Unsong Bird

"Jackal, right? Please, take a seat."

In front of him, Mitsu and the rough-looking sergeant sat on the other side of the table. Jackal gave them a quick glance before sitting down, but he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling creeping up his spine. Around him, four soldiers stood with swords at their waists—quite the intimidating sight.

The sergeant continued, "Jackal from Central Academy. We've done a background check, and we were going to ask if you'd like to send a message to a loved one or family member. But all we found was your older sister—fifth year at Central Academy. Would you like to contact her?"

Jackal's mouth twitched slightly. "No, that won't be needed," he replied, his voice void of emotion.

"Alright before i start questioning, i would like to inform you we will know if you are lying so please refrain from giving inacrruate answers"

"Of course" Jackal said promptly, But it was clear Mitsu didnt trust him one bit already.

In an instant, the questions began.

"Have you ever attempted a Cursed Pact?"

Without much thought, Jackal replied swiftly, "No, I'm a mere former Academy student."

The sergeant looked over at Mitsu, as if searching for confirmation. She nodded, and he turned back to Jackal.

"You have a Blessing but failed to awaken it?"

"Yes, that is correct."

Satisfied, the sergeant was about to stamp Jackal's papers, confirming his enrollment into the army. But just before the stamp came down, Mitsu whispered something in his ear.

The sergeant paused, turned back around, and asked one last question.

"Jackal, this might seem like an unrelated question, but—are you human?"

The air in the tent stiffened. It was clear that Mitsu was wary of Jackal. Her ability had picked up on something back in the car was it that lie? Was she trying to confirm her own ability worked? Or was it an error?

Jackal smiled faintly. "I'm human."

The sergeant glanced at Mitsu. She looked a bit lost.

"He is speaking the truth," she remarked, but there was a questioning look in her eyes.

Jackal could feel it—something was off. He didn't know much about how Manipuras worked since his had never awakened, but one thing was certain back in the car, when Mitsu's ability claimed he was lying, it wasn't a mistake. She must have wanted to confirm something with that last question. But what?

Shaking the thought off for now, he stood up and walked out of the tent. A soldier was waiting for him outside and promptly escorted him to another section of the military base.

As they moved through the compound, Jackal took in the sheer scale of it. It was far larger than he had imagined—dozens of tents and buildings stretched out in every direction. The air was crisp, and the faint layer of snow beneath their boots crunched softly with each step.

Finally, they arrived at a section arranged in a circular formation of seven medium-sized tents. In the center burned a massive campfire, surrounded by soldiers sitting in clusters. The atmosphere was tense but somewhat communal. Jackal estimated that the space could easily accommodate up to 500 soldiers—just within this small area.

The first to notice them approaching was a male with a blindfold over his eyes, giving off a commanding yet pleasant presence.

"Tsubasa, Captain of Squad 96, you have a last-minute inclusion to your squad," the soldier with Jackal spoke.

The blindfolded soldier turned toward the voice and responded, his tone calm but firm."New recruits? One day before we sail—why the sudden change?"

The rest of the soldiers in the small camp had also begun taking notice of the commotion.

"It's orders from the sergeant. We had some last-minute enrollments from Academy ticks."

Jackal observed that the exchange didn't seem out of the ordinary, as if this had happened before. Maybe new recruits from academies were a common occurrence around these parts.

Tsubasa gestured for Jackal to sit down with them at the campfire. He walked over, nearing the other soldiers, but something made him feel stiff. His body resisted—just like back at the academy. He stopped mid-step, not fully understanding why. A few seconds later, it all made sense.

"Awh, you stopped?" a voice murmured beside him in a sad tone.

Jackal didn't even know why he had stopped. It was the same feeling he had when he chose to enroll in the army back at the academy.

A calm yet firm voice cut through the awkward moment."Stop messing with the new recruit," Tsubasa muttered.

And then, Jackal finally saw it—strings, stretched right in front of him. They looked sharp.

"Were they trying to kill me before I even got to the real battlefield?" he thought bitterly.

A girl in a distinct, baggy uniform finally became visible next to Jackal. She stretched her fingers, and seemingly out of thin air, the strings disbanded as she closed her hands.

"Alright, let me give you the rundown of our squad," she said, as if the previous attempt on his life had never happened.

"This is Tsubasa, our Squad Captain. I'm our Serpent—that means I'm our squad's cursed pact holder. Over there, all alone, is Tetsu he's our Scout. And the big guy over there is Nevire—he's our Brawler."

"Uh... what about the rest?" he muttered, a bit stunned by how nonchalant she was.

"Oh, our squad is 96. We're a full Human Squad, so the rest are just average soldiers in terms of the army—no special abilities."

She's a Cursed Pact user? That would mean she's a successful one. She doesn't even look that old... and the squad doesn't seem that large either. Judging by the tents, maybe 100 at most.

Cutting Jackal out of his thoughts, Tsubasa, the captain, spoke:

"We're happy to have you. As you might know, we're departing for the battlefield tomorrow. If anything is on your mind, just ask anyone here."

With that, everyone went back to what they were doing, not even batting an eye at Jackal. It looked like they were drinking and roasting food over a large campfire.

"Ah, new recruit! My name's Kenneth—come over here!"

