Do you believe in God?

This question has brought on a variety of relavation into the world.

Everyone tries finding the answer to this question. Whether it be an ordinary person or the most skilled scientists.

But to begin with, what is God?

Christianity believes that God is the eternal supreme being who created and preserves all things.

According to the Qur'an, Allah is omniscient and omnipotent. He always knows what will happen, whether it is general or specific. He knew all things before the world was created. His knowledge before and after things happen is exactly the same.

According to the Vedas, God is attributeless, opinionless, intangible, and indefinite Supreme Consciousness.

It has aroused countless debates, depicted immeasurable voyages, and broken many hearts…

Yet the question stays… no one has been able to answer it, nor prove its irrelevance.

Or is it so that we're asking the wrong question in the first place. Maybe we should not ask if God exists or if who is God but rather…

Does the devil exist?

One day these questions are to be answered. The very day you humans are to meet your end. The day you all receive your judgment. That would be the day you will see… not God, but me, the Devil.

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26th August

It was a pleasant morning with the sun shining in through the windows of the dorms, projecting its white light on the brown wooden floor. The array of rooms started to lit up with noise as the students woke up and got ready for a new day.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A wail pierced through Dorm C and put all the students in unease. A few rushed to the room the sound came from- Room 269.

What they saw was Yuki in his night clothes sitting on his bed in absolute horror and Antonio next to him. No one understood what was happening, but Yuki presumably had a nightmare.

"Hey, Yuki you good?" Asked Antonio.

"I- I saw a dream-" Yuki stammered

"What was it that you saw in the dream?"

"It was him- the devil. It was Azazel. I-In a f-forst. That forest-"

"What was in that forest Yuki?"

"That forest brought me there. On its own."

"It brought you there?"

"Yes. The forest has powers. It can summon anyone. And they will come. It is calling me. It is calling me from the dark. I don't want to go! I don't want to go, Tonio!"

"You're going nowhere Yuki, you're going nowhere." Antonio hushed Yuki in order to calm him down.

"No! It's a curse! Curse of Azazel! It will get me there anyway." Yuki began raising his voice.

"Calm down Yuki! Nothing is going to happen! Even if someone asks you to go to the forest I won't let you go there. Now calm down, take a few deep breaths, and get ready. I'll make something for you to eat." Saying so he left Yuki by himself on his bed and addressed the crowd that had gathered outside to leave.

Yuki listened to Antonio's instructions and got ready as told. After eating their breakfast they walked to their class.

⛧ ⛧ ⛧

As they were walking Antonio asked Yuki about his dream, "What exactly did you see in your dream Yuki?" The question immediately made Yuki uncomfortable, yet he mustered the courage to answer it, "It was hell…" his voice dried up only in a few words.

"Yeah, can tell that, it sure must've been hell, but what exactly was it?"

"As I said, it was hell… literally…" he replied dreadfully.

"And what was in that hell?"

"It was the devil…"

"Yes you've said this before Yuki, tell me what else did you see?"

"..."

"...what happened Yuki?"

"No… I can't go there… I can't… go…"

Tonio didn't understand if Yuki was even speaking to him anymore, he stared dead at the roads they were walking upon and walked aimlessly to wherever Tonio did. Tonio didn't respond. They continued walking together till they reached the academy.

⛧ ⛧ ⛧

When they reached their class they took a seat adjacent to each other. As they were waiting for the class to fill in and for Miss Yuan to come in, a few students approached Tonio inquiring about the mayhem, apparently the news was already spreading. He explained the situation and asked them to not disturb Yuki. Slowly the class filled and then Miss Yuan entered. The atmosphere suddenly changed.

Her expression was more grim than usual which sent a chill around, making everyone anxious. "Students…" she addressed the class, "we here at Avalon HQ, have acquired some important information regarding mysterious activities taking place on Earth. We have decided to use this opportunity as a means for your training. We have decided to split you all into teams and send you to site to analyze the situation. For your safety we will be sending your seniors with you who will oversee the situation but not interfere until necessary. This is going to be a very critical mission and it all depends on your performance, that's why we have decided to nominate the best performing students to the Student Council."

