God’s Cube

Days blend into a maze of new faces, hard routines, and endless training immediately after Thesi's arrival in the Mediterranean Academy. The sprawling campus of the Academy buzzed with sounds from dawn to dusk, with Thesi caught in the maelstrom of it all.

Every morning, the early morning wake-up call, the sonorous clang of the ringing bell through stone halls, would summon the students to their various classes. The air was cool and damp, different from the sweltering warmth that would flood the island by midday. Thesi soon learned there was no time to dilly-dally in bed since at the Academy, everything was regimented and every second counted.

“Up, up!" 

Augusto's voice came from the other side of the shared dormitory. Thesi groaned, pulling the pillow over his head.

"Seriously?" 

“Light or no light, we're expected on the training fields in fifteen minutes. You don't want to be late, trust me." 

Augusto replied with a grin, already dressed in his training gear. He practically bounced on his feet with energy, eager for the day's physical exercises.

"Let him sleep, perhaps if he misses training, they will kick him out and we will not have to listen to him complain anymore."

Amina called, her tone even sarcastic ever so sarcastic. Thesi shot a glare in her direction but dragged himself out of bed regardless. He wasn't about to test the Academy's patience on the third day. The headmaster's voice was still ringing in his ears.

The Academy was a challenge in more ways than one.

By the time Thesi, Augusto, Amina and Vasko reached the training grounds, the sun was well up over the island, long golden shadows stretching across stone walls and internal courtyards. The training fields were enormous, extending well beyond the walls of the fortress and being bordered on one side by cliffs and on the other by dense forest. 

Classes were divided between practical and theoretical courses. The Academy itself was called as such because it wasn’t a true representation of a traditional university, instead striving more for a military academy style. Theoretical and Practical classes were still rebalanced depending on your enhancement, as rather than preparing you for another attempt at the Cube, the main objective was to hone your new found skills. Classes pertaining to the supernatural also existed for the curious, with the 3 Yellow’s that joined the Academy this year having a few special classes of their own. Morning physical class was mandatory for all from the first year though.

In this class, Augusto flourished. Throwing himself headfirst into the training with an attitude bordering on recklessness, hand-to-hand combat or agility drills, little mattered to him because he would accept it all with a grin.

"You're a machine." 

Thesi muttered, watching as Augusto as he prepared for a fight against another enhanced red, not a hint of sweat on his face, regardless of the morning of training they had already endured.

The guy up against him was a burly student with a scar across his cheek. He swung at Augusto's midsection, but the latter sidestepped the blow as easily as if he were dodging a lazy fly, and he twisted his body in a way that looked less like fighting and more like dancing. His first and only attack was enough to placate his adversary, making him fall to the ground.

The match was over in the blink of an eye and his opponent sat staring at his hands.

"If only the theoretical classes were as easy.”

After morning physical training was finished, the students would split up depending on their personal schedules. As the morning training was the only mandatory physical activity for the day, Thesi by choosing all non physical electives could avoid having to go out again. He didn’t hate physical training, on the other hand. But year’s at his highschool taught him that it was comp-licated to fully hide his physical enhancement. 

His first class was an interesting elective, it touched on the power’s of the enhanced Yellow’s. No two powers were similar so it provided for an interesting direction to understand the least understood of all the Cubes. His burning sensation to attempt it still ran deep, but he wouldn’t be alone in this class. Unsurprisingly, Vasko was present, but also Amina which came as a mild surprise to Thesi, leaving Augusto the only one out of this class from their group. There was also Eira whom he met yesterday and the other 2 yellow’s of his year were present. 

It was still hard to grasp that only 3 Yellow’s were present in his intake year. Over a hundred students had enrolled with Thesi, so it gave a frightening proportion of the odds of those that went for yellow. 

"Didn't think you'd be interested in Yellow Cube studies."

Thesi said as the three sat next to each other in the auditorium. Amina shrugged lightly, crossing her arms. 

"I'm not planning on taking the Yellow Cube, but I am curious about it, so I figured this would be the best place to get some answers, the Academy I mean. Not too passionate about the physical classes anyways."

Thesi didn't press, though for a moment his mind did toy with the idea she might actually be considering this as her second Cube if she wished to attempt one. Amina wasn't one to do things on a whim. 

Before he could delve any deeper into his thoughts, the door of the classroom opened revealing the instructor for their class. She was tall and lean, her green eyes piercing through every being present in the room. Silver veins flowed through her exposed arms marking her as a Yellow.

Yet his eyes rested on a different figure in the crowd. Traces of silver veins outlined her arms and neck, her face shining with her icy presence. Eira, the girl that presented herself to him on his first day, one of the three Yellows of the academy. He hadn’t realized the teacher had already begun talking.

Vasko turned to Thesi, noting his distraction, and elbowed him.

 "You alright?"

Thesi cleared his throat and made himself focus. 

"Yeah, fine."

Thesi returned his focus to the instructor. 

"This class is focused on the study and understanding of Yellow powers. They are the least understood, but our hopes are to direct you in the correct direction and discuss conclusions you may also draw. Each power is different, shaped by the individual's trial. And no two Yellow Cube survivors are alike in ability. Some develop abilities that alter the physical world. Others develop powers that break the laws of nature itself.” 

The class went on with a brief rundown of the world’s most famous Yellow’s, but the main focus was on the three classmates. Thesi finally learned all of the first year’s Yellow’s names. There was obviously Eira, but the other two were Samir and Imani. He also now properly understood the scene he saw on his arrival. Eira’s enhancement granted her the ability to alter the timespace for an inanimate object under her control, which explained her games with the rock. 

The rest of the day was filled with other similar introductory classes and ended with the mandatory classical theories class which comprised a mix of common university subjects such as sciences, politics and literature. Alternating every day, Thesi even let go of a soft chuckle , his first in a while, at the sight of Augusto’s struggles with this particular class.