Little by little, Alícia began to realize she was in the middle of a crowd. The people around her seemed to be in a trance, surely intoxicated by the difficulty of assimilating that they were not in their beds, but standing in an austere courtyard. Before them all loomed the monumental sight of an imposing grey stone church.
"What place is this?" she finally questioned. There were many familiar faces around her; they were her neighbors, all equally stunned.
"It's a dream" Fernando Silva said. "Oh, hi, Alícia. You okay? You look a bit pale today".
Fernando was a short Black boy with disheveled hair and thick glasses who always spoke with confidence about any subject. He lived in the apartment next to hers with his brother, Roberto, who was standing right there beside him.
"Hi... I'm a bit..."
"I've never had a dream this real before" Roberto interrupted, looking around. "What if we all died and went to heaven?"
Even at nearly seven feet tall, Roberto seemed fearful and full of doubt. Alícia wasn't close to either of them, but she had the habit of greeting them whenever they crossed paths.
"I highly doubt it; I'm an atheist. If heaven existed, I would never be brought here after dying" Fernando countered.
Roberto nodded. He rarely disagreed with his older brother, but he still seemed uncertain.
"Wow, what a funny bird up there", said a girl with brown hair and a dreamy air.
Alícia struggled to remember her: it was Amanda. She lived in a student housing unit on the opposite side of her apartment hallway, but they had barely interacted despite being neighbors for a year. Alícia shifted her gaze to where Amanda was pointing. At first, she thought it really was a bird, but it wasn't. It was a man. An elderly man wearing a white tunic and a blue cloak that fluttered in the wind more than two hundred meters high, suspended without any visible support. For some reason, that sight brought a pang of anguish to her chest.
"This can only be a dream", Alícia whispered to herself.
"That's what I said!" Fernando exclaimed, alert for any corroboration of his opinions. However, deep down, Alícia felt that it was all real.
[Welcome, children. You may call me Bishop Lemont.]
A voice, clear yet dragged by age, was heard by everyone. As if someone had taped the crowd's mouths shut, silence was immediate. Every eye rose to the old man floating in the sky.
[I know you are scared, sad, angry, or even skeptical. I understand your afflictions and I bear them as if they were my own. But the time has come to prepare for what is to come. You need to be strong, dogged, intelligent, and above all, you need faith.]
Alícia noticed that, despite using generic phrases of encouragement, Lemont seemed sincere.
[I regret to say that the land where you dwell is in danger. The plague of the abyss is spreading through the universes consuming everything, altering realities, destroying the future and the past. If you want to live, if you want to see your loved ones again, if you want the dead to continue their eternal rest, you will need to fight!]
[But do not be distressed. Faced with such a formidable enemy, you will not fight alone. The Goddess I serve is merciful; she loves all living creatures and grants strength to those in need. And that is the reason you have been summoned here today.]
In front of her, Alícia saw a blue circle materialize. In the center, there seemed to be a starry sky that resembled the color of the man's cloak.
[Touch the Goddess's blessing, and she will grant you the power to fight.]
Alícia felt a tightening in her chest. She didn't want to touch it; she just wanted to run and go back to her bed. "If I touch it, nothing will ever be the same again." She didn't know why, but she was convinced of it.
Roberto, however, did not share Alícia's apprehension and touched the blessing. Suddenly, a faint light enveloped him; he seemed to be reading something invisible in front of him. Fernando shrugged and, as if it were of no importance, also touched the circle, and a slightly brighter light enveloped him.
"Oh, look at that. It seems this dream is like a game. Apparently, I got the A-Rank Summoner class. Lucky me" he said, without any excitement in his voice, still believing it to be a dream.
Soon after, Amanda did the same, but in an unusual way: she tried to lick the blessing out of curiosity, wanting to know if it tasted like anything.
"I'm a Fire Sorceress, S-Rank! How great!" she said with a smile. "Now I'll be able to light my incense without a lighter".
"My power is using hammers, B-Rank" Roberto said, after taking nearly a full minute to read a single sentence. He turned to Alícia: "Aren't you going to touch yours?"
"I'm not. I don't want to" she decided. "I just want to go home".
For about an hour, there were complaints, arguments, and confusion, but the man in the sky remained motionless. Alícia noticed, with some relief, that other people had also refused to touch the blessing.
"What will he do now? Will he force us?" she wondered. As if answering her thought, he spoke again:
[To those who have successfully awakened their powers, my congratulations. You will be the pillar that sustains our hopes. To those who could not receive the blessing or simply did not want to accept it, you will not be forced, but you must remain here to stay safe from the plague.]
Shouts of protest erupted. Alícia joined the outcry, but the man remained imperturbable.
[I understand the anger, but it is for your own safety. Only the awakened are capable of fighting the plague, whether in Requiem or on Earth. If you want to return, you must receive the blessing. If you do not wish to, stay and you will be protected. I guarantee it.]
[As for the awakened, you will return to Earth immediately. Prepare yourselves and spread the word. The next time you are summoned to Requiem, it will be of your own free will; here you will learn to use your powers and be able to evolve in safety.]
Without another word, everyone who had touched the blessing vanished into particles of light. Alícia couldn't trust anyone... well, maybe only one person.
The image of a young man with black hair and an easy smile came to her mind. "It would be so much easier if Isaac were here," she thought. "When he's around, everything always turns out fine."
But he lived on the other side of the city; if he had been summoned, he would be in the middle of the crowd or perhaps had already left with the first wave of awakened. And how were her parents? They were likely sleeping, unaware that their daughter might never wake up again. Unaware of the dangers the future held for everyone on Earth, with no one to protect them.
Over the hours, the sounds of fighting and crying intensified. Some people gave in and touched the blessing. Alícia, however, only pondered, fixing her gaze on the circle with the constellation floating in front of her. It was a cursed blessing, she was sure of it.
"But is there another option?" The answer came from within herself, clear as day: "No. All there is, is the duty to be fulfilled."
She touched the blessing. A light as intense as the sun enveloped her. A feeling of comfort took over her body, as if she were floating in warm milk. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw messages appearing in the air:
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
[YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 1]
[THE PLAYER HAS RECEIVED 5 STATUS POINTS]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED A CLASS FOR REACHING LEVEL 1]
[THE PLAYER HAS ACQUIRED THE CLASS (RANK SSS): DAUGHTER OF LIGHT]
When she came to, everyone in the courtyard was watching her, mouths agape. Bishop Lemont had descended from the sky; he had tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.
"Welcome, Divine Child" he said, kneeling.
The soldiers and clerics followed him, prostrating themselves in unison:
"Welcome, Divine Child!"