The terrible light was blinding but it passed, as if driven away by the appearance of a new world.
Rey struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. It all looked real, the lavish chamber they were summoned in, the smell of chemical substances and candles. But it all felt so… different.
This world followed a different set of rules from where he came from, but the end result was still the same. Air filled his lungs as he took a deep breath and the ringing eventually faded. His legs were still grounded to the world, but it didn't feel like gravity… it felt like something was pressuring him from above to stay on the ground.
As the light faded out and the cacophony of sounds faded, he heard a voice.
"a$%#^$ hsadR&&" The noise sounded like a language but not any he had ever known of. But, then as if a fog was lifted. Rey understood the words that came next.
"Put them to sleep."
"Yes, my lord"
And the world went black.
***
When Rey woke up again, he was surrounded by masked men, in hooded outfits. They wore an insignia with two bloodied goat horns, the red color of the blood glinting in the light given by the lamp.
He was tied to a chair. There wasn't any 'ropes' tying him, but he could feel the restrictions digging into his arms.
The room was lavish and quite pretty, while the chair was quite comfortable. But the woman sitting in front of him, made shivers go up his spine.
Long cascading white hair and crimson eyes that seemed to see right through him. Her outfit was black and leathery, made of a particular material he couldn't quite describe.
Her cold expression did nothing to mitigate the instincts screaming at him to run away. He knew for a fact, that one wrong move was all that it would take for him to die.
"Welcome to H'trae."
Rey had to try his best from giving a sarcastic reply. It didn't take much convincing, seeing those crimson eyes boring down on him.
"Before we let you out in the world, we have to do some tests you see."
She said, her outfit was tight in just the right places, and it made her alluring despite the alarming number of weapons strapped to her body.
For all that Rey knew he was looking at death itself, he couldn't help but be attracted to it.
"W-What kind of t-tests?"
Rey cursed inwardly. He couldn't help but stutter when he was being stared down like this.
'I barely talk to people. I can't handle this kind of pressure.'
"Signs of Demonic possession. Contamination of evil entities. Presence of mind. You know… the usual."
Rey felt a lump in his throat and was silent.
"We just need permission from you to open your mind to us. We won't go through any of your memories, just confirm whether you're a demon or not."
"The other… more forceful methods, would work. But then that might just break you." She said the last two words with such bite that it made Rey flinch.
"What if I refuse?"
She smiled a bit that. And Rey felt his heart, beat just a bit faster. If the masked men behind her didn't draw out the knifes strapped to their sides, he might have had been more appreciative of it.
"Then you become a problem."
"…fine you can do whatever you want with me." Rey was scared and also angry at the control of his own life placed in someone else's hands.
But, this was the only way out of this situation.
"So, is there something specific I have to do…" Rey asked nervously.
"No, verbal confirmation was enough." The woman in black said, placing her hand on his head she spoke. She almost seemed to enjoy it.
"Don't resist"
And the world went black once more.
***
Rey woke up sprawled on the ground. His head hurt like crazy and his body seemed tense and sweaty.
The clothes on him were taken away and replaced with a simple one-piece clothing that went all the way to his ankles. His feet were bare on the other hand.
All his classmates were there with him, wearing the same outfit and confused expressions on their faces.
"Rey, you finally woke up." Billy helped him get up and helped him get updated him on the situation.
"You're the last person they dumped outside. The rest already went through their… interrogation, we were just waiting on Adrian and Acela." Billy explained.
Rey looked around. All the students were murmuring in hushed whispers. They were in a spacious courtyard.
"Did they have to be so rough?" Rey asked annoyed as he moved his sore joints.
"You took too long to wake up. Everyone else walked here guided by one of the maids. They said your mental fortitude was weaker than average."
"Damn. I'm starting to feel weaker and weaker." Rey muttered.
"I don't know about that man. I've been feeling pretty good after I received my class. Which one did you pick?"
"Ahh, I di-"
-Thwwwuuush-
Winds snapped around fiercely as a woman with a peculiar looking staff descended from the skies. She wore clothing that seemed inspired from fantasy mages, but with darker more silent hues.
A guard to the right of us, came forward and announced her presence.
"Lucielle Moon. Arch-mage of the Filian Kingdom and enforcer of the United Federation of Human Kingdoms."
