"Sigh, sir, you really should stop coming here," said one of the attendants at the Guardian Registration Center.
"Why? Is there a rule against the number of times one can attempt the awakening process?" The young man she referred to—a slightly tanned individual with grey eyes and black hair—asked with a nonchalant expression.
The lady sighed once more, pressing a hand to her forehead. "No, but perhaps there will be soon, to limit people like you." She was clearly not in the mood for pleasantries. She had seen his face so many times that it was practically imprinted in her memory at this point. It was like having that one friend you don't really consider a friend but can't bring yourself to say it—except this individual took the liberty of intruding on your personal space every single day.
"I don't think you should speak to an applicant with such a tone, or use such words," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. It was just as he always liked it—milky coffee sweetened with just enough sugar. He had tried plain coffee once, just for the heck of it, and to this day, he kept his vow of never trying to impress anyone by drinking that bitter swill in the name of maturity.
"And I don't think it's normal for you to keep coming here repeatedly when you clearly know the result. No—when we all know the result," she said.
"I see no reason why you're this... concerned. Your job is to put on a smile and hand me a form, like a good girl," he said.
A vein popped on her forehead.
"Mr. Kyle. You should leave," she said through gritted teeth.
"I really want to, though. There's a long queue behind me, and you're piling up even more workload for yourself. Hand me a form and I'll leave—simple," he said.
She sent a sweeping glance at the impatient-looking people in the queue. If this went on, her superiors were bound to give her an earful.
"Fine," she said, then grabbed a form and threw it at him.
He placed his elbow against the counter and pretended not to see the paper that had just fallen.
"Mr. Kyle, I just gave you the form," she said with a strained smile. "Push it any further and I might just call security to have you thrown out."
"Well, you can do that," he said.
She narrowed her eyes, then took a deep breath. Yes, why was she even getting so worked up over this loser? He would just get the same result as always and leave on his own.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Give me a form," he said simply.
She took out a form and held it out. "Have it."
He gave a smile in return. "Thank you." He collected the form and walked away.
She stared at his back for a moment, then finally called out, "Next applicant!"
.
.
.
.
Getting to a space where many people were filling out their forms, Kyle walked toward a table where a young man with curled black hair sat, working on his own form. Kyle grabbed a chair, spun it around, and sat down before readjusting the seat. He placed the form on the table and went through every field as he usually did.
"Um... morning," he heard, then looked up at the young man with black hair and slightly green eyes. The guy was good-looking by every standard and appeared to be wearing a suit—far too formal for this place. Perhaps this was his first attempt.
"Yeah, morning. Can I help you?" Kyle responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Er..." The young man hesitated for a while, then extended his hand. "My name's Samuel, but you can call me Sam."
Kyle returned the handshake. "Kyle. You can call me... Kyle."
Sam gave an awkward laugh. "I was just wondering," he said, raising his form and pointing with his glossy black pen at a box in the top right corner labeled [Passport]. "Is this compulsory?"
"Yes, it is," Kyle responded. "There might be more than one person with your exact name, so it's important to attach a passport to the form... just in case."
"Oh," Sam acknowledged.
Kyle then tapped his top right pocket. "Huh?" He frowned, not finding what he was looking for. He checked his trouser pockets, but it wasn't there either.
"Well, fuck," he cursed.
"...Is something wrong?" Sam asked.
Kyle gave him an awkward smile. "I forgot my pen."
Silence.
Then they both laughed.
There was no valid reason for it. It just sounded absurd—coming to something so important and forgetting something so basic.
"Here," Sam said, handing him one.
"...Thanks." Kyle collected it and speedily began filling in the form.
"Is there a place to take passport photos?" Sam asked.
Kyle, who had just reached the address section, looked up and nodded. He pointed toward several box-like devices stationed across the room, each with a few people queued up. "Just don't smile when it tells you to," he offered as friendly advice. Experience was the best teacher, after all.
"...Right," Sam said, then took his form and headed over.
[STARVED OF LOVE...~! [RINGING]]
Kyle heard his ringtone and quickly picked up the phone, turning down the volume. But it was too late—the glances and weird looks were already being sent his way.
He looked to find Sam wearing a surprised expression, then Sam laughed and continued on his way.
"Tsk, how does she always do it?" Kyle asked in annoyance. He'd changed this blasted ringtone many times, but she always found a way to put it back. It was a strategic move to make him quickly answer his calls—and one that worked to this very moment.
He turned on his phone and swiped until he reached [Messenger].
