THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: PUNISHMENT

Sagiri didn’t notice when his vision began to dim. At first it was only the words on the page drifting apart, slipping sideways. Then the desk seemed to tilt. He blinked, and blinked again, dragging his the line of sight back into focus. He had a lot to achieve in a short time however and so he couldn’t stop just yet, he needed to achieve what his classmates had achieved in more than three years in only nine months. If he wanted to make it into college he needed to work hard. Senraki had joked about eliminating him if he failed but he was not willing to take any chances or repeat another year. College held his gate way to finding out who he was and who his benefactor was. He also needed to understand the power inside of him and that required him to stand at the same footing with the others. The archive inside of him already put him a step ahead of all others. He did not have to work as hard as the others, just seeing things ones and they could be recorded in the archive inside of him which is the same as his memory. He wanted to be done with theoretical subjects so he could focus all his energy on combat training.

He couldn’t stop just yet. He refused to stop. He hated being in the dark and he wanted to know all the ’whys and what’s’ in his life as soon as possible. The archive inside him buzzed faintly, like a sealed door trembling with external impact, yet his exhaustion was suffocating it. When he pushed at it again, pain burst through his skull like a slap of lightning. He grit his teeth and swallowed down the pain. It was not the first time he had experienced the pushback. He could just ignore it and do what had to be done.

”One more page,” he whispered. The second year library was now full of students scribbling and drawing in their books, he however did not need to write. The words in the book however did not cooperate with him. They physically stayed still and refused to get absorbed by his eyes. Before he knew what was coming His head drooped forward. His hands loosened on the textbook making it crumple on the desk with a thud. A softness washed over him like a warm blanket dragging him under. His muscles did not even put up a fight, it was as if his body was controlling him and he was not in control at all. And then in the blink of an eye everything went black.

His body collapsed onto the open book, cheek pressing into the page, breath shallow. He didn’t hear the bell. He didn’t hear the students leaving for their next class. He didn’t hear the instructor who stepped into the doorway, saw him unconscious, and shook his head before walking away with a cold, dismissive sigh. He simply slept like the dead with no knowledge of where he was. The sleep was not gentle, it was as if he had shut down and surrendered to tiredness with nothing left to give.

The second year compressed unsupervised class came to an end and the third year theoretical class started but he remained passed out in the same posture. He missed the entire 10:00 to 12:00 compressed class at the third year pentagon secluded block. The second year library emptied and refilled twice before he stirred. Yet he still remained under until the entirety of four hours had passed from 8 to 12. When he finally came to his senses, it wasn’t like the normal feeling of waking up from sleep. He gasped as breath rushed into his lungs as if he had been partly dead. For a few moments he did not know who he was and where he was. A deep ache pulsed through his skull when sagiri lifted his head. He blinked, confused. His book was still open beneath him, stained slightly where his cheek had pressed into the ink. The sun reading instrument on the wall innovated from the central tribes decades ago showed him that it was already known. That and the continuous ringing of a gong. That had never happened to him before. He had never pushed his body so much so much that it switched off on him before. He had just learned something new about his body. When drained of energy, it would simply shut down, no matter his will.

Something else was weird however. He was hungry and when he passed out he was completely spent. Yet, he felt charged. Not fully restored, but noticeably different. As though sleep had fed him. As if rest itself was energy.

”What just happened?” He whispered to himself uncertainly and slightly alarmed. His body felt warm, subtly activated, like coals that had regained a faint glow. Had the Archive done this while he slept? His mistake of pushing himself on an empty stomach had made him learn two things simultaneously. Back home he had never gone hungry or tired himself so much he passed out. He didn’t have time to question it further because the last slot of second year students were leaving the library, their forest green sashes tied to the back of their waist flying behind them.

Their voices drifted away as they headed to their dining wing. He could have preferred to eat at their wing but the rules were strict on entering another class restricted area without supervision or permission. His body was a little charged yet he had a bit of distance to walk from the second year wing through to the fourth year wing. He was hating his curriculum more and more already, he wished he could already get done with it but he knew it was going to take a while.

The dining hall was at full capacity when he stepped through its doors. The line was already thinning out, he slipped silently to the back of the line. He was the last one to make it to the line. The plain looking food being served had never looked so good and he salivated. Hundreds of boys were already eating like wolves, muscles twitching, jaws working with servings as large as mountains. When it was his turn he lifted his gloved hand to signal three fingers and the server looked at him with a knowing smile before he filled his plate with a small mountain. Even at three servings his mountain of food was till less than a half of most the others mountains. His hunger had multiplied in just a day and he didn’t know how much it could increase in a month or two. Sagiri slipped to the corner at the back alone, unnoticed before devouring his food. He barely tasted it as he basically inhaled it down his throat.

