Listen carefully—I won't be repeating myself twice. I believe you all know that today is going to mark the beginning and also the end of your lives," Instructor Ferrin said with a pause, allowing his words to sink hard and cold into all the assembled students.
Including Leon, who sat among the assembled students, and sitting by his side was Storm Crimson, his girlfriend popularly known as the academic beauty, who for some weeks now had been giving him characters and attitude as she overreacted over small things, also depriving him of anything sexual.
Leon at one point didn't know what to do again as he tried begging her or taking her out for an ice cream date, but nothing seemed to work. As Storm didn't even spare Leon a gaze, her eyes fixed on what Instructor Ferrin was saying. Blinking back to reality, Leon once again pinned back his interest toward whatever harsh reality the instructor was pouring on them.
"Fail this awakening and you become a commoner for life, doing normal jobs and living a life filled with the fear of you dying at 100, more or less if you make enough money to buy the lifespan enhancement pill. But if you manage to awaken, endless possibilities are stretched far and wide before you. With all said and not done, if you hear your name, step forward and place your hand on the orb to your left."
"Guna Kadash..."
The instructor called as a blond youth stepped forward with anxiety written clearly all over his face, knowing his fate would be decided in a matter of seconds. Placing his sweaty, trembling hands on the crystal, all students held their breath in anticipation.
"Awakened, F-rank," the instructor said, not even lifting his eyes from the book of names in his hand. On hearing his rank, Guna fell on his knees as dread threatened to swallow him, but with a cold, authoritative tone from the instructor, he gathered whatever strength he had left as he walked toward his seat.
And like this, names were called out in selections, with over 60% of students called out getting straight F, which at this point made those yet to be called out lose all hope of awakening above F.
"Storm Crimson, step forward," the instructor said.
As Storm got up from her seat, her silver long hair falling freely toward her knee, her demeanor never changing even after seeing the high rate of students who awakened F or didn't even awaken at all.
Walking toward the orb calmly, Storm placed her hand on the crystal, which almost immediately lit up intensely with a blinding blue light as the projection of water, which was also becoming frozen, could be seen inside the orb, which quickly faded almost immediately.
"Storm Crimson... awakened [Water Manipulation, SS-rank]," the instructor said with a rather energetic voice, different from the one used to call out students who awakened F-rank talent or students who didn't awaken at all. As renewed hope and hunger quickly spread across students once again, Storm casually walked back to her seat, not even glancing at Leon, who in turn felt glass shatter deep within his chest.
But the earlier flame and determination quickly died down as F, E, C, B, D, A was being announced, but not another single S. Just then, when all hope was about to be lost, a red-haired youth that was well known for his excessive bullying brutality while also being a womanizer awakened an S-rank fire talent, as the whole class erupted in celebration or realization.
"Leon Blackflame," the instructor called out.
As Leon stepped forward, all eyes glued on him as he was the last person called out. Standing before the crystal, Leon placed his slightly trembling hand on the crystal—no prayer, no hope, just nothing—which after a few seconds, the crystal lit up.
"Leon Blackflame, F-rank Instinct," the instructor called out.
As Leon walked back toward his seat, all eyes still glued on him with pity and mockery. Sitting back on his seat beside Storm, who looked at him with conflicted emotions, Leon noticed none as he was simply drowned in his own shattering world, as every other thing faded into the background. F-rank Instinct—what the hell was that? Not even flames or lightning or any other elements or power, none but a useless instinct. What was he supposed to use instinct to achieve in the face of real danger? Leon thought.
As realization dawned on him, ever since the Rift broke, as creatures spawned endlessly from torn rifts, his parents—both S-rank awakened—died while defending the country. Even their flesh couldn't be buried.
As time drew on, his little sister fell ill to the new disease known as ROI, completely hospitalized. At that point, Leon, out of desperation, sold all of his parents' fortune, which still wasn't enough. Seeing no other option, Leon wrote a letter to the government in his dead parents' names, hoping for the money for his sister's treatment to be sent due to his parents' contributions, but nothing came. Nor after weeks of mailing other letters.
Out of desperation, as Leon watched his little sister die in his hands, arms wrapped around her, breath shaking, as the last words she uttered still etched to his soul were, "Brother, please, I don't want to die," as she unwillingly took her last breath.
It was at that moment nothing again mattered to Leon, literally becoming a living shell lost in regrets, unwilling depression, and anxiety, with no amount of therapy he took seeming to work—not until Storm came into his life, bringing a little light.
But reality was way harsher. Even after 3 years of solid relationship, Leon knew it would all end today. Even if there was a sliver of hope before the awakening, it was all gone, and they both now belonged to two separate worlds.
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"Storm Crimson, would you like to join our party?" Adrine Walker said, the red-haired S-rank fire youth, with a rather cheeky smile, completely ignoring the fact that they all knew that Leon was dating Storm—not like it mattered now.
Adrine said with an extended handshake as his lackeys, who seemed to awaken decent talent by luck, stood at his back, eyes scanning through Leon like he was but an ant ready to be squished.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Leon thought he heard wrong as he looked at Storm with a questioning expression, eyes also drifting toward the frozen arrogant smile on Adrine's face as his eyes twitched in anger toward the response that he got from Storm.
"Don't go about thinking because you awakened decent talent you could just do whatever you want, and for the fact that I totally find you disgusting," Storm said, as the whole class froze, unable to believe their ears. The word "disgusting" was too much.
Standing up from her seat, Storm casually grabbed Leon's hand as she pulled him out of the classroom toward the exit, leaving the still frozen Leon, who couldn't believe his eyes, frozen as anger threatened to consume him.
In a quiet place within the school known as the Null Zone, Storm stood back facing Leon, hands behind her back, as gentle wind blew past the field with the sun already setting, casting a rather beautiful shade upon them.
At first it was silence, not until Leon asked the question that was bothering him. "Why did you do it?" Leon said with uncertainty.
"Do what?" Storm asked in a rather playful tone, slightly turning her head toward Leon.
Looking at her playful demeanor, Leon finally cracked. "Turned down Adrine in front of the whole class and didn't break up with me also in front of the whole class," Leon said, fist clenched tightly, knowing fully well that the answer she would give would determine his stand.
Turning toward Leon fully, Storm's expression turned slightly serious. "I didn't break up with you in front of the whole class because—" and with this she drew closer, hands at both sides of Leon's face as she locked onto his with soft affection, "you have gone through a lot, Leon. Too much that no one, not even your enemies, should go through. The least I could do was to give you some dignity, even if I know that we are now in different worlds," Storm said, trying to sound as caring as possible.
But the truth still hit Leon cold and harsh. It still hurt even if it was said with so much affectionate love. "So what happens to us now?" Leon asked with more uncertainty, already expecting the harsh truth of what was to come.
"We are done, Leon. Not because of my awakening or anything—I could still fend off danger from you before my awakening—but now that I have awakened a powerful class, I can't be with you anymore or your life will be constantly threatened.
Have I told you how complicated my background—" Storm said as Leon hugged her tightly, cutting off whatever she had to say, as tears streamed down his face.
"I know," Leon said in a choked, sobbing voice. "I'm simply too weak to be part of your world. But if there is anything I can promise you, it is that I would stand side by side with you with my own strength," Leon said as Storm hugged him tightly back.
Looking at students going on with their life from above, Leon looked at the silver ring that was on his palm as Storm's last words stitched into his soul deeply: "I believe you can stand side by side with me one day."
Standing up after the sky grew dark, Leon looked at the empty void as a new spark of hunger ignited deep within: Grow so strong that you can truly defy the strong.