The shrill sound of the bell resounded across the building signalling the start of the new day.
Zik got up from the sitting position expectation etched onto his face as he stepped into the corridor. As expected everyone seemed to be in a hurry, as everywhere he looked there were aspirants dressed exactly like him rushing towards the platform.
Without wasting time, Zik joined the frenzied crowd in their downward descent. The platform was half filled when he got there so he had the space of a few moments to catch his breath which he did.
The platform became filled to the brim as other aspirants arrived with a few stragglers lagging behind.
After everyone had assembled, one of the doors on the lower floor suddenly sprung open as a man walked out.
He was a walker obviously, he was draped in a long white lab coat that spoke of deep scientific roots that of course was connected to the six clans since they controlled every aspect of life now.
He scanned the crowd of aspirants before parting his lips as he said
"Follow me" then he turned and went back through the door he came from.
Everyone was frozen at first not waiting for who would step forward first as they looked at each other wondering who would step forward first.
It wasn't until one of them stepped forward first before they started filing into the room.
Zik was neither at the fore front of the procession, nor was he at the rear. He was somewhere in the middle and so he didn't exactly see what was happening. Not until they entered the room and spread out filing the space.
As expected, the room was bigger than what was shown outside. Zik has seen enough of this to be surprised, infact he had expected something like this as he didn't know how a room like that would contain the staggering number of aspirants.
Apart from the increased space, there were other things that piqued Zik's interest. The room was a little bit different from pictures of the old world laboratory but that was just because it looks more advanced.
Inside, everywhere was completely white with various empty glass shelves lining the wall. Towards the front was a raised platform that was probably there to act as a stage, the walker from earlier stood on it with folded arms beside him was a large orb that gave off a faint glow that was hard to miss, It was levitating itself without any support whatsoever.
The orb wasn't really big, it had a circumference comparable to that of a tennis ball, but from his position in the room Zik could feel something moving, calling out to him from within.
It felt like a pulse as it's presence attracted everyone's attention like a magnet.
Standing quietly at the side of the podium was an orderly line of humanoid robots with eerie glassy eyes that reflects light back up on itself, and since the room was completely white their eyes also took a whitish hue.
Just as Zik was observing and taking note of notable things in the room, he suddenly felt an arm wrap around his neck towards his shoulder.
His first instinct was to grab the hand and fling the person in an acrobatic maneuver but the person grip seemed to be too strong to move. Zike looked sideways and he would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised to see the boy from the dining smiling back at him.
The boy raised his other arm as if to say hi as his smile didn't waver in the slightest.
Zik's mild surprise devolved into a scowl as he didn't expect this guy to bother him again so soon after what had transpired yesterday.
Just as he was about to reprimand him for touching him and invading his personal space, the walker spoke
"You may all seat"
The boy flashed Zik a grin as if to say
'you're stuck with me now' before scurrying to find a place to sit on the floor just like the rest of the aspirants.
Zik also found a spot but it was uncomfortably close to the boy. He sat cross legged waiting for the walker to continue when the boy suddenly whispered in his ear
"I'm Enzo by the way. What might your name be?"
Zik didn't know why but he felt a compulsion to reply and so he did
"Zik"
"Zik?" Enzo asked as if to make sure he hadn't heard wrong
"That's it? Just Zik?"
He looked towards Zik expecting some form of clarification which he never got but that didn't deter him from rambling on
"You've got a funny name man...blah!...blah!....blah!" Zik didn't pay him any mind though as he acted as if he was air.
Not until Enzo mentioned something interesting
"Do you know what that orb on the podium is?"
Zik raised an eyebrow
"No. Do you?"
"Of course..."
".....That's a Veyra orb"
"Veyra? You mean Walker's energy?"
Veyra is the very thing that powers a walker and fuels their ability. Mostly contained within the body, it is very difficult to see it with the naked eye let alone collect it into a vessel other than a Walker's body which goes to show how valuable this small orb is.
But that did little to explain it's presence in this room. Various questions rose within Zik's mind unanswered but they didn't stay so for long.
The Walker,taking a casual step forward, the whole room fell into silence as that single gesture was enough to hint at something. He scanned the crowd with a sharp gaze as a heavy presence descended upon the whole room as if to emphasize the gravity of what was to come next.
"There are six known stages of being a walker...." He began
"I believe this is common knowledge and the majority of you knows the six stages...."
How could they not, it was what they've been aspiring for since they learned to talk
"But..." He continued, pausing a little for his words to sink in
"What we're about to do here today isn't really common knowledge"