Back to the present…

Click, click, click, clack! The sound of the saint's footsteps echoed in the room as the curtain was drawn. The royal family sat on their thrones, their expressions icy, and the feigned smile of the person seated in the first chair was completely absent, along with the seat of the first prince. The king introduced himself.

"Welcome, heroes! You have come to be the saviours of our world. Your task is to kill the thirteenth heavenly emperor and eliminate all palicids. Today, you shall choose your role, your rank of power, and your power class!" he said, his voice booming as he stroked his beard. His crimson eyes glinted like a crow watching its prey. He raised his hand.

Men and women entered through the door, filing in straight lines as they offered items that were black like stones before us. They were dressed in red garments adorned with makeup and bold jewels. They bowed, presenting the jewels.

“Here are the celestial stones known as the jewel of Ergos. Said to have been formed from the blood and tears of the first Saint and has been given to all heroes. You are the 16^th generation of summoned heroes. These will allow you to unlock your true potential. I’ll leave the rest to the saint. ”He gestured to the woman beside him.

“Deus noster vobiscum sit.” (“May our god be with you.”)

“Hello, my name is Lilith Shamila, and I am the child of the fourteenth generation of saints—Victorias Everdeen, the second-ranked saint.”

She raised her staff, her white robes fluttering. Tap. Tap. Tap. The staff struck the floor. Clouds appeared in the room, swirling as a hurricane coiled at the tip of her wand. The carved wood began to glow, and the thorn-shaped markings on her skin shimmered a bright gold.

Then—darkness.

All light vanished. A glowing magic circle flared beneath us.

I stood still as energy welled up inside me. I closed my eyes and felt myself pulled into a void. My anomalous card materialised before me, glowing with intensity. I reached out.

It was like watching myself from outside—detached—hands emerging from within, all reaching for the card.

Bang! A searing flash engulfed me. Heat surged like a tidal wave. The card slammed into me as if repelled and attracted by some magnetic force.

The pressure crushed my lungs. The sound of bones crunching echoed in my mind as deafening whispers stabbed into my consciousness, each voice dragging with it a storm of memories. My memories. Their memories. Our memories.

They collided inside my mind with unstoppable force.

It felt like being burned alive—without the mercy of death. Like being hit, over and over, by a bullet train that never stops. Veins popped. Ligaments tore free from limbs. Pain rewrote reality.

Then—silence. The pain vanished, and a spherical white light left my body. My blue eyes seared in pain, burning like a laser as blood dripped from the sockets of my eyes.

Release…

I opened my eyes, the pain dissipating as I returned to a conscious state.

[An anomalous card has been activated. Skill reactivation is in progress. Synthesising power element and rank… eighty-nine per cent... ninety per cent... one hundred per cent.]

“Now, pick the gemstone that you feel the most affinity towards,” Saint Lilith said, glancing at all our faces. Her gaze lingered on Raymond for a moment, and a light blush coated her cheeks.

As Raymond noticed, our blood ran cold. Protectively, he placed his arms around himself and scooted behind me. “Why does that woman look like she’s going to take advantage of me?” he whispered, a dramatic tear escaping from his eyes. I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t blame her for such thoughts; after all, look at my disciple. And before you ask why I call him my disciple, it’s because I trained him to be the great man he is now.

Two orphans together: me with younger siblings, why not? If you looked closely at his features, there was no denying it: he inherited the best traits from his parents—half British and half Korean. Imagine BTS, but better.

People moved towards the stones. As they touched them, the gemstones glowed and vibrated in distinct colours—blue, red, yellow, green—transforming into abilities and weapons. Raymond and I moved forward.

“Hey, if you feel any bad vibes, let it go,” Raymond advised, his hands holding mine as we approached the stones. We closed our eyes, concentrating on the energy sources that felt the strongest.

“I’m going left,” Raymond stated.

“I’m going right,” I replied.

One, two, three, four, five, six. I counted, stopping as I reached six. I opened my eyes, looking down at the stone—sorry, gemstone. It was large, cream-coloured, almost transparent, but with rainbow light refracting in the cracks. I touched it, and the system interface appeared. Then, bang! A flash of light blinded me again. From the fragments of the light, Alita’s voice echoed.

