The Meaning behind the Program
Dozens of the sitting Opfer were dazed after her statement, but even more stood in a panic up before the beginning of riot began in the amphitheater. An unfortunate few of the Opfer attempted to rush the executioners stationed around the only exits of the room, and although Fen couldn't see the result of their interaction, he assumed it didn't go well from the fountain of blood he could see coming from that direction.
In actuality, despite the massive amounts of blood Fen could see, the wounds the executioners inflicted on the Opfer that tried to run away weren't fatal, even if they would be on Earth. Lost limbs and appendages could be easily fixed with the magic that the VPF studied and implemented inside each Rift.
"What do you mean we'll die?!"
"I didn't even come here by choice, and now you're saying that I could die here?"
"Fuck this crap, I'm going home. Oi, get out of my way!"
Squad 42 members of the dazed group, sitting still while the blood drained out of their face. Seeing their reactions, Fen snorted and laughed at their expressions which turned red with anger when they saw his reaction.
Amelia stood up, her eyes narrowed while various threats of violence spilled from her mouth. "What're you laughing at? You piece of crap, you knew about this didn't you!" Suddenly she recalled Fen's words before they followed the lights into the room, and the amount of venom in his eyes when he spoke.
Remembering the event that occurred not even twenty minutes ago, Amelia could only curse her ignorance. Fen tried to warn them, but they didn't listen. No, they didn't want to listen.
"You did know, didn't you?"
Qin and Gray were confused before they too caught onto her thought process, and instead of looking at Fen with spite like before they became incredulous. That emotion quickly became disbelief as their brains connected the dots from what little Fen had said to the Archon's words.
"What? Don't be shocked or anything, nothing happened that I didn't already tell you would happen. Oh, wait, you didn't want to listen to me! So I guess you are still ignorant."
Fen sneered with disdain at the change in their expressions. None of it changed anything about what he thought about them, even as they stammered out apologies. The past couldn't be changed, and Fen was more likely to become a god then forget about past actions.
Curious and more than a little scared of what he might discover by asking, Gray tried questioning Fen about what happened as he tentatively leaned forward.
"What happened in that roo-"
"Don't even bother. You already lost your chance. Might as well turn it into a life lesson for you; next time, listen when somebody else is talking. You might just learn something instead of being caught with your pants down.
By the time the group finished speaking, the executioners had finished taking care of the Opfer that attempted escaping. Not that there was anywhere to escape too; they weren't lying when they said the Rift closed. They just weren't telling the entire truth.
Archon Ellora was shaking on the state, apparently outraged. 'Oh yeah, she's pissed. I mean, my eyes never glowed when I was jumping for joy. Or rage either, but fuck it, nothing makes sense anymore.' Fen thought.
"Well, I certainly learned my lesson. I promise I'll never be honest with you guys EVER again." Each word of her still amplified voice was punctuated by the sound of her teeth grinding.
"Quiet, you little bastards!" A stream of lightning passed through many of the still speaking Opfer, but instead of killing them like Fen inwardly hoped, it simply gave them a shock large enough to startle them. "Enough! Bet you're all quiet now!"
The Archon brushed off some imaginary dust on the secretary part of her uniform and sighed dramatically. Fen didn't miss the joyful light in her eyes as she electrified those kids however, and his opinion of her plummeted once again.
'...So she's a pervert. A sadist. And not just that, she's obviously a powerful pervert as well. God, just add more crappy stuff onto my plate, why don't ya!' Fen thought.
One of the male executioners stepped next to the Archon and tapped her on the shoulder to calm her down, startling her. A blush appeared on her face, or maybe she was flushed. Fen didn't know which one to hope for.
"Anyway. *Ahem* As I was saying, we will try our best to keep you alive because I, for one, don't like those little turds on the other side of the facility. I don't like you kids either, but I hate them more." She gestured at the word 'we', pointing out the various executioners who shuffled in position to look more presentable. However, in Fen's opinion, the blood staining their once pristine armor really didn't help.
She chuckled awkwardly when she realized that she was speaking to hundreds of young men and women. The adrenaline had helped her speak before, but now that her mind was a bit clearer, it was as if she could feel every set of eyes on her.
Ellora tried asking them a question, to get some sort of response from the Opfer which wasn't running away.
"Do you guys want to know how this place works?"
At the sound of silence, the Archon cleared her throat and continued.
"You won't be doing nothing during this year. Based on your performances in your given task, you'll be given points that you will be able to see on the small box inside your Squad Quarters. Crap, I should probably explain your Squads too... I'll do it after I tell you about the points.
"Based on the points you get, you can see several options on the box about items, Lessons, or information that you can buy. Some of them are more expensive than others obviously, but their price is determined based on the potential benefits that you can receive from your purchase."
There was a slight stirring at her words within the crowd, Fen included. They all wanted to go back to their rooms to check their points, the competitive spirit within them ignited and becoming a small spark.
Kids were kids, even teenagers. It was much easier to manipulate them than fully grown adults.
"But I did say 'potential' benefits. While some of us can give you advice about your points, some of the stuff you see in that box, whether its training, an item, whatever it is, it may be amazing for you, but absolute garbage for others. What I'm trying to warn you about is to be careful about what you buy, and encourage you to try and gain more information before you make a dumb decision.
