhaps we’ll drag them back before they go too far.
But this time… no lies.”
Silence between them.
The wind stirs around their feet.
[ Inside a Sixth Order office]
A staff member seals a black folder labeled:
“Levan – Special Note: Monitor Without Intervention.”
The folder is locked inside a metal case secured with three latches.
The bell rings—end of break.
Ena rises first.
Rumo yawns and stands.
Levan closes his lunchbox and walks off, not acknowledging anyone.
Rumo (softly):
“Sometimes I forget he only just joined us…”
Ena:
“That’s what unsettles them more than it comforts them.”
Outside, near the great southern gate, caravans and supply teams mobilize under watchful eyes.
Three Orders prepare for an expedition.
In front of the First Order’s Headquarters, its Commander stands beside his Vice, watching troops load weapons.
Vice Commander:
“Sir, we’ve prepped all reserve forces… but why now? We’ve never prepared like this before.”
Commander of the First:
“We don’t know what the Commander of the Tenth is planning.
Ever since the Commander of the Orders vanished twenty years ago… he hasn’t seen us as allies… but as enemies.
That man is dangerous. He breached the Abyss up to the seventieth floor… searching for the missing Commander.”
Vice (hesitantly):
“But we’ve done dozens of missions before without such measures.”
Commander of the First:
“Strange behavior has been reported lately… and we don’t know who’s behind it.
It’s better to be prepared… Darioval doesn’t move without purpose.”
A strong wind blows.
The gate creaks open slowly…
The sound of iron announces the beginning of something unlike anything before.
End of Chapter 16.