Prologue : Arcadia

-" I am... Late. "

[I'm really in a hurry. I will be joining this prestigious institute today. I haven't even had time to do my hair yet. I brushed my teeth, washed, dressed. Not that the state of my hair is important to me, but I would have liked to look presentable, at least today, because to tell the truth, I don't even care about small stuff like this. I didn't enroll in a normal school, though. Admittedly, one receives the academic teachings and diplomas of the standard school system, but there is a small difference concerning this institute. Of course, it's not only the fact that you can only enter it from the 9th grade of the standard system.]

It was almost ten o'clock. In this place there were a lot of people. It was a very large institution. And everyone was wearing a uniform according to gender. Everybody was all beautiful, all clean. Everyone had taken care to be as presentable as possible when entering the facility through that big entrance. With one exception. Among the thousand people in the perimeter, there was one rotten seed.

[It was me. The rotten seed. Everybody is on top today. I almost regret being here... I'd rather not be noticed.]

This boy was 1m71 tall and weighed 65Kg.

He didn't seem to know where to go and looked a little bored. He was constantly running his hand through his smooth green hair. He looked neglected. You could see him at one of the buttons on his uniform that had popped off.

There were so many people. He wasn't going to be noticed, and that made him feel a little better. He also didn't like crowds. It made him feel like he was locked in a box and he was a little claustrophobic.

The young boy had passed the main entrance and was heading towards the main building at the same time as the others.

-" Let's see...9th-C4. This is my class. What a pain in the ass. Not only did I miss the entrance ceremony, but I might be late. It's all my fault for waking up late. "

The name of his class was written on a small piece of paper that he kept in the pocket of his uniform pants. He easily forgot trivial things, so he had little memos here and there.

The green-haired boy entered the building. It was really big, and there were a lot of doors and corridors. On the first floor, he didn't really know which way to go.

So he let his instinct guide him. He went up to the second floor. He walked past a lot of students who were obviously looking for their classes as well. He sensed a haughty aura coming from them. It was as if the mere presence of these people showed disdain for his miserable existence.

But it didn't matter, his sixth sense had guided him to the entrance of his classroom.

-"Come on... "

The boy grabs the door handle and swallows. He hated the look in other people's eyes. If there was a way to get in without being seen, it would be a pleasure. But it was not possible.

Suddenly, someone pushed him as he was about to open the door. He let go of the handle and almost fell down. The most important thing was to find out what maniac had pushed him like that.

-" You're on the way to the next Empress! "Said the person in a hurry, haughtily.

-" … ? "

It was a girl. She had red -short- hair that looked like blood. Her eyes were scarlet. They were bright red. They looked like precious stones. She had a slightly dark skin, which made her rather peculiar. You could see in her teeth that her canines were slightly sharper than normal canines. This gave a certain bestiality to her smile.

Without apologizing, the girl entered the classroom.

-"The next Empress, huh? "

[The next Empress.... The State of Arcadia in which we live has long been ruled by the same person. The Empress. We don't know her name. We just call her that. She leads the whole country which have Eras, as capital. Moreover, it was she who founded this institute. I don't know all the details, but it seems to me that the Institute is a branch of a larger organization: the 『Aeon Genesis』. I don't know much about it. We'll see what I learn in class. Anyway...I'm here mostly because of my name, this curse. "Kira Leonhart".]

Kira Leonhart entered the classroom. There must have been in the 40 students in the room, including him. And by pure coincidence, there was only one seat left, all in front.

- "Why do I have to sit in the seat closest to the tab..."

Kira realized something before finishing his sentence. The person right behind him was this girl. The same one who pushed him just a minute ago. Kira was disgusted.

-" I'm going to... stick with that too? "

-" Please have a seat. The class is about to begin. "Recommend a stern voice.

It was the teacher's. When Kira came in, he didn't realize it. But there was someone in front. Kira nodded and went to sit on the last seat left. He exchanged glances with the redheaded girl.

