Leaving the Altairus home, Terrence and his group made way for the city, in which a VPF facility housed Rift-178. There, they would leave Fen as one of the Candidates for the program and leave. Well, everyone except Terrence would leave the site and continue their normal duties and 'hobbies'. For him, he would perform as a guard inside the Rift as well as an assistant instructor for any interested in physical training.
However, his services would only be available for those who earned them, through their actions inside the Rift. For those who didn't, he could only pity them and hope they received a swift death.
"What's with the brats inside?" One of the men beside Terrence gestured towards the teenagers and youths wearing uniforms waiting near the entrance of the facility. Most of them either had no expression or held a haughty gaze as they stared at the other group. However, a very small minority within the group talked among themselves or prepared their equipment.
Turning his gaze towards them, Terrence felt a small pity towards the youth they were transporting.
They were two archetypes among those who would enter the Rifts. Among them were the majority, those of which would be in a similar situation as Fen and ripped away from their homes and loved ones. They were pitifully called the Opfer.
The second archetypes, however, were the young men and women whose families held ties within the organization and received information about the Rifts beforehand, the Chosen. They were called that because it was nearly guaranteed that they would come out alive from the Rifts, unless some disaster fell upon one of them.
Many of the Chosen were much more talented than Terrence, and they were born with a golden spoon from the very creation of the Guardian Program. Some of them have even received training in the Magical Arts or in various weapons and magic spellworks before they entered the Program.
"Be careful when speaking about those 'brats', one day, they may be a powerful warrior for Earth and the Foundation." Terrence made sure to warn his men before they offended a future powerful individual. Better to act respectfully than to risk being executed later.
"Yeah, yeah. As long as they don't act like a brat in front of me, I won't hurt 'em." The man who said this was the one who previously laughed at Fen's wretched figure from before.
Terrence decided not to warn him about their strength, thinking it might be better for him to experience it himself. Unfortunately for him, Terrance didn't get a chance to see him get killed, as the other members of Fen's capture squad quickly started to leave after dropping Terrence with the unconscious kid at the facility,
"Alright, hand me the kid. I guess I'll see you guys in a year. Er, a day I mean." Terrence stepped out of the car with Fen thrown over his shoulders. Closing the door, he deposited Fen close to the Chosen and left to prepare for his own assignment, but not before injecting him with a serum to revive him.
****
[Alex, get behind me.]
[Who are you?!]
Those words were playing on repeat. That and the looks that his parents gave him. Anger, and worse. They couldn't recognize him. Over, and over again.
Sometimes he heard voices, like tiny whispers after he collapsed. He felt body heat from his sides, coming from men that he couldn't see. He was jostled around as well, and he thought he was in a car, but Fen forgot about them and sunk deeper into his nightmares.
Eventually, he stopped caring about what was happening outside of the nightmare, although it would be more apt to say that he lost the ability to care.
It was like he was stuck in limbo with all of his senses dialed down to one, and all he could feel were punches thrown to his mind that he couldn't defend himself against.
But, just as suddenly as it began, Fen began to regain feeling in his body, and he barely managed to open his eyes to the world around him. But, the world was too bright. So bright, that immediately after seeing, a splitting headache erupted from his temples.
Fen convulsed around the ground for a few seconds before coming to a still, gasping. After glimpsing the bright light that surrounded him, Fen managed to still himself by clutching at the hard concrete around him and getting onto his knees, not daring to risk the headache that would come if he opened his eyes.
Slowly, Fen began to listen to the world around him, and was surprised to hear people chatting around him. That, as well as nervous muttering that he couldn't quite catch.
He did catch the sound of footsteps approaching him. Still blind, he turned his face towards the footsteps, his eyes closed tightly. After he turned, the footsteps stopped.
"Stand up." The voice sounded like a man, full of spirit and vigor. Because of the amount of spirit contained in those words, Fen mistook the voice's owner for a man in his 20's. However, when Fen managed to gather the strength to open his eyes, he found a man well into his early 60's.
