"Huh?"
Savitar was perplexed by the whispers of the old man. His eyes broadened, tilting his neck towards the direction of the old man.
"What do you meant by that? Old man "He questioned.
But he was met with the reticence of the atmosphere.
"Hey" A soldier called out while advancing towards Savitar.
Bang!
Savitar was strucked by the buzz of the rifle. Savitar staggered back…..letting out a groan, his eyes twitched.
Silence reigned as all attention drifted towards Savitar's direction.
"I'm sorry" Savitar groaned. He's spotted on his knees, caressing his stomach.
The soldier standing before him grunted.
"Hmph...your face has being marked boy. The next time I hear your voice, I'll blow your skull off "
"Now get your ass up and follow the line" the soldier commanded.
"Tch"
Savitar got up from his knees. He obeyed without uttering a single word as the soldier watched him leave into the building.
He kept reminiscing at the words of the old man. His heart raced.
What if the old man's speaking the truth?
What if he's unable to awaken?
If the words of the old man is solid and the truth, death is his only option.
~~~~~~~~
They walked through the grand hallway. Savitar could see the image of the Emperor displayed on the walls of the building.
The flags as well were no exemption.
They were led into a massive hall as instructed by the commanding officer. Savitar let's put a sigh.
They were all shoved together into a hall. All two thousand Slaves gathered from every area within the Empire.
Their hands remained constrained together by the chains gotten from the Ore metal.
A near indestructible metal enhanced by the Starlight Energy!
It made Savitar's wrists itchy. Savitar was uneased due to the pressure he received from the chains.
"When is this torment going to stop?" He asked himself.
Clang!
The metallic door leading into the hall opened up. Before them stood the commanding officer in charge of the operation.
Uniformly dressed. His sterned gaze glanced at the Slaves before him.
"Good morning Slaves" the commanding officer voiced out.
"I'm sure you all are shocked as to why insignificant insects such as yourself were brought to the sacred city of Rosario right?"
"Most of you lapdogs are fated to die. Waste products which will be buried to serve as nutrients to our plants"
"But instead of simply wasting you trashes. We decided to give you guys a chance at life"
"Operation Hedgehog is what this is called"
"One after the other. Everyone of you Slaves will be assembled and called to the research center, in there everyone of you will be administered our latest invention"
"The Cariburn Chip. Our latest design once imbedded in the human body, it gains access to the human system"
"Forcing that human to grow accustomed to the radiating Starlight Energy and they will be awakened"
"Obtaining the Player's status and awakening a Skill"
"Working for the Empire to pay off your debt as Slaves. This is an opportunity to rewrite your future"
The commanding officer explained.
Whispers and murmurs echoed amongst the crowded Slaves. Many were in a state of shock and panick.
But Savitar stood unfazed. After all he has gotten information from that mysterious old man.
"So that old man was right huh? They really are going to use us as test subjects, if we're unable to awaken"
"We'll be tossed aside and executed"
Savitar whispered.
"Ehm…Ehm…..Let there be silence, I'm still speaking"
The commanding officer spoke out. Instantly the hall became deathly silent.
"Just as I was saying before the interruption. This is a once in a million opportunity for you guys to change your fate"
"But I must warn you, it's either you awaken as a Player today or you die"
"Those whose body are incompatible with the Cariburn Chip will be thrown into the gas chamber"
The commanding officer sent fear into the heart of the Slaves but none could dare utter a single word.
"Good"
"Now that you all are informed. It's time to begin….." the commanding officer declared. He snapped his fingers.
Approaching footsteps drew closer, emerging into the hall were the Knights in noir.
Standing at six foot tall. Their metallic engraved battle suits sent fear into the heart of the Slaves.
Knight in noir were different breeds on their own.
Not only do they excel in hand to hand combat and Swordmanship. They are vile and barbaric in nature.
Most of the Slaves present had their people slaughtered by the Knights in noir.
Especially Savitar.
The Knight's battlesuits is another example of the Empire's advanced technology. Created using nanotechnology.
Most physical attacks is unable to directly damage them and they are all awakened.
They excelled in the art of Starlight Manipulation.
Tension grew amongst the crowded Slaves. The Knights in noir advanced forward, dragging a few number of Slaves out.
The commanding officer watched with a grin.
The resisting Slaves were either killed or knocked out by the Knights in noir.
Few minutes later. The Knights in noir left the hall alongside the Slaves they dragged.
"The first batch of test subjects have been taken. Await your turn and pray that your luck may save you"
The commanding officer declared.
He left the hall afterwards and the hall was sealed from outside. Preventing any Slave from escaping.
Tension grew evidently.
Many tried to force themselves to the back but they were repelled by the other Slaves. While the commotion amongst Slaves skyrocketed.
Savitar retained his composure.
Lucky for him he stayed at the edge. Savitar sat down on the tiled ground. He could felt the cold kissing his butt.