The row of guards that guarded the arch-way, saluted. There was genuine respect and something like fear in their eyes.
Her brilliant blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and her red eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her glossy lips and perfect curves made her look otherworldly.
"Everyone, I hope you weren't treated too roughly by the demon Inquisition team" Her voice was friendly and bubbly, which did little to ease the tension in the room.
"You have to understand this was a necessary process to ensure our own safety and yours as well."
Everyone stayed silent. It seemed what happened to Acela made them more cautious, including me…
"Where's Acela and Adrian?" Alicia asked, a bit more politely than the time she questioned the Angel.
"If you mean the girl with the shattered knee, she was sent to a healer. We postponed her 'cleansing' till tomorrow and she will be quarantined for now."
"As for Adrian…" The woman hesitated for a bit before continuing.
"Sadly your friend has been imprisoned for showing signs of demonic possession."
And as if the wariness before was all a lie, the students clamored their voices in an uproar.
"Demons? Demons actually exist here!?!?" Sydney said frightened.
"Haha, demon possession? Couldn't be me." Adam said mockingly, he was speaking in this world's language for some reason. Damian who was next to him face-palmed while Fanwa had a slight smirk on his face.
"That guy was always a bit creepy to be honest." Belle said.
"N-None of us s-saw anything off about him." said Trisha slightly frowning with a stutter that elicited a few surprised looks.
Eric looked rather distracted. He was staring at the air a bit to the side and whispering something to Justin.
"I want to see him in person." Adonis said clenching his fist in a rare display of anger.
Noah and Jade looked miffed as well, whereas Belle looked rather unconcerned. The four of them usually hung out together, so it made sense for Adonis to be angry.
"We can't do that, anyone who meets him will be compromised. And you all will have to go through the 'cleansing' again." Lucielle said shaking her head.
Rey barely remembered what happened during his interrogation, but it was definitely unpleasant and something he would prefer never doing again.
"My [Serene Mind] makes me most invulnerable to mental attacks. Anyway, he's my friend and I can confirm whether he's a demon or not with one of my other skills." Adonis replied.
Lucielle's eyes glinted as if she just recognized who Adonis was.
"Ahh, you're the anomaly she mentioned. The [Hero], aren't you." Lucielle said with an excited smile.
The guards who were by the door, looked at Adonis with new eyes.
"Yes, that is the class I had chose" Adonis confirmed.
Lucielle pondered for a bit. "Fine it will be dangerous, especially with your low level. I will personally escort you and ensure your safety."
"I want to speak with him alone, if possible." Adonis asked.
"I will not leave you alone with a possible demon of all things and this isn't a request."
Adonis reluctantly accepted.
Lucielle then turned towards the rest of us. "All of you will be guided by the guards to the living quarters we have prepared. Any questions you have will be answered tomorrow after a good night's rest."
Some of the students looked like they had something to say but the look in Lucielle's eye made them think otherwise.
They quietly followed the guards.
************
"I expected something more like… ' o heroes of lore help vanish our sworn enemy' you know what I mean." Billy said.
Everyone had settled in their rooms and freshened up. They had been through a lot and wanted some time to gather their thoughts. Rey had instantly taken a small nap.
Rey was always good at telling the time, so he could tell it was about 6 p.m when he got to his room, by looking at the sun and 7 p.m by the time he woke up.
After a while Rey tried sneaking over to Billy's room as soon as the guards left the building. But, it seemed almost everyone else had the same idea. So, they all just hung out in the spacious living room enjoying the warmth of hearth.
Billy naturally sat next to Rey and started talking with him.
"Any fantasy I had, stopped when I saw the Angel break Acela's leg" Rey commented. He could feel himself physically cringing just remembering it.
"That was brutal, I had to look away when I saw her leg snap like that." Billy said.
"She was so cool though, she might be regretting it now that she has no skills or classes." Rey lamented.
Well, he didn't have any skills or classes either. Plus, he had a few debuffs like no killing. So, on all accounts Acela was probably doing better off than him at least.
Billy looked like he was about to reply, but was interrupted by a loud commotion next to the hearth.
Eric had somehow managed to make the fire in the hearth move and was knowing holding it above him in a violent and vaguely sphere like construct.
"Whoooooah" said Heba. looking at the fire with a child-like wonder in her eyes. Being a military otaku made her very interested in anything that involved explosives and guns.