[Stalker: Where are you? You were supposed to just buy coffee. How long does it take to buy it?]
"Haha," he chuckled to himself, looking at the ID he'd saved her contact under. This would probably bring about a lot of headaches if she saw it.
[You: I'm in the coffee shop. The line here's killing me.]
[Stalker: Then come back.]
[You: That won't be possible. I really need this coffee.]
[Stalker: Fine. I'm coming there now.]
"Eh?" He blurted.
[You: Wait, you don't have to—]
He texted back, but it remained [Unread] for a while, and he realized she was hunting for him now.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue and pocketed his phone.
"You done?" he heard, then looked up to find Sam with an annoyed expression.
"Yeah... what happened?" Kyle asked.
"Sigh... I should have listened to your advice," Sam said, then showed him the passport photo. The picture was clear—Sam with a smile that didn't need to be there.
Kyle professionally held back a dangerous laugh and nodded. "It's... fine."
Sam gave him a do-you-think-I'm-an-idiot look.
"Whatever," Sam said.
Kyle handed him back the pen and headed for the fourth photo booth, which had only one person in line.
He wasted no time getting his picture taken, and they headed for the elevator together.
"First time?" Sam asked.
"Nah, more like nth time," Kyle said.
Sam absentmindedly nodded, but then shortly understood the underlying meaning.
"Eh?"
[DING!]
The elevator doors opened and everyone filed out. They entered a huge hall filled with about fifty enormous crystals the size of boulders. Each crystal radiated a blue light, with tubes connected to what was referred to as [A Space of Pure Energy].
"Wow," Sam breathed in awe. It was beautiful.
The hall seemed to have some sort of spatial influence—it was so vast that it defied logic considering how the building had looked from the outside.
Before each glowing crystal stood a device: a chair-like contraption with wires and tubes connected to the crystals. It was on these chair-devices that applicants were made to sit for the awakening process. Beside each chair, facing the crystal, was a control panel displaying power levels and other readings. Every station had a staff member manning it, all dressed in fully protective gear. Around the hall, Guardians were stationed at intervals, each wielding tranquilizers and other weapons in case things went south.
[SUBMIT FORMS TO REGISTER TO RECEIVE PLACEMENT FOR AWAKENING!]
A loud voice announced. Kyle gestured to Sam toward some devices where people could insert their forms and receive their placement numbers.
"WHAT THE?! A B-RANK?!" A small commotion broke out as someone awakened a B-rank Aspect.
"Wait, how old is that kid?" someone asked.
"I heard he's just thirteen," someone answered, and the commotion grew.
"This is just so fucked up. I've been doing this for the past ten years and I'm still E-rank. How the hell did a kid just awaken a B-rank on his first attempt?"
The voices grew louder. Kyle could only sigh and walk toward the device where he inputted his form. He was one of the unfortunate, after all. He'd been attempting the awakening process for as long as he could remember—probably since he was twelve—and it was always the same result.
"Good luck," he heard, and looked to find Sam waving after receiving his placement number.
Kyle, who was in no mood for cheerfulness, just waved back with a small smile.
He then walked toward a queue.
The line was damn long, but after a while, it was finally his turn. He stepped forward and sat on the device, which immediately cuffed his arms and legs in place. A helmet-like apparatus covered the top of his head.
"Try to endure it. This is going to hurt," said the staff member.
"I know," Kyle replied.
ZWOOOOOOOOOOOM
The sound of something—something he couldn't quite place but had heard so many damn times—filled his ears.
And the next instant: pain.
He wanted to scream, but... he couldn't. Something was holding it all back.
"What the...?" the staff member suddenly said. "Where the hell is all the energy going?" He frowned as the device showed no reaction from Kyle's core whatsoever. It was as though the surge of energy coursing through his body wasn't there at all—or rather, something was absorbing it all.
"Let's turn it up a bit," the operator said, then increased the power output.
Kyle's eyes widened as though they might bulge out. He felt like his mind was breaking apart.
"Still nothing?" the man said. "I'm maxing it out now. Hold on tight."
That was all Kyle heard before it felt like his consciousness was forcibly dragged out of his body.
And then—
Click.
He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the staff member, geared up from head to toe.
"You couldn't awaken," the man said simply.
Kyle sighed. He was really getting tired at this point. Really, really tired.
"OH MY GOD!"
He heard the exclamation the moment he stood up and began walking away. He looked toward the direction it came from—one of the awakening stations.
"AN S-RANK!" someone shouted.
His eyes widened. He rushed forward, and the face he saw being surrounded by a crowd of people made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Sam."