He rested his back on his wall, trying to calm his nerves down.
"This is more like an horror show isn't it? our lives are in the hands of luck " A voice was heard.
Savitar turned his gaze. He faced the direction of the voice to see a middle aged man sitted besides him.
His skin covered with bite marks and bruises. Whip marks covered his back.
His face laced with smile.
"You're dying sir" Savitar voiced out. He noticed through the disorganize breathing style the man had.
But the smiles of the Slave never faded.
"You noticed huh? I've been like this for years now. Affected by a non transmissible disease, the soldiers just left me to die"
"If this Cariburn Chip is unable to cure me. I'll be dying today" the Slave answered.
"So people are hoping on the success of this Chip huh?" Savitar asked.
"Yh I am…..It's the only option right?" the Slave asked with a chuckle. Savitar remained mute.
"So tell me kid. Do you have a story?" the Slave asked while still smiling.
"Nothing much. Just another victim of the Empire's cruelty, I watched my village burn and my family slaughtered by the Knights in noir "
"Those ruthless savages raped my little sister before beheading her…..I plan on paying them back but I'll die anyway"
Savitar gnashed his teeths. the Slave could see the rage in his eyes.
"The Empire cannot be defeated" Savitar added.
"The Empire may be strong and invincible but Empires come and go. We still have the federation out there"
"And not to talk about the Western Nations" the Slave added.
"Hmph…..what are the west going to do about the Northern power of the Empire?"
"If they were that strong…..they should have plunged the Empire into chaos and liberated us"
"They are all trash, scums like the Empire" Savitar cursed.
"Calm down boy, i know you're enraged but try controlling your words. A lot of Slaves here are willing to snitch to be on the officers good side"
"This is survival of the fittest but I've a question to ask. If you were given the power to destroy the Empire"
"Would destroy the Empire?" the Slave asked.
"With pleasure!" Savitar whispered. His words caused the Slave to smile.
Clang!
The metallic door leading into the Slave's hall opened up. Rushing into the hall in numbers were Slaves.
Their faces were laced with joy. Meeting with their fellow Slaves, lots of questions were asked.
But one thing was certain, the returning Slaves were all awakened. The Cariburn Chip was imbedded at the back of their neck.
Responsible for synthesizing the flow of Starlight Energy coursing through their veins.
Savitar squinted his eyes. He could see the Starlight Energy flowing through their bodies.
But out of the three hundred that were taken by the Knights in noir.
Sixty were unawakened and they were all thrown into the gas chamber. Sending fear into the heart of the Slaves.
The next batch began and with over a thousand Slaves dragged out of the hall by the Knights in noir.
Savitar waited in the hall with the rest of the seven hundred Slaves that were left in the hall.
His heart raced, his hands shivered awaiting his turn.
Few hours later.
Out of the one thousand Slaves dragged to the research lab. Only eight hundred Slaves returned as awakened.
Two hundred were unawakened. Failures of the tests and they were all thrown into the gas chamber.
With their corpses fed to the bloodhounds.
While many Slaves jubilated. His gaze remained sterned after all, the time had come for his batch to be tested.
The Knights in noir made their way into the hall, advancing towards the direction of Savitar and the Slaves with him.
Seven hundred Slaves were rounded up by the Knights in noir and they were dragged out of the hall.
Savitar winced in pain.
He could feel his arms being ripped apart due to the pressure applied by the Knight in noir. They were taken into a spacious lab.
Savitar widened his eyes in shock. His mouth widened in awe.
Bewildered by what his eyes met. Several hundreds of bodies were sealed in glass tubes. Drowning in green acid.
The corrosive odor of death engulfed the air
Savitar could see fingers moving. A sign of life.
"What the hell is being conducted in this lab?" He asked himself.
Scientists of the Empire were clad in red lab coat. Their hands covered with black gloves and their faces covered using a gas mask.
Their identities were kept a secret to avoid informations being leaked out.
"Tie them there…..we'll attend to them" a Scientist instructed.
The Knights in noir obeyed, they dragged the Slaves towards a wall. The Slaves were chained to the wall.
Both their arms and legs were sealed, this prevented them from moving a single muscle.
Savitar turned his attention towards the echoing screams. He could see a Slave being dissected alive by a group of scientists.
He gritted his teeths.
One after the other the scientists pierced their necks using syringes. Injecting a mysterious substance into their body.
Reaching Savitar's turn. He had his neck bent sideways and the scientist who stood before him pierced through his veins with the syringe.
Tension grew just as the mysterious substance was released into his body.
Savitar's heart raced. He felt heartburn…
"Wha…..what….what did they injected me with?" He stammered.
Savitar's eyes blurred. His body went numb, he couldn't feel his limbs anymore.
Driven into a state of unconsciousness, he collapsed on the ground.
"Good…..the drug has taken effect. Let's begin"
Savitar overheard the faint whispers of the scientists. All he could see was absolute darkness.