"Listen carefully."
The professor's voice cut through the nervous chatter in the auditorium like a knife through silk. He was in charge of this year's Awakening Ceremony. He stood at the center of the raised platform, his teacher's suit impeccable despite the humid morning air.
Behind him, the Pillar of Awakening pulsed with a rhythmic blue light that cast long shadows across the rows of eighteen-year-olds.
"This is your final Awakening Ceremony. Those who fail today will spend the rest of their lives as civilians."
Noctis Vale sat in the center section of the auditorium, his hands clasped tightly together to keep them from shaking. Around him, thirty teenagers held their breath.
Some prayed silently. Others whispered last-minute promises to gods they had ignored for seventeen years and three hundred and sixty-four days.
"Over the past few years, they have worked on their physical condition and mental strength to improve their chances."
The professor paused and looked around at the young people.
"But statistically speaking, your chances of waking up a Class are almost nil."
The words fell like stones into still water, rippling through the crowd.
Noctis settled into his seat, swallowing dryly.
'Almost zero... but not zero.'
Two centuries had passed since the first Calamity, when cracks tore reality apart and flooded the world with creatures straight out of nightmares.
The Remnants, as they were called, were empty shells of something that once lived and died in the Abyss, beyond the cracks. Humanity should have been exterminated in the first wave.
But then the first Awakened appeared.
The first ones with magical and miraculous abilities that only appeared in web novels and webtoons. They saved the world from imminent destruction: the Remnants. And they became heroes of humanity.
However, with their appearance, Earth underwent a great change that allowed people, at the age of eighteen, to awaken a Class and access the Abyss.
Noctis sighed. What Class would he awaken to? Would it be Rare or Supreme? He belonged to the Vale Clan, which had produced Awakened Ones with rare and supreme classes.
Failure was not in his blood.
...Or so he believed.
At the front of the room, the teacher raised his hand, got the young people's attention, and announced:
"Your names will be called in alphabetical order. Come up to the Pillar. Place both hands on its surface. The system will read the resonance of your soul and assign you to your Class accordingly."
He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in.
"Remember, this is your only chance. If you don't wake up, you'll live the rest of your life as civilians. No exceptions. No second chances."
"Adrian Vex."
The first name echoed through the room. A skinny, nervous, energetic boy stood up and walked over to the Pillar. As he placed his hands on the surface, a yellow light reflected off the obsidian.
"[Lightning Striker] Rank: Rare. A solid combat Class."
Applause filled the auditorium, polite but sincere. The Raro rank was respectable. Not spectacular, but respectable.
Adrian returned to his seat with an uncontrollable smile, receiving pats on the back from his friends as he passed.
The ceremony continued with mechanical precision.
"Emma Stone. Failed, did not awaken any Class."
"David Park. [Guardian of the Shield]. Rank: Basic."
"Sophie Miller. Failed, did not awaken any Class."
Each announcement brought its own reaction: excitement, disappointment, acceptance. The auditorium was a living being, breathing hope and exhaling reality with each name pronounced.
Noctis barely heard anything.
His attention was constantly drawn to the girl sitting two rows ahead and three seats to the left. Elara Winters. His fiancée.
"Elara Winters."
Noctis's chest tightened when he saw her stand up. She moved with the same natural grace that always impressed him, walking toward the platform as if gliding rather than stepping. When she placed her hands on the Pillar, the response was immediate.
"[Archon of Life] Rank: Supreme."
For the first time that morning, the professor's voice betrayed genuine surprise.
"Exceptional. Truly exceptional, Miss Winters."
This time, the applause was thunderous. Those who did not know Elara personally stood up, clapping and whistling. Healing classes were rare.
She returned to her seat with a small, restrained smile.
She still hadn't looked at Noctis.
The ceremony continued. More names. More classes. More futures that were sealed with a simple touch.
Noctis's mind wandered, imagining his own moment.
What would his Class be? [Blood Warrior], perhaps. [Elemental Mage]. [Shadow Explorer]. He wasn't picky. Anything would do.
"Noctis Vale."
The name struck him like a bucket of cold water. For a moment, he didn't react; his mind was still lost in reverie. Then he realized that everyone was looking at him.
'Okay. It's my turn.'
He stood up with his legs firmer than expected. The walk to the platform seemed longer than it should have been.
