The Stars Beyond

Chapter 5: Cast Aside, Abandoned

Wait, he figured it all out with just his own observation? Qin Cheng was shocked. Acquisition of such a valuable piece of information took him days and days of effort. He even had to seek help from the connections among his family’s business.

“They’re abandoning the research just like that?” Qin Cheng refused to face the truth. He was still clinging on to hope, no matter how small, that the Old Arts Research would be continued in some way.

Through his connections, he was able to acquire insider news about the truth behind the Old Arts Research. He was excited. Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine that the research had something to do with the occult and the supernatural. At that moment, his passion was ignited. He swore to himself that he would walk down the path of Old Arts Research no matter the hardships he had to face.

But learning now that there was an alternate way to reach his goal other than the path he chose was a blow to him. The flames of his passion were put out by a cold bucket of water that was the truth.

It took him quite a while to snap out of his daze. What did they find in the New World? Is there really another way to reach beyond the realm of mortality? He started asking himself.

“It seems like it’ll be harder to get to the New World now. If we can walk at the forefront of the research into the supernatural, the possibilities are limitless.” Qin Cheng said with a serious expression.

Such a discovery would completely change the universe as humanity knew it.

Their conversation continued into breakfast.

“Ahh, we’re getting less and less of the food they sent from outer space. Come to think about it, this stuff is good despite how bad they were when we first started.” the duo mused.

Their diet consisted of rare food that came at an astronomical price. But all that rarity and value did nothing to help with the flavor.

“Have you talked to our professor about this?” Qin Cheng asked, “Perhaps he might be able to help you.”

Wang Xuan shook his head. He might be the professor’s favorite, but the old man did not hold much of an authority in the department. He was here to impart upon them knowledge of the Old Arts, but were never part of any decision making.

“What’s the criteria for their selection anyways?” Qin Cheng still felt that the entire situation was unfair for his friend.

“If I really have to guess,” Wang Xuan responded after a slight pause, “I’d say it’s based on the individual’s sensitivity when it comes to the matter of mind, or some sort of potential they possess that is way above the normal human being. Something... Supernatural.”

This was a guess he made after looking at the first batch of students selected for migration to Terra Nova.

There was a pair of twin sisters in his class that displayed such quality. There was some sort of connection between them. One might even say that it was a psychic connection.

When the younger sister was frightened, the older one felt fear as well. And when the older of the pair injured herself when peeling an apple, her sister who was in another city at that time could feel her pain. The distance between them did not seem to sever such connection. It was a phenomenon that no one could explain.

The two were among the first to be selected when the time came.

“What about He Qing then?” Based on his memory, the boy was the odd one out among the class. He was extremely introverted and would barely interact with his peers. The only reason He Qing even considered joining the Old Arts Research Department was because of the high-paying job promised upon his graduation.

Why was somebody like him selected? He was obviously not interested in the research! Qin Cheng was bewildered.

“Something happened to him when he was fourteen.” said Wang Xuan, “He pushed his younger brother away from the path of an automobile. He was run over, but walked away from the incident unscathed. The only sign of an accident ever happening was the black tyre marks left on his body.”

The incident made quite a news back then. It was then deemed as a human’s hidden potential that was triggered in life and death situations. Such was the conclusion reached by their sponsors based on research conducted on He Qing. They have even dug up reports about the incident that happened so many years ago.

There was also a girl who seemed to be capable of precognition. She once boarded an aircraft and immediately felt sick. She thought something was wrong with her. Fearing that she might have a cardiac disease, the girl immediately went to the hospital.

She did not board the flight, which was involved in a crash on that very day.

“For real?” Qin Cheng was gaping at Wang Xuan. This was a story he had never heard before.

Wang Xuan sighed. He was shocked too when he first learned about it. She was the most special case among those who had been chosen.

......

The final selection for migration to Terra Nova was announced on that day. None among the experimental class were chosen. It was something that some among had already expected, but it was hard not to be saddened by the result.

They had clung on to hope and stayed in the city. They had refused to give up until the final selection. But all their hopes and dreams were snuffed out when the list was announced.

Wang Xuan remained calm. He knew this would happen.

“Damn it,” Qin Cheng sighed, “You’ve finally shown progress! But they gave up on you because of the new discovery they made from the stars beyond!”

The rich and powerful on Terra Nova had given up on the Old Arts. The study of the occult and the supernatural was now the focus of their attention.

They talked about their friends, and those who had left the city, and found themselves depressed. Wang Xuan, who would be staying on Earth, still had the chance of meeting them. But for Qin Cheng who would be sent across the sea of stars towards Luna Nova, it might be a parting of a lifetime.

“Are you not going to see your girlfriend? She’s going home soon. You might not have the chance to meet her again.”

Wang Xuan shook his head, “It’s been a year since we broke up. You know how her family is. It’ll be troublesome for her.”

He once had a girlfriend from the New World. But it was a relationship not approved of, and was even aggressively opposed by her family. Members from her family would even arrive from the New World to deliver their warning directly to Wang Xuan.

“Could her family be behind why you’re not selected?” Qin Cheng immediately thought of such a possibility.

This was because her family was powerful.

Even if the Old Arts was formally considered obsolete at that point, those who sent their children to the Old World did so because they had the realm of the supernatural in mind. To be capable of such a feat means that a family must wield a certain level of influence and power.

“I doubt it.” Wang Xuan understood her family well despite their rather few interactions. Besides, it had been more than a year since the end of their relationship. He had fulfilled his promise to stay away, and he was confident that they would not interfere with his life in any way. There was also no way her family could directly intervene in the selection process and risk crossing the megacorporations funding the Old Arts Research Department.

Their conversation continued late into the night.

“Wang Xuan, I’ll be heading to Luna Nova in a few days. I really hope that you can make it to the New World. From the bottom of my heart, I want to see you walking down the new path that will lead you to the supernatural. But I’m angered at the same time.” Qin Cheng said to his best friend, “Those bastards abandoned the Old Arts just like that! They abandoned us!”

“And that is why,” Qin Cheng continued after suppressing his anger, “That is why I want you to master the Old Arts. If the legends are true, you’ll be able to stand up against the so-called supernatural with the Old Arts and surpass whatever new discovery they made over there! Show them that they’re wrong for casting us aside like garbage!”

Despite the doubts he harbored towards the Old Arts in the past, the one thing Qin Cheng yearned for the most at that very moment was for the myths of the old to be real. But he realized that it was all based on unconfirmed reports of an age long past.

Wang Xuan looked up into the sky. Do Gods really exist in the past?

No. He shook his head. He was never a believer in the divine. Gods were merely the construct of their believers’ imagination. They meant nothing to him. He had never once believed the divine to be real during his study of the Old Arts.

This path was one he treaded by himself. By his own will, he wanted to see how far down the path of the Old Arts he could go.