He must have noticed Fen's staring, as a frown deepened on his face. "Did you not hear me? Get up!" Startled by his roaring, Fen quickly stumbled and stood up, although his legs shook a little from weakness.
"What are you doing with the Chosen? I don't suppose you fancy yourself a know-it-all, do you?"
"Uhm, no?" Only having woken up minutes ago, Fen was still extremely disoriented and confused about where he was. The last thing he remembered was-
[Who are you?!]
"Gaht!"
Trying to remember only brought him pain, like a massive spike being engraved into his skull whilst two brands were incinerating his skin.
Fen nearly collapsed again from the pain, clutching his knees as he struggled to stay upright. Spittle dribbled from his mouth as he panted to relieve himself from the pain of remembering.
"Well, you're definitely an Opfer. That, or you're a Chosen with mental issues. My money's on the former though. Come on, boy." Saying that, the man turned around and started walking towards a building with other youths who looked nearly as haggard as Fen, if not more. Gesturing towards him, he assumed that the man wanted him to follow.
As the pain subsided, Fen walked after the man, his pain disappearing the more he walked. He took in everything he saw; where he used to be was filled with people dressed in white and golden uniforms, clean and authoritative. Where the old man was guiding him however, was filled with people dressed in clothes with sweaty marks and vomit stains, with very few wearing clean clothes.
As he saw the difference in clothing, Fen finally realized that he was wearing a shirt and pants filled with perspiration marks and other unmentionable filth. He felt embarrassed, but quickly felt better when he saw that he looked much more presentable than most of the others in his group, although he immediately felt guilty for his relief.
"This is your group. The Opfer. Good luck, and if you don't die, try to find me and maybe I'll teach you, you have the build I'm looking for." The man patted Fen on the shoulder, and he could feel some sort of wave probing his body.
"Not as conductive as I would've liked, but it'll do. Better than some of the others who asked to become my disciple." The man chuckled as he reminisced about kicking annoying braggarts who had less talent than he had wings. That is, they had no talent. Though they did have talent in being annoying.
The man stopped once he saw that Fen was inside with the rest of the Opfer, nimbly turning on his feet and striding away. Abandoned, Fen opened and closed his mouth as he felt lost, unsure of what to do. Even if the man was a stranger, at least he seemed like a nice stranger.
"Oh, I never gave you my name, did I? It's Raisen. Just ask for me if you get out."
"Get out of what, though?" Fen mumbled, not expecting an answer and more than a little frustrated with the night's events.
"The Initiation, of course." The old man grinned, then left after wishing him good luck.
'What kinda bullshit was that?! Leaving before explaining anything, what is he, some sorta...' Fen tried and failed to find a proper word to describe Raisen.
[All Opfer please gather together.]
A speaker interrupted Fen's thoughts, coming from a stadium-like building in front of the kids whose clothes resembled his own filthy apparel. Seeing a chance to finally find out what was happening to him, Fen rushed over in time to see a projection flick on. On it, was a woman he had never seen before, a brunette wearing glasses with her hair put into a neat bun.
She skillfully hid the bags under eyes using makeup, but to Fen, who helped his little sister practice her makeup skills, he was able to see through the deception. It was a brother's job to know the real face of his sister, even if there were a hundred layers of makeup on her face.
Thinking about those fond memories gave him a headache, but endured it so he could think about his younger sister's smiling face that had given him so much strength when he was younger.
After his observation, a tired voice followed after all the Opfer gathered together.
[Hello. I'm Maria Wagner, and I'm in charge of the Guardian Developmental Act program, and I will be explaining why you all are here.] A few heads perked up at her words, emotion finally revealing itself in some of the youth's cloudy eyes. Fen shook his head to clear his mind from the previous night's memories so he could understand whatever she said in her instructions.
