Five instinctively raised his hands. The voice was eerie, yet the tone was disturbingly playful. Before he could blink, the base laboratory vanished. He was back in the realm of red skies and ashen ground. Hades sat upon his throne of shadow, his piercing blue eyes boring into Five's soul. "Calm down," the figure said, his voice a low, melodic thrum. "What... what are you?" Five stuttered. The Shadow's eyes flared a deep, abyssal navy. He rose from the throne, the shadows on the floor lengthening and twisting like snakes with every step he took. He didn't look like a mentor; he looked like a creditor coming to collect a debt Five couldn't pay. "Let's look at the resume, shall we?" The figure appeared instantly in front of Five, leaning in close. "I am Hades. Lord of the Dead. King of the Underworld. And if you're wondering what's going on here, let's just say you've got a certain... spark. You've been deemed worthy of my power. Lucky you. You are now my Oracle." Before Five could find his voice, the Shadow vanished back to his throne, lounging with a bored expression. "Any questions?" Five opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by a screaming alarm. He jolted awake in his bunk, sweat soaking his sheets. His roommates were already scrambling, dressing in a panicked frenzy. Five followed suit, rushing toward the Great Assembly Hall. On the stage stood three figures cloaked in heavy fabric, their bodies radiating an ominous red aura. One stepped forward, his voice amplified by the cold acoustics of the room. "Look around. Only a few of you remain. You have shown us the resolve to live. Finally, you are what we call Oracles. You are the special ones the seeds of gods are now bound to your souls." The speaker's eyes scanned the crowd like a predator. "You have been given the power to strike down those who think they rule this world. You bear the will of a god; you share their domain. From this moment on, no one can teach you. You must learn to harvest this power on your own. Use each other as stepping stones. In three months, a tournament will be held. You will be placed in groups. These will be your only allies until the day you die." Cloaked guards moved through the rows, handing out cards. Five looked down at his. A single symbol was engraved in the center: Theta. He was directed to a briefing room where four other cadets sat in silence, each holding a Theta card. Five took an empty seat, his eyes scanning them, measuring their threat levels. A woman walked in, her uniform bearing the silver crest of an Exarch the high-ranking elite of the Shadows. "Welcome, cadets. I am Delta, your commanding officer. I have no intention of losing this tournament, which means I have no intention of going easy on you. Settle into your rooms in the corner wing, then meet me here after lunch. Dismissed." Her introduction was like a blade short, sharp, and cold. Five retreated to his new room, staring at the blank wall. His mind was a chaotic blur until a familiar chill crept up his spine. "Hey, kid. It's rude to leave an elder mid-conversation." Hades was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, legs crossed. Five surged to his feet, arms crossed over his chest in a defensive block. "Ease up, kiddo," Hades chuckled. "I'm not here to finish our fight though I'd love to. Since you've been 'educated' on the matter: yes, I heard everything. I'll be training you until you are a perfect vessel. A new person." Five looked at the god. He didn't trust the entity, but he needed the strength. He nodded. "Good," Hades smiled, and for the first time, it didn't feel like a threat. "Stretch out your hand. Focus. I will teach you to command the Will of Flames. Feel the heat of the room. Feel the fire in your own blood." Five sat cross-legged, eyes closed. He focused on the friction of his pulse, the latent heat in his marrow. Time stretched. The temperature in the small room began to climb, the air shimmering with a hazy, orange distortion. A sudden realization broke his trance he was late. He rushed to the training grounds, his clothes drenched in sweat. His teammates were already geared up, waiting. Delta walked in, her suit a dark contrast to her shock of puffy blonde hair. One bright blue eye peered out from behind her bangs. "Alright, cadets. Let's make this simple. We are stripping away your pasts." She pointed to a girl with strawberry-blonde hair. "You are Omega. And the rest of you: Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, and Zeta." She pointed at Five for the last name. "And you... you are Alpha." Delta crouched, a wooden katana held in a low guard. "Come at me. All of you." The battle was a whirlwind. Omega parried a strike that should have broken her ribs. Gamma followed with a punch that sent a shockwave through the room, knocking the others off balance. Alpha stabilized himself, drawing two wooden ninjatos and launching a counter-strike. Delta was a ghost. She feinted, swept Alpha's legs, and pinned him with a knee to the chest while simultaneously blocking strikes from Lambda and Zeta. Omega appeared behind her, a strike leveled with enough power to crack stone. Suddenly, Delta's body ignited. Not with fire, but with a blinding, golden energy. Omega's wooden sword turned to ash instantly. Delta took flight, hovering feet above the ground, the air around her erupting in a thermal bloom. With a casual snap of her fingers, a wave of pure force exploded outward. The cadets were thrown back, their bodies slamming into the reinforced walls with enough force to shatter the concrete. Delta descended slowly, the energy dispersing like mist. She looked at the groaning cadets with a calm, commanding gaze. "It seems," she said softly, "that I have my work cut out for me."
