Chapter 4: 10 Years Later

Many potential Jaegers were recruited in the next 10 years. Three huge facilities were built in South Asia, Russia, and Japan to train them before their compatible spirits would find them and they would be sent to the border, which was pushed more to the east.

After a moderate army was created, the advancement of the Entomorphs was stopped. Now, the only places the humans still controlled were Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, Korea, parts of China, and Russia.

10 years later

On one spring morning in the training facility, many 16- to 17-year-olds were sitting in a class. The students were all wearing olive-coloured military uniforms.

The teacher says, ".....it's been 18 years since the entomorphs have attacked us. Now only... A billion of us still live in this small area that we still hold. But we're dreaming of taking back the whole world once again, thanks to you. You Jaegers are humanity's last hope..."

The teacher then went on to explain the creation of the Jaeger Corps. She then said, "Now, let's talk about the spirits. Spirits are otherworldly species that can tap into human spirit energy to grant humans the ability to fight these entomorphs. All of you are here because you have a huge amount of spirit energy. There are many types of spirits. There are ones that grant the contractor enhanced physical abilities. These types of spirits are called 'Grantors'. There are also 'Transformers' who can transform themselves into weapons or armour. One other type is the 'Evolvers'. They can evolve into a predatory species using the contractor's spirit energy and fight alongside the contractor. And lastly are the 'Absolutes'. They possess more than one type of ability. The absolutes are the rarest of the spirits.

There are only two absolutes that we know of as of now. One is General Liu's spirit Rex, and the other is Major Sakura Mori's spirit Serenity. Now can anyone tell me how someone can make a contract with a spirit?"

A few students raised their hands. The teacher looked among the students and noticed a student zoning out in the back. She called out to the student, "You, the last one in the second column. You tell the answer."

The boy stood up. He was around 5 feet 10 inches tall and had an oval face that screamed innocence. His medium-long black hair hid his forehead, and anyone could tell he wasn't just another teenager by a look in his blue eyes.

He said, "You can't just make a contract with any spirit just because you have spirit energy. You have to be compatible with the spirit. It is said that you don't find your spirit, but your spirit finds you. Also, one can only make a contract with only one spirit. There hasn't been any case where a contractor has made a contract with more than one spirit at a time."

The teacher was taken aback by his answer. She asked, "What's your name, kid?"

"Ray Foster."

The teacher got more shocked when she heard the name and said, "You're Ray Foster? The kid with the highest amount of spirit energy recorded till now?"

The boy nodded. The teacher said, "You're in your last year now. I hope you find your spirit before you graduate."

One student said with a taunting tone, "Sorry, teacher. I don't think that would be happening. I mean, all of us have already found our spirits, but he still didn't. He's even nicknamed the 'Spiritless Sage." Everyone laughs.

The teacher shouted, "Everyone stop. He hasn't found his spirit till now, but that doesn't mean he will never find one. Ray, don't be down. Have faith."

Ray nodded and sat down. The bell rang. The teacher gathered his materials and said, "That's it for the 1st class of your last year. See you tomorrow."

Everyone stood up as the teacher left. Ray quietly bowed down and picked up his bag. At that moment, a girl around his age approached him. The girl had a round face, grey eyes, and long brown hair. She said, "So, Mr. 'Spiritless Sage'? Where are you going without even a word?"

Ray shrugged and said, "I'm not leaving alone, Tess. And you're going to tease me too now?"

Tessa laughs and says, "Sorry, sorry. I was joking."

A boy suddenly spoke from Tessa's back, "Ms. Tessa Robson. Are you teasing my buddy again? This time I'm not letting you off."

The boy reached them. The boy was their age too but had a bulky body and was almost six feet tall. He had short messy black hair and a Brown skin tone. Tessa said, "Rohan, I was just joking. Chill out."

"Huh? Anyway, I'm going to the shooting range. You two wanna tag along?"

Tessa said, "Nah. I've promised to hang out with some of my friends today."

"And you, Ray?"

"Sorry, Rohan. I'm just going to go home for today. I'm not feeling very good."

"OK. See you at home."

Rohan left. Tessa noticed Ray was feeling down and said, "I think I'll go home today too."

Ray replied, "No. You should go with your friends. See you at home."

Ray left the classroom before Tessa could say anything else. Ray was feeling down since he still hadn't found his spirit and the taunts were getting in his head. He got out of the facility area and started walking down the streets of Chittagong towards his home.

Suddenly he heard a slamming noise followed by the screeching of tires. He looked at the road and saw a small truck going away. He then looked closer and found a small cat covered in blood. The cat was groaning from pain. Ray ran to the cat and picked it up. He started thinking about what he should do. But suddenly the cat said, "I don't have much time. Quick. Get me somewhere quieter."