[ Host finally, you have unlocked the care package system and it’s free. Unfortunately, but it’s free.]

Squinting, I held the vibrating gemstone; a mirror appeared in front of me. I watched in shock as my azure, blue eyes turned a bright gold. I touched my eyelids, leaning in as I double-checked.

[ Care package activated. Integrating host results and celestial stone.]

The condensed light transformed into a wisp of white and vanished with a pop into the system. I jumped up and down, realising I would finally gain an ability. Don’t get me wrong; I hate the idea of being kidnapped, but imagine being like Harry Potter or the fairies from Winx Club!

Right before my eyes, Alita began to take shape as a physical being. It started as a tiny light that landed on my palms and transformed into what appeared to be a fairy. She wore beautiful bell-bottom jeans and a white shirt. Her stunning, clear, crystal-blue wings refracted light as they fluttered. She stood about six inches tall, with long blonde hair styled in two high ponytails, violet eyes, and a teardrop-shaped birthmark under her left eye. I stared in awe, my mouth agape, feeling as if my eyes might pop out of my sockets as I touched her cheeks with my finger while she snuggled into it.

Looking up at me with dewy eyes, she hugged my face and exclaimed, “Mommy, I love Mommy!”

“Mummy… Alita, I'm not your mother,” I replied.

“I won't call you 'host' anymore,” she declared.

“Why? I mean, it’s not like you weren’t calling me by my name already,” I said, exasperated yet amused. I lifted little Alita by the scruff of her neck and placed her on my shoulders as I scrolled through the system updates.

Alita hugged my neck and said, “Well, because I have this physical body, I used your blood fertilised by your magic, so I'm your daughter! I can even change size, just like a beautiful, gorgeous fairy!” She huffed, puffing out her cheeks as she playfully poked me.

I looked at the system window, which was newly updated as Alita guided me. She pointed at a shopping icon and clicked on it, which led me to a shop similar to Amazon. In this shop, you could only pick one weapon and a random job role.

“What is a job role?” I asked.

Alita yawned. “It's positions like being a hero, mermaid, saint, or herbalist—stuff like that! Of course, there are other varieties as well. These are skills only available to those who are summoned because you all have access to systems.”

“Can they take physical forms?” I asked.

“Yes, but they will look different depending on their hosts' personalities, essence, and magic. They can also level up,” she said, rubbing her eyes.

I examined the assortment of weapons—swords, fans, chains, clubs, and more. As I scrolled through the options, Alita jumped up in excitement as she selected her weapon. Moving to the magic section, she chose the ability "Magic Hands" and picked "Witch" for her role.

“A witch? Seriously?” I asked, blinking in disbelief as I noticed job roles like mage, wizard, guardian, and alchemist available.

Puffing out her chest, her cheeks flushed with confidence, she exclaimed, “Trust me! Mom, I wouldn’t hurt you... These roles, like mage and witch, are the same!”

“What’s the difference between a witch, mage, and wizard?” I asked, glancing at the countdown timer until my element was revealed.

“There’s no real difference. They’re just in the same class, ranked differently. Witches are cool and have a higher rank,” she stated while guiding me back.

Finally, a system notification rang out, and a bell chimed in the room. Everyone looked up as a mechanical voice announced, "Element revealed." I stared at the user interface, my heart racing with anticipation as the information was finally displayed. What could it be? Silence engulfed the room, and I could feel everyone’s hearts beating in unison as beads of sweat gathered on our brows. It was revealed: "You have white magic (Spellcraft), element classification: flame elemental. Anomalous card is permanently absorbed."

Silence...

Then we rejoiced; cheers and chatter filled the room. Sunlight peeked in through the windows as birds began to chirp outside. I breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the non-existent sweat from my forehead, until I heard... Click! Clack! Click!

Those footsteps—so distinct, with pauses between them. I shuddered, real beads of sweat forming at the back of my forehead. I turned slowly, my ears ringing, as all the chatter faded away. A knot of dread mixed with hunger tied in my stomach, prickly and uncomfortable, when suddenly...

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Detective Chief Inspector Diana Tinotenda Hart of the Criminal Investigation Unit in London!” A smooth, high-pitched voice echoed in my ears as I faced her.

To be continued ….