In the backyard of a towering building, a boy lay motionless on the ground—unconscious and still. Then, a sudden light burst forth, flooding the entire structure in a brilliant glow.
As the light faded, the boy shot up with a sharp gasp, his chest heaving heavily like he hadn't breathe in a while. His body had been still for so long, his nerves silent, and his breath gone, almost as if life had only just returned to him.
The boy rose to his feet, brushing the dust from his clothes with slow, careful movements.
He looked around, struggling to make sense of it all. Everything had happened so quickly—his death, the pull of his soul into purgatory, and now this mission forced upon them.
It was Kazuki Matasuragi.
He examined the body he now inhabited. It wasn't all that different from his previous body—except for one thing. He was slimmer, almost bony, as if the body had gone days without food. It felt weak, worn, and worst of all, malnourished.
He turned his gaze to the structure before him. It wasn't just a building—it was a towering, obsidian spire that rose high above the city. Thin silver lines traced its surface, glowing faintly with essence. At its peak, a symbol—a sword piercing through a gate—rotated slowly, casting a soft blue light across the skyline.
"Where am I?"
He left the backyard and made his way into the main compound. To his surprise, it was full of movement and noise. Around fifty to a hundred people were rushing toward the building, talking loudly and filled with excitement.
With no knowledge of this world or the person who once lived in this body, he simply followed the crowd and stepped into the building.
They stepped into a wide, open hall with high ceilings and smooth marble floors that reflected the soft glow of the lights above. Symbols glowed faintly along the walls, and the air thrummed with quiet energy.
At the front center stood an Orb—a large, floating crystal sphere above a round platform covered in strange markings. The orb shimmered with shifting colors, giving off a low hum.
"I see you made the trip here as well." A voice called out, startling Kazuki. He turned quickly—and there they were. The two boys who had floated beside him in purgatory, the ones who had received the same mission as him.
"I don't believe we've met, I'm Takashi Tsuchibana, nice to meet you, let's get along well okay?"
Takashi stepped forward with a bright smile, extending his hand for a warm handshake. It wasn't hard for Kazuki to see the natural charisma—the kind that easily drew people in and made him stand out among his peers.
"Nice to meet you too, my name's Kazuki Matasuragi, pleasure working with you." Kazuki took his hand, returning the handshake with a firm, steady grip.
"Wait, Kazuki Matasuragi? Now I remember you! You're that kid that tried fighting back against Xander but got beat to a pulp aren't you?" Kirito let out a loud laugh, clearly amused by Kazuki's decision to fight back. To him, it was nothing short of foolish.
"You've got guts I'll admit, the name's Kirito Horigami. But seriously, if truly might be the goddess of destiny or whatever she calls herself, can we trust her? What if she has other motives?"
"Who knows, it's not like we have a choice anyways, all we can do now is observe this new world, learn all there is to learn about this apocalypse and stop it from ever happening."
"Good day to you all." A voice echoed through the hall, drawing all eyes to the platform where the Orb rested. Behind it stood three men dressed in sleek black suits.
The one in the center stood out—older than the others, with white hair and a neatly trimmed beard, his presence calm yet commanding.
"Now that we're all here we can begin, My name is Arthur Daemar and I'm the active chairman and the president of the Essen-Hunter's association. The two besides me are my associates, I'm sure many of you are aware that after today your life is about to change forever, but first I'll have to inform you on what is about to happen, the process of your Essen Awakening."
"We humans, we all possess something called a core, that core is the foundation of our being, however with that core comes the energy to keep it alive. Some call it will, but it's true name, is Essence."
Murmurs spread through the crowd, confusion written on their faces. His explanation left them puzzled and uncertain.
"Essence?"
"That's right." His voice cut through the noise, firm and clear, silencing the crowd and sweeping away the doubt that had filled the room.
"Essence is what keeps our core alive by sustaining it, although we can't sense it because it is dormant in our bodies, providing only enough power to sustain our core. But do you know that this energy can be drawn to the surface?"
"Chairman Arthur, how's that possible?"
"That's where this orb comes in, this orb is referred to as the Orb of Awakening. It draws out an individual's essence to the surface and awakens what we call a talent, or more preferably Essen-Type."
"To cut the story short, this is what will change your lives and turn you into Essen-Users."
"Huh?" The crowd murmurs rose swiftly like a rising storm, the same question rang through everyone's mind, what the hell is an Essen-User? Isn't it Essen-Hunters?
"I understand your confusions, this awakening ceremony, is actually a selection ceremony. This whole process, is all aimed at one thing. Recruiting capable individuals who will become reputable Essen-Hunters in our country, we are not selfish, we simply want the best for our country while keeping our people safe."
The crowd maintained their silence as the president of the Essen-Hunter's association went on. "As such this selection ceremony is merely for the purpose of identifying those who are qualified to take the Essen-Hunters examination."
