~ The frost of time progresses with the tone - V ~

Before reaching the examination hall, Xi Ken and I parted ways at the junction, where I was led away by two men in black Haori, their clothes printed with white inking and the feet marked by black ink.

I concurred they were like some valet, whose job was to escort guests or contestants when they arrived.

"Where are you taking me?" I was sure we were going into some registration office, since it was obvious that the initial preparations were needed before anything went down during the test.

The healthier Valet, who was a bit older than Xi Ken, he gestured for me to enter through a door, the entire area inside full of flickering candles and a giant portrait in the center. I learned that the old canvas was marked with a very delicate inking which seemed to be done in a single go.

"You are needed to dress in the ceremonial garb young master," the healthier valet stated, grabbing a folded white set from the desk kept at the side. "These garbs restrict external influences and also helps ease your nerves."

I nodded, "Thank you, where do I need to change?"

"Right here, we wouldn't bother you."

"Thank you."

They both bowed after they were certain I wouldn't bother with more questions, "We will take our leave then, please exit the room when you are done."

Not giving me any chance to question them, they departed in haste.

I rolled my eyes, "Why are people so strange here..."

Feeling a bit self conscious, I quickly got rid of my clothes and wore the white shirt and pants, which were pretty normal and rough at the edges. The color wasn't as bright, or the stitching wasn't rich, yet the soothing scent on it really made me calm.

I exhaled with relief, when the knot I always fiddled with was finally in place. My waist secure and the belt tight.

"Let's see what they got."

Opening the timber door, I rushed out, not waiting to take in the surrounding to keep my focus intact, or else I was bound to get nervous, yet the loudness in the hall and the buzzing murmurs made me fret and involuntarily, I did glance up.

"Ah... shit..." It was not good. The hall was crazy crowded.

It reminded me of the gladiator shows, where rows upon rows of folks would sit and cheer for their gladiator to kill the remaining. But the only difference was that the people gathered in the hall were more subtle in their excitement and the tense air surrounding the space was somewhat glowering at me.

The number of people were large, the round hall tightly packed, the stepped wooden decks topped with soft cushions in the front row, which I assumed was there for the higher ups.

My eyes searched for Xi Ken, yet I couldn't see him anywhere, not among the crowd, not even among the members present at the center of the stage, where I was shocked to see a solid boulder sitting without care.

It was funny to see the sudden estranged element so out of place in midst of all the wooden work, however there must be some sort of a significance to it, seeing how it was strategically placed in the middle.

Squinting my eyes I could actually see the sharp gashes on its surface, no corner was left intact, yet the shape still held a visual compactness which in itself made a statement of how thick and solid the boulder was. It also appeared to be pretty old, withered with time and under battles...?

"Young master Raven, welcome to the evaluation arena," a middle aged man greeted me, as he came to stand in the center right in front of the boulder.

His arrival bringing down a heavy silence around, as the gathered crowd started to focus on me.

I noticed how only a selective age group was present, with young populace being the least and the adults being the most, no elderly was in sight as of now.

Somewhere in the stands I also found Hummer, that same stout chubby male who had talked with Xi Ken earlier, although this time he was looking much serious and mature than before, his shinning eyes staring at me with hidden intentions I wasn't very sure of.

I briefly nodded at him, since the middle aged man who greeted me was preparing something in the small bowl handed over to him by the person on the side.

Hummer, I noticed, was a bit astonished to receive an acknowledgement from me, but he returned it with a beaming smile in polite accordance.

"Step in young master, we need to complete the ceremony."

I complied to the request of the man whose garb looked like that of a monk's. He showered me with a small pail of water, which was startling, yet I could feel the energy jumping within my skin as if excited to receive something new.

Thankfully the breeze was mellow so I wasn't cold even being wet, and true to my expectations, the monk had no blankets for me.

I watched as the monk dipped his finger in the bowl he had been preparing earlier, to which I was a bit surprised in finding the red liquid dotted with pieces of rice. The mix smelled funny, but not in a stinky way, just... soothing yet not so... it was hard to tell, and I wasn't good in differentiating such intricacies.

The monk surprised me again when he brought up his dripping finger up to my face and swiped the tip from between my eyebrows towards the edge of the scalp. It was like drawing a dividing line that halved my forehead into two parts.

I tried to touch the wet liquid which hadn't yet dried, but the monk gestured me to not do so, and his face was quite serious, so I stopped my curiosity in place.

"Protected by the Gods and Deities above, you are allowed to participate," the man told me, taking out a piece of a chit from another bowl which a lady in white robes presented to him.

"What do I have to do?" I asked, taking the chit and opening it to read the letters for 'Destruction'.

"You don't know?" the man looked alarmed, and his voice rang through the arena, as if I had asked something very stupid.

I could hear the unrest among the crowd, whom I assumed had already heard enough to talk about.

"This piece of paper contains the word that is offensive in nature, you are to use it as a chanter to mark that boulder," the man still told me, thinking, maybe I was nervous?

"And I simply read it? Or do I have to take some action along with it..."

The monk man looked distressed to hear me this time, "You don't need to do anything specific...." he spilled, as if wondering why I was even there.

'Same old man, even I wonder why I am here,' I mused.

The man coughed, to divert the attention of my focus, which had unwillingly fallen upon the crowd who looked like they were enjoying my situation.

I could tell they were mocking my entire existence, specially when I could hear someone saying, rather loudly, 'How did Master Xi Ken even find him, he is a total dunce!'

Well, I told myself that people talked, and that it didn't matter, because I knew my circumstance and how I had fallen prey to a very strange plot line.

I didn't even belong to this world.

"I just have to mark the boulder?"

The monk man nodded to my query, looking every bit reluctant to let me continue.

I didn't mind him, just stepped back to the line which a lady in white garbs mentioned when I was about to chant. It seemed like now I had really made everyone believe I was an idiot, which was not okay but I was totally alright... yeah, I was good.

I ignored the veins in my head pulsing and my cheeks getting red under the scrutiny of so many, all of them judging me.

Looking around I still couldn't find the black robes of Xi Ken, and neither his blindfolded face, it was annoying, where was he even.

But just when I thought I was alone in this, my focus went up the arena which was thankfully covered by a giant dome, and I gaped when I saw three long rows of seats hanging down from the ceiling, all of those seats filled by people and with them sat Xi Ken, his lips passively pressed into a thin stoic line.

I suddenly felt as if I had humiliated him, because the others around him were looking at me with pity.

Like what the hell, I was new to this, give me a break!