Chapter 78

William was still thinking about the past and he was half there in his mind. Camps, or Outside. It didn't matter. He thought his parents were normal people, but they were not. He was a clueless child when he was with them, and there was no blame for that.

A five-year-old lost his parents, and his life turned upside down. He thought he was one of many, but yet how much was it thought? His memories with them were blurry and whatever his parents were about, Walkers weren't it.

Before him was a moment awaiting all located young Walkers that surrounded their fates for the sake of the Federation. Each Examination was a tide of youths, with hundreds of children around William's age, or they could be younger, or older. There were some benefits to it as long as they weren't precisely ready for the natural Awakening.

The Federation had a long history of taking good care of that because of it. It had a big system that ensured Division would touch, care, and send as many young Walkers to the Federation for their Examination and Forced Awakening. It was forceful but as inevitable as their Emblem.

A year or two old advantage was formidable and not as small as one would see. It was literary possible to benefit lower and upper Ranks and elevate the growth periods with this one simple yet tricky scheme.

A child who endured this Forced Awakening usually reached Rank 4 in their mid-twenties before slowing down. The best ones would do so earlier, the better they were. Then, there were harsh walls called Rank 5 and 6. Their difficulty was hard to deal with, and Forced Awakening was trying to crack this wall little by little, yet there were very few of them who could reach Rank 6 in their thirties, let alone beforehand.

Rank 5 was a bit easier, so many cases had reached it long before they were thirty. Rank 6 was like a tough locked gate, and the earlier it cracked, the further one might get. That was an idea that followed most Ranks across the board.

So far, those who endured this method the earliest were approaching forty years of age thanks to the earliest versions of Forced Awakening, which was more than two decades old. Such Walkers weren't known for their greatest stability, yet with age came a possibility of some of them reaching higher Ranks.

Every older Walker was already good if they kept going, and half-step into keeping their lives, so there was a persistent number of Rank 5 Walkers because Rank 4 was a tremendous leap from earlier Ranks. It was only unfortunate that most wouldn't get further away.

Some call it an effect of touching the untouchable, and they would peak early because of that, forever remaining strained at Rank 5. For some scientists and Walkers, that was already more than enough, yet the truth was harsher.

It had to go higher. Up and up until the Darks would be crushed to bits!

This forceful method was efficient and advancing year by year, but it wasn't always so widespread and great. It had its failures. Mistakes. As William guessed, many young Walkers already waited for their turn, trained under their pledged Divisions, or families.

Some waited for a choice in the Examination, while all of them waited for the Forced Awakening, unbeknown to it, or aware of it. All of that should reveal their talent and subsequent future under some organization or pledged hope.

What was the point of pledging or growing under some Division beforehand? Part of it was about training and giving young Walkers a taste of order. The primary reason was to see their growth before Rank 1, while Rank 0 was not officially recognized, but not inaccurate. Some of them were there, obvious in their determined potential or experienced test.

Most of the older generation was aware of Rank 0, even if it meant unknown and irregular activities. Rank 0 patterns showed in countless forms, and noting them via age or effective worth could give a glimpse into those youths, or Emblems.

Many waited for months and years until the right time arrived, patiently growing in the Federation, secret schools, or Outside. Most of this wasn't public knowledge, so William wasn't aware of half of it. He had no idea what waited, or who, nor did Luke feel like it was fitting to mention it due to William's circumstances and life Outside.

It wasn't something sensitive. It wasn't as if he was robbed of such choices because it was William's fault. He refused to leave Outside, so Luke felt like William reaped what he sowed. Of course, it was unfortunate. There was no point lingering on the past that was already hopeless.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

But William was fine with that. He accepted that the history was unfilial and he could no longer linger Outside for nothing but meaningless failure.

The circumstances were different for many youths who were yet to come to the Federation. William was a clueless person compared to most of those who spent the majority of their life under some choice, be it in the Federation, its Divisions, or with some mentorships or places. Even the lone prospect of living here seemed like a big commitment to him, so he had a lot to learn.