"How did you do that? I tried saying the name of my skill and other things but nothing worked." Adam said looking jealous.
"I think you have to first access the status window and confirm how the skill works. Just reading the skill description gives you… some sort of access I guess." Eric replied
"How the fuck do you access the status window?" Vivienne said. She always had a bad habit of cursing whenever her mood got the better of her.
"I don't know how I actually did it." Eric admitted, droplets of sweat rolling down the side of his head.
"Try explaining the steps you took to get there." Alicia suggested.
Everyone was looking at Eric, waiting for an explanation. So, he must have been feeling a bit pressured.
"Ummm… Don't you guys feel it? The pressure mounting on us from above, it seems like gravity but it feels a bit different if you really pay attention to it." Eric continued to explain.
"What does that have to do with skills?" Belle asked annoyed. Her small figure causing her too look cute instead.
"I'm getting to that. Uhhh… It's like a spiritual pressure. Umm… that you feel when you close your eyes you know. Like a presence coming from one direction." Eric said trying his best to explain something that probably came natural for him.
"You just have to connect yourself and it gives you access to the 'system' I think. Its similar to the feeling I got when I was summoned to the Domain of God, but not really." Eric continued.
Eric answered a few more questions and almost everyone was able to connect to the system, Rey was still struggling though.
When he closed his eyes, he could feel the same pressure… the presence Eric was talking about but he couldn't really connect with it.
It wasn't only him that had this problem.
Alicia, Trisha, Levi, Adam and May were also visibly struggling.
"I don't really get it, what do you mean connect yourself." Clark asked scratching his scraggly beard.
"Like can't you sense you when you close your eyes. Like your thoughts, you and everything and then… you can feel something else. Something, far away but also inviting." Eric explained.
Clark closed his eyes and concentrated for a few minutes.
"Eh, I still don't get it." Clark said.
"Just close your eyes and accept the invitation from the other guy who's there." Justin tried explaining.
"Oh!, I see the status window now." Clark exclaimed.
"How the actual fuck! He explained it so much worse than me." Eric replied waving his hands about in irritation.
"He's just better at explaining things, I guess." Clark said shrugging.
"Yeah, Eric don't be so angry just cause you're bad at explaining things." Justin teased.
Eric looked like he wanted to throw the ball of fire at Justin's face."Motherf-"
"I'm still unable to access the status screen or whatever you guys were talking about." Alicia interrupted.
Eric looked confused.
"That's odd. It was pretty easy for me." Eric said.
"Way to rub it in." Justin snickered.
"I didn't mean it like that." Eric replied looking visibly apologetic as he scratched his head. His messy red hair shining with condensation, as he looked visibly more tired from controlling.
His apology only made Alicia and the rest of us who couldn't access it only more annoyed though.
"Yeah, I can't either." Rey said.
"Ahhhhh, why can this bastard do it before me." Adam lamented.
"I can sense the presence your talking about, but I cant form the mental connection." Alicia admitted.
Eric looked thoughtful and replied after pondering about it for a few minutes.
"Maybe you guys just suck."
Adam shoved Eric back and he fell with a grunt on to the floor. The flame sphere like thing dispersed in the air after leaving a charred mark near the chandelier. He cursed at Adam, who didn't look the least bit apologetic.
"Maybe its because I resisted the 'cleansing'." Alicia suggested.
This earned her a couple of surprised looks.
"You refused the scary demon lady?" Sydney asked a bit bewildered.
"I just didn't like the idea of giving someone free access to my mind. Well, it didn't matter anyway. She just placed her hand on my head either way and brute forced her way through." Alicia replied. She looked pained just remembering the ordeal.
"They said most of the damage would heal by tomorrow. But, I lost some of my memories permanently." Alicia said.
"What kind of memories?" Billy asked.
"Just some old ones. I don't think they were that important thankfully." Alicia replied.
Billy looked a bit concerned. He and Alicia were childhood friends who stayed good friends till now. Most of the boys in our class knew he had a crush on Alicia, but she remained oblivious to his affections.
Before he could ask further, the double doors leading outside opened inwards. The cold air streamed in, as Adonis walked in with a steely expression.
"Rey, we need to talk." He said firmly, as his expression hardened on me.
The class turned their heads to look at me, wondering what Adonis wanted with me.
…and I was wondering the same.