The stone of awakening lay before him, still glowing faintly from whatever the previous person had done. Up close, it was beautiful, cold, and impersonal. It was like looking at a star, knowing it had died millennia ago, yet its light had not stopped traveling.
Noctis pressed his palms against the surface.
It was cool. Smooth. Like touching glass that had been in the shade.
He waited.
Five seconds passed.
The standard blue pulse of the Pillar continued its rhythm, unchanged. Unfazed. Uninterested.
Ten seconds.
Whispers began to be heard in the back rows.
Fifteen seconds.
Noctis concentrated harder, trying to make something, anything, happen.
Twenty seconds.
"That's enough."
The professor's voice was calm but firm. Noctis didn't move. His hands remained pressed against the Pillar, his knuckles white.
"Noctis, step back."
"Just... just a moment longer."
His voice sounded strange to him. Too high-pitched. Too desperate.
"I felt something. I need..."
"Step back."
Noctis's hands fell.
"Awakening detected," it announced to the silent room.
"However, Classless affinity has been identified. There is no resonance pattern."
He looked up from the screen and met Noctis's gaze.
"Classification: Classless."
The word resonated like a physical blow.
Unclassified.
Not "didn't wake up." Not even "civilian."
Classless.
A designation reserved for those one in ten thousand whose souls were essentially incompatible with the Awakening System. Those who activated the Pillar's detection without receiving anything in return. Those who existed in the gap between civilians and the Awakened, belonging to neither.
Who were, for all practical purposes, defective.
The whispers turned into a roar.
"Classless? A Voucher?"
"How is that possible?"
"The heir is defective..."
Noctis' gaze swept down the hallway. Every face showed a mixture of surprise, pity, or satisfaction at the sight of the privileged being humiliated.
He turned and walked back to his seat with a lifeless expression.
Around him, the ceremony continued. More successes, more failures, more futures decided in a matter of seconds.
...
After the ceremony ended, the hall slowly began to empty. Laughter, congratulations, and plans for the future filled the air. Noctis walked among them like a shadow that no one noticed.
He heard his name whispered.
A hand tapped Noctis on the shoulder, making him flinch.
"Good luck, little brother."
He turned and found Kael Vale standing behind him, arms crossed and a sympathetic expression that wasn't reflected in his eyes. His older brother was twenty years old, had been on his own Awakened career for two years, and was already making a name for himself. [Heavenly Archer], Rank: Supreme. The pride of the Vale Clan.
Noctis looked, like his brother, to one side.
Their father stood next to one of the marble columns, straight as always, impeccable.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The silence between them was not expectant.
Their father was the first to break it.
"I thought you were destined to lead the Vale Clan."
There was no anger in his voice.
"I trained you to be the Pillar of our house. I gave you resources that other heirs can only dream of. And yet..."
His eyes lowered slightly.
"...You awakened nothing."
Noctis felt the air grow heavier.
"Father, I..."
"Don't give me excuses. An heir without Class is not an heir. He is a burden. And the Vale Clan does not bear weaknesses."
Kael stepped forward. The evening light accentuated the golden glow that still seemed to surround him.
"Brother. Don't worry about the clan. I will make sure that embarrassment never happens again."
Elara avoided looking at him at first. When their eyes finally met, she found no hatred... nor sadness.
Only distance.
"My family has already been informed," she said quietly. "The engagement will be called off. It's best for both parties."
Both parties.
As if it were a commercial contract.
Noctis noticed how the servants discreetly removed the silver emblem from his uniform. The moon wolf, symbol of the Vale family, no longer rested on his chest.
The gesture was small... but very significant.
His father turned around.
"Starting today, your allowance will be suspended. The clan can no longer justify your position."
Kael placed a hand on Elara's back, gently guiding her away. She did not resist.
Noctis remained motionless for a few seconds.
The hallway emptied.
The voices faded away.
The sound of his footsteps echoed alone as he began to walk toward the exit.
The light from outside greeted him with an almost painful glare.
In the courtyard, the new Awakened celebrated their future.
He walked among them without anyone stopping him.
Without anyone looking at him.
Eighteen years preparing to be someone.
And in a single instant...
He had become no one.
He didn't clench his fists.
He didn't scream.
He didn't cry.
He just walked.