A cathedral silence reigned in the dome, broken only by the hushed footsteps of teenagers advancing towards the crystal monolith. Every awakening was a cosmic twist, a potential hope and disappointment. The light that emanated from the stone varied in intensity and color, betraying the result even before the officer announced it.
"Martin, rank F!"
A dull, almost gray glow. The young man nodded, resigned, and joined the group of awakened "Commons." No one judged him. That was the norm.
"Sofia, rank E!"
A pale green glow, a slight sigh of relief.
"Kaito, rank D!"
A clearer blue light. A shy smile appeared on his face.
Hakime watched motionlessly, analyzing each reaction. He felt the weight of the looks of the guild leaders and Michelle White, who scrutinized the crowd like hawks. Their expressions only changed for a handful of them.
Then came his turn.
"Lyra Melthorn!"
A young girl with silver blond hair and a haughty port came forward. His face was a mask of calm, but Hakime felt a tension in his shoulders. She put her hand on the stone. Immediately, a clear, crystalline light bursts forth, almost blindingly pure. Irrid reflections, like those of the glass struck by the sun, danced around his arm.
"Rang B! Control of the glass!" announced the officer, a note of surprise in his voice.
A whisper ran through the crowd. Rank B was a major asset. The leader of the Breisefer Guild leaned slightly forward, his interest aroused. The mistress of the Insight Shadows gave a calculating smile. Lyra withdrew her hand, examined her fingers for a moment, then joined the "Rare" group, with her head held high, her destiny traced.
The awakenings continued, returning to normal. Then, the name many were waiting for sounded.
"Loïd Skydream!"
A tremor ran through the audience. The young man stepped forward with an assurance that bordered on arrogance. The son of a large family, dressed in expensive training clothes, he displayed a confident smile. He glanced briefly towards the stage, crossing Michelle White's, before placing his palm on the crystal.
It was not a light, but a blast.
A muffled roar filled the room as a whirlwind of crimson and orange flames sprang from the stone, enveloping Loïd's arm without burning it. The heat was so intense that several took a step back. The air vibrated, charged with a wild and primitive energy.
"Rang S! Ignir! Manipulation of Fire!" cried the officer, unable to hide his amazement.
Chaos took over the stage. The head of the Breezes jumped up, his armchair scraping the floor. The mistress of the Insight Shadows was already standing, her eyes shining with a voracious lust. Even Michelle White, the stoic, had an intense glow in her eyes. The other representatives were almost jostling, all speaking at the same time, pointing at Loïd. He was the kind of legendary talent that could make a guild famous for a decade.
Loïd, in the middle of the storm, raised his head, his face illuminated by a savage triumph. The flames danced to his fist before going out. He looked at the audience, drinking the cheers and the envious looks.
In the relative silence that followed this exhibition, as recruiters tried to sit down, a name was called, almost like a formality.
"Hakime!"
All eyes were still on Loïd. No one, or almost no one, noticed the young man in modest clothes walking towards the stone. Only Michelle White, her warrior instinct alert, felt something and slowly turned her head towards him.
Hakime felt the weight of the moment. The hopes of the orphanage, the shadows of the Towers, his own determination. He took a deep breath and put his hand on the cold surface of the monolith.
There was no roar, no flames, no crystals. There was a silence. A void. For a horrific second, nothing happened. A bitter disappointment began to arise in his chest.
Then the stone began to vibrate.
A low sound, so deep that it was almost inaudible, made the ground shake. The black crystal became opaque, swallowing all light. And suddenly, from the heart of the stone, an absolute radiance, of such pure whiteness and intenseness that it eclipsed everything else, exploded.
It wasn't a light you could see; it was a light that passed through you. She didn't color the air, she became so. Hakime was in the center of this sun, his face bathed by this incandescence, his eyes wide open, reflecting the infinite.
The sound stopped. The light persisted, holding the whole room in suspense, frozen in a moment of eternity.
No announcement was made.