"Augh," The man groaned. He had a splitting headache. What was I doing before I went to sleep? How long have I been asleep? He tried remembering what he was doing before sleeping, but to no avail. In fact, he couldn't even recall who he was. It was as if someone ripped the pages from a book, only the book was him, and the pages his memory.

"Get up!" A deep voice thundered. His eyes snapped open. There was a huge bear of a man in plate armor right above him. He stared at him uncomprehendingly, "I said get up! Not stare at me!",the knight said in an annoyed tone.

"Lay off him. The last thing he needs is you yelling in his face. Besides, you're ruining the preparations," rang a cold voice.

"Yes, madam," the armored other shuffled across the room and stood by a young woman standing behind a podium. He stood by her like a guard dog, watching all the other (kidnapped?) persons getting up, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

The man, finally able to see the entire room, looked around. There were about six, seven, no eight people in the room in the same state as him. They were all wearing black uniforms with red on the cuffs of the sleeves. The room was empty besides the podium the girl was standing behind. Cyrrin looked at the woman and took her in. Long, flowing, black hair, delicate features, and black eyes, she seemed to him suspicious. She wore the same uniform as them except with a cylindrical silver-outlined hat upon her head.

The stone floor felt cold under his hands and the man pushed himself up. Now standing, the man questioned the girl why he was there. Frowning, he awaited her answer.

"You are here because Avdite and our holy father have deemed you worthy to take the exam. No more questions, please as we are short on time. Line up all of you! You will be removed to the amphitheater shortly."

The man, bewildered, lined up with the rest of his confused companions, and each was told what number they were and where they should go. After a short period had passed, his own time had come. "Cyrrin Drukel, you are to report to team number three. You should find them near the fifth entrance. Good luck. May you pass the exam with flying colors." Cyrrin Drukel was apparently his name. Of course, it's my name, why wouldn't it be? The name felt natural to him. It...felt right.

"Wai-," intending to ask why he was there, Cyrrin was interrupted by the knight.

"No further questions," the knight glared at him. The knight then advanced towards him.

Cyrrin, picked up by the guard dog as a man would a sack of vegetables, was then promptly jostled out of the room, into a hall with a bustling crowd.

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Outraged and yearning for answers, Cyrrin turned back to the door only to find it shut. Frustrated, he followed the crowd.

The hall was illuminated by flickering torches, the crowd, walking alongside Cyrrin, had the same attire as him, black uniforms, black boots, and utterly baffled expressions. At the end of the hall, the room expanded in height and width. It was spacious enough to squeeze a thousand souls here.

Cyrrin stopped. Countless entrances circled the opposing wall. The entrances were crossed, rusted, metal poles. Each of the entrances had a number above it. Cyrrin walked around trying to find entrance number five. He hoped it would provide more data about his current quandary.

Cyrrin soon found entry five and jostled his way through the crowd to reach it.

The first thing Cyrrin found upon reaching the entrance was a girl standing next to a stretcher. He froze momentarily upon seeing her. Her pale gray hair, gray eyes, and pretty face dazzled him. Cyrrin decided it was best to introduce himself.

"I am Cyrrin Drukel, at your service," Cyrrin said with a bow.

The girl looked at him. "Iva Speidel. Where do you come from?" She questioned.

"No clue. I woke up not too long ago and was ushered out here." Cyrrin answered honestly to her question.

She gazed at him curiously, "Ah. So you're one of the Forgotten." She stopped him before he could ask by raising her hand. "The forgotten make up two-thirds of this academy. They appear to suffer a strong case of amnesia and forget everything they used to know. They also experience nightmares, possibly due to their old personae haunting them?"

Cyrrin frowning, asked, "Why have we lost our memory?"

Iva shrugged her shoulders, "I wouldn't know, perhaps if we are accepted we can ask the headmaster why. Either way, outside of here, it's just a big enigma."

Cyrrin nodded approvingly. "That's disappointing. I was hoping you could provide some help since you have a different demeanor than most of us here."

"That's only because I actually know what's going on. If you hadn't forgotten everything, you probably would know what the exam is."

Cyrrin then looked at the stretcher. There was a young man on it, with long black hair and a serene expression upon his face. His uniform was also black, except his cuffs were silver instead of red. "Who is he?" Cyrrin pointed at him with his chin.

"Oh! I accidentally forgot about him! He was here when I arrived. I don't know anything about him either." She looked genuinely guilty that she forgot that he was there.

"What about the exam? What is it for?"

"The exam is the deciding factor on who gets into the academy. The Gamemaster will disclose the details. It seems it's almost time." She pointed to a large man, wreathed in red robes striding into the room.

"Report to your stations! The exam will now begin shortly. I am sure many of you have questions, but they must be answered afterward! Killing is allowed but frowned upon, the last group standing wins, those are the rules. I and other professors will be appraising your performance. If you perform well, you can expect to be compensated for your just due. If you fail..." His eyes narrowed. "You must leave and I must request that you don't return. At least until the recruitment officers deem you strong enough to compete again. That said, BEGIN!" The Gamemaster rose his arms grandiosity as he roared.

The gate behind Cyrrin and Iva slowly climbed up with a shriek. It ended with a thud. Cyrrin glanced at Iva. "I'll carry him," he said, referring to the boy on the stretcher.