Thirty minutes earlier, Callum followed the crowd of eighteen-year-olds through the corridors of the Hunter Association headquarters, feeling like a piece of driftwood caught in a current. There were hundreds of them here, maybe close to a thousand just in this building alone, all moving in the sa direction with the sa nervous energy.
The woman leading them guided them into a massive assembly hall that had clearly been converted from so other purpose into a staging area. The room was huge, big enough to hold everyone comfortably with space left over, and the doors closed behind them with a heavy thunk that made the space feel suddenly more enclosed.
Once everyone had filed in and the murmuring conversations started dying down, she climbed onto a small raised platform at the front so everyone could see her. She waited for complete silence before speaking, her voice amplified by speakers mounted around the hall.
"Hello everyone. Welco to your awakening ceremony."
The room went completely quiet. Even the people who’d been whispering to friends stopped to listen.
She continued, her tone professional but genuinely encouraging, like she was trying to make this less terrifying than it felt.
"I know this isn’t how any of you expected this to happen. You were supposed to have your ceremony three months from now under normal circumstances, with proper preparation and scheduling. But these aren’t normal circumstances, and we need to move quickly."
She paused, making eye contact with different sections of the crowd, ensuring she had everyone’s attention.
"I want to be honest with you about what happens next. If you don’t awaken today, it’s not a bad thing. You get to continue living as a normal person, working a normal job, living a normal life. A 9-to-5 existence just like it was before all of this started."
Her expression beca more serious, the encouragent giving way to hard truth.
"But with the current threat we’re facing, you’ll first have to survive. That’s the reality. Whether you awaken or not, the next sixty-four hours are going to be difficult for everyone on this planet. The barriers will fall, the invasion will begin, and nothing will be the sa after that."
So of the teenagers shifted uncomfortably. A few looked scared, their faces pale and eyes too wide. Others looked determined, jaws set and hands clenched into fists.
"However," the woman’s tone brightened slightly, offering hope to balance the fear, "if you do awaken, that’s also a good thing. You’ll be one of the people protecting those who didn’t awaken. You’ll have the power to make a real difference, to save lives, to fight back against what’s coming through those rifts."
She let that sink in, watching comprehension spread across young faces.
"And even if you don’t awaken during this ceremony, there’s still hope. You might get contracted by a god later and awaken that way. If you’re particularly lucky, you might even awaken naturally AND receive a divine contract simultaneously, just like Margot Castellane, the head of Thornwatch Guild did. She’s one of Britain’s strongest hunters, and she received both on the sa day."
Murmurs spread through the crowd at the ntion of a famous na. Callum had heard of Castellane, everyone had. She was in the news regularly, one of the faces you thought of when you thought about powerful hunters.
The woman raised her hand for quiet, and the murmuring died down quickly.
"Now, because there are so many of you and we need to process everyone quickly, we’re going to split you into groups. Please pay attention to the following instructions."
She gestured to several Hunter Association staff mbers standing along the walls, each holding signs with large numbers printed on them.
"We’ll be distributing numbered tags, numbers one through ten. Each number corresponds to a different awakening chamber. When you receive your tag, find others with the sa number and follow the designated staff mber to your room. The process will begin as soon as everyone’s in position."
The staff mbers began moving through the crowd, handing out small laminated cards from stacks they carried.
One of them reached Callum and handed him a card marked with a large "3" in bold black print, then moved on to the next person without comnt.
Callum stared at the number, his thumb running over the smooth laminated surface. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. This was actually happening. In a few minutes, he’d know whether he awakened or not, whether he’d be like Aiden with powers or remain normal like he’d been his entire life.
Around him, the room was full of typical eighteen-year-old energy despite the circumstances. So kids were nervous, fidgeting with their tags or checking their phones even though the networks were mostly dead. Others were trying to act confident, joking with friends or talking loudly about what rank they’d get when they awakened, as if saying it confidently enough would make it true. A few stood quietly, anxiety written plainly on their faces but keeping it to themselves.
Nobody was crying. This wasn’t a funeral or a tragedy, it was more like waiting before a big exam, that mix of anticipation and dread that made ti feel strange and your stomach clench.
The woman’s voice cut through the chatter again, pulling attention back to the front.
"We’ve finished distributing the tags. Now, if your number is one, please co together as a group and follow the man over there."
She pointed to a Hunter Association staff mber holding up a sign marked "1" in large letters. About eighty kids started moving in that direction, clustering together and forming a loose group.
"Sa for all other numbers," the woman continued, her voice clear and authoritative. "Find your group, follow your assigned guide. The awakening process will begin as soon as you reach your chambers."
Callum looked around and spotted other people holding cards with "3" on them. He made his way over, weaving through the crowd, joining a group of roughly seventy other eighteen-year-olds. They were a mixed bunch, different backgrounds and attitudes, different levels of obvious wealth judging by their clothes, all sharing the sa nervous energy that made the air feel electric.
A woman in Hunter Association uniform stepped forward holding a sign marked "3." She was younger than the one who’d given the speech, maybe early thirties, with sharp eyes and an efficient manner about her.
"Number threes, follow please," she said, already turning toward one of the corridor entrances.
The group started moving. Callum fell in with them, his numbered tag still clutched in his hand, walking toward whatever ca next.
They filed down a corridor that branched off from the main assembly hall, following their guide through turns that Callum imdiately lost track of. The building was a maze, and he suspected they were being led deep enough inside that finding their way back without guidance would be difficult.
After maybe two minutes of walking, they reached a set of double doors. The guide pushed through without slowing, holding one door open for the group to file past.
The room beyond was large and circular, with high ceilings and walls covered in formations that glowed faintly with embedded mana. In the center sat a massive stone structure, maybe three ters tall, carved from dark grey rock and covered in ancient-looking symbols that pulsed with the sa faint light as the wall formations.
The Awakening Stone.
Callum had seen pictures of these before, everyone had, but seeing one in person was different. It felt old, powerful, like standing near sothing that existed outside normal human understanding.
"Everyone find a spot along the walls," the guide instructed, gesturing around the room. "We’ll call you up one at a ti. When your number’s called, approach the stone and place both hands on it. The process takes about thirty seconds. Just relax and let the mana do its work."
The group spread out, so sitting on the floor imdiately, others leaning against walls or standing with arms crossed. Callum found a spot near the middle of the left wall and sat down, his back against the cool stone, the numbered tag still in his hand.
’Just like Aiden’s ceremony,’ he thought, though Aiden had never really talked about the details. Just that he’d failed, that the stone hadn’t reacted, and that he’d spent the next thirteen years living as an ordinary person in a world that increasingly valued awakened over everyone else.
The guide pulled out a tablet and tapped at the screen a few tis, then looked up at the group.
"We’ll start with whoever’s closest to and work our way around the room. You there, in the blue jacket, you’re first."
A nervous-looking boy stood up from where he’d been sitting near the front, walking toward the stone like he was approaching an execution rather than a test.
Callum settled in to wait his turn, watching as the first evaluation began.
[64:00:33... 64:00:32... 64:00:31...]
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