The Silver Ring (PJO)

Chapter 32

"So, what's going on in your mind?" Renda asked, stabbing at a piece of steak with her fork.

Four hours ago, I had been led to an outside training arena where my test took place. I didn't have to take out two soldiers. Instead, there were at least a hundred, and they quickly increased in skill. It took a solid two hours to defeat them, and at the end I felt like collapsing.

I was then assigned to Squad 15—which was not surprisingly the fifteenth best. There were five people, including the leader, Rema, meaning I was the sixth, filling the group to full. (I hadn't learned the others' names, since when I saw my bed, I immediately used it.) 

After I woke up, there was a neatly folded uniform on my bed. The shirt and pants were the same color as the Chaos soldiers wore, although there was an insignia of two swords stamped on the front of the shirt, which I deduced was the extremely unoriginal logo of Void. I quickly put it on, making sure to keep my armor on below it.

We then went to the mess hall for dinner, where one had to sit with their group. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that we got to eat five-star food. The only thing missing was the blue, but I wasn't going to get labeled as weird on my first day.

"What?" I asked, snapping out of my brain. "Oh. Nothing."

I had spent a lot of time thinking about how to act less suspiciously and more earnest to be evil. I crossed out being eternally annoyed, mad, or silent and brooding. I was tempted to go with passive-aggressive, but I eventually decided to stay with my regular personality. Renda had been very friendly. If I didn't know she was working for Void, I could've mistaken her boss as Chaos.

"It takes all your brainpower to think of nothing?" she asked rhetorically. "Come on. I'm supposed to take care of you physically and mentally. You look paranoid out of your mind."

"Why is everybody staring at me?" I asked. I had caught hundreds of soldiers glance at me, then quickly look away as though they didn't want to get caught. 

"You aced your test," said the brunette next to me, who I distinctly remembered as Miranda. "Of course they're going to be staring at you."

Renda pointed to the center of the room, where five people were silently eating. There were three women and two men, all having the same aura of power as Omega, which was as much as a primordial. "See those people?" she asked. "Those are the Generals. They are in charge of the full army, and are very, very powerful, answering to Lady Void herself." She said the last part of the sentence with respect, as though seeing Void was an accomplishment in itself.

"What's that got to do with anything?" I asked.

"You could be there," Renda simply said.

I set down my cup of water in shock. "They're as strong as primordials!" I exclaimed in a whisper. "There is no way!"

"You remember the last four people you fought?" Miranda asked.

I nodded; they all had almost overpowered me, having the skill of Rosaline. "I wish I didn't. I'm still sore."

"Well, those were four Generals," Renda said. "The only person you didn't face was Eon, who is almost as powerful as Lady Void. But she would still probably have to use a significant chunk of her power to defeat you, seeing your skill with the sword."

"Okay, I'll humor you for a second," I said. "If I'm supposed to be there, why aren't I there?"

Renda pressed her lips together, obviously not having an answer, which was technically an answer in itself.

"Oh," I said. "They don't trust me."

"It's nothing personal," Renda said. "The Generals know everything that's happening . . ."