Soren awoke. He noticed his body had been stitched up and his wounds had been treated. Looking down he saw that his clothes had been changed as his white shirt had been replaced by a stripped jumpsuit commonly found in prisons. He tried to stand up only to find his wrists and ankles were bolted down to the chair he was seated upon. Looking around he saw that he was currently being housed in a sterile concrete box with a security camera placed in every corner of the room and a strange steel pop up chair. Looking directly at the ceiling he noticed the buzzing of flickering fluorescent light bulbs which were the only things that illuminated the room. Looking directly in front of him he noticed what appeared to be a reinforced steel door.

Perplexed Soren was unsure of what to make of his situation 'had I been captured? But why?did it have something to do with that green light?'. Turning towards the camera Soren shouted "Hey! Where am I? I know you're watching me. Who are you? What have you done to me!" Before Soren could lodge any more complaints he heard a distinct click as the reinforced steel door slid to the left revealing a tall man dressed in a dark brown suit fiddling with a document accompanied by ten soldiers armed to the teeth with the latest firearms and Kevlar armour. Shocked at the sight of these men Soren froze fearful of their intentions were. The tall man turned his head and coldly addressed the men behind him "stay don't come in unless ordered to and make sure to open the door once I give the signal." The men suddenly stiffened and spoke in unison "Yes sir!" The tall man nodded and walked into the room as the heavy reinforced steel door was closed behind him.

As he got closer Soren noticed that the tall man looked to be nearing his 40s or 50s as his face was slightly wrinkled and a few patches gray hairs in were dotted around his lusterless black hair. The man had a distinctive scar which ran across his cheek which didn't look like it had been from a knife more like... a claw? The man paid Soren no heed as he Looked down at the file after examining it's contents for a few moments he asked "You are Soren Yore, fifteen years old your residence is at Moriarty avenue in the Lockshire orphanage. No family, no relatives it appears you plan to go Cambridge correct? Strange for someone like you to shoot so high. But regardless is all this information correct?"

Soren stayed silent for a few moments processing what the man had said and asked "who are you? I won't be answering any questions without knowing who you are." The man raised his eye brow and sighed as he took his badge out of his pocket "Right never had the chance to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Wells secret service I'm here because you have been caught up in an anomaly of sorts" Soren asked cautiously "The green light?" Jonathan nodded "Precisely, and because you've been marked and the fracture seems to to only accept one challenger we will have to give you the run down on what your supposed to do." Soren silently nodded and said "that sounds good and all but what's up with the restraints? it's not like I'll attack or can attack any of you. You've got guns and I've got nothing to harm you with." Jonathan sighed and grabbed the chair from a corner of the room and sat on it "well, to explain that you need a more thorough explanation on what's going on. Considering the mana density of your mark you've got two or three hours before you're sent into a tribulation. So I'll explain this quickly. these tribulations I'm talking about normally take five to fifty challengers. And ones which take only one challenger are exceedingly rare. So no one will be able to help you Soren" Soren tilted his head in confusion and interrupted Jonathan "Mana what is this mumbo jumbo? I don't get what you're talking about? What the fuck are tribulations and why is having one a good reason for being detained!?"

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Jonathan sighed and stood up "This never goes well. Look I'll be real with you kid you'll probably be dead in a while so listen close. When you get sent to a strange black plain with countless lakes speckled across the land. Don't touch the black water. Follow the only star left in the night sky that should lead you to refuge. If you find yourself being able to do supernatural things, find out how to use it properly and know your limits the rifts are kind enough to unlock whatever talents or attributes you have so be grateful. Keep you wits about you and remember it is not a dream. That will be all good luck."

Jonathan quietly exited the room with the chair in hand and the steel door violently shut itself of leaving Soren all by himself. Soren was utterly baffled by what the man had said. 'A black plain with lakes speckled about it? Where the fuck do you even find those and the only star left in the sky? There are thousands! It's dubious that man was even from the secret service. But this situation seems to bizarre.' After ten minutes or so Soren began to calm down and think 'relax okay just retrace your steps. So I was in the British museum then an artifact exploded. That doesn't make sense why would someone place a bomb in an artifact so precious? And that explosion didn't seem natural at all as there was no fire of heat it was more like a green light and a strong force. Yet it was strong enough to damage the walls of the museum. There was also that crack in... The air? No it was more akin to a fracture in reality. I couldn't see through to the other side properly but it made me feel sort of unsettling primal fea-.' But as Soren began to contemplate his circumstances the ground beneath him started to shake. 'an earthquak-?'. before he could complete his thoughts a strange green clockwork symbol appeared near his eye and began to glow. And as the green light began to engulf the room Soren vanished.