In the sanctuary, the red smoke began to dissipate, and Rin was the first to awaken. As he opened his eyes, a few tears trickled down his face. He wiped them away with his sleeves and realized two things.
The first, most obvious, was that his vision had greatly improved. But beyond that, though less apparent, his other senses also seemed enhanced.
The second was that inexplicably, he knew how to activate his "mana sense," but he hadn't done so yet, preferring to observe his surroundings.
Initially, the other nine individuals in the circle had their eyes closed, each displaying a different expression: some furrowed their brows, others smiled. Nothing particularly noteworthy.
However, the upper floors were a different story. Rin's pupils narrowed as he saw that a large portion of the people were still seated, but in some places, pools of blood could be seen. And worse still, the top floor, which from Rin's position was like a sea of carpets, had turned into a slight pool of blood.
Every second, soldiers rushed to extract cold bodies and disabled individuals.
Rin wasn't psychologically weak, especially after experiencing the atrocities ten years ago. However, this unexpected scene simply made him sad for these brave young men and women.
A movement beside him brought him out of his contemplation. Alliong began to glow slightly, not himself, but his nerves emitted light, making his body slightly luminous.
Alliong, whom Rin affectionately called the Living Lamp in his mind, returned to his normal state after five minutes, opened his eyes, looked around, and saw Rin looking at him with a smirk.
But even before communicating, the two noticed a change in Shen Yi. His initially long hair caught fire, but this fire wasn't warm; it emitted a cold sensation. Rin, who was on the opposite side of the circle, felt his hair stand on end with a shiver.
The combustion lasted two or three seconds, and what remained was shoulder-length hair of a deep dark blue.
Shocked by this scene, Rin looked to Alliong for psychological support but saw him simply looking at his own hands like an idiot.
"So, do you find your stigmata to your liking?" asked Alliong, trying to understand what had changed in his body.
"Mine isn't shocking; it's just my semi-stigmata, but without the random activation," replied Rin frankly.
Shen Yi touched his hair and even appreciated its color, but responded coldly, "I need to fight to truly understand what it entails."
Alliong, glad not to be the only one, smiled. "Same as you, I don't understand the extent of the stigmata unless I test it."
"We have to wait for everyone to wake up for that," said Rin, resting his head on his hand, his elbow propped on his leg. He continued, "Given the awakening sequence, it must be related to our scores. So, the next to wake up, or rather, the next, should be Shaana." And when he finished speaking, small particles of light began to gather at the top of Shaana's head.
Rin squinted, not understanding what it was. But after a few seconds, the lights formed a magnificent crown, created and destroyed just as quickly, and the lights separated and disappeared.
Shaana opened her eyes and nodded to the three others who were awake.
Shortly after, and in order, Yuuki, Shin, and Million woke up, but with no apparent change. Then, the biggest change that shocked everyone, including the stable Shin and the cold Shen Yi, was Hayashi's awakening.
Rin looked strangely at the girl in front of him. Before the ceremony, her voice was barely audible. She had remained withdrawn throughout the journey here and constantly had wounded eyes.
"But this change is still violent," smiled Rin helplessly at the scene before him.
Hayashi grabbed the collar of Million, who was to her right, and with her red irises and her crazy smile, she shouted, "Do you have a problem?? Dare to repeat that!"
Million, not taking offense at Hayashi's behavior, looked at her with disgust. "I told you not to look at me with your crazy ally eyes."
Seeing the situation escalate, Shaana decided to intervene as a mediator and stepped in with a gentle voice, "The test must have been mentally exhausting for both of you. Stop fighting over a few clumsy words."
Million, like a perfectly calibrated machine, instantly calmed down when Shaana's voice reached his auditory nerves, and sat back down as if nothing had happened. "Lady Shaana is right; it's pointless. Let's stop here, the demo... Hayashi."
During their exchange, Nikito and Ebina woke up, but at first glance, nothing had changed.
Rin laughed helplessly and chatted a bit with everyone while waiting for the last to wake up on the upper floors. He discovered that his comrades all had their personalities.
Alliong was a good guy, with a great sense of self-esteem and was very outgoing... Rin had nothing more to say about this wardrobe that was a head taller than him.
Million, on the other hand, was the most hot-headed, but when Shaana was around, he was the sweetest, which made Rin laugh a lot.
Shaana was extremely kind and of great kindness, always with a smile on her lips.
Yuuki and Shen Yi were two sides of the same coin: both extremely cold and distant, but the former was just very cold, probably due to past experiences, while the latter was naturally cold but would respond when spoken to and could hold a conversation.
Nikito was a good guy, kind and quite funny, but unfortunately, he had a confidence issue when more than two people listened to him talk.
Ebina was very outgoing and had a strong competitive spirit. She didn't hesitate to confront others if needed.
But the weirdest in the bunch for Rin was Shin because he was indecipherable: calm, answered when necessary, and said nothing when he didn't need to. He was perfect from Rin's point of view, to be honest, which left him with a little suspicion because someone as hotheaded as Hayashi or Million was tens of times easier to handle than Shin.
After a few minutes, the large door reopened, and Commander Rengoku entered the sanctuary.
He stopped halfway and looked at everyone. "Congratulations to all of you for your awakening. The two upper floors will follow the soldiers to record your information and get your awakened cards."
He smiled and continued, "I hope your addition to our forces will be the feather that tips the delicate balance that keeps humanity alive."
After everyone left, he looked at the first ten and approached much more relaxedly. "Well, you ten, follow me to the grand library. It turns out we have direct access to it in the sanctuary. After receiving your mana exercises, you can go home, and tomorrow come back to the gym for a group training session reserved for you ten. We have decided to help you understand certain things."
Rin and the others nodded like chickens and followed the commander without asking questions.