A week later, Caelum had stayed in the 8th District School dormitory. Sprawled across his bed, he had barely moved since finishing the exam, his days a blending and mixing between routine meals in the lunch hall and solitary hours at the training grounds, preparing for the awakening rift ceremony ahead if he passed. The excess of idle time left him uneasy.
The room assigned to him reflected his AT-3 rank: Spartan and utilitarian, with minimal space to spare. His bed protruded from the wall like a convenience. A desk and a locker comprised the room's amenities. Through the narrow window—a slit rather than an actual opening—he observed
EVROPA's architecture: orderly stacks of concrete and steel. At night, transit rails cut through the cityscape.
The datapad lit up. Instantly, Caelum shot upright, launching himself from the bed and scrambling to his desk. He grabbed the device, breathing heavily. When he opened the notification, his eyes lit up, and he pressed the screen.
—[RMA/ACADEMIC REVIEW: UPDATED]—
NAME: Caelum Ward
CANDIDATE: 115-08-845
ATS STATUS: AT-3
DISCIPLINARY FLAGS: LOW
—[SHOW WRITTEN EXAM RESULT]—
Caelum held his breath, then tapped the cold screen.
—[EXAM RESULT]—
RESULT: PASS
SCORE: 82
COHORT PERCENTILE: 71
RMA ELIGIBILITY: PROVISIONAL
AWAKENING GATE STATUS: PENDING
—[CLOSE DOCUMENT]—
He stared in disbelief. He had passed. The document was blunt, yet the truth felt distant. He had devoted years to the ATS to reach this moment.
Caelum tossed the datapad on his bed. Suddenly, he jumped around the room, throwing fist pumps in the air. His movements were cut short when he heard someone in the neighbouring room slap the wall, snapping him out of his celebration as embarrassment crept in.
Caelum knew he could be summoned to meet up at his assigned awakening gate at any moment. He kept a backpack packed with essentials and basic necessities: a coil of rope, 8 canned food tins, water purification tablets, medical gear—gauze, antibiotics, a firestarter, painkillers—and a spare change of clothes. He knew that returning from an awakening gate unharmed—escaping both the claws of abyssal creatures and unseen threats—was a rare achievement.
Leaving his room, Caelum walked down the dormitory wing. He passed groups of cadets celebrating in the corridors—likely those who had also passed their exams. Faces full of joy filled the halls, while those who had failed seemed to have retreated into their rooms. On his route past the study hall and vending machines, he thought, Never will you steal another cred from me.
As Caelum neared the training hall, the smell of a mixture of rubber mats, deodorant, sweat, and perfume filled his senses. Entering the main training hall, he saw cadets working with equipment—weights clanking and grunts echoing. Most were at the sparring grounds, preparing for combat. Caelum made his way to the endurance stations instead, determined to focus on building stamina above all else. If he could outrun the threat, then he could survive.
Caelum got to the area with the treadmills and put on his earplugs. The music of *Hollow Atlas* had been his recent obsession—a marked artist whose underground tracks were spreading through the ranks of other cadets like contraband. The way they sang about their experiences and trials in the rifts inspired much of the younger generation. Rift-based consumer products have generally been exploding in popularity over the last few years, with Matorex Juice and *Hollow Atlas* being just two recent examples. Caelum had heard from some of the other cadets that some rift-focused clothing brands for the marked were trending fast among the common unmarked population.
After around 40 minutes on the treadmill, Caelum felt like he had gotten enough training and got off the machine. He grabbed his waterbottle and drank half the bottle in one go to quench his thirst. He had not received any notification on his datapad yet; getting assigned a gate would take some time, as far as he knew. Caelum just hoped to get a somewhat stable gate with a low casualty rate. Getting a non-combat power and coasting his way with his new freedom, with a cosy office gig, would be the dream, but Caelum knew that was what it was—a Dream.
Caelum took a shower at the training hall before returning to his room, and now he felt clean and refreshed. Caelum set his sight on what else he would bring to the gate. The ATS had given him an overview of what would be issued for the awakening portal: a handgun with two magazines and a weapon of his choice. Most ATS schools train the cadet in basic Close Quarters Combat, should one meet anything hostile in the rift. They had also gone through basic firearms safety and handling, though no Cadet had been given a real gun for security reasons; only those who would go into a rift would be getting any use from that lesson.
Looking over the common weapons people took with them into the rift, the bow, the spear, the sword, the mace, the axe and daggers. He had gotten to test each of these weapons a year ago at the training grounds. Each had its own pros and cons, and might influence the type of power he would gain from his rift. The teachers would say that the rifts would measure every action one takes within them. The power seeping into their souls from the reality itself. If Caelum entered the rift with daggers and stalked around killing the local fauna, he might get a recon or assassin-type power. A bow might facilitate tracking and ranged ability. The handgun everyone got was just to save themselves in the worst situation, but some people got powers from their use, too.
Thinking long and hard about his goals and his experiences with the weapons when he got to test them. Caelum settled onto the spear; it offered better range than swords and daggers and was easy to use and learn, but hard to master. If I had to fight some ghastly horrors from beyond our reality, then having them beyond arm's length would be nice. Caelum thought.
A light lit up the now somewhat dim room, a notification on the datapad. This time, Caelum didn't scramble to the pad but walked. He hadn't expected it to be what it was. Not this soon:
—[AWAKENING GATE ALLOCATION]—
RIFT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY - ASSIGNMENT NOTICE
CANDIDATE: 115-08-845
ASSIGNED GATEWARD: EVROPA GATEWARD 9 // UNIT 3
GATE DESIGNATION: SABLE-THREAD (S-19)
CLASSIFICATION: AWAKENING RIFT
STABILITY: GREEN-2
HOSTILITY INDEX: LOW–MODERATE
HISTORICAL CASUALTY EXPECTATION: 18%
RETURN WINDOW: 72 HOURS
ESCORT LEVEL: STANDARD
—[CLOSE DOCUMENT]—
A knot formed in his throat; he thought he was ready, that he had mentally prepared himself, but when his eyes set on the casualty expectations, he still steeled himself. 18% wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. Caelum knew that this chance was most likely higher. The ATS likes to muddy the waters with its statistics. If an awakener didn't return, then they were lost, not dead. The actual percentage for this gate was around 25%, according to Caelum. Still, a 1 in 4 chance to make it out alive was something he could accept. If he survived AND got powers, then that would be the best outcome. Looking out the narrow window into the arcology. Caelum made a promise to himself. He would return. Alive.