8 Future

A few hours after the meeting, back at the Research Institute. Inside a room somewhere in the Institute, there lay a boy sleeping on the bed inside.

Soon, the door opened with a bang.

'Bam!'

Hearing this loud sound, the boy woke up immediately and turned towards the sound with an alert expression, but the moment he set his eyes on the person who entered, he relaxed instantly.

"Ah, Devendra, it's only you, why'd you bang the door open? And why are you huffing so much?" Alaukik asked Devendra, who was huffing so hard it looked like he might collapse.

"It's….it's news about you... give me a minute…."

While Devendra was speaking, Alaukik quickly got up and brought him some water to drink.

"Thank you. Huhh, that felt good. Now, to the important part. There is news about you. The RC has decided… decided your future…" said Devendra, with his voice getting lower as he said the last few words.

"Oo, so they decided my future huh? That's good to hea- wait what?! They decided my future? But I'm just a child? I'm only 6 years old! How can they decide my future like that? Like... don't I have rights? I thought every human had the right to choose right? I'm so confused right now... what do you mean exactly by they decided my future? Like, my job or something?"

"I don't know.... I was just told to bring you and inform you of this..."

"Well.... we can't really do anything right now can we... let's just go and see what's going to happen."

But even though he said that, Alaukik was the most terrified person in the room. At the beginning, when he had just woken up, he didn't realize anything immediately. When he was told that this was the Mahouka world, he was initially excited, but over these few days, he realized one thing. He doesn't belong here, he has no one in this world, and while this world might be a huge improvement over his previous world, like, way way better, he does not fit in here. And so, his memories of his past on Earth have slowly become something precious to him, something he has begun to hold very, very dear to his heart. 

When Alaukik and Devendra entered the meeting room inside the Institute, they were greeted with quite a few faces. Asha, and also the three Supervisors of the Institute.

"Take a seat, Alaukik," said Asha.

"I'm sure you must be nervous, but no need to worry. I promise you that no harm shall come to you," Asha tried to reassure Alaukik.

Hearing this, Alaukik looked at Asha and

"I trust you, Ms.Asha,"

he said with a relieved smile on his face. While in his mind, he was screaming

'What do you mean I don't need to worry? Are you kidding me? How do I know whether you can protect me? All I know about you is that you believe that magicians should not be weapons, but how do I know whether the RC also believes that?! However, I'll believe the fact that you won't allow me to be harmed, or at least, I believe you won't kill me directly. And I guess that's all I can believe at this point..'

"The decision… the decision that was passed was that you are to undergo training to gain perfect control of your powers, and then to serve 20 years in the military, after which you are free," replied Asha, trying to keep a straight face.

Hearing this, Alaukik remained silent.

'20 years…. That's more than I've lived! There must be a way to reduce the time…'

And as if answering his wishes, Asha continued

"However, you can reduce this time if you are able to do something meritorious for the Federation."

Hearing this, Alaukik went

'They capture me, and then offer to set me free if I help them? Damn it! Whoever made this decision is gonna pay badly! Mark my words!'

And so Alaukik decided that he would work hard and make sure that by the time the military service time rolled around, he would easily be able to contribute and be released earlier.

From now, he began what would be the most torturous days of his life.