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5 Months Earlier — Lyon Province, Aetherland
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Imperial Army Branch, Lyon – 05:30 PM
The dining hall echoed with laughter.
Seafood.
Steak.
Real wine.
Not rations.
Not nutrient paste.
Not the metallic taste of battle.
43 candidates —
From every corner of the empire —
Officers selected for final evaluation to join the 34th Fleet.
They knew the rumors.
"The Phantom chooses her crew by hand."
"Her silence is sharper than court politics."
Still, they laughed.
Because tonight — they ate.
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60 minutes later...
Collapse.
Forks dropped.
Chairs fell backward.
Some slumped mid-conversation.
No pain.
Just darkness.
One by one —
Loaded into trucks.
Eyes closed.
No ceremony.
No warning.
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Mont-Blanc, North Wing – 08:12 PM
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They awoke to cold.
Thin air.
Snow in their boots.
Night sky above.
Mountain silence around.
No supplies.
No gear.
Just what they wore.
Just what they carried in their pockets.
Some panicked.
Some cursed.
Most were confused.
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Then—
The wind shifted.
A helicopter descended.
Searchlights off.
Blades roaring.
It didn't land.
Just hovered.
From above —
A voice.
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"Good evening."
"In 2 days, 05:00 AM sharp — you must reach the nearest Naval Headquarters."
"A flare is lay beside you. Use it if you wish to surrender or die with dignity."
"We are still at war with Russ. Maybe you'll find a rocket before breakfast."
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No further words.
No blessings.
The helicopter vanished into the clouds.
And with it —
Selene von Aetherwald.
Cold.
Measured.
Gone.
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Some sat.
Some wandered.
One just lay back down to sleep.
The selection had begun.
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DAY - 2
The mountain claimed its toll.
Wind brutal.
Snow unrelenting.
15 candidates collapsed with sickness.
Evacuated by medics in silence.
Two were still asleep under a pine tree.
Unbothered.
Snoring.
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DAY - 1
Only 15 still moving.
Still climbing.
Still tracking the stars.
Three of them had somehow made a fire.
Roasted mushrooms and squirrel.
Debated if this counted as a vacation.
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DAY 0 — 03:50 AM
A silhouette crested the ridge.
One candidate — face frozen, uniform torn —
Reached the outpost gates.
Then another.
And another.
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04:50 AM
Three more arrived.
One dragging the other — not from injury —
"He just wouldn't wake up."
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SELECTION & TRAINING RESULTS
Total Candidates: 43
Evacuated (Sick): 15
Forfeit: 13
Deceased: 0
Remaining: 15
Cold.
Hungry.
Awake.
Handpicked.
Tested not by combat —
But by abandonment.
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These weren't just sailors.
They were her crew.
And they earned it in silence.
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