Martian Archer

At first, the training seemed normal.

EVA-07 was strict but methodical.

She drilled Leon on the basics—stance, grip, breathing techniques. Every day, she had him fire hundreds of arrows, correcting even the smallest mistakes.

Leon was impressed.

"Maybe this won't be so bad…"

But then—

She noticed his biggest weakness.

His terrible eyesight.

He could hit nearby targets just fine, but the moment they moved past fifty meters, his shots became wildly inaccurate.

That's when everything changed.

Leon woke up with his face pressed against cold tiles.

His body ached, his muscles screaming in protest. His fingers were numb, as if he'd been gripping something for hours.

He blinked.

"Where… am I?"

As he slowly sat up, the horrible realization hit him.

He was in the bathroom.

He had no memory of how he got there.

The last thing he remembered? Training with EVA-07.

His heart pounded. Had he blacked out? Had she drugged him?

Before he could even process it, the door slammed open.

EVA-07 stood there, arms crossed.

"You overslept."

Leon's blood ran cold.

"What…?"

"Training starts in five minutes. Move."

Leon sprinted outside, still dazed.

The other trainees stood in formation, all dressed in sleek black uniforms. They weren't ordinary students—they were soldiers-in-training.

EVA-07 walked in front of them, eyes sharp.

> "Leon." She pointed at the field. "Stand there."

Leon hesitated.

"Wait… what do you mean—"

"Stand. There."

Nervous, he obeyed.

Then he noticed—

The other trainees had bows drawn.

A sickening realization sank in.

"Wait. Hold on—"

EVA-07 raised a hand.

"Fire."

Arrows whizzed past him.

Leon yelled, diving to the ground.

Some missed by inches. One grazed his shoulder, leaving a burning sting.

The trainees laughed.

"What's wrong, Martian? Can't dodge?"

"Your eyesight that bad? Maybe you should wear a blindfold!"

Leon clenched his fists, his heart raging.

"This… this isn't training."

This was humiliation.

And EVA-07 just watched in silence.

Leon's next lesson was accuracy training.

Targets were placed far beyond his normal range. He knew he'd miss. His vision blurred, and his hands trembled.

EVA-07 placed a collar around his neck.

"If you miss, you'll be punished."

"Punished?" Leon frowned. "What do you mean—"

"Shoot."

Leon fired.

The arrow missed.

A sharp jolt of electricity surged through his body.

Leon screamed, collapsing to his knees.

His body twitched uncontrollably. He gasped, struggling to breathe.

The trainees laughed.

EVA-07 stood over him.

"Try again."

Leon panted.

"This… this isn't training!"

"Neither is war." Her silver eyes were cold. "Shoot."

Days blurred into torture.

Each night, he'd black out, waking up in random places.

'Did she drug me? Hypnotize me?"

Each morning, he'd face humiliation, pain, and exhaustion.

"He was the moving target."

"He was the experiment."

"He was the failure."

His hands bled from gripping his bow. His body ached from electric shocks. His mind spiraled.

" I'm going insane."

He stood in his dorm, staring into a cracked mirror.

His reflection looked foreign.

"Who am I?"

"Why am I here?"

"Is this a nightmare?"

The door creaked open.

EVA-07 stepped inside.

"Lesson two." Her voice was like steel. "Endurance."

Leon turned to face her, his vision spinning.

" I'm trapped."

"And there's no way out."