She reached the Rift just as the clock struck midnight. Which made it appear as if what happened next was somehow caused by her.

The black and white energies writhed violently, ravenous for their feast. Shadows deepened around the hall and the temperature dropped.

Following this change, the girl stepped forward without any hesitation and entered the Rift. The energies separated to let her in before devouring her whole.

She was one of the Willing Emergers. Both Willing ones like her and Unwilling ones like the other four, had to wait till the Day of Reckoning before they entered the Rift. They did it to increase their chances of getting Point mutation, from a 50-50, straight to 99%. Since the other option, being Shift Mutation, might as well be death.

Ragnar would not fall under either of those categories since he had never had the privilege to consider this dilemma. In fact, he didn’t have the right to make any major choice until only a few hours ago.

The staff lady looked away from the Rift and cast her gaze at the people standing before her. A sigh escaped her lips as she thought about how many times, she will have to repeat this speech today.

Clearing her throat to catch everyone’s attention, she spoke in a clear voice.

“Ahem, my name is Beth, and I am responsible for informing you unfortunate souls about what you are in for. You have probably heard this countless times, but this is what I get paid for, so listen up,”

She was right for the most part. There was nothing she could tell that most people on Earth weren’t already aware of. Since in this day and age, the whole world revolved around the EtherShift Realm.

However, Ragnar was not most people. And he probably never will be. So, he tried to focus up in order to increase his chances of surviving this ordeal.

“The first thing you will face will be the Trial. It is different for everyone and is decided by the Realm as it deems fit. What we know is it is always something that tackles your deepest fears.Since the scope of the trials is so vast and even the number of trials different people face aren’t constant, there isn’t anything I can say about it that might be helpful for you. Other than… Good Luck."

She paused to catch her breath before continuing.

"What’s important is what comes after the trial, when you clear it of course, since failing in the trial is as good as dying. Nothing to be said on that front....But, if you somehow clear it, then you will be sent to any random location in the Realm. It will be within 100 million square kilometres of the Rift, so there is a chance that you are sent somewhere that is already controlled by us. I say that because we have already stretched our control to around 1 million square kilometres of the Rift. The chances aren’t high though so I wouldn’t bet on that. If you land outside the Human Controlled Region, short for HCR, then you are in for a wild ride through the wonders of the EtherShift Realm.”

She giggled at her own joke again. The wonders would be better replaced with the horrors of the EtherShift Realm.

And once again, no one else found her joke funny. She stopped laughing and made her face stoic for the next part as she continued,

“EtherShift Realm offers dangers and opportunities in equal proportions. Filled with treacherous terrains and horrid monsters that would not hesitate to kill you. There are also countless ruins scattered in the vast terrains of the EtherShift Realm. They might contain clues to the origin of the Realm that are still unknown.”

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As she continued, Ragnar couldn't help but ponder the implications of her words. Humans still knew so little about why the Rifts appeared when they did.

“Even if you are sent somewhere that does not come under HCR you don’t have to worry about getting lost. The call will be there to always guide you towards the Rift. 100 million square kilometres might seem a lot in comparison to the 1 million square kilometres that we have controlled so far. But it’s not. If you travel directly towards the direction of the Rift, you won’t have to travel more than 100 kilometres no matter where you find yourself to reach HCR...And that, people, is Math for you. We already have data about most regions within that range of 100 million square kilometres. I am sure you guys already have it hammered into your minds through all the media channels, so, I won’t be repeating it.”

At this point in her speech, there was only one thought going through Ragnar’s head,’ What the fuck is she on about?’

Ragnar was trying his best to deviate his mind from all the terrible memories that threatened to devour him. However, this was his honest reaction. He had never tried to research this topic on his own and all the knowledge he had regarding this topic came from his friend. They hadn’t reached this topic in their lessons but... it was all meaningless now.

It was apparent that his method was far from working since a dark cloud practically hung atop his head.

He did not voice his doubts though. Even after everything he had been through, he felt uncomfortable in raising his voice to interrupt her.

‘Do I really need to ask? How hard can it be to traverse a hundred kilometres without having any previous knowledge of the terrain? Considering my luck, I will probably be sent to a place that is not among the regions that humans have knowledge of. I’m sure I can manage it, there is no point in asking.’

By the time he made this tough call in his mind and focused on her voice again, he had already missed a few topics. She was currently wrapping up her speech by talking about what to do when you reach the HCR.

“Once you reach the HCR, go to the Trade Union branch in your territory and hand them the ID you received here. It is vital if you want to make any transaction that involves Earth’s currency. If you want to spend the rest of your life bartering goods, then you don’t need to do it, of course. This part doesn’t apply to those who want to return to their normal lives back on Earth. That will be all from me, if you have any questions then… keep them to yourself. Alrighty, now come one by one for the test.”

Ragnar was glad that he did not raise his doubts.

This test was like a twisted compensation that the Rift gave to all the unwilling emergers. It allowed the people with Shift mutation to die and get buried in the soil that gave them birth. Despite the odds being 99 to 1, the emergers still couldn’t help but be nervous.

The first person in the queue walked up to the Crystal ball and poured his blood on top of it. After a few seconds the ball changed from transparent to glowing white. That meant he will have a Point mutation. If he successfully clears the trial, then he will gain some sort of superpowers.

The result brought a smile to Beth’s face as she gestured towards the Rift.

“Good luck for your trial.”

The guy walked up to the Rift and jumped in after a slight hesitation. The other people went up one by one to get themselves tested. The ball turned white for all of them improving the eerie atmosphere in the hall.

Then came Ragnar’s turn as he also walked up to the Crystal ball. Beth looked at him for a moment before saying in a light tone.

“You know the drill.”

Ragnar nodded and poked a hole in his finger, again. This time however, he was using his middle finger. He hung it on top of the ball as if challenging it to give its worse. A crimson drop formed at the tip of his finger that dropped on top of the Crystal ball with a plop.

Beth looked at him strangely but didn’t say anything.

The Crystal ball which was initially transparent started a reaction. The drop seemed to enter the inside of the ball even though there was no apparent hole. Once inside, it churned to expand as it formed a red cloud that started to change its colour.

Looking at the Crystal ball which had almost completed its colour changing process, a slight smile appeared on Ragnar’s face. It might be the first one after the loss of his family.

The edge of his lips kept moving up as his smile eventually turned crooked.

“Heh-Heh”

Then, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Which didn’t take long to turn into a hysterical laughter that sounded like it came straight from hell.

“HAHAHA…. HAHAHA”

The laughter didn’t last long though as it soon turned hollow. Completely devoid of all emotions, that seemed never-ending.

The Crystal ball had turned Black. His was a Shift mutation.

That…was the final straw.