Uriel sat in his chair, looking at the hundreds of files he had to review to form his cohort of Awakened. The configuration of his team would have to be one that could adapt to any circumstance, along with great teamwork.
He knew the Antarctica campaign would be long and deadly. Everyone would suffer, some more than others.
Looking at the mountain of documents, he sighed.
"Well, let's begin," he said to himself.
Focusing on the task at hand, he began to read the files with boredom. He read their mental state, then their Aspects and abilities, as well as the slight hints about their Flaws.
He also looked for the files of his irregular companions, which were a censored version with occasional mentions of their actions and mental state. They didn't mention anything concrete about their Aspects or Flaws.
His own file was also there, with the information he provided to the government, though of course, with huge gaps in information.
He noticed that his Aspect was visible, being able to change his form through surrounding shadows. Of course, this was a mistake.
He had simply mentioned that he could change the shape of his body with darkness, so they listed it as shadows, when it was true darkness, much more vast and hungry than mere shadows.
Aside from that, there wasn't much relevant information other than his height, being about 170 centimeters. Even in the full two years, he had barely grown two or three centimeters, but he trusted he would eventually grow. If not, he would create a body to be taller.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Uriel thought about what he was specifically looking for in his cohort of Awakened. He needed synergy, intelligence, attack power, healing, and more.
His abilities gave him several fields: adaptability, attack power, intelligence, creativity, and stealth. And yet, he still had other aspects to cover.
Reading and discarding documents, he made three piles.
The first pile was of files that weren't useful to him, of Awakened who were not what he was looking for in his team.
The second pile was the ones that held his interest.
The third pile was the ones that caught his attention with interesting Aspects.
When he finished classifying them, he read them again after dividing them.
Shade, after reviewing them all, grabbed the first one.
It was an Awakened with the ability to increase the general recovery rate, both physical and mental. According to his file, it was hinted that his Flaw might be not getting good rest and that the effect is lost after a certain rank, which wasn't specified. So he discarded him.
Although having a higher recovery rate would be useful, he possessed the Crown of Repose, which had the same effect and was passive.
The next one was an Awakened whose Aspect was versatile. Her Aspect involved darkness. She could move through darkness, as well as control it slightly. Interestingly, while she was in darkness, she couldn't be seen or sensed, making her an excellent scout. Her name was Iris. From the notes, her Flaw was something related to bright things.
Shade took the file and placed it elsewhere. She would be the first member of his cohort. Their Aspects were similar, and with his help, he could guide the woman to give her better applications. He also wanted to test something.
Shade explored the following options. After making another different classification, where only those that captured his full interest remained, he decided to focus on that single pile, which was much smaller than the other three, with only about two dozen options.
"Hey, Shade," Uriel called his other self, who appeared sitting on the metal table.
"What? I was doing manly things," he said with some annoyance.
"I'm not even going to ask what you were doing. Anyway, take a look at these options," he said, opening all the folders, showing the information and Aspects of the Awakened.
Shade brought a hand to his chin, looking curiously at the information.
"Well, this is certainly interesting. And they're difficult choices."
"Which ones do you think would be the best options?" asked Uriel.
"To start, this one is a good option," he said, pointing to an Awakened.
Uriel looked at the file, seeing the image of a tall man with an athletic build and an expressionless face.
"It says his Aspect allows him a huge sensory field to detect threats for kilometers, as well as their rank and intentions," said Shade with interest. "He's a good option to have a radar, or better yet, a sensor."
Uriel nodded.
"Agreed. Although from what's mentioned about his Flaw, it's that he never changes his expressionless face. It's not serious."
Shade nodded.
"Alright, we've got our Hyuga."
"Are you seriously making Naruto references now?"
Shade shrugged.
"It's a good comparison. So yes, I am."
"Alright, for the next one, I thought this would be a good choice." Uriel selected another file.
Uriel looked at the image of a young man with crimson hair and yellow eyes who had a confident expression on his face.
"His Aspect is one focused on direct combat. The more he fights, the stronger he becomes and the more resilient he grows. In other words, he's the ultimate tank."
"And now you're making video game references."
"Shut up, they're my references."
"And they talk about me." Shade seemed almost disappointed.
"Well, there's also a vague suggestion that his Flaw is related to when the battle ends. Perhaps something related to pain or something like that?"
"That's most likely."
"Now, these two."
Uriel showed two files.
