Chapter 177: Graduation Ceremony (1)

Each row of seats was a metre in width, spanning a height of a metre over which seats were placed, with the subsequent rows further elevated by a metre. They were designed as a step formation, coursing along the edges of the rectangular ground, spanning a length of 1000 metres and a breadth of 400 metres.

The yellow wall sported a height of 100 metres, its top surface turned into the step formation over which seats had been arranged. It spanned a thickness of four metres, with three metres allocated to the three rows, a metre per each. The remaining one metre was a footpath, situated behind the third row, allowing passage for the students to tread towards their seats or descent through the evenly situated flight of stairs to the ground.

There was no border on both the ends at the top of the wall, as if there existed zero safety procedures. This allowed the passerby to gaze at the bottom, instilling a sense of fright in them due to the altitude and the steepness displayed.

But, the older students who had witnessed at least one Graduation Ceremony were unflustered, uncaring about the lack of a border. All they did was avoid treading along the edge and peek at the ground below.

"It is safe," Jyorta heaved a sigh of relief, opening his eyes as he gazed at Haesha.

Haesha too opened her eyes and nodded in response. "The psychic energy density is astronomical."

A psychic energy barrier was situated at both the ends, preventing any student from mistakenly going beyond. It was transparent and allowed everyone to gaze beyond.

"It should be from Madam Mila. Only a Sky Controller can be this…overbearing." Jyorta watched the students arrive like a stream, soon filling up all seats. There was a cacophony of noises, the sounds produced from the variety of chatter, they filled the atmosphere, enlivening the surroundings.

Jyorta gazed to the front, focusing on the end of the floor before him, spanning just 20 centimetres from the tip of his shoes. Beyond that was nothing, completely shrouded by thick fog. The fog was a hazy mixture, looking similar to clouds, gently moving around.

But, no matter what he tried, Jyorta couldn't gaze beneath the fog. He craned his line of sight to a horizontal level, looking at the sea of clouds. Spotted behind them was another thin yellow line, segmented into three, forming a step structure. It was the seating arrangement on the other side.

Jyorta looked at his left, spotting a similar seating at the far end of his line of sight, completely blurry, unable to be made out due to the distance. Based on his estimate, the seating arrangement at the distance of 500 metres was blurry due to the time and the colour of the ambience.

5:20 AM, Jyorta looked to his right, spotting the same seating arrangement like on his left. He could make out faint black dots lining up into three rows, one behind the other, concluding that all seats had been filled. Probably the entirety of the students in the military had assembled at the top of the walls.

He felt the slight sensation of a slip in his bottom, the surface that made contact with the seat he sat upon. It was then he judged that the floor was inclined towards the front, even though the angle of inclination was less than five degrees.

'It is probably to ensure that we can witness the events better, due to our line of sights now able to get a clearer picture while avoiding obstruction from the floor, people, etc. So, the event will happen within these walls.'

5:45 AM, the crowd was bustling with energy, conversing about the innumerous sights they had witnessed in the previous Graduation Ceremonies. Jyorta and Haesha conversed, compiling their theories based on everything they heard from the surroundings.

"Look up!" A student on the third stood up and bellowed, his shout covering quite the range. Upon reception, other students mimicked his actions, soon spreading the information through the seats like a tidal wave.

Jyorta lifted his head, unconsciously gaping at the floating structure he witnessed. It was a pair of hands, gigantic to the extent he couldn't calculate its size. Due to the incident rays from the morning sun, the shadow the pair of hands cast covered the entirety of the military academy.

…

Beyond the military academy, walking along a wide street in Sector 1 was an old man, hunchbacked due to his age. His gait was slow, many times stopping in thought. Following behind him was a stream of people, men, and women, aged between 20 and 50.

They looked no different from regular people, their auras wholly retracted into them. But, based on the confidence exuding from their gait, they were far from the regular populace.

The sun shone with a gentle radiance; the colour blue seeped into the environment, thanks to the incident rays. The ambience in the surroundings steadily increased as the blue colour faded.

A giant shadow fell on them, causing them to involuntarily gaze up, seeking to find the source that cast the shadow. Their eyes eventually fell on the pair of hands; sounds of exclaim went off one after another, seeing the sheer volume of the created object.

