Chapter 42: Preparing for The Void
`Year 4 - Month 4 - Day 1 - 0600`
`[Status: Headmaster Lira]`
`[Location: The Trash God Academy - Training Grounds]`
`[Academy Population: 60,000 Students]`
`[Years Since Kael: 2 Years 2 Months]`
`[Signal Strength: 20% -> 21%]`
`[Mission: Void Preparation]`
`[Time Until Departure: 30 Days]`
`[Weather: Cold]`
`[ALERT: VOID TRAINING INITIATED]`
`[All Classes: MANDATORY]`
`[Failure Rate: UNACCEPTABLE]`
The bell didn’t ring.
Scrap’s voice did.
Across the entire Academy.
"All students to Training Grounds. Now. All students to Training Grounds. Now."
60,000 students ran.
From dorms.
From workshops.
From beds.
In 5 minutes:
The entire grounds were full.
Lira stood on the stage.
Behind her: a massive gate.
20 meters tall.
Black.
Swirling.
Like a hole in reality.
Like night made solid.
The air around it was cold.
The ground was cracking.
"The Void Gate," Lira said.
Her voice was amplified.
"Heard by all 60,000."
Silence.
"Kael is on the other side."
60,000 students didn’t breathe.
_Part 1: The Plan - 0605_
`[Operation: FIND HIM]`
`[Leader: Lira]`
`[Co-Leaders: Ren, Mira, Ren Jr, Scrap]`
`[Team Size: 1000 Elite Students]`
`[Support Team: 59,000 Students]`
Lira walked to the edge of the stage.
"We have 30 days," she said.
"In 30 days, we open this portal fully."
"And we go into The Void."
"And we bring him home."
Cheering.
Loud.
For 1 minute straight.
"But!" Lira shouted.
Silence again.
"The Void kills. Fast."
"It has no air. No light. No time."
"It crushes you. It freezes you. It drives you mad."
"Kael survived it for 2 years."
"Can you?"
1000 students stepped forward.
The Elite.
Ren.
Mira.
Ren Jr.
Sara.
Jax.
All of them.
"We can," Ren said.
Lira nodded.
"Then we train. Hard."
_Part 2: Week 1 - Hell Week_
`[Class 1: Void Survival]`
`[Teacher: Ren]`
`[Students: 1000]`
`[Location: Simulation Chamber]`
`[Pass Rate Required: 90%]`
Day 1:
No air.
For 10 minutes.
200 students passed out.
800 survived.
"Get up!" Ren screamed.
"Kael did this for 2 YEARS!"
"10 minutes is nothing!"
Day 3:
No light.
Complete darkness.
For 1 hour.
300 students panicked.
700 survived.
"Find your way," Ren said.
"With your hands. With your energy."
"Like he did."
Day 5:
Crushing pressure.
10 times normal gravity.
400 students broke bones.
600 survived.
Day 7:
All of it.
At once.
`[Final Test: 24 Hours in Void Simulation]`
950 students entered.
900 came out.
`[Pass Rate: 90%]`
Ren looked at them.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Smiling.
"Good. You’re ready."
`[Class 2: Extreme Construction]`
`[Teacher: Mira]`
`[Students: 1000]`
`[Location: Scrap Wasteland]`
Mira gave them nothing.
No tools.
No materials.
No instructions.
"Build a shelter," she said.
"From nothing."
"You have 1 hour."
They failed.
All of them.
"Again," Mira said.
Day 2: They built from dust.
Day 3: They built from air.
Day 4: They built from energy.
Day 5: They built from their own blood and scrap.
By Day 7:
1000 shelters.
Built in 10 minutes.
From nothing.
`[Pass Rate: 100%]`
Mira smiled.
"That’s my team."
`[Class 3: Signal Tracking]`
`[Teacher: Scrap]`
`[Students: 500]`
`[Location: Signal Tower]`
Scrap taught them to hear Kael.
`[Exercise: Find the Signal in Noise]`
500 students.
Eyes closed.
Hands out.
`[Signal: 21% -> 23% -> 25%]`
"There," a 14 year old girl said.
Pointing east.
"I hear him."
Scrap nodded.
"Good. You’re the new Trackers."
_Part 3: Week 2 - The Problems_
`[Problem 1: Not Enough Materials]`
The Void needs special scrap.
Magma-resistant.
Void-proof.
Energy-conductive.
Normal scrap melts in 5 seconds.
"We need 1,000,000 tons," Scrap said.
