Ryuk's perspective:
Samuel Ashcroft, the person around whom this world revolved, looked like a young man over ten years of age, with light skin, jet-black hair and eyes so dark that even the void would pale in comparison to it. He wore a black-coloured three-piece suit made of cheap wool, a pair of white gloves and a white shirt on the inside.
He was nothing more than a commoner in a world where being poor is a sin itself, however, he was blessed with good parents who were kind to him and people around him who showed them proper respect. Yes, he was a resident of Central City.
He came to this awakening ceremony in hopes of becoming an awakened meta-human, just like Thomas Allen, his role model. He also wanted to meet him face to face if he could as his father had told him that Thomas was present in the awakening ceremony.
As the young man was walking towards a crowd, he accidentally bumped into a kid of a similar age as him.
"Oh! I am sorry, I wasn't looking ahead," Samuel spoke out in a hurry, bowing his head slightly; he knew better than accidentally angering a high-class person by accident as the awakening ceremony was a gathering of both lower class and higher class alike.
"It's fine. It happens sometimes when you are too excited, and it's hard not to be excited in a joyful event like this; you don't have to bow," Ray reassured him, picking him up by his shoulder.
"Sorry for the trouble; I am Samuel Ashcroft; nice to meet you," Samuel put his hand forward for a shake.
"Ray Allen, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Ray replied, receiving the handshake with a smile on his face.
"Allen..? Like The Allen?"
"Yes."
"I am talking to the nephew of Thomas Allen?"
"Yes."
"..." Samuel stood completely still, stunned by the answer.
He wanted to meet the Allens but didn't think he would meet them so early.
This... Is the best day of my life! Samuel's smile brightened.
"Can you let go of my hand now?" Ray asked kindly.
"Oh, sorry about that... I was just a bit surprised; I didn't think I would meet someone from the five major families so early; I am a huge fan of the Allens," Samuel continued, letting go of my hand.
"I can tell by your expressions," Ray laughed it off lightly. "Well, since the ceremony is about to start, why don't we move closer to the awakening stone? There is already a huge crowd that has started to form around it; we might not find a spot later."
For meta humans who don't have a power source like the Allens who have the Concept of Time, they can awaken their genes through the use of an awakening stone. There are two types of awakening stones: one that awakens a meta-human and is usable many times and the other changes the whole biological information of a creature and turns them into a meta-human. The Cyrus Stone that I consumed fell in the latter category.
"... What? Oh, of course! Sorry, I am still in the part where I am talking to an Allen."
"Hard to process?"
"Hard to process."
"Get used to it; if you join Paragon, this will likely fall into your daily routine."
Paragon was the best academy on Earth that was known for having produced ninety percent of the best heroes on Earth and excellent soldiers for the second and even first-grade army of the sole ruler of this universe.
Earth was, therefore, classified as the birthplace of many heroes because of Paragon's existence. It also had many branches in other worlds but the main branch solely resided on Earth.
"Paragon... That is just wishful thinking; someone like me can never join such an academy," Samuel replied while following Ray as they walked towards the centre of the hall where the awakening stone was soon to be placed.
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely decide where you can start.... Someone once told me that," Ray stated while heaving a sigh; there was a gentle smile that appeared on his face unknown to him. But now I know that everyone needs a good guide in their lives and if they don't have that, they need to become their own guides.
"I wonder if that is even true in a world like this," Samuel shook his head.
After we got close enough to the awakening stone, which was surrounded by armed police forces, the announcer started the announcement from the stage.
The police forces were made up of Mahoons, with some meta-humans in the mix. The Mahoons were an alien race with humanoid-shaped bodies, the skin of hippopotamuses and heads that looked like baby hippopotamus heads. They were the main Police force in this universe because of their strong sense of justice and nigh incorruptible nature.
The announcer, on the other hand, was a female Atrax, an alien race with humanoid-shaped bodies, scaled green skin, a cat-like tail and a human-like face. Their mainstream of wizards and witches mostly consisted of Sound Path walkers which is why they are mostly announcers, voice actors and musicians.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to kindly request a moment of your attention; this year's awakening ceremony will hereby start from now on; the pre-awakened are requested to follow the lead of the officer and make a line when their batch numbers are called. Please don't create any chaos, as doing so results in your immediate arrest." The announcer stated as her voice was repeated a total of three times in the hall.
The pre-awakened followed her words and were guided to form a line by the officers.
Soon enough, an officer came with a heavy suitcase in his hand, which he placed on the pedestal in the middle of the circle. He then opened the case revealing a shiny white stone with a delicate but peculiar design.
The first batch was then let through as they all gathered around the circle; some prayed in their hearts while some looked nervous; all of them had high hopes for their abilities as they didn't know what it could be.
All of a sudden, the stone glowed brightly, blinding the crowd around it for a second before they screamed out a single word, "Status".
Among the ten people surrounding the awakening stone, three fell on the ground crying out tears of sadness; four shouted out in anger, arguing that there had been a mistake, and the rest accepted their fates without any complaints.
... Among the first batch, no one awakened an ability above D rank.