'Since I was young, I could predict who would be the ones to die...but never did I say about it to others.'
It was the awakening ceremony today and Drek was now standing at the arched gates of Baron Hobb's residence.
But seeing the numerous other eighteen year old teenagers spread across the massive grounds of the Baron's, he hesitated to enter.
Not because he was an introvert, but because of the sight he beheld in front of him. In the fields, around half of the teenagers had an elliptical, red coloured ring revolving around their waist. The ellipse however, had a tiny gap in the rings.
And the size of the gaps varied from person to person since...
"Death...they shall all start to die to something or the other in a few hours." Drek muttered in a horrified tone. He swallowed hard as he looked at the impossible sight in front of him.
'I cannot foresee someone's death from days ago so that only means the ones with the rings around them have just a few hours to live. But how...? Only a small percentage from here shall be participating in the ceremony...so how?!'
"What are you doing gaping at everyone like that? Get inside, the baron shall be here in a while."
Drek looked behind him hurriedly. It seemed he was thinking too deeply about what he saw that he didn't even hear the guard walk up behind him.
"I-I shall be on way, sir." With a shaky salute, Drek stumbled forward as he entered inside and joined everyone else.
Around him, boys and girls both were flocked together, making groups of their own and talking in tones dripping with anticipation and an unseen tension.
Drek found such tension completely normal. Every year, this awakening ceremony was vital for selecting the next batch of warriors to fight on behalf of humanity.
But it had steps: the physical test followed by the actual ceremony, where candidates were sent through a dimensional rift into another world where they needed to complete individual tests and then awaken.
Despite the lucrative offer to have power at your fingertips, most of the people wanted to avoid this day at all costs. The reason was quite simple as well - people die in the other world.
Just so that they couldn't pass the physical test, a few people would intentionally be in the worst physical shape so that they weren't sent into the rift.
However just a few years back, Lady Vengeance, the Empress of the Vengeance Domain had personally mandated that every child from the age of twelve should not be unhealthy. If it's due to some disease, that would be the only acceptable case once the state doctors approved it.
Otherwise, they were to face extreme punishments. Publically, Lady Vengeance had said, "If you wish to avoid death, strive to get stronger and successfully awaken yourself. To remain a human shell with no powers is pathetic, to avoid your responsibility and hide in your abode is to throw away your dignity. And such actions from now on shall be seen as an attempt to disrespect the Domain."
For better or worse, Drek was currently in the Domain of Vengeance. Sometimes, when he would read about the Empress, he couldn't help but notice how awfully she and Master Zhong were similar to each other.
Both were ambitious and didn't accept weakness as an answer. Drek was sure both of them would go along quite well.
The doors to the building in front of him opened and a man in his fourties came out as the guards bowed to him. He was Baron Hobb.
Seeing him, mixed reactions spread across the crowd. Some of them looked at him in admiration for the power he held while some gossiped about a few of the scandals they have heard about him.
'Ah right! This guy has an interesting choice in women. Last I heard, his eleventh wife was around my age.' Curious, he stepped forward and glided his way among everyone to get a clear view of the baron.
Then he followed the eyes of the baron and not to his surprise, they were indeed lingering a little more than usual on a few of the girls.
'Oh did I say all his wives are in fact minors?' He sighed, feeling pity for any girl the baron might lay his eyes on. Scholars often argued that before the apocalypse and the near extinction of the human race, such acts of marrying or having intimate relationships with people of such a huge age gap were severely punished.
But those words would fall on deaf ears and even the wise mouths would seal tight when the one committing it was himself a baron.
But Drek didn't have the time to lament about the unfairness of the world. For at that moment, having ogled enough, Baron Hobb clapped his hands loudly.
A man, probably the head guard, who was standing beside the baron, shouted. "Everyone, maintain silence. The baron is about to speak a few words to you all."
His voice had a subtle pressure that made everyone feel goosebumps on their skins. They all instantly shut their mouth and turned their attention to the baron, who nodded in satisfaction.
"Good morning to you all. I won't speak much and only wish you luck for passing the small test we have kept for you all. And needless to say, I shall meet you people before your awakening ceremony."
Saying that, he signalled to the guard beside him and retreated back inside his room.
The guard stepped forward, flicked his long hairs behind him and unseathed a slender sword. Pointing it at them, he whistled.
The other guards moved in tandem and formed a circle around them. It was a huge circle, providing enough space for everyone inside to move about freely.
The head guard then clarified, "No need to be confused. Unlike other years, this time we don't have enough time to conduct a proper test. So, let's keep it as simple as possible: I shall charge at you and you all need to defend yourself."
Gasps echoed amongst the candidates as everyone looked at each other with frantic eyes. The head guard was no doubt an awakened and of much higher rank. Asking dormant teenagers like them to defend against him sounded completely unfair to them.
As if anticipating the thoughts running inside their heads, he smiled. "Of course, I won't be using any of my real skills on you. Neither shall I hurt you people. I shall only be accelerating my speed for running around. Remember that stepping out of the circle of guards is instant disqualification. Best of luck."
No longer were the words out of his mouth, he dashed forward, earning surprised screams from the candidates nearest to him.
The head guard suddenly appeared in front of one of those bewildered candidates, holding the sword at his neck. Seeing his completely defensless form, the head guard shouted.
"Disqualified."
The next moment, the boy found himself levitating in the air, having no control over his body. Others could only watch silently as the boy was thrown out of the circle of guards.
"So who is next?"
The head guard turned his attention to the others.