"But none of that relates to why you might die, or why you should even use those points. After a month passes, there will be a battle between the Opfer and the Chosen, the Task. But because there's so many more Opfer than bratty kids, many of you will end up facing someone in this very room. Just like the task that some of you experienced."
Although the distance made his judgement unsure, Fen was sure that Ellora's eyes settled on him when she finished speaking, although it appeared that she looked at several others as well. The thought that there were others who experienced the same thing put him on edge, wary against others capable of taking human lives.
The Archon took a deep breath in order to continue speaking, but she deviated from her planned speech to explain more about the relationships the Opfer will have with each other.
"Before I go more into that topic, I'll explain the Squads now. The people that you share living quarters with are a part of your Squad, they will be your family for the rest of your time here. They can also be your worst enemies, depending on the actions that you take with them. I, as your Archon, will try my best to guide and assist you when I can but even I cannot control the thoughts and actions of other people.
"Keep an open mind towards the Squad you are given, because you will not be given another one if you abandon them. They might be the only friendly faces you can see here; don't trust even your fellow Opfer outside your Squad. If any of you still wonder why, despite the numerous clues and hints I've dropped, then all you need to do is remember the battle aforementioned."
A passionate blue glow shined in the Archon's eyes, and her voice became much more heated than it was before. Even the armor she was wearing had faintly glowing marks appearing and disappearing as she became more heated. Any trace of her past embarrassment at speaking to such a large audience disappeared as a passionate smile appeared on her face, an expression which should have no connection to her next words.
"You will all kill each other. The Task is meant to strengthen you as much as it is about culling the weak. This is why most of you will die. Only those strong enough to survive can leave, the rest will be abandoned here in the endless Void."
"Those of you who face Chosen are almost guaranteed to die; they were given the opportunity to prepare while you were given nothing. Years of training, practice, and legacies beyond even my imagination."
A spear of crackling blue lightning appeared in her hand which she struck down into the floor creating cracks of various sizes spreading down from her podium. Many of the Opfer stumbled from the sheer power that cracked the foundation of the room, but none of them looked away from the now fully glowing Archon.
Her voice, which started off calm, quickly rose from a tumult of emotions that bared themselves like a pack of ravenous wolves against a fierce bear, clashing against the natural order of predators. In order to survive, even sacred rules can be broken and childhood promises forgotten and thrown away.
Even Fen found himself filled with burning spirit and the desire to survive, ignited by the Archon's speech.
"But they were still young. There is the possibility that you can win against a Chosen, so don't you dare despair now! There is no point in defeat without effort! If they have more talent than you, work harder, harder than you have ever worked before in your life! Remember the feeling of anger that you felt when you were brought here, remember the rage you felt at the world when you were abandoned by civilization, remember the fear you felt when you had no one as a child. Condense that feeling and use it. Everything that the Chosen were given, you will take!
"Fight dirty! Even the most absolute skills and talents will result in nothing if they are incapable of bending and adapting to the situation at hand. Take advantage of every weakness they have, and twist it to make them kneel before you!"
At the end of her speech, even the most unenthusiastic of the Opfer were standing on their feet, roaring with emotion. They were all roused by the Archon's speech, ready to give their lives if that was what it took to go back home.
Blood was pumping adrenaline through the veins of the Opfer, making each of the executioners worry what would happen if a fist was thrown in the increasing chaos. With that amount of adrenaline clouding their rational thoughts, any violence would quickly resonate with the others and a massive fight would erupt.
The once afraid Opfer were gone, replaced by spirited youths coiled to fight at any given moment, even against each other. Thankfully, such an event didn't happen.
A similar speech was taking place on the opposite side of the facility, where another amphitheater was filled to the brim with young men and women wearing dazzling white uniforms with red streaks on every crease of the uniform. There was no chaos, and barely any emotion besides conceit inside the cold atmosphere of the room. If the emotions of the Opfer were like a raging tsunami, uncontrollable and unstoppable, then the Chosen were like a calm river, its existence permanent unlike the tsunami and much harder to influence.
The speech given by the Archon assigned to the Chosen was much more brief because the man didn't need to explain the rules that they already knew, but he still tried to motivate the apathetic crowd.
"You are the cream of the crop, the purest of warriors assigned to the Rift. Your blood is pure, descending from the humans who endured the Sin's influence the longest unlike those of the Opfer." Jaron said, spitting out the last word like it was a curse.
"You received training only a Chosen can receive, and all of you have been conditioned to withstand the Void. When the Task begins, if you fail in a confrontation to an Opfer, despite all the opportunities you were given, then you will have lost any right to call yourself a Chosen as well as your life."
The Archon paced around the Podium, stopping occasionally to stare into the unemotional eyes of a Chosen. They were sitting down in neat rows, every single one of them sitting with nearly perfect posture
"Remember their origins. They will stop at nothing to succeed, even lowering themselves to dirty tricks. I am not telling you to lower yourselves to the same level as them, but I am telling you to prepare yourselves. A trick is not a trick if you already know about it."
Jaron stopped pacing, standing tall among the unmoving army of Chosen. With cold blue eyes, the Archon sent the Chosen off, not seeing the point of holding them for any longer. What the Archon could teach and tell them, they didn't need. That, and they wouldn't listen even if they did need it.
The Opfer and Chosen left to prepare themselves, one side filled with vigor and determination, the other calm and poised. No one would be unprepared for the Task.