1 Dusted Wood

Some would say having a snake as a pet is creepy, but for Dale, it seems natural to have one…or three. As Dale had his snakes fed, he mumbled to himself darkly.

"I don't get why people freak out over snakes. Look at them. They're such adorable little monsters!"

Dale lived all alone in a rented, tiny apartment. Having just moved out from the dirty outskirt slums, he barely managed to get this place. Luckily for him, the owner took a liking to Dale. Who knows, maybe he also liked snakes. Dale chuckled.

"Well, the contract prevents me from getting a cat or a dog… they probably didn't think about an outskirt slum rat having snakes."

Dale was seventeen today; usually, that would be a cause for celebration. Enduring another year on Earth is challenging. The once hospitable planet is no more. The air is ashy, and food is nowhere to be found. People claim it's because of an especially horrid Terror that appeared 30 or so years ago.

'I wonder how it felt like to breathe crisp, clean air'

Unfortunately, seventeen is a certain age according to the Old Divines' priests - the age of adulthood. Upon reaching adulthood, everyone must visit the old temples for the selection of the Seekers candidates, but the black-haired green-eyed Dale couldn't have cared less about that.

"These damned… things, would never pick me as one of the Seekers, or rather the Cursed...״

According to the life expectancy of the so-called "Seekers", Dale calling them cursed seemed more realistic.

Dale sighed heavily. He patted Greeny the elderly snake, and finally, he got out of that banged-up door of his.

"How in the four Old Divines will I get to the temple on time!?"

He mumbled to himself. He seemed preoccupied with denying the whole thing until now, instead of preparing for the temple like all the other citizens who just turned seventeen.

Dale didn't know much about what to expect when leaving his home. Information about the temples was kept in secrecy by the government. The lack of knowledge stems from the old temples being holy grounds, with access granted only to the priests of the Old Divines. Some say that the ancient temples that were left are the last attempt of the Old Divines to help humanity in its final struggle against the Terrors.

'Why couldn't the Old Divines take care of all the Terrors and then disappear? Leaving only humanity stranded against such monstrosities seems hardly fair!'

With no choice but to fight for survival, the last hundred years have been hard on humanity. At the battlefront stood the Seekers - Earth's protectors, humans who underwent unimaginable trials. Rumor has it the spark of humanity extinguished within some of them. Hardened by whatever they went through and with unique powers obtained from their trials, few are even seen as demigods with powerful abilities that transcend human imagination. Unfortunately for humanity, Seekers are very few, while the Terrors are endless in numbers.

Being a Seeker means a heavy responsibility falls on one's shoulders. Along with finding the truth about the Unknown and why it appeared, only Seekers can stand the onslaught brought by the Terrors, which drove humanity to near extinction.

It was pitch black outside, the lanterns on the streets barely giving any light.

"I bet the lanterns where the higher class citizens reside work properly," he said dejectedly.

Brightening up and smiling wickedly, he started jogging swiftly toward the temple, trying to dodge other humans and obstacles.

"I just might make it on time to the ceremony. How…disappointing!"

***

At last, Dale arrived at the temple, wheezing and gasping for air.

"Why did they… build the temple…on top of a damned mountain?!"

The temple looked as if the stones had some inner glow to them. Dale brushed his finger on one of the stones when no one looked. It had a smell similar to dusted wood.

'How strange...'

Dale joined the rest of the unfortunate teens who just turned seventeen. Nervousness and anxiety were palpable on their scrunched-up faces while the old priest ensured everyone was present.

'Well, not everyone here seems nervous.'

On his left stood a strange-looking girl, her hair pale gold and eyes of dark gray. While most teens were preoccupied with whether they would survive this cursed day, this girl dared to tap her foot on the marble stone impatiently, as if to say, 'Get on with it.'

Dale scoffed.

'Just my luck, standing beside a lunatic!'

Although Dale was a lunatic in his own right, he couldn't keep his composure for long. Having a very slim but all the more real chance of getting picked as a Seeker didn't bode well with his current lifestyle - living.

as Dale counted the seconds for the inevitable start of the ceremony, he unconsciously touched the scar right above his left eyebrow.

"How'd you get that scar?"

that strange lunatic on his left asked expectedly as if now would be an appropriate time to share stories.

"Snakes."

Dale said curtly, not wanting to delve further. But the snakes he meant weren't of the animal kind.

'those damned rat slums…' he thought darkly.

The old priest called for silence and raised his hands in the air, his bored voice carrying through the hall:

"The seeker selection process shall begin shortly, I am seeker Randell, and I will host the ceremony. Each of you shall step forward and touch a temple's stone. I will observe whether your body can host the seed of the divine. In the rare chance that hosting will take place, I will escort you to the temple's inner chamber."

Dale sighed heavily, he's already tired of this place and wanting to return home. As the ceremony began, everyone stepped up to a temple wall and touched the smooth surface of a glowing stone.

'So I just need to touch this stone again?'

Suddenly, a cacophony of rigid screams and wails of pain permeated the temple, causing chaos and disorder. The priest's heavy gaze landed slowly on each of the children, his expression becoming troublesome.

'Another ceremony with no seeker candidate? The numbers are dropping….'

Behind numerous screaming teens stood Dale and the pale gold-haired girl, looking wide-eyed at the chaos with one hand on a temple's stone.

'Are they…okay? Wait, am I okay?'

Dale took account of his body, finding nothing out of the ordinary. On his left, the lunatic girl scoffed loudly.

"Why in the Old Divines are they screaming like that?"

'I'm not sure either, but I have a bad feeling about this….'

The priest's gaze snapped to the two of them.

"You two! Follow me, now!"

'No, no, no, curse it!'

Having no choice, the two followed the old priest hesitantly, leading them further into the candle-lit temple, past dark empty corridors and ruined segments of old rusted stone. While Dale noted the best escape route, the old priest interrupted his dark thoughts.

"Don't even think about it, young one. if I had a coin every time I had to catch an escaping candidate, I'd retire 30 years ago."

'Blasted geezer! He's on guard even though I'm facing his shriveled back!'

After walking in silence for another two minutes, the priest silently asked:

"Names?"

The strange girl tilted her head.

"Reyna."

"Dale."

The priest nodded slowly.

"Children, you have shown a capability of maintaining the seed of divinity within you, a fit not many can. Do you know what awaits you?"

While Dale kept silent, the strange girl - Reyna, answered in a calm voice.

"Of course, only a fool wouldn't know. We will be transported to our first Truth, in a world different from Earth. Some say the First Truth is a piece of history from the past, long forgotten by all, when the divines still roamed the land. In that world, our purpose is to survive and witness a part of said history unfold. If we survive, we will return to Earth as seekers, obtaining unique powers."

Dale started to feel nauseous, having almost no knowledge of what she just spoke of.

'Was this information only accessible to the high-class citizens? Or the outskirt slums don't bother with it, having enough worries as it is?'

The old priest nodded appreciatively.

"Good, every First Truth is different from one another. Even the hardest First Truth should be survivable if you make the right decisions. You need to remember two things, once inside you will be granted an affinity. Use it wisely, and it may just save your lives."

"What's the second thing to remember?"

Dale asked, scratching the scar above his left eyebrow.

The priest ushered them before a big, dark closed door with strange symbols and runes etched on it. As he started opening the door, blinding light entered Dale's vision. The old priest answered quietly:

"Don't ever look at the black star above."

'Black star?'

With that last thought, his vision was completely engulfed in white.

***

In that white, strange runes appeared, forming a sentence Dale somehow knew how to read.

[Candidate Dale, your First Truth awaits…]