The events that followed after that happened too fast.
The train station incident spread across the South's Zero districts like wildfire.
Every local news channel replayed the footage endlessly.
The burning train.
The collapsing station.
The girl running through fire.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Questions consud the districts almost overnight.
How had Yesuin Kaelitha survived so many impossible incidents?
Why had the system classified her as a Null?
How had the Assessnt process failed?
And if it failed once…
Could it fail again?
District authorities appeared constantly on broadcasts trying to calm the public, but the uncertainty only spread further.
People no longer spoke about Yesu like a victim.
Now they spoke about her cautiously.
Fearfully.
The demonstrations throughout the Zero districts died almost imdiately.
The ZCP went silent.
Public speeches stopped.
The chants disappeared from the streets.
Even the louder revolutionists seed uncertain now.
Because the question had changed.
It was no longer:
"What are they doing to Yesuin Kaelitha?"
It was now:
"What exactly is Yesuin Kaelitha?"
Days blurred into each other.
And then one night, the governnt responded.
Military convoys flooded the Zero districts before sunrise.
Black transport vans.
Long rows of armored buses.
The soldiers were ard heavily enough for war.
Every Zero-class teenager from age fourteen to nineteen was seized for reassessnt.
From schools.
From workplaces.
From apartnt blocks.
From the streets.
So went quietly. Others struggled and scread.
Parents and guardians protested.
The soldiers ignored them all.
Within days, the Zero districts began to resemble ghost towns.
Empty basketball courts.
Silent classrooms.
Abandoned streets.
The Assessnt facility operated endlessly.
Day and night.
Thousands were retested.
Thousands were scanned.
Thousands sat under Heckman Classifiers over and over.
The results were the sa.
Null.
Null.
Null.
No abnormalities. No mistakes.
Not one.
And sohow, that only deepened the confusion among higher authorities.
Because if the system had never failed before…
Then Yesuin Kaelitha shouldn't have existed at all.
***
The Assembly chambers at Central had not known peace since the train station incident.
Officials from districts across the South filled the circular hall in restless clusters, voices overlapping endlessly beneath the high ceiling.
"The people are terrified now. I can tell."
"Why shouldn't they be? I would be terrified myself."
"She survived a burning derailnt in public view."
"She was seen walking through fire."
"Then explain how she was classified Null in the first place."
"Exactly the issue."
The argunts bounced endlessly from one side of the chamber to another.
So demanded answers.
Others demanded containnt.
"The matter should be transferred to the Supre Council imdiately."
"No," another voice countered sharply. "The girl is legally still a minor. This falls under Supre Court jurisdiction first."
"And what exactly do we tell them?" soone snapped. "That the national classification system may be flawed?"
The room descended into noise again.
Officials spoke over one another.
So feared Yesu herself.
Others feared what her existence ant for the South.
"If the North learns about this…"
"They will."
"The districts are already unstable."
"We can't control public perception anymore. Wait till the whole Central City knows."
Then a calm voice interrupted the chamber effortlessly.
"You are all panicking over nothing."
The room gradually quieted.
A man seated near the far end of the chamber adjusted the sleeve of his dark uniform before leaning forward slightly.
Sharp eyes.
Composed posture.
The kind of man who looked dangerous without needing to raise his voice.
"I find this entire discussion strangely pessimistic," he continued smoothly.
Nobody interrupted him.
"A seventeen-year-old capable of surviving circumstances that should kill trained elites." He folded his hands lightly. "An impossible existence appearing within our own territory."
His gaze moved slowly around the chamber.
"And during a war where Southern frontline casualties continue increasing against the North."
Silence settled deeper.
The man smiled faintly.
"I believe we have been fortunate."
Several Assembly mbers frowned imdiately.
"Fortunate?" one repeated.
"Yes." The man replied. "Because if even half the reports surrounding Yesuin Kaelitha are accurate, then she may be one of the greatest assets this nation has encountered in decades."
Murmurs spread across the hall.
Another mber leaned forward cautiously. "And what exactly are you suggesting we do with her?"
The man's smile sharpened slightly.
"Treat her like every other Rank."
Confusion spread instantly.
"Train her," he continued calmly. "Educate her properly. Place her within the system instead of outside it."
Then he leaned back comfortably.
"But," he added with an overly confident smile, "if this Assembly still wishes to panic and hand the matter to the Supre Court… I have no objections."
"Let's take a vote." The Speaker said. "All in favor of addressing the issue in this very chamber."
A few hands were raised. The Speaker didn't even need to count.
"All in favor of taking up the issue to the Supre Court?"
Many hands were raised.
Including the man who had suggested Yesu should be trained.
"Decided." The Speaker declared.
***
Many dignified authorities filed into the Supre Court.
The building stood over Central like a monunt to authority itself.
Black stone pillars towered toward the evening sky while ard military personnel guarded every staircase leading upward.
Floodlights illuminated the massive bronze doors at the entrance as transport vehicles arrived one after another.
Inside, the panel of judges sat on a highly elevated platform facing the distinguished multitude.
There were no journalists or any sort of dia coverage. Soldiers guarded every pillar.
No one dared to whisper.
Credible witnesses stood before the judges one after another.
Principal Reeds.
Officer MacKayden.
The Senior Doctor who had perford surgery on Yesu.
The Foundation Camp commander and the Head Warden.
An Assessnt facility board mber.
And Doctor Heckman.
All emphasized on the sa thing.
Yesuin Kaelitha did not belong to any Classification and certainly wasn't fit to be left roaming around freely among Zero Class citizens.
Hours later, the judges withdrew briefly for deliberation.
The entire chamber remained tense during their absence.
Then the judges returned.
Everyone stood imdiately.
The Supre Judge adjusted the docunts before him and spoke with asured authority.
"After reviewing factual evidence, witness accounts and institutional testimony…"
The chamber fell deathly silent.
"…the Supre Court acknowledges that Yesuin Kaelitha exists outside the recognized order of the national Classification system."
A pause followed.
"Furthermore, due to the absence of identifiable guardianship and the unprecedented nature of the subject in question…"
The judge looked forward calmly.
"…this Court hereby recognizes Yesuin Kaelitha as property of the state."
A ripple moved across the court.
So disturbed.
So satisfied.
Others simply silent.
"And therefore," the judge finished, "she shall henceforth be handled in whatever manner the state authorities deem necessary."
The gavel struck sharply against the desk.
The sound echoed through the entire chamber.
User Comments
0 comments from readers