"That's all the information I can share with you, with that out of the way. Let the Talent Awakening Ceremony begin."
While most people desired to become Essen-Hunters to protect their loved ones, a large majority desired to be one because of the money in it. It was the fastest way to make money, but it all depended on the rank of the Essen-Hunter.
In this era, Essence-Users are referred to super powered beings who awakened their Essen-Types.
The nervous murmurs of the crowd grew intensely as Arthur called on the first individual to step forward.
The girl he called forth, Kaira, approached the platform from the crowd.
As she walked gracefully towards the Orb, whispers followed behind her.
"It's Chairman Arthur's daughter." One of the aspiring Essen-Users mumbled.
"I wonder what Essen-Type she will awaken." Another member of the crowd whispered.
Arriving at the platform, she placed her dominant hand on the Orb confidently and immediately the air crackled with energy.
The Orb pulsed with an intense golden light, a glow which covered both Kaira and the Orb.
Instinctively, they all shielded their eyes with their arms from the pulsating light.
As the light died down, a shimmering system HUD window materialized in front of her with the specific inscription "A" written on it.
Only she could see it, however the Orb had the ability to reveal her Essen-Type the moment of her awakening.
"Kaira— A-rank Essen-User — The Knight's Essen-Type." Arthur announced, leading to loud murmurs from the crowd.
"A-rank Essen-User?"
"Awesome..."
"Hm, I expected nothing less from the president's daughter."
Chairman Arthur cleared his throat, the sound sharp and commanding. The crowd fell silent as he called for the next person to step forward.
'What!?' Kirito exclaimed in his thoughts as he was next in line. "I'm already next!?"
With a quiet gulp, he stepped forward, climbed the platform, and placed his hand on the orb.
The light show began, with Kirito's body and the orb glowing brightly in sync. As the glow faded, a faint chime rang in his ears, and a system HUD appeared in his vision—visible only to him. At its center, a single letter was displayed: "C".
"Aiden Valtor — C-rank Essen-User — Elementalist Essen-Type."
'C-rank Essen-User? That's not bad at all!' He thought, he expected to be a B-rank Essen-Hunter after what the goddess told them, but at least C-rank wasn't far fetched.
"I don't recall how often Essen-Users of C-rank and above were awakened from scratch." The president whispered to his associates with a warm smile, despite the low ranks, it was an impressive feat given the ratio of C-rank Essen-Users in the last five years.
"The world's changing chairman, and with that change comes another change to offset the inbalance, this year's hunters will special, I can feel it." His right hand associate replied with a smile.
The next candidate, a girl, stepped forward and climbed onto the platform. She placed her dominant hand on the orb, and once again, the same light show began to unfold—bright and radiant, just like before.
"Mel Ravenheart — B-rank Essen-User — Psychic Essen-Type."
"Whoa!"
"B-rank!?"
TThe outcome wasn't entirely unexpected, but few had imagined it would reach as high as B-rank.
After Mel's awakening, more candidates stepped forward. Most awakened with ranks between D and C, while four out of the hundred ended up with the lowest possible—E-rank.
At long last, it came down to the final thirty aspiring individuals yet to awaken their essence.
Without second guessing it, Takashi approached the orb and placed his dominant hand on it.
Immediately, the same glow that lit everywhere up during Kaira's awakening illuminated the hall, but this time, it's sheer intensity was far greater than Kaira's, forcing everyone to immediately shield their eyes with their arms or the consequences would be fatal.
As the blinding light dissipated, Arthur chuckled loudly. "Good grief seems we have another prodigy on our hands.
Much like Kaira's, the system HUD window had the letter "A" inscribed on it.
"Takashi Tsuchibana— A-rank Essen-User — The Knight's Essen-Type."
"What!?"
"Is he for real?"
"T-they are all monsters! Awakening A-rank Essen-Types?"
Next up was Kazuki, He could feel it, his heart skipping a beat as his turn reached. Finally, at long last the decisive step forward had finally arrived.
His only regrets were leaving his mother behind in his previous, but this, this was his opportunity to right the wrongs the universe done to him.
It was his second chance at life, and if he could indeed right those wrongs, stopping an apocalypse was just a sacrifice necessary to achieve that.
Just as Kazuki placed his dominant hand on the Orb, a slight glow escaped it momentarily before the Orb's glow completely died down instantly for the first time since it's discovery.
The atmosphere in the hall was intense as they all tried to understand what it meant, both chairman Arthur and his associates were completely shocked to their core.
Such a display was rare, but it only meant one thing.
With a sharp exhale, Arthur faced Kazuki with a nonchalant expression. "Kazuki Matasuragi — F-Rank Essen-User, no Essen-Type."