The first was a tall, muscular man with a severe expression on his face.
"This is the first one. According to his file, his Aspect is linked to the earth. He can shape the ground to make it soft or harden it, even open cracks," he explained.
"That's a good Aspect. Since all battles will take place on the ground, having someone capable of manipulating the terrain is useful."
"Yes, but there lies the problem. Let's say it's a high-powered weapon, right? But it's only single-use. When using his Aspect, his soul essence is consumed at an astonishing speed, leaving him with nothing in a matter of seconds. Although he compensates with devastating power, it's only temporary and he'll become dead weight."
Shade nodded, understanding what Uriel meant.
"I understand. It's truly a shame. What about the other option?"
Uriel selected another file.
The image was of a blonde woman in her twenties, with green eyes. Beautiful, like all Awakened.
"Well, look at that. She sure is a beauty. And god, look at those tits."
Uriel slapped his palm against his forehead, letting out a sigh.
"Shade, please. Can you just stop saying things like that now? This is serious."
"I'm taking it as seriously as you are, Uriel. I just stop to appreciate things. Besides, don't you like blondes?"
"Yes," he admitted.
"See? Why not enjoy a big-breasted blonde? Oh, I get it. Is it because of Cassie?"
"What does Cassie have to do with this?"
"Well, she's pretty, and blonde. And you clearly feel attraction, more than friendship."
Uriel didn't respond.
"You don't have to answer."
"Alright, enough. Let's leave this for another time."
Shade smiled victoriously.
"Oh, I assume so. Anyway, she's a good choice. Her Aspect is healing. She can restore flesh and wounds. Although the essence expenditure is high, it'll be totally worth it."
"Alright, she'll be the third one."
"Oh, that file is interesting," said Shade.
Uriel looked at the group of files that hadn't caught his attention, seeing one he hadn't noticed before.
Selecting the file, it showed the image of a woman with reddish-brown hair and green eyes, with a serious expression.
Uriel read her file and smiled.
"Oh, this is good. Very good. It seems we have another fighter."
"Yes. Her Aspect is to strengthen herself under the open sky, whether day or night. Which is a huge advantage. Although it mentions she has never been seen wearing armor. Either she's very confident, or that's her Flaw."
"Either way, she's on the team," said Uriel.
"Now we only have two more left to select."
"What about this girl?" asked Shade, pointing to another file from the classification that caught his attention the most.
The file showed a woman in her twenties, with short brown hair and red eyes. Like all Awakened, she was beautiful.
"Let's see. Her Aspect is related to intangibility. It says she can pass through solid objects, as well as enemy attacks. And her attacks are aimed at the soul," Uriel reflected.
"Don't you think her ability is like a ghost, or something like that?"
"Yes. Although being intangible is a huge advantage, there are nightmare creatures capable of striking the intangible. Even we can do it with the Eclipse Claws."
"Yes, but that's where her soul attacks come in. She can weaken enemies after several consecutive hits, even kill them. It's like Master Jet's Aspect."
Uriel thought about it for a while before nodding.
"Alright. She'll be the fifth member."
"Now we have: a healer, a scout, and three fighters. We need a tank," said Shade.
"I already have one. In fact, he was the first to catch my attention."
Shade raised an eyebrow and said, "Really?"
Uriel, instead of answering, selected another file showing the image of a young man easily in his twenties, with dark blue hair and yellow eyes.
"His Aspect is the ultimate defense. He can generate lasting barriers for his allies within a large range. From what I can read and guess, nothing weaker than him can break this barrier. Which will be useful against Awakened abominations," he explained.
Shade let out an impressed whistle.
"Damn, that's definitely a broken ability. Just imagine: hundreds of soldiers surrounded by a barrier capable of stopping Awakened creatures." Shade's eyes shone with excitement.
Uriel sweatdropped. It wasn't hard to see he was imagining his other self.
"Alright, these will be the six Awakened of the Dark Cohort."
"We need to improve the name."
"It works for now," said Uriel, looking at the six files he had selected.
"Asher, Lucian, Miranda, Lily, Tiffany, and Abel," he said, looking at the six Awakened who would be his subordinates in the coming months.
After marking the files with his personal identification code, he would only have to wait for the bureaucracy of the First Evacuation Army to approve the recruitment request. Then, he would finally meet his subordinates in person.
And boy, was he anxious to put them to the test.