The ice broke, small comments could now be heard going around the students. Those words sparked stars in everyone's eyes. For the students it seemed like a golden opportunity to get what they thought to be out of their bounds… but they didn't realize the gravity of the situation, and Miss Yuan clearly knew that.

The joy and excitement wasn't shared by Tonio Arnold and Yuki, they had their own doubts, they raised their hands amidst the growing babble. "I know what you wish to ask, Mr. Brown and Mr. Prada. You wish to know what will happen to those who are already nominated for the student council, right? The answer to that question is, you would be directly made a member of the student council."

Their eyes went wide, at that very moment they knew it would be tough competition and only one of them could win. Tonio grabbed his golden shoulder buttons elated by his thoughts.

But this still didn't resolve Yuki's disarray. Elated emotions made Antonio forget about his friend sitting next to him, it was as if the news had everyone encapsulated in different ways and Miss Yuan was watching as the whole scenario was unfolding. Yuki was in no condition to speak, nonetheless he mustered his courage to raise his hand.

"Yes, what is it Mr. Tachibana?" Asked Miss Yuan, Yuki hesitantly stood up and asked, "Ma'am, a-about the location of the mission, wh-where exactly is it on E-earth?" Yuki stammered

Miss Yuan didn't say anything immediately, but rather waited. She observed Yuki's state for a few seconds and then said, "Middle East." That was it, she didn't say anything more than that. It felt as if she was deliberately trying to conceal information from Yuki.

Yuki noticed it too and now he wanted to know more, his curiosity overcame any other weaknesses stopping him. "...where exactly in the Middle East, ma'am?"

Miss Yuan again paused. She took a moment contemplating her thoughts, then instead of replying directly to Yuki she addressed the whole class, "Two days ago, a boy from the city of Hura made an online thread, complaining about how he woke up early in the morning to catch a bus, he also talked about he was freezing from the cold and hates the situation he was in." All of the students were confused about what this sudden story was about, Miss Yuan knew it yet continued, "After ranting for about 20 minutes he mentioned that his bus had arrived and he boarded it." She paused, after observing the class for a few seconds she continued, "If you're wondering how this is related to the mission then let me tell you, that boy and the bus were never seen again." A chill was sent across the classroom. "There have been many more missing cases like these recently, and after a few background checks we have discovered that… all of the missing people had one of the "

Everyone stayed silent, they were starting to realize the gravity of the situation.

"Speaking about the location of the mission, it will be carried out in Yatir Forest, which is situated in the country of Israel. Recently there have been many reports of mysterious Crux sightings in the region. We had sent a few of our on-ground operatives to gain more information on the matter. Apparently the mysterious Crux sightings were leaks. The whole forest is covered by a magical veil to avoid authorities like us taking notice of their movements. We still don't know who is causing this but we have a list of suspects."

Yuki's expression hardened. His eyes were shaking violently. He closed his mouth. He wanted to say something but the words didn’t come out. He sat back into his seat… more like he collapsed into it.

Why…? Why did it have to be like this? No… no… no… I can't go… I can't go there.

"There are many more things that need to be discussed but we will have to stop here, Miss Iva will be giving you more information on the immediate matter." Saying so Miss Yuan left the class, soon after Miss Iva entered, smiling at Miss Yuan she approached the podium.

Her face was as cheerful as always, it seemed as if she was enjoying the current situation. "So kids, are you ready to get your muscles hardened? I will be announcing your new schedule now, and let me tell you, it is full of training and training! Keep in mind this schedule is designed specifically to train you for this one mission. From now on, until the day you kids are sent to the forest, your schedule will be as follows:"

+

1: Miss Yuan's Crux manipulation lectures: 90 minutes

2: Miss Iva's physical training: 120 minutes

3: Break: 30 minutes

4: Sir Jung Ji-Yeong (鄭 智英) Crux relics lecture: 90 minutes

5: Sir Jung Ji-Yeong (鄭 智英) Crux creatures lectures: 90 minutes

+

"Now kids! You've got a lot on your plate and we have no time to waste! So let's just get your training started."