Later that morning, the rest of the candidates were called to the general hall to receive directives from the officers.
Xaden had barely made it out of the training room when the announcement rang out. The wounds he had sustained from the blows he received from the machine had been treated with the same balm the brown-haired girl had used. It had been surprisingly effective, reducing the dark spots to small, angry red blotches in a matter of minutes.
Now, he joined the rest of the candidates in the hall, immediately noticing the small, black orbs hovering near the ceiling, drifting slowly like watchful eyes. Thin red lights blinked across their surfaces.
Cameras.
Xaden's steps slowed slightly as his gaze tracked one of them. It pivoted—just barely—but enough to follow the movement below.
"…You seeing this?" he muttered.
Leo, beside him, squinted up at one of the floating drones. "Yeah," he said after a beat. "Strange."
"Not really," a voice cut in from behind them.
They turned.
A tall, big guy with a shaved head and a burn scar stretching from his jaw to his collarbone gave a dry laugh. "You think all this shit's just for us?" He gestured vaguely around the hall. "People watch this. Upper sectors. Sponsors. Officials."
Leo frowned, "Watch what?"
"The Crucibles," the guy said, folding his big, brown arms. "They stream it. Record it. Hell, some of 'em even bet on it."
A pause.
Xaden caught the man's accent, slurred together. A bit rough around the edges. Where had he heard it before?
"They bet on it?" Leo echoed.
"On who lives. Who dies. Who makes it far?" The guy shrugged like it didn't matter, or he had gotten used to the idea of living for someone else's entertainment. He took a few steps ahead of them.
"You didn't know?" He walked away.
Xaden's jaw tightened slightly.
He looked back up at the cameras. So that was it. They weren't just candidates. They were entertainment. Of course, just when he thought the higher-ups couldn't get any more depraved. How about watching a couple of kids get thrown into a meat grinder for a few kicks?
"Well, that's pretty shitty," Leo huffed.
The hall was more crowded than before, but the energy had changed. There was a tension now—subtle, but there. People stood straighter. Moved sharper. Some even stole a few peeks at the cameras, like they were aware of being watched.
The lights began to dim. A massive screen at the end of the hall flickered to life, stretching from just above the floor to the ceiling. Lines of data scrolled across it, displaying different faces, attached to candidates' numbers and... Rankings.
Each name was listed from 1 to 86.
Xaden, unsurprisingly, found his name at the near bottom of the screen, with just two names below him. He was actually surprised there were people below him. After all, to the rest of the world, he didn't possess any awakened ability whatsoever.
Leo glanced at the ranking, then at Xaden. "…That's bullshit, you know."
Xaden shrugged. "Not really."
Leo frowned, looking like he was about to say something, "It's fine," Xaden cut him off.
The next he found was Leo's name and number. He blinked twice, then looked again at the digits he saw.
Leo Raze, at number 5.
His name, as well as the names of the other candidates in the top ten, glowed faintly with gold.
"Huh." Leo seemed taken aback, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"How is that possible?" He peered closer into the screen. A few people surrounding them murmured faintly, glancing towards him.
Leo scratched the back of his head, suddenly very aware of the attention.
Xaden smirked, clapping his back. "Good for you."
He was happy for Leo, but at the same time, aware of the target that was now on his back. After all, only a few spots were opened to enter the War College, while the rest would undoubtedly die. Xaden figured the weaker candidates would start forming alliances—either to survive… or to eliminate the strong
He checked the names above his, and was surprised to see a somewhat familiar face at number 78.
It was a girl called Casryn, only that, no last name was included. The one he had met earlier in the training room. Xaden scanned the surroundings for her. He spotted Casryn at the edge of the crowd, arms folded as she stared at the screen, eyes bored and indifferent to the numbers being displayed.
He remembered how she had dodged the moving metal arms and even managed to deliver a blow to the machine from earlier. He shivered when he remembered how he fared when it was his turn.
Xaden had earlier shrugged off the crippling humiliation, assuming the girl, Casryn, had used a speed ability of some kind. But now he knew that she'd done no such. Was it possible she also had some secret to hide? What were the chances?
He pushed the thoughts aside; he knew he couldn't dwell on such when he also had problems of his own. Especially when he spotted the name that was number 1 on the list.
At the top of the list was the tall, dark-haired boy whom he and Leo had encountered on their way to the central arena.
His name was Damon, and just as they had suspected, his last name was Valerion. One of the four great houses of mankind.