Kaito stepped into a circular room lit up with a pale blue light. There were numerous large windows along the entire wall with a breathtaking view of a rust-colored planet with a huge ring circling it and countless small light green seas. Nara and Finn stood side-by-side in front of one of the windows, quietly staring at it.
As the door hissed open and shut behind him, Finn turned and his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Kaito! You're finally here!"
Kaito smirked, scanning him head-to-toe, noticing a new green scarf wrapped around his neck, a new black jacket with green lining, and multiple kunai strapped to his belt. His curiosity was instantly piqued.
"Long time no see, pretty boy. I like the new look you got going there. You kinda look like a Kaeline junior honestly. Was the new fit a reward for your special training?" He said with a teasing yet playful undertone.
Finn's eyes lit up eagerly, but wasn't able to speak as Nara abruptly stepped between them, forcibly taking Kaito's attention.
"Took you long enough!" She said impatiently, placing her hands on her hips.
"The whole station is waiting for us. We're the last examinees to arrive."
"Right, sorry about that." Kaito chuckled sheepishly as he reached to press the nearby elevator button.
The room trembled slightly before rising steadily upward toward the station above.
As the elevator ascended, the trio gazed silently out at the approaching planet and its orbiting moon. Every single one of them were filled with a range of emotions at the unknown challenges ahead.
Suddenly, a strange yet familiar sensation came over Kaito's senses momentarily. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, goosebumps ran across his entire body, and all the blood in his body ran cold. Even still… it's almost as if he was being drawn to it—like his body wanted to move on its own through the massive windows.
"What… What is that?" He began to question in his head.
He scanned the entire planet, from small islands inside the sporadically scattered green oceans and lakes to rusty land covering the majority of the world.
"It's just like back then, the night I met Finn and the crew at the cosmic well."
But just as the sensation came, it vanished. As it did, he continued to stare at the planet below with a look of unease and curiosity. The elevator reached the station and the doors hissed open to reveal a petite green-skinned woman standing just outside. Her large eyes blinked warmly as she stepped forward, folding her hands politely.
"Welcome to the licensing station. I am Ari'Va of the zelurian race, from the planet Zelos in the Kheris star system."
She handed each of them a high-tech wristband that glowed as each of them grabbed one and strapped them around their wrists.
"The Kheris star system? One of our crewmates is from the same system as you. Short, orange-skinned, loud, has a cool cybernetic arm—" Nara asked.
The moment Ari'Va heard the description, particularly the mention of a cybernetic arm, her warm demeanor dropped immediately to one of restrained anger.
"Your crewmate… wouldn't happen to be named Jinx, would she? A B-ranked zarakian star traveler with a fondness for… explosives?"
Completely oblivious to the subtle anger radiating from the little green lady, Nara enthusiastically nodded.
"Yeah, exactly! We're heading to her homeworld after getting our licenses. Starfall City."
Ari'Va's voice lowered, almost inaudible.
"You don't say..."
Before Nara could question further, the large double doors hissed open. Inside was a vast room bustling with over a hundred examinees. There were alien races of all kinds—massive, hulking figures, slender agile beings, others seemingly composed entirely of energy, and many more.
Nara's eyes widened in excitement and her wings began to subtly vibrate as she rapidly scanned the room, analyzing each potential opponent.
Beside her, Kaito's gaze locked onto a small group of familiar-looking purple aliens—three Thalorians. A girl who seemed to be around the same age as him, a boy who appeared to be one or two years younger, and another timid looking boy, roughly Finn's age. His heart skipped a bit and a sudden excitement filled his chest as he lifted a hand to greet them with a friendly smile. However, when they saw him, they looked away in immediate disgust, turning to talk to one another.
The warmth drained instantly from his face as he quickly averted his eyes to look elsewhere. Other examinees began to notice his presence and whispers began to arise throughout the crowd around him.
Meanwhile, Finn nervously scanned the crowd. His attention momentarily halted on a figure lurking at the far end of the room. He wasn't able to make out many features about him, but what he did see really piqued his curiosity.
"Was that… an elf?"
Suddenly, the entire hall went quiet as a massive holo-screen appeared above them. A shoulder high projection of the exam organizer hovered above them as she looked down with her four eyes, seemingly analyzing each and every single one of them.
"Welcome, ascendants. My name is Astra, a former space ranger, currently overseeing licensing stations across the Viridion Galaxy."
Kaito's interest piqued instantly at the mention of the rangers, recalling Elysia and Kaeline's previous conversations. Before he could lose himself in thought, an alien examinee with tentacles and glowing eyes spoke out.
"Ascendants? What exactly does that mean?"
Astra's lips curled into a contemplative smile.
"An Ascendant is more than merely one who travels the stars. They are those who transcend their limitations, physically, mentally, and spiritually, surpass their origins, and reach for something greater. Yet what it truly means to ascend… well, that, my dear examinees, is something each of you must discover yourselves."
The crowd of examinees began to murmur confusedly at the riddle she threw at them. That was until Nara's frustrated voice spoke over everyone.
"Hey, lady! Enough with the riddles already! When do we get to start kicking ass?"
Kaito side eyed her and chuckled.
"Yeah, she's definitely been hanging around Jinx a lot, that's for sure."
Astra chuckled softly, each of her four eyes filled with an amused intrigue.
"Eager, aren't we? Well then, let's not delay."
At that instant, a violent jolt shook the entire hall, nearly knocking some of the examinees off balance. Panic rippled briefly through the crowd.
"What's going on?" A panicked examinee shouted out.
Kaito had a bad feeling immediately and his eyes darted across the room to meet Finn's equally wary gaze. Both took cautious steps toward one another.
On the projection above, Astra's expression twisted into an almost mischievous grin. Next to her projection was a small screen.
Altitude: 24,140 Meters
"Apologies, Ascendants. It seems our class is slightly over capacity. Unfortunately, we'll have to… drop some off."
Without warning, the floor beneath them collapsed, replacing the metal floor with open sky and roaring winds. Every single examinee plummeted towards the planet below.
There was no warning whatsoever.
The exams had officially begun.