Chapter 1: Rejection Stinks

"I appreciate the honesty, really. But I don’t see you that way. I think it’s better if we keep things professional."

Ethan Shaw stood silently with a surprised look on his face. The person that said this was Sophia Ellis, an office co-worker and a part of his department.

She had long dark hair that fell past her lower back, and wore an ash blouse that clung to her slender form and a smile on her face— the smile was so warm that it barely felt like a rejection. Instead, it felt like the kind of smile that would make you thank her for her honesty.

She was the kind of person that attracted attention wherever she went— polite, intelligent and always composed and friendly. She was quite popular around the office between the males and females alike.

On top of that, she had a warm smile and beautiful voice that only added to her beauty. Because of that, people loved her— and so did Ethan for a long time.

He had spent over a month preparing— gathering the courage to finally approach the woman he had fallen for.

He had prepared everything. What to say, how to say it, and when to say it...

But he didn’t prepare for this...

He nodded. "I understand. Sorry for putting you in this situation..."

She waved her hands and smiled apologetically. "You don’t have to apologize."

He gave a small polite smile of his own as he turned to leave. "Sorry for bothering you," he said, "Have a good evening."

***

The elevator ride down to where he packed his car was quiet as he walked towards his car silently and opened his door as he went in.

He just sat there with his hands on the steering wheel and replaying the last several minutes in his mind.

Professional.... She wanted to keep things professional between them...

Of course she did.

He couldn’t blame her. She was always focused in the office, always keen about achieve her goals. She didn’t have time for silly romance between her and her colleague or the things that came after.

He sighed and started the engine as he drove out...

At twenty seven, he had what most people would call a stable life. High paying job, stable income, condusive work environment. On the outside, it looked like nothing was wrong. But deep down he knew that he was dissatisfied with how mundane it all felt.

It was just wake up, work, home, repeat— nothing to spice up his day, nothing to look forward to...

It was completely and utterly boring...

He knew that complaining about it felt ungrateful, the sort of dissatisfaction people weren’t supposed to say out loud. Most would have even called him lucky. Yet every morning felt like moments of his life were losing color.

He had thought maybe Sophia would change that. A small part of his life that still somehow had color. A small part of his life that he looked forward to, or something to spice up his life maybe even a little bit.

But it didn’t work out...

It was like whenever he tried breaking this endless cycle of boredom, everything would collapse halfway through.

He reached his apartment, opened the door and went inside.

The place was clean, nothing too flashy, just decorations, his television, two long couches and a wall clock in his living room— the bare minimum if anything.

However the truth was staring at him dead in the eye. The place looked like the home of someone who never expected company.

In other words, he was alone...

Ethan dropped onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Romance had never worked well for him. He could admit that without bitterness. Some people simply weren’t built for it, or maybe the timing had always been wrong.

Either way, the pattern was clear enough— not once, not twice. Repeatedly.... From high school to college.

’What’s the point anyway...’

He had come to understand that trying to break out of this cycle only meant that whatever he was planning to do would go downhill later, romance in particular.

It was only a distraction to him at this point, a liability even. He was twenty-seven, old enough to stop repeating the same mistake....

Before he slept, he made up his mind: No more chasing that kind of hope. For now, romance was out of the picture.

It was better to focus on whatever goal he could still achieve, not wasting his time trying to do whatever he thought he was doing.

Although he didn’t quite know what that goal was supposed to be, he knew that it was better than ending up feeling how he felt right now...

He turned off the light and closed his eyes, preparing himself for the mundane life that awaited him tomorrow.

***

"Ahh—!"

His eyes snapped open and a choked sound came out of his mouth.

The air around him felt unfamiliar, and his eyes shot upwards.

The ceiling above him was high— nothing like the one in his apartment. Light entered from tall windows on the walls, rows of wooden seats stretched out and filled with young people in similar dark uniforms.

In the air, there was a low murmur of hundreds of voices, some sounding nervous, others trying to hide their excitement.

Ethan looked around. He was in a large hall that looked like a school auditorium— polished floors, a raised stage at the front, and banners hanging from the ceiling in different colors.

He closed his eyes. Maybe this was just a dream... maybe if he closed his eyes and opened them again, he would be back at his apartment.

However, when he opened his eyes, he wasn’t back at his apartment. Everything felt real. Too real....

He looked down at his hands. They were younger, smoother than he remembered. When he flexed his fingers, the movement felt familiar and wrong at the same time, like the hands were his and wasn’t at the same time.

"What...?"

The voice that came out was not his. It was lighter and sounded younger. Like the voice of someone who had not yet spent years in meetings and living alone.

Confusion began flooding his system, but he took a deep breath instead.

’Okay, calm down.’ He stayed still. Panicking wouldn’t solve anything.

Instead, he scanned the room carefully, trying to piece together where he was.

[Initiating... Complete. Host has been registered]

"Huh?"

Something flashed in the corner of his vision and disappeared before Ethan could see it.

All that left was a crackle of green light as he looked forward.

On the stage, a woman walked forward and stood behind a wooden podium.

She wore a dark coat that was decorated with silver lining with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Her presence alone seemed to quiet the row in front of her.

She looked forward, her gaze sweeping across the hall, waiting until the last of the conversations died.

When the place had fully gone quiet, she spoke; her voice steady.

"Welcome students. The Awakening Ceremony is about to begin."