The night was cold and terrifying.
The sky was covered in clouds of terrifying stormy darkness, beneath them, small snowflakes descended, which, far from falling with grace and delicacy, were dragged with savage fury, dyeing the walls, the streets, and the houses of the city Glory.
Despite the fierce storm, instead of taking shelter, the citizens gathered in the center with their warmest coats and cloaks, forming a semicircle. Their hopeful gazes shone even brighter than the faint light of their oil lamps.
In their center, a group of children, mostly 13 years old, stood proudly with their eyes forward, ready to take their turn in the ceremony.
Meanwhile, in the back, the 16-year-olds kept their knees on the ground; they were not allowed to stand. Their faces reflected anxiety and fear. For all of them, this was not the first time they would go through the process of awakening their gift, but it was the last. This moment would decide their future, and among them was Matt.
His gaze was directed at the ground, and his fists tightly clenched seemed to ignore the terrible cold he felt. However, they also reflected an intense desire for today to be different.
Although the cold was intense and the ceremonial garment did not help him at all, his desire to awaken was stronger, so he could endure it.
'Tonight is colder than usual.' He thought, wanting to comfort himself.
Suddenly his gaze turned forward, being drawn by some cold words. There, on top of the stage stood a man with silver armor. In his hands, he held a golden sphere while his gaze frowned upon seeing the boy in front of him.
"You have failed, you are Hopelessness." His voice was full of contempt.
The boy's eyes moved desperately toward the crowd in search of his parents, and soon he was able to find them, but the expression on both their faces made his soul tremble. The faces of his parents not only showed contempt, they also reflected the shame of having raised someone useless.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, the boy's eyes filled with tears. With a voice choked by his own tears, he apologized before leaving the place as fast as he could. His figure was lost in the storm. However, his parents did not seem to have the intention of following him.
Matt sighed upon seeing this scene; after all, some time ago he had been in that situation, both were Hopelessness and now that boy was going to take his place within three years while he…
He wished with all his strength to pass the ceremony, obtain his gift, and transform into hope; only then would he have a future. Unfortunately, everyone who failed a ceremony usually failed the following ones.
'Don't despair, you still have a chance… No matter what they say, you still have hope.'
Thus, he repeated to himself again and again, hope is the last thing to be lost and thus, the world was governed by it. Only in this way was humanity able to survive and prosper against the terrors that stalk it.
The man on the stage waited a moment before speaking again, forgetting the previous young man. "Next, Garren Glory."
The murmurs of the crowd ignited with excitement. It was the favorite's turn, the village's avatar.
Following his call, a handsome young man approached the stage with the grace and confidence of a noble. Once there, his body bowed slightly in respect.
"General Coddie, I will be under your care."
Upon hearing his voice, Matt's lips curled with contempt.
The general smiled approvingly and began to explain, although he had done so before, this time it was the village's avatar.
"All right, as you already know, to awaken you must touch the sphere with your hands. Once done, your gift will awaken naturally, revealing if you are a sender, enhancer, and the energy stage. Do you understand?"
The young man nodded slightly.
In response, the general brought the sphere closer, "You may proceed."
With full confidence, Garren placed one of his hands on the sphere.
The sphere lit up with a powerful white light that transferred to his hand, then to his body, transforming the young man into a dazzling entity of light almost blinding the crowd. Still, beneath it, you could see, he was changing.
A few seconds later, the light slowly disappeared, revealing what was behind it. The young man who had previously radiated grace and nobility had now become wild and imposing.
His arms, now covered in beautiful golden fur, ended in fierce claws capable of splitting steel in two. His neat and tidy hair had grown into a huge, messy but imposing golden mane, while his gaze, which before showed confidence and nobility, now frowned showing a savage anger; nothing seemed to escape his deep blue eyes.
At that moment, the world fell silent, the general's eyes widened in surprise, and then he observed the sphere in his hand; a small portion of it had been dyed a clear light blue, the surprise on his face became more evident.
"A... enhancer-type gift... Stage; awakening of energy of 5 innate fruits."
The cheers of the crowd resonated like an excited avalanche, the efforts of the people had borne fruit.
When you awaken a gift, the world of energy cultivation opens for you, granting you power beyond imagination.