A male soldier was waving, signaling for Jackal to join them. He really wanted to, but everything was moving so fast. Just yesterday, he had been at the academy, and now he was a day away from being shipped to the battlefield.

Finally collecting his thoughts, he moved toward the soldier who had called him over. Kenneth... Around him, five other soldiers sat nearby.

"What's your name?"

"Jackal. My name is Jackal."

The five soldiers studied him closely, as if they were trying to learn something new.

"We're all family here, so don't worry. I know it's sudden, but you got lucky—you're in Tsubasa's squad."

Another soldier sitting nearby spoke up.

"Yeah, Tsubasa and a few others from Squad 96 have already survived a few expeditions to the battlefield, so we stand a good chance of making it. We have three Awakened in our squad, after all," he said proudly.

"I'm pretty new to this, but... isn't it normal for Awakened to be in squads?"

Kenneth responded quickly.

"Well, it depends. There are a lot of normal squads made up of Humans without Awakened because of the high demand for them. But Awakened have no reason to join the war. They have other ways to make money. It's people like us—those who don't have any other options—who get thrown out there."

"But hey, we might get lucky. I've heard rumors that the Nectures are weaker than usual around this time of year. Let's get along—here, take a drink."

"I'm 17..." Jackal muttered, hesitating as he held the cup.

Kenneth was caught off guard. "Oh—yeah, my bad. I always forget how young you unawakened academy recruits can be."

It was beginning to get dark. The sun, now a deep red, was halfway down the beautiful horizon. The atmosphere was nothing like he had imagined.

"Is this what you would call the human spirit?" he thought, staring into the bright flames of the campfire.

Half-drunk, Kenneth suddenly yelled toward Tsubasa.

"Ayy, shouldn't Jackal get an alias like the rest? Name... name him!"

Nevire, the Brawler sitting next to Tsubasa, now wore a serious expression.

"Kenneth, you shouldn't... Captain's name-picking is questionable at best."

With a smirk, Tsubasa replied, "You're so right. Kenneth, how could I have forgotten such a crucial tradition?"

Nevire frowned, giving Jackal a pitiful look.

"Hmmm... your alias is... Bird."

"Bird?" Jackal murmured.

Half of the soldiers around the campfire looked embarrassed.

"Don't think too much about the alias," one of them said. "Captain Tsubasa is infamous for picking the most unreasonable names. That's why most of Squad 96 just use their real names."

***

Back at the academy, everyone had settled in—the new first-year students, and even those who had once been thought to be discarded, had found their place again. But rumors spread fast. The classes that hadn't been present quickly got the information through whispers and juniors, and now, the new fifth-year students were finally returning from their four-year trial.

Normally, things were quiet after the unawakened were thrown out, but this year was different. Because of Eternal's offer, every third-year student had moved on to their fourth year. The academy was lively.

A young girl in her fifth year walked down the hall. She had, of course, passed her fourth-year trial—she was one of the most talented and strongest in her year. So much so that she always had people following closely behind her.

A group of second-year girls passed by, chatting about the latest rumors.

"Did you hear?" one of them said.

The others quickly responded. "Oh yeah, the whole third year made it to the fourth because of Eternal. Crazy, right?"

She nodded. "But not only that—apparently, one guy chose to enlist in the army instead of staying."

"No way. He must be deranged—who would do something like that?"

The white-haired girl was intrigued. She had noticed the academy was livelier than usual, but for an entire year to move on together? That was something new.

"What is all the murmuring about?" she inquired.

The girl walking beside her responded promptly.

"Apparently, the whole third year managed to make it to the fourth because the great clan of Eternal gave them a choice."

"I see," she pondered. Then, after a pause, she asked, "Have you managed to get in contact with my brother?"

The girl beside her frowned. "I tried, but I couldn't find a male with the name Jackal anywhere on the academy grounds."

A male student walking a little behind her spoke up.

"Jackal... If I'm not wrong, he was the one who enlisted in the army and rejected Eternal's offer."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the air grew cold. It was as if the world itself had stopped. Slowly, the white-haired girl turned around.

"You're telling me Jackal chose to enlist in the army?"

Her eyes were ice as she turned fully and, with swift movements, dashed toward the principal's office. She threw the door open without knocking, completely abandoning her previous calm demeanor.

The principal looked up, unfazed.

"Ah, Seraph. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he said, completely dismissing her abrupt entrance.

"What happened? Why is my brother enlisting in the army?" she demanded, fury in her words.

The principal hesitated. "I'm not sure. He received the offer like everyone else but ultimately chose to enlist. I assure you, Seraph, we did not influence his decision."

"Can you make a transmitted call to where he is?"

"I could, if you'd like."

A few seconds later, a small device in the principal's hand began to hum. A voice on the other end responded.

"This is Base V Military line. State your business."

"This is the principal of Central Academy. Is it possible for us to reach a male named Jackal?"

"Let me get his superior on the line."

A couple of minutes passed before a female voice came through.

"This is Mitsu. What's the matter?"

The principal handed the device to Seraph.

"This is Jackal's sister. Can I talk to him?"

The line was silent for a few seconds before the woman spoke again.

"Jackal has advised me against allowing anyone to contact him," she said coldly.

Stunned, Seraph tightened her grip on the device.

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Please respect Jackal's decision and refrain from calling again."

The line went dead.

Seraph was still holding the transmitter, but she didn't move.