In Crotho, power was divided among fifty ministries. But the real power was concentrated in the hands of six: the Military, the Detectives, the Journalists, the Medics, the Technologists, and the Merchants.

Each ministry had its own academy, where students were enrolled straight out of school. By the end of the summer, a small window opened for every graduate: a portal to the future.

──── ✧《✩》✧ ────

Custeau Street used to be quite long. Life flickered along it; there were booths selling coffee. But everything changed when a black round building with a multicolored stained-glass roof appeared nearby. All sorts of rumors spread through Crotho, and Custeau Street became the shortest in the city.

Every September 30th, pupils gathered at the building from 6 a.m. to learn their fate from Father Reno.

Boys and girls crowded the corridor.

“Next,” said the secretary. She was a long-haired brunette, dressed entirely in black.

“Thank you,” said the dark-haired girl with cold eyes. Despite their blue tint, they burned with hatred. And her “thank you” held an infinite number of negative emotions. She had waited for this moment all her life.

“Oh, come in, dear, have a seat,” said a man in a black robe, sitting at a small obsidian table.

The room was dark, and the only source of light was a cube that turned endlessly in the middle of the table.

“Will this thing tell me my purpose?” Reia asked, staring in disbelief at the rotating golden structure.

“The cube? Ahahahaha,” Reno said with a grin. “No, it’s just for beauty. The only one who can say what your destiny is… is you.”

“And how do I do that?”

“Let’s do a little test. Close your eyes.”

Reia closed her eyes.

“Forget everything. You have to plunge into emptiness. Now, come on, imagine a city. Any city. Imagine what it looks like. What’s the weather like? What is the sky like? Are there people in this city? What are you doing there?”

Father Reno fell silent. The silence lasted several seconds.

“Open your eyes.”

Reia opened her eyes. Her gaze had not changed a bit.

“I saw a lonely city. It’s completely gray, and no one needs it. It’s a ghost town. The sky above it is preparing for a thunderstorm and a heavy downpour. It’s about to begin. A little girl is sitting in the center of the city. She makes strange sounds and draws something on the ground. Ghosts circle slowly around her. They drive her mad. There’s a thunderstorm. The ghosts’ faces are distorted, and they start to run away. The girl looks up at the sky, and rain begins to fall on her. She smiles. The rain turns into a downpour, and her smile grows wider. Huge drops of water fall into her eyes. And still she looks up, falls onto her back, and begins to laugh hysterically.” Reia finished her story and grinned.

“Wow. Absolute directness and fearlessness.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. And, perhaps, arrogance. And a thirst to show it all off.”

“You can think whatever you want,” Reia said, and turned her head away.

“Yes, yes.”

“Father Reno, I want to know where I’ll go.”

“It doesn’t matter. Future, destiny, where you’ll go, wherever you go, it will all be the same.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But why torture you? Here’s my answer: your destiny is the Detective Academy.”

“The Detective Academy,” Reia mused. “I see. Just as I thought.”

“I’ll tell you this, as a bonus: your destiny, wherever you go, will be the same. You want to throw all the cards into confusion and take revenge on someone. I can feel it.”

Reia furrowed her brows. Someone had read her thoughts and her secret desires. But she had to stay silent.

“Thanks. See you.”

“Students rarely see me a second time, you know.”

“Ah, is that so.”

“But you know what? So be it. I’ll remember you,” Father Reno smiled.

“Thank you,” Reia said, and left. “Yeah, he’ll remember me,” she thought. “I suppose he says that to all the students.”

“She’s a funny girl. I like her,” Father Reno said, and then shouted, “Next!”

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