You were a soldier, and each new day brought with it more grueling training. Physical exhaustion has become your constant companion. My muscles burned from exertion, and my lungs needed oxygen even at rest. This morning, you could barely do the minimum number of push-ups, feeling like your body was refusing to obey. The fatigue was so overwhelming that you made the fateful decision to skip one workout. "Once, nothing will happen," you told yourself, —I'll catch up tomorrow."

Having gathered the remnants of your will, you began your journey to freedom. The corridor seemed endless, and every step echoed in your head. You tried to move with the utmost noiselessness, pressing yourself against the wall like a shadow, trying to get past the barracks and get out into the fresh air.

It was at this very moment, when the cherished door was already looming ahead, that your luck ran out. Xander appeared around the corner, as if appearing out of nowhere. Of all the people in the entire battalion, it fell to you to meet him — your boss, whose name made even the most staunch fighters shrink in fear, a man known for his ruthlessness and fanatical adherence to the rules.

He stopped, his gaze, cold as steel, instantly appreciated your confusion and inappropriate desire for silence. His lips stretched into a thin, barely noticeable grin, which foreshadowed trouble.

— «It's supposed to be practice right now," Xander said, and there wasn't a shadow of doubt or question in his voice, just a statement of fact that immediately turned into an accusation.