Army of Souls

Stark was lined up along with hundreds of other people, exactly like his experience in the army, except for the fact that everyone was distressed and afraid.

"I-I don't want to die!" A girl who must have been in her early teens cried as she was dragged by the iron grip of an angel. Their angelic and androgynous appearances seemed fragile and delicate, but it was a clear lie. Their voices were loud and booming, and their arms carried tremendous strength, visible in the way they carried men and women with ease.

In front of them, an angel with an extra pair of wings watched everything from above. Their leader was at least two meters tall, with long limbs and skin that seemed made of pale rock with a slight grayish hue.

"As I said earlier, welcome to the true world." Tears were still flowing from the eyes of some, their faces dark and fearful. Everyone had seen the monsters surrounding the train, and apparently, some of their companions had been captured and devoured right there.

"Everything you've lived until now is an illusory lie. You were unable, until just a few moments ago, to see the truth."

"The truth may be harsh, but the fact is, from the moment you were born until now, you've been surrounded by them, those megalomaniac monsters. Your lives have always been influenced by them. Your joys and pains were their decrees, and the right to choose was always one of their most elaborate lies."

"Not only that, but even the most basic aspects of your daily life are different from what is real. The physics they taught you are different, biology is different, and your beliefs will certainly change when you discover who you've been worshiping."

"The real world you are stepping into is distorted and chaotic, yet honest. It hates the weak and incapable just as much as it hates the strong and proud. And it rewards those who resist its terrors, depending on their own merits." He paused for a second, analyzing their reactions. His eyes briefly scanned some figures in the crowd. Beside him, an angel approached, whispering something in his ear.

"To wrap up the introductions, I'd like to say that we who brought you here are not philanthropists or some kind of charity organization. We are members of the White Tower, and we came for our own interests. We will guarantee you a new life and employment, but we have some excess in numbers here, so we'll need to conduct a little selection process. Any questions so far?" A trembling woman to the right raised her hand, seeming like an older housewife.

"H-how many spots are there?" He looked at her with cold indifference before questioning the angel next to him.

"How many rescued are present?" The angel had a clipboard in hand, flipping through a few sheets briefly.

"There were around a thousand. The number has already been reduced to just over six hundred and fifty."

"And how many men do we have?"

"thirty men, sir." He turned again to the crowd awaiting his calculation.

"If it were a good day, we could take up to sixty of you, but since we're in a death zone, cut the number in half. Depending on the development, it could be even less... so I think it's safe to say about ten spots. The rest will unfortunately be left to die." Screams erupted again; the vast majority would die right here in this unknown place. From the crowd, an enraged man shouted.

"How can you do this? You bring us to a deadly place and just abandon us!" Some rolled their eyes, losing patience with him.

"That's just how things are! We can't waste time with people who don't add any value, and we need to get out of here as soon as possible!" His voice was powerful and imposing, making the mere mortal fall to his knees, trembling.

"The selection process will be simple. We'll only take those who manage to undergo the awakening, whether it's something new or useful. There's no need to go into detail. Some of you are already in the process of awakening, and others, no matter what we do, will never awaken. Awakening grants superhuman abilities, and that's all you need to know." Many questions still hung in the air, but he decided to ignore them, simply turning and beginning to march with the others toward the deep forest.

The trees were enormous with high canopies. Silence would have been absolute in the forest, except for the people venturing through it. Stark realized the leader never explained how the process would work and knew that ignorance in moments like this was dangerous. Luckily, the leader wasn't the only one who could answer his questions, so he approached an angel.

"Hey, are you all really angels?" Stark had been holding onto this question for some time. They were beautiful and wore scraps of cloth, but their personalities still resembled those of a mundane army.

"We are the same as you." The angel kept walking, offering little more, making Stark's life more difficult and his expression darker. Another angel approached him, with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry about the others. They're used to seeing people die, so they try not to get attached to anyone." He looked at the friendly angel, his heart still heavy.

'So, everyone really dies in the end.' His expression softened as he questioned again.

"So... are you angels?" The other one laughed kindly.

"Of course not, we're souls like everyone else here, just like you." Stark raised an eyebrow in doubt.

"I thought I was human…"

"All those from the illusory worlds are just souls and nothing more. Your forms change as you evolve. For now, you're still fixed on your original appearance. When you awaken, you'll assume a much more magnificent form." He nodded, trying to extract as much information as possible.

According to the angel, they were currently at the center of a death zone. The monsters were kept at bay by some relic of the leader's, but it would lose its effect in a few angel days, which certainly wouldn't be enough to guide so many people, and even they weren't sure if they'd be able to escape with their abilities.

They belonged to a squad specializing in rapid, long-distance travel, making them perfect for the mission, which was extremely far from the White Tower. However, they lacked combat abilities, making their current rescue mission incredibly risky and costly, which is why they hoped for a large harvest.

The challenge would be simple: let everyone experience the horrors of the death zone firsthand. Under pressure, many people would awaken, and that's what they were counting on—abandoning them in the middle of nowhere without warning.

Despite being simple, it wouldn't be easy for many reasons, which the angel preferred not to elaborate on, instead advising Stark to be cautious and constantly remember that this world was completely different from the one they came from. He pointed at the sun that hung solemnly in the sky.

"Take the sun here as an example. It never sets in this region. It's literally been centuries since it left. Not much is known about the stars, but their movements are irregular and inconsistent. They can remain static in one place for many lifetimes and then move, appearing thousands of kilometers away elsewhere." Stark didn't hide his surprise at that.

"So how do we know when to sleep?" The angel shrugged.

"Watches don't work here either, so just rest when you feel tired."

"And about this awakening thing, what do I need to do?" The angel sighed.

"The biggest problem with awakening is that it's best not to explain it, as it can end up hindering rather than helping. It's a linear process—you may be close or far from it, and that's it. Telling you how to do it could push you back to the beginning of the line. In fact, that's the most likely outcome, as it's a unique process for each person…" he looked deep into Stark's eyes.

"It's also likely that you'll cease to be a man…"

"What?"

"These bodies of yours are creations of our powers, soul receptacles. In truth, you don't even have a gender anymore... after awakening, you'll receive more definitive bodies and might leave your previous genders behind. Losing or changing gender is highly likely, as is no longer being human..." Stark was incredulous as he pulled down his pants, only to see his once large and imposing 'junior' had disappeared. Holding back tears, he continued.

"And how do you guys reproduce, then?" The angel placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to console him with the sad news.

"We don't do that kind of thing…"

"You know, when I used to get lucky with bets, I liked to visit the… cousins." That was the discreet way of referring to prostitutes where he came from.

"Unfortunately, that's now a distant past…"

They continued walking for many hours. Stark's legs were sore and blistered from walking so much. He didn't know how long they had been trekking through the forest, which was considerably more difficult to traverse than paved city streets. At some point, everyone stopped to rest and sleep for a bit.

When they woke up, all the angels had disappeared. The people around woke up at the same time and started screaming, their worst fears becoming reality. Most of them didn't know anything about what the angel had told Stark, so it seemed like they really hadn't been chosen and were left to rot.

To make things worse, they were ordinary civilians with no survival training, let alone in a place considered a death zone.

Stark got up calmly, without saying anything to anyone. He still had doubts about which approach to take. Others took the lead without him having to lift a finger, but they were still nervous and lacked proper order.

"How hard will this awakening thing be?" He smiled as he thought about the new and brilliant life that lay ahead.