Destiny: Chosen For Battle

I stared at him, gazing into his beautiful, cat-like eyes. He didn't seem surprised to see me and walked past me as if I didn't exist. Rachel helped me up, but I was still staring at his retreating figure in shock, wondering why he acted as if he didn't know me.

"Well, that was rude," Rachel said with a frown, looking at the hall he had just passed through.

"But cute, though... And why are you staring at him, Destiny?" she asked curiously.

"I know him... kinda," I replied with a frown of my own.

"Oh..." was all Rachel said before we continued on our walk to the cafeteria.

When we pushed open the red cafeteria door, I saw a lot of teens. If I'm not mistaken, there were around a hundred of them.

"When is the training?" I asked Rachel as we looked around for a free table.

"Every morning at 7:00 a.m.," she mumbled while running her hand through her blonde locks.

We spotted one, and Rachel told me to sit there while she got our food. I ate quietly, thinking about tomorrow's training. The thoughts of failing and making a fool of myself flooded my head, but I cleared them out. I was doing this for Mom, to avenge my mother's death.

A young man walked into the big cafeteria, and everyone stood up.

"We are happy, young master, to see you in our midst," everyone said at once, while I was still seated, confused about what was happening.

"Uhm, what just happened, and who is that?" I asked Rachel once she sat down.

"Oh, that's the young master... I don't really know his name, but he will be the one training us," she told me with a piece of bread in her mouth.

Once we were done, we went back to our room since it was already late. Rachel was already fast asleep, but I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk.

I tiptoed out of the room and walked down the big hall as I passed different rooms, admiring the beautiful structure and paintings of the Academy.

I might just love it here, I thought to myself.

When I was done roaming the silent hall, I tried to find my way back to my room when I heard a young girl scream. I looked to the left and saw a dark room.

I must have heard the sound coming from there, I mumbled to myself.

Curiosity got the best of me. Taking a deep breath, I moved slowly towards the room, my heart beating so hard in my chest I could hear it.

When I got to the door, I opened it slowly, and what I saw scared the hell out of me. A big, ugly demon was sucking the brain out of a girl who looked about 17 years old. Her blood was all over the place, and she was wailing in pain as the beast shoved its fingers through her chest, removing her heart from her body.

I was too shocked to move, thinking that if I made a step, it might hear my movement. I couldn't breathe. I started cursing myself, thinking that if only I knew how to fight, I could have done something—but I didn't want to die.

Suddenly, I felt a hand tap my back, and my body instantly froze.

I closed my eyes in fear that the demon might have shifted to my back, and thoughts rushed into my head. What if it was the demon? Was I going to die? Would I never see my dad again? Maybe if I stayed this way, it would go away.

When I finally mustered a little bit of courage, I turned my head slightly and saw him... my angel.

"Don't go inside," he said in his deep, angelic voice.

"That room is not protected with the powder," he added, glaring at the demon still in front of us.

"What about the girl? She's gonna die," I whispered with a shaky breath.

"She's already dead. Let's leave this place before the demon notices our presence," he said, holding my hand.

We left, but I couldn't get the scene out of my head... the blood and all.

I thought this place was protected by magic! How did it get in?!

"Not all the rooms here are protected with the magic powder," he said, as if he just read my thoughts. I nodded, still feeling scared, and faced him.

"Do you know how these demons came or how they exist?" I asked curiously.

"They are servants of the Devil," he answered with a sad smile.

"Don't you know that?" he added, looking surprised.

"I don't know. Dad never told me," I replied with a sigh.

"So what will we do?" I asked.

"Who? You mean Master. He warned everyone not to go inside those rooms," he replied.

"Your name," I finally asked him after all this while.

"Lex," he replied.

I whispered his name, and it quite fit him. "I'm Destiny," I told him with a slight grin.

"I'll walk you to your room because I can feel the way your hand is shaking," Lex said, looking down at our joined hands.

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement.

We walked beside each other, and I kind of felt good about it.

"You really like getting lost, huh?" he said with a chuckle.

"Not really," I smiled.

"Where are you from?" I asked him.

"Nowhere," he replied curtly with a frown.

"Did I say anything wrong?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"No, Destiny. Just don't ask me where I'm from ever again," he said, sounding serious.

After that, we said nothing until we got to my room.

"Good night," I said, and he nodded and left, leaving me wondering what I did wrong.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm and groaned, pulling a pillow over my head.

"Come on, get up," Rachel said with a laugh as she yanked the pillow away.

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes and looked at the figure looming over me.

"Wow, you're all dressed up," I said with a sleepy smile.

"Aren't you going for training? Get up right now!" Rachel demanded.

Reluctantly, I went to the bathroom to shower, which didn't take long.

"I saw a demon yesterday," I said as I stepped back into the room, drying my hair.

"You're kidding, right?" Rachel chuckled, thinking I was joking.

"It killed a girl. I saw everything," I replied seriously.

Her expression changed, and she frowned. "She might have gone to the dark room. No one's allowed there unless they've got a death wish," Rachel said grimly.

"I felt so bad for the poor girl. Maybe she was new," she added with a sigh.

We left the room and headed to the training hall. When we arrived, everyone was already prepared, holding swords.

I noticed three people carrying out the corpse of the girl I'd seen last night. No one seemed surprised or disturbed by it, so I tried to leave it alone. I approached the master, and he handed me a sword.

"Listen, everyone!" he began, his voice commanding attention. "You will be paired with someone to fight. The sword you're holding will give you strength and power. I have the list of pairs here."

"Rachel and Max," the master called, and they both stepped forward.

"Wilson and Anna."

Then came the next pair.

"Destiny and Lex."

My head snapped up so quickly I nearly gave myself whiplash. Hearing his name sent a wave of emotions through me—both excitement and dread.

Rachel went ahead to fight first. She fought fiercely, putting in all her strength, but Max was stronger and managed to overpower her. She lost.

Then it was my turn.

Lex stepped into the arena, his expression unreadable. As usual, he didn't spare me a glance.

We faced each other, and the fight began.

Lex closed his eyes, and I watched in awe as flames began to pour from his sword. When he opened them again, they glowed a fiery red, filled with intensity and power.

I just stood there like an idiot, unsure of what I was supposed to do. My hands trembled as I gripped the sword.

And then, right before my eyes, Lex transformed.

His body shifted and expanded, fire swirling around him as scales formed along his skin. In a matter of seconds, he stood before me as a massive, deadly dragon.