This strange world of cultivation is divided into at least seven stages of energy. The Mundane Stage is at the bottom of the strengthening pyramid, being the most useless and represented by the color Black. On the other hand, the stage of Transformation to Hope is the strongest and represented by the color Gold.
Each stage has its respective color and each stage also has its own divisions, called Strength Ranks or the Ten Fruits of Hope. If you want to surpass a stage, you must cultivate the Ten Fruits, which will allow you to reach the next stage.
The type of Gift you awaken, the Stage you obtain, and the Fruit Level where you fall upon Awakening represent the user's talent. This is because there are two initial Stages where you can fall: Mundane Stage or the Energy Awakening Stage; if you end in the first stage, then you could be considered Hopelessness, depending on the level of fruits obtained, while anyone who awakens in the Energy Awakening Stage is considered a genius.
Garren is one of them, as he awakened in the Energy Awakening Stage and obtained Five Fruits. Additionally, his Beast-type Gift is perfect for battle, so he is a true genius even among the best.
After thanking the General, Garren withdrew with a smile, the excited crowd followed him to celebrate, even the parents of the previous boy ran after him, leaving the ceremony almost empty of people.
After a few minutes, the general's face twisted with contempt, it was time for those who had failed in previous years, it was the time of the trash, the Hopeless.
"Next, Matt… No last name."
Matt's mind froze for a moment.
It was his turn.
Suddenly, fear and hopelessness overwhelmed him.
Damn it!
'Is it already my turn!?'
'What if I fail again!?'
'Where will I go!?'
'What will I do!?'
Inside his mind, the same scene from previous years where he failed repeated itself. Only this time, he was 16 years old, it was his last chance. The orphanage where he lived would no longer feed him nor give him a place to sleep. Getting a job was not an option, no one accepted a useless person.
The consequences of failing now would be…
While his mind got lost in his thoughts, unconsciously his knees lifted from the ground and he stood on the snow.
Suddenly, the wind slapped his face like a cold and ruthless gale. Now that the crowd was gone, nothing was cushioning its force. However, this was exactly what he needed.
His mind cleared, bringing him back to reality. He could not allow himself to appear weak, after all this time he was not alone.
His eyes turned toward a beautiful young woman with wavy orange hair. She wore a small red wool hat and a black cloak that covered her whole body down to her ankles. Her nose was slightly red from the cold as she warmed her hands with the breath coming out of her mouth. She remained alone, even when everyone else had left.
Noticing his gaze, the young woman's eyes smiled in response. That gesture erased any doubt in his heart, leaving only a warm hope.
Matt sighed, and with renewed determination he approached the stage. His weak legs trembled from the cold, the wind brushed his cheeks, his shirt danced with the wind revealing the fierce scars and bruises hidden on his body.
Once in front of the sphere, he looked at it for a moment.
His destiny depended on it.
"Hurry up…" said the general impatiently.
He didn't even intend to explain how it worked, of course, someone like him didn't deserve it.
But what does it matter? He had been through this before, he could even recognize the stage and rank just by looking at the sphere.
Of course, this knowledge would be useless if he didn't awaken a gift.
'It will be the last time.'
His arm stretched out and his hand rested on it.
The next instant, the sphere shone.
A smile appeared on his face, this time it was different, he was going to awaken his gift.
Matt closed his eyes tightly letting the light envelop him and waited for the result. He didn't want to see it, he wanted the general to say it for him.
However, he couldn't help but imagine. What would his talent be? What would his gift be? Would the sphere be dyed black?...
His eyes lit up
'Maybe light blue!?'
But his hopes were buried with the following words.
"You have awakened an emitter gift, colorless… you have no energy."
The next word sank him into the deepest darkness.
"You are hopelessness."
He was useless. Worse yet, despite awakening his gift, he didn't have a trace of energy. This not only meant he had no talent, but he couldn't even gather energy. Even a mundane with only one fruit was stronger.
Matt was crippled.
He felt like his knees were about to give out and tears threatened to escape.
However, he endured.
Without saying a word, he left the stage.
Each step he took felt harder, heavier even.
But he endured.
Little by little he approached the young woman who waited for him with a smile on her face.
He couldn't collapse, he couldn't cry.
Not in front of her.