Later that day, the ships finally set sail. Arthur and Aziel stood at the porthole in their cabin, watching as the coastline slowly receded into the distance. The massive engines of the warship thrumd beneath their feet, a constant, rhythmic vibration that seed to pulse through the very bones of the vessel.
The ocean stretched endlessly before them, its surface catching and reflecting the dying light of the day like scattered diamonds. Seabirds wheeled and cried overhead, following the ships for a ti before eventually turning back toward the safety of land. Arthur found himself srized by the sight—he had never seen so much water in his entire life, and the sheer vastness of it was both beautiful and slightly overwhelming.
As darkness began to fall and the first stars appeared in the clear night sky, exhaustion from the long day finally caught up with both of them. They settled into their narrow bunks, the gentle rocking motion of the ship and the steady hum of the engines creating an oddly soothing lullaby that carried them into sleep.
The next morning arrived with the soft gray light of dawn filtering through their small porthole. Arthur was the first to wake. The constant motion that had seed so noticeable the night before had already beco a natural part of the background, and he found himself surprised at how quickly he had adapted to the seafaring life.
Aziel stirred shortly after, stretching and yawning as he sat up in his bunk. "Morning already?" he mumbled, running his hands through his disheveled hair.
They didn’t necessarily have any responsibilities while aboard the ship, as it was fully equipped with a professional crew from the governnt who handled all aspects of navigation, maintenance, and operation. This left the volunteers free to focus on their own preparation and training for the mission ahead.
After getting dressed and making themselves presentable, they made their way through the ship’s corridors toward the ss hall. The vessel was like a floating city, with passages that seed to stretch on forever and dozens of levels connected by staircases and elevators. Other volunteers were moving through the corridors as well, all heading in the sa general direction toward the promise of breakfast.
The ss hall itself was an impressive sight—a cavernous space filled with long tables and benches, capable of seating hundreds of people at once. The ceiling was high and well-lit, and the walls were lined with serving stations where crew mbers were busy preparing and distributing food to the hungry volunteers.
Arthur and Aziel joined the line and soon found themselves with trays loaded with what seed like a feast: perfectly scrambled eggs that were fluffy and seasoned just right, crispy strips of bacon that still sizzled slightly on the plate, and thick slices of golden toast spread with real butter. There was also fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee that actually tasted like it had been made with care rather than hastily thrown together.
They found an empty spot at one of the long tables and sat down to enjoy their al. The first bite was a revelation—after months of surviving on whatever cheap food they could afford, this simple breakfast felt like dining at the finest restaurant.
"Dude, this breakfast rocks!" Aziel said, practically shoveling food into his mouth with obvious enthusiasm. His eyes were wide with delight as he savored each bite, clearly not wanting to waste a single morsel of the unexpected bounty.
"Yeah, for sure!" Arthur kept his response short so he could get back to eating faster, not wanting to lose any ti that could be spent enjoying the al.
As you could imagine, with an eighteen and seventeen-year-old living together on their own, they didn’t exactly have a lot of good als. Their usual diet consisted mainly of eating out at cheap fast-food places and surviving on snacks and whatever processed food they got from the convenience store. So sothing as simple and wholeso as an egg, bacon, and toast al like this had beco an absolute delicacy in their recent experience.
"This boat is fricken huge, dude!" Arthur said between bites, gesturing vaguely toward the vast space around them.
Arthur swallowed his food before responding to Aziel’s observation. "Yeah, I’ve never been on a boat before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it’s seriously unbelievable!" The sheer size and complexity of the vessel continued to amaze him—it was like being inside a floating skyscraper, complete with multiple levels, countless rooms, and enough space to house what felt like a small town’s worth of people.
Aziel tilted his head, looking genuinely surprised. "Seriously? Never?"
Arthur took another bite, chewing thoughtfully before answering. "Yeah, my family wasn’t too well off, so we never did much traveling. Actually, this will be my first ti going to another district."
Aziel chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You went to an entirely different realm before a different district?"
Arthur laughed at the absurdity of it when laid out like that. "Yeah, I guess so."
Aziel’s expression grew more somber as he sighed. "And to think your first vacation to a different district is going to be to a war-torn land of death..."
Arthur’s mood imdiately shifted, and he started glaring at Aziel with obvious displeasure. "This isn’t a vacation, Aziel."
Aziel sighed and began playing with his food using his fork, pushing the remaining eggs around on his plate without really eating them. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
After finishing their surprisingly excellent breakfast, they decided to explore more of the ship and found themselves entering what was labeled as the training area. The space that greeted them was absolutely massive—a gymnasium that could have easily housed several basketball courts, equipped with an impressive assortnt of exercise equipnt, wooden practice weapons, and multiple elevated sparring platforms.
The room was currently packed to capacity, a hotspot for all the inspired chosen who were still riding high on the energy from Jullard’s rousing speech the day before. Volunteers were scattered throughout the space, so lifting weights, others practicing with various weapons, and quite a few engaged in sparring matches on the raised platforms.
Aziel looked around the training area like a kid who had just walked into the world’s greatest candy shop, his eyes practically glowing with excitent. "Dude, this place is sick!!" he exclaid, his voice filled with genuine enthusiasm as he took in all the possibilities for training and improvent.
Arthur scratched the back of his head, giggling at his friend’s obvious excitent. "Yeah... but it’s a bit packed." The crowded conditions were sowhat intimidating, with so many skilled chosen working out and training around them.
Aziel laughed and slapped Arthur on the arm with playful force. "I love an audience!" His confidence was infectious, and Arthur found himself shaking his head while laughing at his friend’s bold attitude.
They began their training routine as they always did. First ca stretching, working through each muscle group thodically to ensure they were properly ward up and flexible. Then strength and conditioning exercises, pushing their bodies to maintain and improve their physical capabilities. This was followed by cardiovascular training to build endurance, and finally weapon drills to keep their combat skills sharp.
The training session was intense and thorough, leaving both of them sweating and breathing heavily by the ti they finished. Arthur was wiping sweat from his forehead when he noticed Aziel eyeing him with a rather peculiar look, an expression that imdiately made him suspicious.
"...What?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend’s strange behavior.
Aziel began to grin, that familiar mischievous expression spreading across his face before he nudged his head toward one of the currently empty sparring platforms. "Wanna spar?"
Arthur took a long sip from the water bottle he had brought from the cafeteria, the cool liquid providing welco relief after their intense workout. He giggled and thought for a mont, considering the challenge that had been laid before him. The idea was tempting.
"Sure..." he said finally, his voice carrying a note of confident determination, "but don’t get mad when I win this ti."
Aziel pushed out a sarcastic chuckle, clearly not intimidated by his friend’s bold declaration. "Sure, put your money where your mouth is and get over here." He was already heading eagerly toward one of the open sparring platforms, his movents quick and excited.
Arthur wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand before following his friend, a look of serious determination settling over his features.
’I’m gonna beat him this ti,’ Arthur thought to himself, his jaw set with resolve as he stepped onto the platform.
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