Attention was riveted on the professor, who was a totally inexpressive man. He had a totally classic haircut. Classic glasses. A classic black jacket. Classic black shoes. He embodied the very concept of boredom and conformity. He wasn't tall. He was about 1.69m tall.

So he addressed himself to the students.

-"I am [Levi Newgate]. I am your Physics teacher as well. I hope we will get along well. "He said, without really thinking it.

It was really obvious that this guy didn't want to be there.

-"Before we start with our actual course, a little terminology is necessary, within the framework of this subject, of course. As you know, you are here for a reason. For some, it is to join special military legions such as the [ASF]. For others, it is probably for scientific research or to secure a future. You should know that our world is made of primordial factors such as Space, Time, Gravity and Heat. According to the research of this decade, it is possible for Man to store and emit a new form of energy in his body. It seems that this energy is related to activity on a quantum scale. Still, it is thanks to this energy that research on wave function and strings has evolved. It is called "Astra", in agreement with the [Union of Magi]. "

Everyone seemed really interested in what this guy was saying. There was no noise.

-"Astra is not like mechanical energy or electrical energy. It's a much more abstract thing, and we can't really draw any conclusions about it yet. The best we know is that they are close to electromagnetic waves. In the experiments conducted on them, an electrical potential has generally been recorded when an individual is stimulated to emit these waves. We call these waves precisely "EA-Waves" for "Electro-Astra Waves". It is also not possible to generate it artificially, at least in practice. Therefore, everyone emits them. Only, the rate of emission is variable. This is precisely why you are here. And it seems to me that...you know about the Selection, don't you? "

Everyone's faces -except for the redhead girl- tightened up. They suddenly became serious, very serious.

-"Even if you are registered here, your place is not guaranteed. Whether or not you can stay here will depend on how much EA Waves you emit. If the energy generated by your body due to EA Waves is below 10^-17 Joules, then you don't have to do anything here. You will probably wonder why the institute operates this way. It's simple. Both positive and negative cases are recorded in a large database: [The Bookstore]. "

-" What's the reason?" Asked the redhead, curious.

-" I don't know. If you really want to know why, the [Zero Dark] and the [High Levels] are better able to answer you. »

- "Ugh... "

Kira listened religiously to the explanation, without asking questions. He was simply thinking on his side.

[Yeah. There's that kind of unexplained stuff. Why do we have to register? I mean, why don't we do it before we register? I think it's ridiculous. Or... would they use the information from the failures? I don't really see what use it would be to them.]

-" For your information, your exam will take place tomorrow. On that note, let's get started. "

Except for the redheaded girl, everyone was stressed. Kira, on the other hand, seemed more bored than stressed. Her wish was that this exam would go by quickly.

As everyone opened their notebooks, someone jumped out of his seat and landed crouched on the teacher's desk. It was the scarlet girl. Although this oddball was on his table, Levi Newgate seemed totally indifferent.

Thus, the redhead addressed everyone:

-" Bow down before me. I, [Seisa Alucard], am...your future Empress! Kha-hahahahahaha!"

It was a total silence. No one said anything. Not even Professor Levi.

But suddenly everyone started laughing, except Professor Levi.

There were only comments suggesting that it was just a big joke. She said, "Cut the crap! ", "This is the best joke of the year! ", "You're funny! ", " Did you see what she did? This chick is crazy! ».

It was not the desired effect. All Seisa had managed to do was to look like a comedian. Levi was simply looking at her out of the corner of his eye, without emotion.

- "You can laugh..." Rumina Seisa, clenching her fist.

-"Go down already. "He says coldly to his pupil who was always upright on his table.

-"… "

Seisa went down and walked towards her seat, upset. She walked right by Kira and Kira said something that made her eyes go wide open.

-"Hang in there. You'll probably make it. "

Seisa responded instinctively, confident.

-"Of course I'm going to make it! "