---
**Here he goes again, talking about his unattainable dream.**
—*Whispers from the other young trainees.*
The more I met people like them, the more I saw the truth behind their smiles.
They were all pretending.
Fake laughs, fake kindness—masks hiding disgust.
Because deep down, they knew.
I'm different.
And they hated me for it.
---
### \*\*\*\*\*\*
---
**Cafeteria.**
I walked toward an empty table, tray in hand, hoping for a quiet meal.
But then—*shove.*
I crashed to the floor, food spilling across the tiles.
"What's your problem, Carl?" I snapped, glaring up at the smug bastard.
Carl—the golden boy. Son of a powerful company owner. Spoiled. Entitled. Surrounded by his pack of followers.
He smirked. "Watch where you're going, loser. What good are your eyes if you can't even see what's right in front of you?"
Another voice joined in, sharper, nastier.
"Just stay down, Nyx. Even with your abilities, you're useless in a real fight. You're just a coward who hides."
I clenched my fists.
"Oh, I'm overstepping my boundaries, huh?"
I stood up—and threw a punch.
It barely scratched his face.
But that was all they needed.
They swarmed me. Kicks, fists, boots stomping down.
I fought back——but it didn't matter. I was outnumbered. Outmatched.
Pain blurred my vision.
Then—*crash.*
A cup shattered against the floor.
And through the blur, I saw him.
A kid.
---
*****
---
There was a kid.
The cafeteria fell into a sudden hush. I saw it—the fear in their eyes—as they realized what they'd done. An accident. A tray bumped. A cup spilled. Juice drenched the kid's uniform… and his books.
Someone whispered, almost like a prayer.
**"They're dead."**
Another added, **"Many have faced him... it's just bad luck they hit the wrong guy."**
The kid looked down at his soaked book, lifting it with two fingers.
"Jeez," he muttered, his tone dry. "That was one of my favorites."
He didn't even sound angry. That's what made it worse.
Everyone else—except Carl—was already trembling. Scrambling to clean up the mess.
"S-sorry, Sean," one of them stammered.
"Move your hands," the kid said flatly. They obeyed instantly.
**Sean.**
I'd heard the name before. The son of a legendary one-man army. But from what I knew, he wasn't like his parents.
They said he wasn't good at anything.
A loner.
Awkward.
Terrible at making connections.
But right now\... everyone was terrified of him.
"Sean, it wasn't our intention," one of the boys mumbled. "Let's just forget this happened—please."
Sean ignored the apology. He lifted the ruined book, pages still dripping.
"Maybe you should pay for the book," he said calmly, gaze locked on Carl.
Carl scoffed. "Sure. It's just a cheap book anyway."
Sean tilted his head. "Half the value of your father's company?"
The smirk on Carl's face twitched. "Are you making fun of me?"
"If you can't pay," Sean replied, stepping forward, voice ice cold, "then there's something else you can do."
Carl blinked.
"Eat the book," Sean said. "Page by page. Make sure I never see it again."
"You little—" Carl's voice cracked. "My dad could get you expelled from this institution if he wanted to!"
Sean didn't even flinch. "Go ahead. Kids like you think your daddy's company makes you untouchable. But it's just a crumb in the system. So don't act like you're something special."
He leaned in.
**"Being a spoiled brat doesn't make you powerful. It just makes you pathetic."**
I stared, wide-eyed, bruised and battered on the ground.
*That kid...*
He didn't yell. He didn't threaten.
But the entire room felt colder just standing near him.
**Who the hell was Sean Gains?**
---
*****
---
That was the first time I *found* him.
He was alone, sitting outside the cafeteria, his uniform still damp with juice. The ruined book rested beside him.
"Are you okay?" I asked, offering him a cold bottle of juice.
He looked up, expression unreadable.
"I don't remember ordering any juice," he said flatly. "And do I know you?"
I forced a smile. "I'm the guy from earlier."
I pointed at my bruised lip.
**"The punching bag. Your carnell."**
"…Carnell?" Nyx echoed, confused.
"I'm Nyx," I corrected, "Nyx Spring."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're the guy in the lowest rank?"
"…Lowest what?"
"I'm Sean Gaines," he said, as if it explained everything. "Top of the board. Highest-ranking cadet. You can find my name at the very top of the rankings."
There was a long pause.
Then I blinked, slowly.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." I pointed at him like he'd just revealed some kind of war crime. "Are you saying… you think the *bottom* name on the board is the top rank?"
"Well, yeah." He looked at me like *I* was the idiot. "It's at the top when you scroll down."
I stared at him.
"…Sean."
"Yeah?"
"That's the *lowest* rank. The one at the bottom of the list is dead last."
He squinted. "That doesn't make any sense."
I felt a headache coming on. "Because it's not supposed to make sense. That's just how ranking systems work."
He paused, brows furrowed, then slowly looked down at the bottle in his hand.
"…So I'm not top rank?"
"No, you're literally the worst-performing cadet."
Sean blinked.
A long silence.
Then he calmly opened the juice, took a sip, and said:
"…System's broken."
---
*****
---
"I see you're really into that space art," Sean said, eyeing the sketches sprawled across the desk.
Nyx didn't look up. "What's it to you?"
Sean shrugged. "Just curious. What's your goal in becoming a space warrior?"
Nyx hesitated, eyes narrowing. "Why should I tell you? You'll just mock me, like everyone else."
"Do I look like I fit in with them?" Sean asked, gesturing vaguely toward the hallway where the other cadets had gone.
Nyx fell silent. "Forget it. Doesn't matter if you answer or not."
After a long pause, he finally spoke again. "I want to explore space…"
Sean leaned forward. "Like what?"
Nyx's voice dropped a little. "I want to discover some different civilization that no humans descovered yet, and to be known In a bigger name."
Sean tilted his head. "So that's why they give you a hard time?"
Nyx glanced at him sideways. "Is that why you're asking?"
Sean didn't flinch. "Your goal isn't as impossible as it sounds."
Nyx frowned slightly, unsure what to make of that.
Sean looked up at the ceiling. "How long do you think it'd take to find someone else out there in space?"
"What?" Nyx asked, caught off guard.
"Nothing. Forget I asked," Sean muttered quickly.
Then he turned back to Nyx and said, "Look, they make fun of you because they don't understand what drives you. Just keep going until you get there."
Nyx blinked, stunned by the sincerity.
He was the first person who'd ever said that to him.
---