The morning of the 30^th of October, a day before their descent into Anvil. The pressure that Ryn seemingly hadn’t been feeling came in titanic waves, almost drowning him.

‘I should’ve done more… I should’ve done more…’

Ryn had done all he could, but the thought that his peers had been practicing for much longer than him seemed to only lessen his confidence, his fear almost completely consuming him. He’d implemented what little he could from watching Dahlia of the Eternal Sword against her mother, though it only resulted in a few gimmicks he was able to perform. The true understanding of a blade was beyond him – as if a veil were hiding it from him.

Trudging along to Teacher Ginya’s final lesson, Ryn came to the realization he wasn’t alone in his fear, a sea of despondent faces passed by him, each mulling over what they could and should have done more of. If anything, a subtle amount of weight was lifted off of Ryn’s shoulders, a sense of solidarity in the suffering they all shared entering his conscience.

The automatic door opened once more for Ryn, revealing the classroom he’d grown so accustomed to over the course of the last month. The month had flown by, the seconds merging into hours, into days, into weeks. Teacher Ginya was sat at his desk, a flask presumably containing some sort of caffeinated drink by his side. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Ryn swiftly walked towards his seat and sat in it, preparing to learn as much as he could from Teacher Ginya’s final lesson for him. Much to Ryn’s surprise however, rather than start the lesson as he usually did, Teacher Ginya remained silent, his usual content smile was still on his face, but a silence which seemed to contain a thousand different subtle meanings ensued.

If one listened close enough perhaps they’d hear the slight ruffle of Ryn when his legs would brush against the inside of his trousers. They’d hear Teacher Ginya’s fingers pressing against the holographic display, his fingers lingering on each click for a split second longer than usual.

A white screen appeared on the display where Teacher Ginya usually displayed his presentations for the relevant lesson. Ryn’s eyes immediately shifted towards the image Teacher Ginya had projected… a certificate of sorts.

[THIS QUALIFICATION IS HEREBY AWARDED TO

                                    RYN SYLZAR

                    ‘WILDERNESS SURVIVAL 101’

                 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION]

Ryn flickered his gaze between Teacher Ginya and the screen, the realization that he’d actually completed the course dawning on him. Sure he’d done a lot but from how Teacher Ginya had made it seem he’d figured he still had a chunk left to learn… One month. In just one month he’d learnt everything he’d needed to.

Turning his head towards Ryn, Teacher Ginya’s warm smile was aimed directly at him, a smile Ryn had gotten so used to after seeing the withered man every day.

“Ryn, my boy… I can confidently say you deserve this award. You’ve learnt at a speed I myself found terrifyingly fast and I have full confidence in you, confidence that no matter where life takes you… You will succeed.”

Slowly approaching Ryn, Teacher Ginya handed Ryn a physical copy of his certificate, signed in Teacher Ginya’s name as proof of having been officially awarded it. Ryn gently took it from his hands, placing it on his desk in front of him. It was just a piece of paper, paper that had been part of a tree once, a tree which sprouted from a sapling. The beauty of paper was such that, a tree which stands far more powerful than any normal man could become something so delicate. Humanity had a knack for overcoming seemingly insurmountable things, trees which towered over them becoming the paper they’d dispose of.

Ryn wasn’t quite sure where his mind was going with its little poetic journey. One could make a philosophy after staring at anything for long enough after all. Perhaps his fear and anxiety of tomorrow also impacted his minds ability to remain calm. Though, Ryn didn’t particularly mind his brain creating these random thoughts.

“Teacher Ginya I…”

Gently patting Ryn’s shoulder, Teacher Ginya gestured Ryn to stand up, having prepared something in mind for their final lesson together.

“Come with me my boy, let us take a walk for a while.”

Watching Teacher Ginya slowly head towards the exit of the classroom, Ryn left his desk and took his place by his teacher’s side, the soft and gentle steps of Teacher Ginya producing little to no sound against the cold steel floor.

As they walked, Teacher Ginya slowly began reminiscing on his time as a youth, from times he was scolded for poking at beehives, trying to climb things he shouldn’t, getting lost just for the thrill of being lost. To Ryn it just seemed as if Teacher Ginya wanted someone to be nostalgic with. As his student, the least Ryn could do was show his teacher some courtesy and indulge him for a while.

“…so yes I suppose as a youth I had many a foolish dream, though what I have turned out to be I am also content with. Though that brings me onto the main topic I’d like to discuss. Ryn, in the short time I have known you, I’ve come to love you like a son to me. Watching you go from a clueless youth to, a more knowledgeable clueless youth really brings a tear to my eye. But, despite all our interactions, there is one thing I never learnt about you. What is your dream? For what reason do you wish to survive Anvil?”

The conversation immediately became a more intimate exchange. Ryn hadn’t ever given such a question thought, up till now he was solely practicing and learning so he could survive in Anvil. Survive and return home.

“…I suppose… I suppose it’d be to return home. To my parents.”

Teacher Ginya’s eyes slightly wrinkled as his lips curled ever so slightly more than they already were.

“Home….A noble cause. Beautiful and meaningful yes. But… what after it? You survive Anvil and return home to your loving parents… then what?”

Ryn opened his mouth to answer but no voice was emitted from his throat. That was a question Ryn had… had yet to put any thought into. Thinking back to a month ago before he’d joined the Centre. Before he’d even fully awakened his Sword Heart. Before manifesting Lunar Whisper. To the time when he was sat in that train station for the God knows how many time, wanting to end it all. At that moment he had no hope in anything, he hadn’t manifested his Sword nor had he any of the knowledge he now had. Just what was it that stopped him? What made him turn away from the tracks and walk home, returning and deciding he’d finally leave for the Centre.

Though Teacher Ginya didn’t know the details, he could see the internal conflict within Ryn’s onyx eyes, cogs spinning in the young boy’s head.

“It is okay to not have a dream Ryn. Humans are fascinating beings in that manner. We want a million and one things yet when asked what we dream of many of us are at a loss for words…My boy, having a dream immediately is not necessary. What you do need is… purpose. That purpose can be anything. Another person, a pet, an object. Whatever it is you believe you exist for, embrace it. Now… only you can find the answer to that. Find it and you will never lose. My boy you have what it takes, after all… no student of mine would lose to something as pathetic as Anvil.”

They’d returned back to the classroom, having done a small lap of the building containing the classrooms.

‘My purpose… What do I want from life? No that’s not quite right, it’s more what I want to be in life.’

Ryn lulled over the question as Teacher Ginya lightly patted his shoulder.

“I’ll dismiss you early today Ryn, I expect to see you again, I know you won’t die… so return, return as Fledgling Ryn.”

Quickly fetching his certificate from his desk Ryn turned towards Teacher Ginya, his eyes slightly teary,

“Thank you for everything teacher, I won’t ever forget a single one of your lessons. I swear I will return.”

Sending him off with a content smile, the automatic door closed between him and Teacher Ginya, perhaps his final time seeing the cheery old man.

Having almost an hour to kill, Ryn headed towards his room, wanting to polish up his sword ‘skills’ if you could even class it as that.

‘My purpose huh… Why do I exist? What role am I meant to play?’

Walking briskly towards the dormitories on the other side of the Centre, Ryn passed by the silver pyramid, mentally still questioning what his purpose was, distracting him from taking a look at the engravings. Had he paid closer attention however, Ryn would have noticed a new engraving on its shiny surface. The image of two boys and a girl… a Sun, a Moon and a Branch.