I walked down the dimly lit corridor, my heart racing with anticipation. The walls were made of rough stone and moss grew in between the cracks, adding an eerie atmosphere to the underground tunnel. My footsteps echoed loudly, amplifying the eerie silence around me.
As I reached the end of the tunnel, I came across a large, circular room. The room was cavernous, with a high ceiling that seemed to disappear into the darkness. The lady who took us from our homes showed up behind us and herded me and the other kids. She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a small knife and slides it over her hand. Blood gushes out in a small stream. She then moves around us like a lion staring down a gazelle. Once she made a circle with her blood. She gave a smile to me and the kids. I was unfazed. My last instructor was scarier than this woman.
She snapped her fingers and the blood lit on fire and a fire circle sprouted around us.
The fire was frightening to behold. The flames leapt high into the ceiling high, casting an Surreal glow over me and the people gathered within its confines. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and blood with the sound of crackling flames getting louder.
She placed her blood covered hand on the Pedestal and it bursted with a dark aura that creeped forward. It was like oil I'm not sure how to describe.
It was mesmerizing. I want to run my hands through it and feel the soft feeling of it running through my hands. Unfortunately it wouldn't be wise to interrupt the sorting so my hands go back into my pockets. My eyes closed for a second and when they opened back up the oil or unconfirmed liquid was gone. Slowly The woman came into my line of sight again. Instinctively I lowered my head down and she went past me without a passing glance. Her mouth moves to say something
"It's time for you kids to be sorted into your military branch"
She had a voice that felt metallic but also with a tinge of warmth when she looked at one of the kids, most likely a relative. She goes on.
"You will have to do the ritual that will sort you into your branch". She said with a slow drawl that vibrated across the stone walls.
"I will tell you once and only once about your branch when a person is sorted into their branch".
Her hand reaches into her coat and pulls out an old paper out of her coat.
"Akari Nakamura"
A girl with brown hair with a yellow dress with pink polka dot she slowly hesitantly moved towards the lady until she motioned to the pedestal. When she reached out to the pedestal an orb the same color as the dark aura and it seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy.
Despite her hesitation, Akari reached out to touch the orb. As her fingers made contact with its smooth surface, a surge of light coursed through the room. As quickly as the light appeared it disappeared
"So what branch did you get into"
"Auxilium" The girl looked like she was about to blow away at the slightest breeze.
"Hmmm The Auxilium a fine branch you won't see much combat only the aftermath of a battlefield you got lucky girlie you might live to thirty"
My ears perked up when I heard about the survival rates of that branch 'maybe I should go into that branch. I mean if they have a high survival rate how hard can it be'. Then a few more names went by all going into the same branch until a boy with brown hair pale with freckles his curls bounced up and down as he moved. He strove up to the orb with a confident look about him. He touched the orb and the flash of light lasted for a whole minute or maybe I just think it lasted for so long. All I know is that it was longer than his predecessors before him. He whispered to the lady and went back in line and she grinned at him. Then my name came up slowly. I sauntered over to the orb and I perceived blood at the center, and as I grasped the orb, a burst of light transported me to an altered state of consciousness. When vision returned to me I noticed I'm in a grand, rocky area on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The setting is awe-inspiring, with a sense of majesty and grandeur. The sky is overcast, and the scene is illuminated by a soft, ambient light. Further evaluation: a man stands tall on the rocky cliff, overlooking the endless expanse of the ocean below. He is dressed in plain but sturdy clothes, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if searching for something beyond. The grandeur and majesty of the rocky area around him seem to add to his imposing presence.
He turns around when I shift a rock slightly.
Wind blows past me and a hand pressed firmly against my shoulder. My neck snaps back to see the man with a grimace on his face with cold empty eyes and dead hands.
"Hello boy i've waited a year to meet you" Thoughts swirled around my head like a tornado but it all came to a stop with his next words.
"You know it's common courtesy to speak when spoken to". The grimace on his face disappeared . The expression wasn't a smile or a frown somewhere in between.
"So it's your time to get placed into your own hell ready"?
"No" my voice came out as a whisper.
"Too bad so this is how this works while we're talking. I'm draining a small amount of blood enough that I can manifest in your mind but I can't possess you unless you leak too much which would take a whole hour".
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"But"? A question on my lips but he cuts me off before I can say my point he interrupts.
"I'm cursed that the founder of this establishment ruined me. I was so close to gaining a host but he ruined it! Anyways, I'll be going through your memories.
Interesting you could be quite an Occult Task Force you have the magic and power and deep inside you want something that you won't admit to yourself you'll do perfect i just want you to do one thing if you ever felt like leaving take me with you and let me posses someone ill teach you everything i know".
"Um sir?" He was going to respond but the world crashed around me and I woke up still standing next to the pedestal. I told the woman about what he said and she just grinned and sent me off. I was so dazed that eventually the sorting ended and we were separated into groups. There were five groups: the one I'm in and the other one I'm not sure about the other three.
It was just me and the kid who went before me. He coolly stared at me. His look warmed up when we walked to our quarters. Are jailer was a tall middle aged white man wearing a Utility Cap he didn't say more than a few words. "Follow me to your room".
The room had two beds, a room divider, a table, closet and a door that leads off to a different room. Behind me, the door slams shut, leaving the other boy bewildered and trapped with me.