The Shattered Pawn

Chapter 1: Abandoned

To be fair, his education was one of the highest accomplishments within the facility. It was why he was allowed those books to begin with. The only thing he actually was good at.

But a large amount of the subjects had their abilities honed to the point where they would be equivalent to new recruits within Atlas's military.

At seven years old. (Y/N) could barely carry his swords today.

As (Y/N) waited for his exam, his chamber's entrance opened, revealing the tall guard that stood behind it. 

From there, the man's eyes wandered, finally resting on the young boy's frail body.

Lead Guard: "Subject 296, grab all of your items and follow to your destination. You have fifteen minutes."

(Y/N): "Yes sir."

(Y/N) got off his bed and grabbed his swords. He couldn't afford more failures. Not here. Not with them.

So finally gathering the courage to continue, (Y/N) tried to leave his room, only to be stopped by that same guard.

Lead Guard: "I said grab all of your items 296."

He pointed towards (Y/N)'s plethora of items, indicating he couldn't leave anything behind.

Well, this was new.

(Y/N): "Okay then... Give me a couple of seconds."

(Y/N) went around his room, grabbing every single item to carry with him. Thankfully, his backpack was able to fit it all, the exceptions being a few short novels and textbooks he already read. The only thing not inside were the swords were on his hip, dragging across the ground. 

It was challenging for the kid, but he wouldn't say that to any of the guards.

Once (Y/N) went back to the door, the room was almost completely cleared out. All that remained was the bed with some sheets and his leftover items.

(Y/N): "Alright. Ready."

The two guards stared, not expecting him to be done so quickly. Almost immediately after though, the lead guard scoffed while grabbing (Y/N), taking him away for the last time.

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As the three of them walked away from (Y/N)'s room, they passed by many others along the way. All of them contained kids between the age group of five to thirteen, with over seventy percent of them being different varieties of fauna. Their superior genetics made them prime subjects compared to humans. 

But they always gave love to the humans as well. You never know when someone would pay to be as strong as their guards.

Enough with this gloomy mood, though. (Y/N) would really like if that wasn't the entire trips.

(Y/N): "Hey, what are your names?"

The lead guard immediately replied, unamused by the child's antics.

Lead Guard: "None of your business kid."

Knowing he would get nowhere talking with him, (Y/N) quickly responded before facing the other guard.

(Y/N): "Alright then 'None of Your Business Kid'. What's your name then?"

Hearing the kid's interest, the other guard smiled as he spoke up.

Guard 2: "Oh, the name's Jack! I actually got hired here only a few weeks ago."

Hearing Jack's response, (Y/N) couldn't help but crack a joke.