Chapter 45: The Chosen
The room was silent.
Everyone listened as Ragnar continued his story.
He leaned back against the couch, his bandaged chest rising and falling slowly.
"After that meeting," Ragnar began, "they released us the very next day."
Aoi frowned.
"They actually kept their promise?"
"Yeah."
Ragnar nodded.
"I thought it was bullshit too."
A day after his meeting with the mysterious man, Ragnar and Hoshina had been escorted out of juvenile detention.
Waiting for them outside was a black Jeep.
A man in a black suit stood beside it.
The moment Ragnar and Hoshina stepped outside, the man looked at them.
"Riaga Kurosaki and Hoshina?"
The two exchanged glances.
"…Yeah."
The man opened the rear door.
"Get in."
Ragnar frowned.
"No greeting? No explanation? Nothing?"
The man didn't respond. His expression never changed.
After a few seconds, Ragnar clicked his tongue and entered the vehicle. Hoshina followed.
The Jeep pulled away.
For nearly two hours, nobody spoke.
Eventually Ragnar leaned forward.
"Alright, seriously. Where the hell are we going?"
Silence.
Ragnar sighed.
"You know, for all I know you're taking me and my friend here somewhere to harvest our kidneys."
Still silence.
"Or maybe you're taking us to some cult laboratory to turn me into a guinea pig." Hoshina spoke with suspicion.
The driver's eyebrow twitched.
Finally he spoke.
"We're going to Hokkaido."
Ragnar blinked.
"Hokkaido?"
"Yes." The driver sighed.
"So sit down, shut up, and let me drive."
Then after a brief pause, he added:
"You'll never see me again after today."
Ragnar raised an eyebrow.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
The driver smirked slightly.
"Unless you survive."
The car suddenly became very quiet.
Neither Ragnar nor Hoshina liked the sound of that.
Hours later, they arrived.
The facility was enormous.
Steel walls stretched toward the sky.
Watchtowers overlooked the compound.
Armed guards patrolled every entrance.
The entire place looked less like a research center and more like a prison built for monsters.
And what caught Ragnar's attention wasn't the facility.
It was the crowd.
Thousands of people stood outside.
Young. Old. Men. Women.
Ragnar immediately noticed something strange.
Many of them didn't look like ordinary civilians.
Some were covered in tattoos.
Some carried scars.
Some had the eyes of people who had seen violence before.
A few were smoking casually.
Others stood completely alone.
Watching. Waiting. Judging everyone around them.
Nobody trusted anybody.
Then suddenly—
THUD.
Ragnar collided with someone.
He looked up.
And froze.
The man standing before him was huge.
Blonde hair. Yellow eyes. A scar running across his face.
His muscular arms were covered in tattoos.
The stranger stared down at Ragnar.
Then spoke.
In Russian.
Ragnar didn't understand a single word.
But one thing was obvious.
It wasn't an apology.
The tone alone made that clear.
The giant clicked his tongue and walked away.
Ragnar stared after him.
"…Definitely not Japanese."
Hoshina nodded.
"Not even Asian."
The realization hit them both at the same time.
People from all over the world had been gathered here.
Something wasn't right.
Something was very wrong.
The crowd slowly entered the facility.
Massive steel doors towered overhead.
One by one, people disappeared inside.
Then finally, Ragnar and Hoshina crossed the entrance.
The moment the last person entered—
BOOM!
The giant steel doors slammed shut.
The entire building shook.
Everyone froze.
The sound echoed throughout the facility.
Some people immediately turned toward the exit.
Others began shouting.
A nervous tension spread through the crowd.
Ragnar felt it too.
The feeling that he had just walked into a trap.
Then the white walls around them suddenly changed color.
White.
To red.
The entire room was bathed in crimson light.
And then—
A voice echoed from hidden speakers.
"Welcome."
Instant silence.
"There are currently 1,896 participants gathered within this facility."
People immediately began looking around.
"You have been selected from nations across the world."
"Japan."
"Russia."
"China."
"India."
"Brazil."
"America."
"Africa."
"Europe."
The voice paused.
Then continued.
"You have been chosen for a single purpose."
A chill ran through Ragnar and Hoshina's spine.
"To inherit the power of God."
The room exploded into chaos.
"What?!"
"Is this some kind of joke?!"
"Cultists!"
"Who are you people?!"
An Italian man stepped forward.
"Okay, hold on!"
He pointed upward.
"What do you mean power of God?!"
"What are we doing here?!"
The speakers remained silent for several seconds.
Then the voice returned.
Cold. Emotionless. Absolute.
"Humanity stands on the verge of a new age."
"A great catastrophe approaches."
"When it arrives, the weak will perish, millions if not billions will perish."
"The strong will survive."
"And those chosen here today…"
The red lights intensified.
"…will stand above all others."
Ragnar swallowed.
For the first time since arriving—
He felt fear.
Real fear.
Because deep down…
Something told him that before this day ended—
A lot of people were going to die.
And somehow…
He had a feeling he and Hoshina were standing at the center of it.