"So, it is that day of the month again," The hunchbacked old man muttered; his voice trailed around, allowing everyone to hear him, "You must have all experienced something similar while in your academy days?"

"No sir," A man walking behind his right shook his head, "During my Graduation Ceremony, our Batch descended through a circular stage. Of all the 12 Graduation Ceremonies I witnessed in my time there, the case was the same. It was always a circular platform."

"I see," The hunchbacked old man nodded, turning around a little to gaze at the faces of everyone present, "Are there anyone who witnessed otherwise?"

"Yes," A voice trailed out from the very back. The crowd parted way as a woman walked forward, looking aged around 23 years old. She stopped 10 metres from the hunchbacked old man, saluting once before speaking, "On 20th April 328, I witnessed the same pair of hands."

"Who was the most exceptional individual from that Batch?" The hunchbacked old man smiled, gazing at the lady who had stepped forward.

The lady replied readily, the scene she had witnessed that day still vivid in her mind, "It was Ravis Macht."

The hunchbacked old man nodded, gazing at the pair of hands descending from the sky, its pace slow but its momentum overbearing. He smiled once, his eyes widening in hope, "Another pillar will be produced."

"Pillar…" The lady's expression morphed into one of shock, losing her composure. Before she could misunderstand, the hunchbacked old man waved his hand, immediately causing her to salute in response.

"Only the Ancestors are called the pillars, that is an irrefutable fact," The hunchbacked old man watched the descent of the yellow pair of hands, "But, each action of the Ancestors are closely monitored and kept in check by the other Ancestors. That is why, Tier 5 beings are the key players most of the time. The pillar in this case refers to…"

"Transformers and Sky Controllers standing head and shoulders above other Tier 5 beings, inferior only to the Ancestors. Only when a candidate with such potential appears will the military academy use the pair of Hands in their Graduation Ceremony. It is a show of hope for the future."

…

The pair of hands, yellow in colour descended, reflecting the incident sunlight everywhere, making it seem as if the structure glowed gold. It stopped a hundred metres atop the seated students, arriving at the centre of the rectangular region, allowing everyone to witness its magnificence.

Seeing the floating structure, Jyorta felt a sense of longing, wondering when he would be able to replicate such a feat. He wasn't the only individual to possess such thoughts. Every Esper present looked at the pair of hands as if tranced, unwilling to break their gazes.

'Sky Controller!' Jyorta realised the reason as to why Tier 5 Espers were addressed as such. Their presence dominated the skies, like overlords in the region they were present. Every action of Sky Controllers could shake the lands and modify the skies.

A small change erupted in the pair of hands, creating wild gales. As the rough winds approached the seated students, they were blocked by the psychic energy barrier shielding them. The pair of hands flattened themselves, allowing everyone to spot tiny figures standing on its surface.

A voice resounded, belonging to Madam Mila, "20th December 333, the Graduation Ceremony of the November Batch, having joined the military academy on 1st January 333 will now commence."

The surroundings were still, the silence eerie. Only after a while did Jyorta realise the cause being the psychic energy dispersed throughout the region, suppressing all manner of noise. The pair of hands transformed into a circular disk, turning many times smaller than before.

Standing above it were students, with many bordering along the edges, held in place by a psychic energy barrier. The circular platform slowly descended, seeping in through the layer of clouds. All the students watched with bated breaths, feeling the tension in the air.

The layer of cloud still existed, soon covering the gap formed by the circular platform that passed through, not allowing anyone the window to gaze beneath.

Faint winds were stirred up as a humongous head formed, shaped similar to Madam Mila. It looked at least 40 metres in size, allowing everyone seated to have a clearer look. The head was yellow in colour; its lower jaw moved, causing a grating voice to flow out, immediately mellowed out through the psychic energy that dispersed it through the surroundings.

"The November Batch consists of 891 Cadets, split between 696 Warriors and 195 Espers. There are 41 Cadets who have broken through to Tier 2, split between 29 Warriors and 12 Espers. Now, we will officially commence the Graduation Ceremony."