He knew this was his chance to finally understand the reason for the night's ordeals. The others knew this too, and listened intently.
[Ehem. I am with the Virtue Procural Foundation, or VPF. You have all been chosen to become warriors and help protect Earth. In case you are not aware or never attended school, Humans are a failure. Our very survival is because we let ourselves be tainted by the Seven Sins, gods who sought to end us. We seek to bring back the Virtues, but the monsters and Demons that left us will come back following their return. So, you'll fight them for us!]
Nobody looked inspired at her words, or even courageous. Most of them just looked confused.
Chosen to be heroes? What a joke, every single one of the exhausted youths listening was forcibly dragged here against their will! It would have been more realistic to say they were kidnapped for ransom, but the fanatic light in Maria's eyes casted enough doubt in their hearts to see some truth in her words.
[If you are thinking that you don't want this, and that you want to go home,] A boiling desire rose up in his chest, to see his family again. But remembering their reactions from when he was taken quickly doused his anger.
[Then you must realize that you do not have a choice.] Disbelief and anger rose in his chest, and just as he was about to voice his opinion a girl near him beat him to the punch. She stepped forward and shouted at the screen, her face flushed with anger.
"What do you mean we don't have a choice?! Fuck this, I'm leaving." Wearing sweatpants and a long baggy shirt, she appeared to have been taken while she was at home. Unlike him and the others, her clothes weren't covered in filth or sweat. Rather, her face was quite attractive, although Fen couldn't notice that as her expression was twisted with anger.
She started pushing through the others, her red hair swaying in her movements. More of them started to follow her, angered by Maria's words. However, a few stayed behind, with Fen among them. These were the ones who saw their families expressions from before they were brought here, who knew it couldn't be that simple.
[You can leave if you want, but know that you won't have a family to go back to. We are masters of the Magical Arts. It is a trivial matter to alter their memories. They will treat you like a stranger even if you showed them irrefutable proof.]
The group that chose to leave stopped, looking back at the screen. The girl in particular was glaring with an angry expression. Seeing their reaction, Maria continued, [Once you complete your training, you're free to go back to your families, memories included. But only if you succeed.]
Apparently that was enough prerogative to stay, as most of the group shuffled back with discontent expressions; they followed the red haired girl even as she swore at Maria, using extremely crude expressions insulting her ancestors for having had the audacity to ignore nature's signs and allow their bloodline to continue in life.
"And if you don't have a family? Can you just go back anyway?" The voice came from a thin boy, bruises all over his face and body. Contrasting his meager frame, the boy's eyes held a fierce light.
A refreshing smile came from Maria, before she audibly clapped her hands and sweetly said over the screen, [Marcus, was it? We'll kill you if you try to leave. So please don't do that.]
'Well. They could have just led with that.' Fen thought to himself.
The boy, Marcus, wrinkled his nose before sitting back onto the floor.
[Any other questions?]
"Actually, I-"Another boy was cut off before he could speak.
[Wonderful! Alright, moving on.] The youth who opened his mouth gaped at the screen, and was about to speak his mind before remembering her past words and deciding that shutting up was a wiser decision.
[You all will be spending a year in a Rift. But before you get all upset about spending a year away from home, it'll only be a day for them. Masters of Magic, remember?] Fen thought that the smile on her face was stupid, and didn't match her boastful words at all, but kept those thoughts to himself. Perhaps she wasn't lying, the screen that projected her voice and image was obviously magical in nature.
[And that's as much information that you'll get. My job is done here. Bye! And make sure to enter with a flexible mind or you might not last long!] And with that final message, the projected screen flickered off.
The crowd was silent for a few moments, despite the screen already turning off and leaving them alone in the room, excepting the armed guards and instructors.
"It's only a year, right? And we might actually gain something from being here! I heard it's really difficult to learn magic without an instructor!" Some guy in the back said that.
