Alex was incredibly satisfied and happy with his powers that his lips curled into a faint, involuntary smile as he thought about it. Back in the orphanage, when the other kids were out playing or fighting over hand-me-downs, Alex had usually been tucked into a corner with a cracked screen, losing himself in webnovels as a means of escapism.
He had spent years imagining what he would do if he ever ended up in a world like this.
Now that he actually had the chance, he was practically vibrating with excitement.
After a minute or so, he reached up took off the blindfold, and immediately, his world changed again. The monochrome vision disappeared and the colors of the room returned.
Then, both the smoky tablet which was the soul card, and the helm, turned into smoke that flowed back into his chest settling in his soul again.
'Not bad.'
Soon after, while still lying in the same position, Alex closed his eyes and passed out so hard that he didn't just sleep, but essentially resigned from the living world for the next eight hours.
***
Early in the morning, Alex woke up feeling a bit depressed for some reason he couldn't understand.
After lying in bed for a few minutes, he slowly stood up and headed to the bathroom, but along the way, he stopped in front of a mirror as something caught his attention.
He could see dark circles under his eyes and his hair was draped over his forehead in a way that looked strangely gloomy. His skin was paler than usual and the vibe his entire body gave off was that of a person who had spent a lifetime wandering through a graveyard rather than someone who had just enjoyed the best sleep of his life.
"Why do I feel… and look like shit?" He muttered as he brushed the limp, heavy hair out of his eyes.
Strangely enough, despite looking and feeling like that, he was still energetic and his mind felt sharper than it had in years. He eventually turned away from the mirror and headed to the shower, deciding that as long as he wasn't actually dying, he was fine.
Later, he stood in front of his dresser looking at the robes of many different colors. He hadn't been one to really care about the colors of the clothes he wore, but for some reason now, the only cloth that felt right were the black robes.
After putting one on, he heard a knock on the door, causing him to turn to it.
'Is that breakfast?'
He didn't really feel hungry, but he was definitely excited to try another lavish meal. As he began walking up to the door, he wondered what extravagant dish he would be given this time. However, when he opened the door, he frowned because to his disappointment, it was just Steve waving a cup of coffee at him.
Steve was dressed in the same uniform as yesterday, holding a cup of coffee in each hand.
He smiled and gave Alex a quick nod. "You ready?"
Alex looked down at his feet, then muttered. "I'll go put on my shoes."
He returned inside, put on a pair of boots, stepped out and closed the door. As they began walking down the hallway, Steve offered one of the coffee cups to Alex. "Here. I didn't know your preference, so I just got a Caffe Latte."
Alex reached out and took it. As a previous nine to fiver, coffee was his favorite drink in the world.
"Thank you. You are a good guy, Steve." He muttered, before taking a long, appreciative sip.
Steve smiled, then nodded. "You're welcome."
"By the way." Alex turned to him after the sip. "Where are we going now?"
"To your induction." Steve replied.
Soon, they both reached the elevator and when they got in, Steve hit one of the buttons leading down. Then he continued. "All the gray gate centers like this one have almost every facility necessary to help a new Ascendant settle into the world. Think of these places like an academy, or training center of sorts."
The elevator hummed as it descended deeper into the facility. Steve leaned against the metal wall, watching the floor numbers tick down.
"I'll give you a full tour of the entire center today after your induction," Steve added. "You'll get to see the training halls, the library, and the most important place called the Deck Store."
'…deck?'
Alex suddenly remembered that he saw that word yesterday on his soul card.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened, revealing a spacious, well-lit area leading to a large hall. Steve stepped out first, and Alex followed shortly after.
As they began moving toward the hall, Alex could see lots of other new Ascendants like him. They were walking side by side with their own guides, all heading in the same direction toward the large hall. Most of the new Ascendants were in their late teens like Alex. Some were in their thirties and even fewer were above that. Alex was a bit surprised when he saw an old man who looked to be in his seventies.
'Huh? How did someone like that manage to survive that place, let alone kill something?'
It was a bit hard to believe.
Looking at him now, despite his old age, the man seemed a bit more sturdy. Alex could guess that it was probably thanks to the ascension. While Alex was still staring, the man suddenly turned his head to Alex and gave him a piercing look.
Startled, Alex immediately looked away.
'Jeez. The old man's scary.'
A moment later, they reached the door to the large hall. It seemed that only the new Ascendants were going in, while their guides stayed outside.
"I'll be going on now to have a smoke… or engage in an even worse cancerous shit. So I'll catch you later, man," Steve said, tapping Alex's shoulder twice.
Alex turned to him and gave a nod. Then, as Steve began walking away, Alex turned and walked into the large, noisy hall.
The hall was grand, with long curved desks cascading upwards. Many of the Ascendants sat close to each other, talking about their experiences at the Mountain of Trials. Alex could even see some of them showing off their soul cards to the others, like kids boasting with playing cards.
Then he noticed something interesting.
Many of the cards were different colors. The most common color were the green cards. Many people held a card or two of that color, which made him understand and conclude that both a person's soul card, and their insignia had the same color.
Looking closer, he saw a few people holding cards that flickered blue. Then, he could only see about two people holding a purple card. They sat together chatting in a row in the back, and looking a bit more proud than the others.
As Alex looked around, he noticed that not even one person was showing off a black card.
'Am I the only one with black cards?' he thought with his head down as he headed to the back row to sit where he could stay alone.
Well, he couldn't be sure that he was the only one with a black card because not everyone was showing their cards. Many just sat observing the others while concealing their own cards.
It reminded him of the saying: keep your cards close to your chest.
When Alex got to the last row, he noticed that only one person sat there. It was the beautiful blonde girl that he had seen the previous day.
Her hands were folded over her chest, and unlike yesterday where she had looked shaken up, she seemed pretty confident today. When she noticed Alex, she cast a brief glance at him, before looking away with an air of indifference.
Alex, who didn't like interacting with people anyway, also ignored her and sat on the last row giving a bit of distance between them.
Then he leaned forward and rested his chin on one arm, staring blankly toward the front as he waited for things to start.
Not long after, someone familiar stepped into the hall. The man immediately drew the attention of everyone present and the ascendants began to murmur among themselves in shock.
The man who stepped in was in his late twenties and had a burly build. He was handsome, but a thick, ugly scar ran across his face, and he stood proudly with both hands in his pockets.
Upon seeing the man, Alex leaned back and his eyes widened slightly.
'Even someone like that made it here?'
Of course, he recognized the man. Who didn't know him? The man was a gangster who had been branded as an egoistic serial killer and rapist. He had been caught by the police back on Earth and was supposed to be serving life imprisonment.