One serving vanished. Then a second. Shockingly, he was nowhere near full and he immediately started to dig into his third serving. Slowly this time. he was halfway when hall suddenly went silent and all eyes snapped to the front. Boots sounded hitting the floor with intensity before the instructor, the morning meditation instructor, walked in. his solid gold sash, a harsh contrast to his midnight black combat uniform and black overcoat. His presence was heavy enough to have everyone pose in what he was doing.

It seemed every time he showed up was to punish. He was a commander instructor and he was the discipline division leader. His charcoal grey deep eyes were narrowed into slits with his broad hands tightly behind his back as he came to a stop in the middle of the room.

Many students never referred to him by his name as discipline commander, Torena Mataka. They called him instructor ’Doom.’ He only showed up when he wanted to punish or dish out punishment. Everyone held their breath hoping they were not the one to be at the other end of his whip of discipline which never bent and was always merciless.

”Attention,” Torena’s voice boomed. ” Recruit Sagiri Stand up!” Every head turned. There could only be one recruit in the hall after all. It was a glaring fact since he was the only one wearing his home clothes and a sash laid on his neck since he did not yet have the uniform. The ash gray sash was the same as what the first year student wore, for three months they are just called recruits before they receive their deep brown sash. The only difference was that in two weeks they could change to the deep brown sash so they could stop being just recruits and officially become the first years of Galka War Academy. The rest of the fourth year students wore the crimson red sash making him stand out like a sore thumb.

Every sash held a special meaning and symbol. The recruits’ ash gray sash meant that the new entries were still unshaped, untested and like stones in the mad. The colour is a symbol that you may have entered but you were still unrefined. The first year deep brown sash meant that ’you are now grounded and are starting to understand the foundation of discipline.’ Just like soil, the deep brown is to show the roots of growth. The second year student’s forest green sash means ’you have grown and expanded your skills and awareness level just like a forest’ it signifies a student’s instincts have started working and they are no longer just children. The third year students midnight blue sash means, ’you are calm under pressure and have deeper understanding of strategy.’ it signifies the night, instead of seeing black the warrior has sharpened their senses so they can see as good as day. The crimson red fourth year student sash means ’to have a mastery of combat fundamentals and leadership’ red is the colour of battle courage and responsibility, the colour of blood to show that you will protect even at the cost of shading your blood.

Sagiri froze, tray halfway lifted. he stood to his feet quickly and turned to face instructor Torena. This man had taken an hour of sleep away from him even though they had only four. He was just ten minutes late to meditation yet he had been punished for that. How severely was he going to be punished for missing a whole lesson?

”You will lose an additional one hour of sleep for your absence from the 10–12 compressed classes for two more days.” Sagiri had expected to be given the silent punishment that instructor Naga had mentioned but he seemed to have gone quite easy on him. That is all Instructor Doom said before he turned around and left. He truly was a discipline enforcer. Sagiri sat down and continued to eat. It could have been worse.

Whispers rippled across the tables like a gust of wind.

”Again?”

”That’s the second punishment today...”

”He must be insane or cursed... missing a whole class?”

”He won’t last the week!”

Sagiri felt every pair of eyes on him. Some mocking, Some curious and some worryingly hostile, obviously wondering why he could choose the most brutal school if he couldn’t handle it. That was far from the truth however but he did not care to defend himself. That could be even more insulting to them, to know that he was forced to be in a position they worked so hard to achieve. They were speaking in Korun tongue too and he was still pretending not to speak it. They had obviously been told he couldn’t speak Korun and so whatever they said they thought he wont hear. others however spoke in Tagayia national language so he could hear them. He finished eating quickly and snapped his Oru-shells back on.

He made sure to keep his eyes down. Not because he was scared but it had become a habit for him to keep his eyes hidden. Students still lingered even when they were done eating and some just stared at him boldly. Everyone knew his name now ’the punished new aged recruit,’ the sixteen-year-old anomaly who joined nine months before the final exams. The boy who had missed two classes already and earned two punishments before midday.

Sagiri stood slowly to his feet when he was done eating at the far corner of the dining hall. The place was still buzzing with muted chatter. Heads turned. He kept his eyes down and moved toward the exit. But he did not make it far before he was forced to his knees with a pained groan.