"Fuck that! I don't want to fight monsters! I'm not even that athletic, I just read a bunch of books." The poor guy's statement was answered with comments like that, or worse.
"Does she mean it? They'll bring the Virtues back?"
"What's with the other guys? Doesn't look like they were dragged here. They even have uniforms!"
Chatter filled the room, some people talking about having to protect Earth after they trained under their guidance as well as the return of the Virtues. Others shared what they knew about the teenagers wearing matching uniforms.
The majority were quiet, reflecting on what they were told. None of them were dumb, and all were intelligent enough to be capable of understand most of what she said. However, that was only in their peak condition; currently, they were struggling to stay conscious even though they felt better with each passing minute.
Fen himself questioned what the woman shared with them. It didn't make sense that they would just be let go after being trained for a year; most of them would probably disappear to their families and wouldn't fight the appearing monsters. He assumed that there was more to the story than just that, and other restrictions or requirements would be added during their training. Otherwise, the people organizing all of this was extremely stupid, with too much faith in people.
The entire training aspect of her words weren't realistic at all. What was motivating them to improve their abilities? So far nothing, and so Fen took her final message to heart, and kept an open mind to best adapt to any new situations. All so he could see his family faster, and make them remember. So they could be together again as a whole.
The Opfers were led further into the facility, passing labs, offices, and other such rooms as they were guided to the center. There was a grand room filled with various equipment and exhausted men and women of various fields. All of them busily moved around the room, performing final checks and tests on… something.
Fen could only stop and gaze in awe at the powerful rip in space at the center of the room, trapped inside a glass-like material to stop its expansion. Even now, the tear could be seen clawing at the glass, hungry to devour the space outside. Dark tendrils sweeping away the air around it before being sucked back in. The very light around it was being pulled in, similar to a black hole.
[What you are all seeing is what we call a Rift. We created it after countless years of hard work and research combined with countless experiments. You'll all be spending the next year inside. Be happy, because you will be the first Guardian candidates to enter the Rift. The Chosen will enter sometime later.]
A screen located near the Rift flickered to life, another crystal projection. This one, however, seemed to be more of a pre-recorded message and not a live connection like before. The 'Maria' that appeared on the screen was much more refreshed and energized than from when she appeared on screen before, so he assumed it was taken a long time ago based on the size of her hidden eye bags from before.
The group was led into the room, until they were all uncomfortably pressed next to the Rift. After a command was given, a section of the cage containing the Rift unsealed itself and began to rise away from it.
The Opfers closest to the sliding glass shuddered at the idea of going even closer, and couldn't even imagine going inside the abyssal tear. There was no word more apt at describing the Rift than evil.
Fen was more curious than anything, however, entranced by the strange movements of the Rift.
[It'll take you all to the training facility. Do not resist, or you will be torn apart and devoured. You might experience some severe disorientation from your matter and soul being manipulated and then transferred, so please remain still until we get you from the other side. But please remember, this is your only option. Good luck.]
'Soul manipulation?' A small seed of fear sprouted from inside Fen's chest, pushing his way into his heart, but he just added it to the growing pile of fears. He knew that they weren't telling them everything, that something else was bound to happen inside the Rift.
But they were right. They couldn't run away, or they would die. Fen inwardly chuckled bitterly to himself as he compared the two outcomes; dying here, on Earth, or being torn apart by the Rift. Whilst he hoped a death here would feel nicer and be less painful, he knew the choice he was going to make. Only one of those paths led him back to his parents and sister. To Miko.
He could only endure, and take the weight of his world upon his shoulders.
The rest of the Opfer made the same decision as Fen, although others, such as Marcus, chose to do so for a very different reason, with extremely different intents.
And so, they were all guided into the Rift, which gently swallowed each and every one of them. Anyone who looked upon the scene would describe it akin to leading innocent and meaty cows into a slaughterhouse, where they would be sliced up and prepared for consumption. Unfortunately, that descriptions wasn't too far off the mark.