Marked by Gaia

I checked the time as I hurried toward the Ministry of Defense, where eighteen trainees, including myself, were undergoing intensive military and survival training.

According to the latest reports, this year recorded one of the highest awakening rates in over a decade.

No one really knows what triggers an awakening—and here in the Sanctum, it doesn't matter. Shaper or not, every role is considered vital to our survival.

Still, I've never heard of a high-ranking official's child working in Cultivation or Reconstruction—departments where the heavy lifting happens.

They always ended up in administrative posts of one kind or another.

Placements were supposed to be based strictly on competence and aptitude.

Even thinking about that kind of fairness was laughable.

I was certain that if I hadn't awakened, I'd have been somewhere wasting away in the outer zones like Tam despite scoring high on the Civil Positioning Tests.

.

.

A checkpoint.

That was new.

After showing the required identification, I was let into the training wing of the complex.

What was going on?

I spotted members of the Black Squad—and even a few sensory Shapers among them—sweeping the area. Scanning. Searching.

Making sure nothing escaped their radar.

Why were they here?

I made my way to the specially reinforced training arena, where we usually reported for briefings and instructions on our daily schedule.

"Halt," a voice barked, and I snapped to attention.

Part of me hesitated, but three weeks of intense drills had burned a surprising level of discipline into me.

"Your name and service number."

A towering figure stood in front of me, clad in full combat gear. His face was hidden behind a black tactical mask. A stun stick hung at his side, and he held a device—probably containing a list of all personnel authorized to enter.

"Junior Cadet Kaelen Cairo, Sir.

Service Number SG15-49."

He glanced at the screen, then at me, before signaling to someone inside. The door slid open.

I stepped in and made my way toward the others.

.

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"Form up."

We stood in a line facing Aiv, our instructor.

A lean, muscled man who stood over most of us. Dark hair, blue eyes, deep skin.

His lineage traced back to the Afro peoples of the Common Era.

He might not look the part at first glance, but Aiv was a powerhouse. His ability had something to do with the density of his bones, at least that's what the rumors said.

"And since you're all here, I'll start with this," he said, his voice crisp.

"We're expecting a very important guest in our midst today."

He gave us a long look. "Look sharp, and try your best not to embarrass yourselves."

We all nodded, though the confusion on our faces lingered.

As if on cue, the door opened and a group of officers walked in, escorted by men in black suits.

Among the new arrivals, one man immediately captured my attention.

He was ornately dressed in ceremonial military fashion.

A deep blue button-down vest hugged his frame, cuffs on his wrists gleaming with subtle metallic detail.

A cane in one hand, topped with a perfectly rounded silver-polished head.

Black fitted trousers ran clean and sharp, each leg lined with a crisp white stripe.

His shoes were made from a material I'd never seen before, but I knew what it had to be.

Leather.

The real kind.

Almost impossible to come by now.

.

.

I took a good look at his face and could see there was something cold and detached about the way he looked at us. At everything around him.

Like none of it was worth his attention.

There was an effortless air of indifference that clung to him like a second skin.

The way he moved... it was as if he expected the ground to catch up to his feet when he walked, and that was perfectly normal.

Since becoming a Shaper, I'd gotten used to the weight of respect; I didn't demand it, but I got it nonetheless, or at least fear. But this man... he didn't see me. Not really.

He knew we were there, but we didn't matter.

To him, we were only occupying space.

He didn't regard us as anything.

Even worse, I could tell he wasn't a Shaper.

And I didn't understand how I knew that either.

I just felt it.

He looked at us like we were his property.

And he'd come to inspect it.

.

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"I am Runav Yansley."

His tone left no room for doubt.

"The Sanctum's Minister of Defense."