Vincent groaned. “That’s just an illusion. Deep down, I’m a romantic guy.”

  The teasing and bickering continued in the back. Up front, Vince kept his eyes on the road but spared a glance at Rosaline. He had noticed her earlier—how she had pressed her hand to her chest, the way her expression had shifted when Annabelle bowed.

  Rosaline, of course, knew exactly what he was thinking. Without looking at him, she muttered, “Mind your own damn business and drive.”

  The car rumbled past the outskirts of the city, heading toward Ebonveil. But even as the road stretched before them, Annabelle’s face lingered in Rosaline’s mind.

  She had heard Axel’s story before. An orphan raising his little sister—standard sob story. But after these past few days, after meeting them herself, the picture had become much clearer. Much more real.

  For some reason, Annabelle’s small, determined figure overlapped with a memory buried deep in Rosaline’s mind.

  She turned slightly, her gaze flicking to Axel in the rearview mirror. “Boy, you’d better survive.”

  Axel met her eyes and nodded.

  Rosaline exhaled sharply. “We’ll arrive in Ebonveil around 6 PM. Once we’re there, a special officer will explain the rules of this selection. Listen carefully—every single word. If you don’t, you might die without even knowing why.”

  Her voice was low and serious. “And one more thing—don’t try to be a hero. Got it?”

  Axel gave her an easy nod. Rosaline leaned back, arms crossed.

  .........

  At exactly six in the evening, they arrived in Ebonveil.

  The city sat on the northern edge of Krythos, facing an endless stretch of open grasslands. After the world had gone to hell, human territory had shrunk drastically, forcing them to abandon much of their industry. To make things worse, the planet had entered a mini ice age—and even though it was only September, the wind blowing in from the plains carried a sharp, biting cold.

  Axel shivered slightly as he stepped out of the car, taking in the massive fortified city walls. Unlike those in Dune, these walls weren’t just for show—they were thick, heavy, and battle-scarred. Even from hundreds of meters away, he could see garrisoned troops patrolling and rows of black howitzers mounted atop the defenses.

  “This is the front line…” Axel muttered under his breath.

  Though both Dune and Ebonveil were border cities, their realities were vastly different. Dune sat in a natural concave of the landscape, shielding it from large-scale attacks. Over the years, the beast tide sieges there had been relatively small.

  But Ebonveil? He had heard the stories. Brutal battles. Entire squads wiped out. Cities nearly lost.

  That was before a handful of top-tier Awakeners rose among humanity, turning the tide. Thanks to them, Ebonveil had seen fewer large-scale attacks in recent years. Still, the scars of war lingered everywhere.

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  After stepping out of the vehicle, the group made their way to Whisper Syndicate’s designated hotel. The moment they hit the streets, Axel noticed something— There were way more Awakeners here than in Dune.

  The people walking past him carried themselves differently. Stronger. Sharper. Many wore weapons openly, and some even had visible mutant beast traits—claws, glowing eyes, or unnaturally thick skin.

  Along the streets, merchants had set up stalls, trading loot salvaged from outside the city—beast fangs, rare herbs, mutated animal hides.

  Vincent, casually observing their surroundings. “Your Awakening level is too low right now, so most of these materials won’t do you much good. But the pills you take? The standard weapons we issue in Whisper Syndicate? All of them are made from mutant beast parts.”

  Axel nodded, keeping that in mind.

  Upon arriving at the hotel, they were only allowed entry after showing their Whisper Syndicate documents. The entire building had been secured—white fences surrounding it, guards stationed at every corner. Clearly, the Syndicate had booked out the entire place.

  Axel had never stepped into such a luxurious hotel before. In his mind, only Wolfe’s headquarters could compare.

  From this point on, the crowd around them thinned out. No more merchants or civilians—just guards standing in formations, grouped in threes and fours, scanning every movement.

  Three minutes later, Vince led them into a small square outside the hotel’s main hall.

  Dozens of people stood scattered throughout the square. They weren’t speaking to one another. They deliberately kept their distance, almost as if assessing each other.

  And every single one of them was an Awakener. He could feel it, even without trying—the sheer pressure radiating from them. “Damn… they’re strong.”

  Vincent clapped a hand on Axel’s shoulder. “Relax. They’re just like you—candidates. Go join them.”

  They would split up here. Candidates had different mission objectives than them. He could be allowed to listen in on the briefing, but he won’t be crossing that line.

  Axel stepped forward toward the registration desk, where a man and a woman were handling the intake. “Name.”

  “Axel.”

  “Age.”

  “Eighteen.”

  “Awakener level.”

  “First-class, mid-grade.”

  The moment he finished speaking, both officials exchanged glances, their brows furrowing slightly. The woman made a subtle hand signal. “Check the system.”

  The man tapped away on the keyboard, the rapid clacking of keys filling the brief silence. After a few moments, he nodded. “Yeah. He’s on the list.”

  Despite confirming his identity, their expressions remained… off. It was as if they couldn’t understand why he was even here. Without another word, they handed him a simple blue badge and gestured for him to move along.

  As he turned to leave, he heard them whispering—not even bothering to lower their voices. “A candidate recommended by the Obsidian team?”

  “Even if they lost a member last year, I didn’t think they’d be this careless.”

  “Who knows.”

  Axel’s fists clenched at his sides, but he forced himself to stay calm. Only now did he truly grasp what kind of selection process this was.

  Everyone here was strong. There wasn’t much of an age gap—most were young, but the oldest couldn’t be more than forty. And judging by their presence alone, every single one of them was stronger than him.

  “Compared to this, the Awakening Day test was a goddamn joke.”

  He had heard stories that some candidates were graduates from the War Academy. As he stepped further into the gathering area, eyes immediately locked onto him.

  Axel could feel it—scans of energy, like invisible laser beams, sweeping over him. Power fluctuations rippled through the air. However, After a brief glance, they lost interest and moved on.

  Axel’s brow twitched. That was rude as hell.

  “Don’t take it personally, brother.” A voice came from beside him. He turned to see a chubby young man, not much older than himself, freckles scattered across his face. Unlike the others, this guy had a warm, friendly smile. “Everyone here sees each other as competition. They just wanna gauge how much of a threat you are.”

  The guy extended a hand. “Gabriel Remington. Nice to meet you.”

  Remington? That wasn’t a common surname. Axel gave him a nod and shook his hand. “Axel.”

  Gabriel’s round face lit up with excitement. “Man, finally! Someone who doesn’t ignore me.”