Chapter 3

  Once upon a time there was a knight named Bereinger.

  He wore no armor, and held no sword. Since he hadn't earned the privilege yet.

  He was just a mere scout in training, after all.

  As per his duty as a scout, he vigorously trained every day. Starting in the morning with his fellow men, and then ending with them traveling to the nearest village by horse. Where they would search for the biggest and thickest sticks, often engaging in duels where the winner won the other’s stick.

  Once everyone was satisfied; they would use it to relentlessly strike the biggest oak tree the locals had named; ‘The Woodland Giant.’ A destructive, invasive presence that covered the whole village with its massive crown, leaving no sunlight or water left for the crops.

  Causing the village to fall into a massive famine. Houses abandoned and the streets evacuated, only a few stubborn individuals remained.

  The goal was to one day find someone strong enough who could topple the infamous tree – Freeing the forest once and for all from its nasty clutches!-- and granting them all the riches and land one could desire.

  But Bereinger wasn't interested in such shallow rewards.

  While all the other scouts bragged about what they would buy with that money, he took action and sought for a way to fix the issue at hand.

  Every day he stayed after the other scouts returned to camp, failing yet again to cut down the tree.

  He would spend many hours studying the village. Noting; The spiky grass, the crystal clear rivers with a continuous repeating loop of the same five trouts, and the dry dirt, harder than his biceps.

  It was very clear what the problem was here- it wasn’t the tree’s fault for their crops withering, it was theirs.

  They relied on unpredictable miracles to sustain them. Playing by the hand of god, while failing to realise that he had given them free will for the exact purpose of engaging in action.

  Proving to him that we weren't pawns on his board, but eager onlookers who sought his wisdom. Alas, they didn't listen to him, nobody ever did.

  Calling him idealistic and naive, just because they couldn't see what he saw so clearly.

  However, maybe he was naive, since he still chose to continue helping them. Day in and day out, moving crops and watering the dirt blocks until he started to see results.

  Leafy petals that only grew bigger, every time they greeted him with their iridescent shine each morning. He even saw a form forming beneath the plants, assuming it meant that they needed better and additional access to water.

  So he, like the dutious knight in training he was, followed their demand.

  Pouring cups upon cups of water down the plant’s holes, until he could see his glorious puddle accumilate at the top.

  Suddenly, something went wrong- the plants weren't growing anymore. Reacting with violent lightning every time he tried to come near them to investigate the cause.

  The villagers were enraged, and Bereinger was oh so embarrassed. Yet he swore it wasn't due to his meddling, it was growing just a few days ago due to his efforts, afterall!

  However they didn't listen, repositioning him into another institution. Far away from his first, were all the scouts he scorned in the beginning, still resided and trained. While Bereinger, who had tried, had been punished.

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  Even so, he won't give up his mission. He may have been punished but he is still a scout, with or without his trope he’ll become a knight.

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  The institution was called the artificial garden, almost identical to the previous headquarters Bereinger resided in. His arrival was strangely formal, giving the reasoning for it. Being greeted by guards that mainly communicated in short clipped sentences or sharp physical gestures.

  Pushing him to walk faster, constantly reminding him to fix his posture, and aggressively yanking his jaw away whenever he was staring at something he wasn't supposed to.

  Bereinger was frustrated, but understood it was all a part of the punishment. As a brave knight he knew he should respect the rules, but he valued upkeeping justice more.

  He knew he was in the right; Afterall, hadn't done anything out of malicious intent. But he knew he couldn't do anything about it without losing everything.

  Besides, this place wasn't so bad.

  It even had its own forest, overgrown with flora and creatures of many kinds. But unlike his previous institution it had no fallen branches, so he had to climb up and break them off himself. Bereinger couldn't believe it again, like before it was the exact same as his previous institution’s!

  The guards gave him a tour of the facility and a basic rundown of his future schedule. It went by fairly quickly with no major issues other than the guards rough demeanour. What he was most nervous about was his introduction to his new groupmates.

  His standards weren't high, he knew how the nature of the industry churned out some really special kind of assholes

  But it certainly would be nice to actually get along with them, if they were going to spend every day together.

  Entering through sliding doors he was hurriedly pushed through, told to keep his head down and eyes to himself. It was dark, suspiciously so for a room that buzzed with a constant hiss of movement. It didn't sound human, more like metal being repeatedly moved and molded.

  He wondered where he was being taken, and why his supposed band mates would be there.

  Bereinger reasoned that they could be robots, that's why they needed all this metal to sustain them effectively. Though it didn't make sense— why would they place him, a human, into a band with robots.

  However, he wasn't allowed to dwell on that thought. The guards abruptly stopped in front of a big metal door. Inputting a code into the keypad, making the doors creak open slowly. Bereinger swore he saw some smoke come out.

  Hesitantly stepping inside, he noticed a pair of shoes from the corner of his eye. The guards ordered him to finally look up and greet his band mate.

  Bereinger eyes shakily traveled upwards, stiffening when he recognised the girl before him.

  All chasing to mimic the perfection of one girl; Dionne. Bereinger wasn't interested in news or gossip, why would he waste time watching others succeed or train when he could be doing the same?

  But even he couldn't avoid her.

  Dionne dances were shown in tutorials.

  Dionne’s voice was given as an example.

  Dionne’s body was used as a comparison, for the women, and the men.

  In billboards she wasn't even advertised, she just naturally appeared. Assuming her place like she belonged there, shown in millions of different costumes and persona’s.

  Bereinger secretly believed she wasn't human at all. Afterall, how could a human girl be so readily available to release new magazine covers every day? While also simultaneously constantly collabing with famous brands like; Nickey’s, M and H, Dasadi, 21 Forever, and Zaar-a!

  Maybe he was really onto something with his robot theory.

  Now the same girl stood before him. That same melancholic smile as when she killed thirty of her fellow competitors, plastered on her face.

  Bereinger couldn't look her in the eyes. Dionne’s pupils were uncomfortably big, like a camera he couldn't tell what they were focusing on. Still, he could feel them scrutinising his every move; from the way he stood to the way his brows furrowed.

  Turning to the guards, he silently wished for them to order another command.

  Expecting the guards to force them to perform a stiff introduction. Where they’d pretend to be interested in each other long enough for the guards to be satisfied.

  Expect it didn't.

  The guards didn't care whether or not they actually liked one another, only that they tolerated each other's presence. Seeing as Dionne hadn't spit in his face yet, they were content.

  Bereinger wasn't so sure about this anymore, was this really going to be his band mate?