Looking out of the window, William wondered if this looked like the world that had been lost once. Like before the Dawn, or stories that followed the Great Fury Wars, there was much to the history that he often found interesting.

Most of it was hiding under hideous facts, though history and not forgetting it was important if one fought for some of it, or against it.

The dark spots of the losses were very deep indeed, driving Walker's mind, or building up a foundation of fury. It was there for Walkers to see and fight for the future, and even if it was less than colorful, they had to rise.

Before the Walkers, stories such as flying gigantic machines, nukes, and driving fortresses with thick cannons were common. William had seen such things, though in tatters, dust, or pieces. Residues of the Great Fury Wars and its nukes were also present, noting the threat of the past humanity that was no longer able to make nukes.

They had something better after all.

There were other great topics, such as how people lived before this age. Different times had different jobs, lives, homes, problems, and dreams. A lot of those hadn't reached this age. Some were in small pieces, while something like agricultural knowledge, science, or ways to survive and build up an army and weapons prevailed more than well.

The advanced technology and science of many fields felt like they barely survived, hanging on a couple of threads. Those threads were people—books, knowledge recognized or comprehended in some heads, or fortune vaults. Through word of mouth, or by discoveries in the destroyed places by some brave scavengers or Walkers, history prevailed.

Depending on the places, it made sense, for there were long years of struggle when the Dawn happened, so many people saw it as an advent where humans might get lost, but not forever. In the Federation, a place that was like an old world with people and buildings alike, it felt alien. William had yet to see it. Just the city itself was enough, while he didn't see or know its people.

It sounded awfully dystopian, but William felt much more familiar and safe Outside, even if this one was much better than living in a world of destruction and fear for one's life. Camps were safe, however, yet how he should feel was another thing altogether.

The warmth of the summer brightened the life, and there was no Dark Fog around or some darkness in the middle of the ocean.

Despite that, he had seen those Rifts around the Federation. It was not safe. Not always. He was curious how well the defenses worked, or why such things weren't around in the camps or more Outside. How could they even manage hundreds of Hindered or Rifts in general? Looking at them day by day, he would get insane from anticipating sudden attacks.

Luke's assurance that no Dark entered the place sounded cursed if one knew about the upper-Rank Darks. They could destroy a city. There were stories about the worst cases that William heard since he was young. Some were legends, and others mentioned great losses or the Dawn itself. And he lived through one disaster himself.

“William! Don't think pessimistically! Dann would make fun of that.” he gritted his teeth, talked to himself, and messed his hair with both hands.

Feeling down was never a good option, whether a new place was in front of him, or if his mood was wobbling. He learned quite a lot about it in the past. When he went to new camps under questionable or destroyed circumstances, he needed adjustments in his head as well as motivation to keep going. It never felt right. It didn't need to. He wasn't alone in this state.

William had to find some reason to keep going. He had a bunch of them on top of his mind, or inside his hand. They were all different from the past. One of them was worth the jealousy of a lot of people in the Roshwell, or Outside. Safety was subjective, but a good life came to Walkers as long as they were strong.

But what was the truth? Regular people couldn't even imagine what their protectors were enduring, lived through, or how walking through the darkness felt. Seeing monstrosities that were capable of immense destruction, mental cracking, and abhorrent violations, one had to be sturdy, capable, and strong. Perhaps some hate mixed into it as well, seeping into the spirit and cracking the mind bit by bit.

The group of people that William met in that helicopter was the same. They were people who gambled everything in the hopes of reaching their paradise since they had a prize to give.

It was hope. A lot of people wished for that. Price didn't matter because life was something that could not be a price. That was clearly false, obvious by their child.

Walkers were trying as well, feeling the same hopes if one looked at the military and current politics.

William didn't refute that because he couldn't. What was the best for everyone was a lie that had different meanings to everybody. Was one's worth more important than the other? Such a view was common Outside, among refugees, or people across many surviving shelters who were trying to keep their lives safe. William was bound to see it differently and unlike ever before. It was about privilege. About pride. Emblems!

In the kitchen, he took a seat at the same table he used yesterday and waited in front of a big window. It faced the street and looming big buildings beyond them as well