Kaeya and Talion stepped into the grand hall.
The sheer number of people inside made Kaeya whistle under his breath. "Holy shit… this room's packed with Sleepers."
"Mm. Yeah," Talion replied, his eyes scanning the crowd.
Everywhere they looked, people seemed to radiate vitality. It was like walking into a gathering of models rather than newly Awakened sleepers. Even Kaeya felt a little overwhelmed.
For a while, they kept to themselves. Neither of them had much idea how to approach anyone. A few Sleepers came over to strike up conversations; Kaeya handled most of it, while Talion stayed content letting him take the lead. Half an hour slipped by like that.
Eventually, they went away, and the two found themselves alone again.
"And over there," Talion said, "that's Sunny and Cassie."
"Damn… he's short," Kaeya said with a faint smirk, amusement lacing his voice.
Talion sighed. "Yeah, he is. But don't let him hear that from you. He's petty as fuck, who knows how he might take his revenge."
"Whatever. I can deal with him… probably." He paused for a moment. "So where's the last one? Nephis, right?"
Talion was a little disappointed at the moment, even if it was short-lived. He wanted to know what Kaeya would comment about Cassie. It wasn't something too important — Kaeya just never cared much about girls, even if he had said he was interested in them. Talion even wondered if he was asexual or something.
Still, ignoring that thought, he said, "Yeah. Look there." Talion pointed toward a corner of the hall.
Nephis was standing alone, leaning casually against the wall with her eyes closed, a pair of headphones resting over her ears. Calm, composed — almost detached from the noise around her.
"Aura farming," Kaeya deadpanned.
"Yup." Talion couldn't help but chuckle.
Just then a tall man in a dark blue uniform appeared on the stage. Not only was he tall, he was actually almost a giant.
The giant man had wide shoulders, an athletic build and a gorgeous brown beard. His eyes were calm and serious. After reaching the center of the stage, he gave Sleepers a long look.
The man returned his gaze to the front rows of the crowd. Finally, he said in a deep, reverberating voice:
"I am Awakened Rock. Sleepers, welcome to the Academy."
Everyone listened without making a sound.
"In less than a month, you will be summoned to the Dream Realm. Some of you might think that you are well prepared. You're wrong. The Spell is merciless and cunning. The moment Awakened begin to think too much of themselves, they die. I've seen countless Sleepers like you lose their lives. I've also seen experienced Masters lose theirs. Even Saints are not assured to survive."
'Yeah, I'm feeling real confident about my chances now. Thanks,' Talion thought sarcastically.
"In the following four weeks, we will do everything in our power to increase your chances of survival. You will receive training from the best instructors in the world. However, don't be misled by their fame: in the end, whether you return from the Dream Realm alive depends only on one person — you. The responsibility to survive is yours, and yours alone."
Except for the Legacies, Sleepers were looking at each other with growing fear in their eyes.
After Awakend rock was done with hammering the fear into the sleepers, he finally started going over the main stuff.
___
Everything related to the Sleepers was located within the same building.
After Awakened Rock finished his speech, Talion and Kaeya decided to head to their assigned rooms first and meet later in the cafeteria.
Using his communicator, Talion quickly found his quarters. The room was simple but well-kept, He gave the space a quick glance, checking where everything was, then changed into the standard Academy uniform.
He didn't really feel like spending too much time alone, so after a moment's hesitation, he decided to head straight to the cafeteria. He wasn't sure if Kaeya would be there yet, though.
'I forgot to take his contact number…' he thought with a sigh, mentally noting to fix that later.
When he entered the cafeteria, it was quieter than he'd expected.
'Of course I'm the one who gets here first,' Talion thought, scratching the back of his head.
The hall wasn't crowded — a few groups of Sleepers were scattered around, chatting quietly over food trays. Fortunately, there were several corner tables left empty, and Talion naturally gravitated toward one of them.
He stopped by the counter first, grabbing himself a cup of coffee. Unlike Sunny, Talion had always liked that beverage.
About ten minutes later, Kaeya finally walked in. Spotting Talion, he hurried over and dropped into the seat across from him.
"Huh, you didn't get anything to eat yet?" Kaeya asked, puzzled.
"Nope," Talion replied, taking a slow sip of his coffee. "Oh, wait. Did you think anything about that?"
Kaeya frowned slightly. "Think about what?"
"I mean, the interviews. The ones that are going to happen soon."
"Yeaaah…" Kaeya dragged out the word, leaning back in his chair. "Kinda. I was thinking an above-average ranking would be fine — somewhere between rank ten and twenty."
"Hm." Talion squinted at him, lowering his voice. "So… are you wishing for that range, or settling for it?"
The intent behind the question was obvious, and Talion was sure Kaeya caught it.
"Settle for," Kaeya said after a pause, his tone final.
"Okay. Same," Talion replied, sounding less than enthusiastic.
A small part of him had hoped Kaeya would aim higher — that maybe one of them would shoot for the top while the other played it safe. It was a selfish thought, but apparently, their mindset about this whole situation was more alike than he'd realized.
"Anyway, I'm gonna get something to eat," Kaeya said, standing up and stretching.
"I'm coming too."
Both of them grabbed trays and made their way to the food counter. Talion didn't feel particularly hungry, so he took only a small portion, while Kaeya piled his plate until it was nearly overflowing.
They returned to their table and sat down again.
"Damn, did you see the variety of desserts?!" Kaeya said enthusiastically, eyes lighting up.
"Yeah. I'm gonna get some chocolate ice cream after this," Talion replied. "And then another coffee."
Kaeya stared at him. "Bruh, you just drank a coffee! And who the hell drinks coffee after dinner?"
"Me," Talion said flatly.
The conversation died there, as naturally as it began, and they focused on their food.
Talion didn't see much point in talking more about the interviews. Kaeya was sharp — he'd know how much to reveal and when to hold back. Still, there was one thing: he didn't actually know what rank Kaeya's Aspect was.
But it was probably something pretty high. Talion reached that conclusion for three reasons.
First — Kaeya had said he was settling for a rank between ten and twenty. If he was "settling," then he clearly believed he could aim higher maybe much higher if he revealed the full extent of his Aspect.
Second — Kaeya possessed the ability to see attributes, and something even more than that. Cassie had a similar ability, and hers was a Sacred Aspect. Talion wasn't saying that automatically made Kaeya's Aspect sacred too, but it did make the possibility hard to ignore.
And third — shouldn't there be some kind of otherworlder perks? If the universe was going to toss them into another world, it was only fair to hand out at least a few overpowered bonuses, right?