Solution:
59,000 students mined.
24/7.
In mines.
In wastelands.
In ruins.
`[Day 8-14: Materials Collected: 1,200,000 tons]`
`[Problem 2: Portal Instability]`
The gate was collapsing.
20% stability.
"If we open it now, it kills us," Ren said.
Solution:
Scrap + Ren + 100 engineers.
Built stabilizers.
Massive towers.
Around the gate.
`[Day 10: Portal Stability: 40% -> 80%]`
`[Problem 3: Fear]`
Students were scared.
Nightmares.
Panic attacks.
Solution:
Lira.
Every night.
At 10pm.
She told stories.
About Kael.
Building his first shelter.
Saving the first kid.
Fighting the first monster.
"That’s who we are," she said.
"We don’t break."
By end of Week 2:
No more fear.
_Part 4: Week 3 - The Breakthrough_
`[Signal: 25% -> 30%]`
It happened at 3am.
Every student woke up.
A voice.
In their heads.
Crackly.
Weak.
But clear.
`[ALMOST THERE - K]`
Silence.
Then screaming.
Crying.
Cheering.
Ren ran to Lira’s office.
"He spoke!" he said.
"He SPOKE!"
Lira was already crying.
Smiling.
"I heard it too."
`[Academy Announcement: 0400]`
"Students!" Lira said.
"He’s close."
"30% signal."
"That means he’s alive. And he’s waiting."
60,000 voices: "WE’RE COMING!"
_Part 5: Week 4 - Final Preparations_
`[Day 22: Equipment Manufacturing]`
1000 Void Suits.
Built in 3 days.
By 10,000 students.
Black.
Thick.
Magma-proof.
Void-proof.
`[Day 24: Mobile Forges]`
100 Mobile Forges.
Each one can build a city.
In 1 day.
`[Day 26: Supplies]`
Food: 1 Year.
Water: 2 Years.
Medicine: 5 Years.
`[Day 27: The Last Training]`
All 1000 Elite.
Together.
Simulation: The Void.
No air.
No light.
Monsters.
Pressure.
Cold.
They lasted 48 hours.
`[Result: PASS]`
`[Day 28: Goodbyes]`
Parents came.
From all over the world.
Jax hugged Mira.
Hard.
"Come back," he whispered.
"We will," she said.
"With him."
Sara cried on Ren Jr’s shoulder.
"Don’t die."
"We won’t," he said.
"We build."
`[Day 29: Final Check]`
Lira walked the line.
1000 students.
"Tools?"
"CHECK!"
"Food?"
"CHECK!"
"Will?"
"CHECK!"
"Good."
`[Day 30: Departure - 0600]`
`[Year 4 - Month 5 - Day 1 - 0600]`
The gate opened fully.
`BOOOOOOM`
Black.
Swirling.
Cold that burns.
Lira stood at the front.
Behind her:
Ren.
Mira.
Ren Jr.
Scrap.
Sara.
Jax.
And 993 more.
"Ready?" Lira asked.
1000 voices: "READY!"
"For Kael?"
"FOR KAEL!"
"Then let’s go find him."
They stepped in.
One by one.
The gate swallowed them.
`[PORTAL: OPEN]`
`[DESTINATION: THE VOID]`
`[SIGNAL: 30% AND RISING]`
`[TEAM: 1000 ENTERED]`
_Part 6: The Ones Who Stayed_
`[Location: Academy - 0610]`
55,000 students stood there.
Watching the gate close.
It didn’t close.
It stayed open.
1 meter wide.
"For supplies," Scrap said.
The support team got to work.
Building.
Non-stop.
For the team inside.
_Part 7: The New Message_
`[Hour 1 After Departure]`
The statue glowed.
New words appeared.
`[THEY WENT TO FIND HIM]`
Under it:
`[WE KEEP BUILDING]`
_Part 8: The Signal_
`[Signal: 30% -> 31% -> 32%]`
Getting stronger.
Kael could feel them coming.
_Part 9: Final Scene_
`[Night - Academy]`
Lira wasn’t there.
Re
n wasn’t there.
Mira wasn’t there.
But 55,000 students were building.
At 2am.
Because that’s what they do.
Above them, the sky.
The blue light from The Void was brighter.
`[THE TRASH GOD ERA: Chapter 3]`
`[OBJECTIVE: THE VOID]`
`[STATUS: IN PROGRESS]`
`[TEAM: 1000 INSIDE]`
To Be Continued...
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