3. Stairs

All the kids alighted from the train one by one, about one thousand kids gathered in front of the train station waiting for their guides, their wait was short as after a few minutes a middle aged man came for them.

"Hello children, my name is Erik your guide." The man introduced with an amicable smile, "I would have liked to have you all well rested by sadly you came on the day of awakening itself so I'll lead you to your peers."

The man then guided them out of the station and through the mildly populated village that surrounded the foot of the mountain.

It was a priest village, one of them, which were usually formed in the rural areas near holy structures.

The kids were led to the foot of the mountains where several more children were gathered their combined numbers almost reaching ten thousand.

There was more than one Myriad Temple, there were four to be exact each naturally built on one of the four cardinal directions, in Ahmed's case he had visited the Northern Temple.

After ensuring the kids had all gathered, Erik addressed them his tone was gentle, "This is where we'll part ways, you are to climb the stairs to the top, no matter what happens just reach the top, only then can your awakening begin."

The kids nodded with grim expressions, they were familiar with the stairs in front of them, it was one of the challenges they had to face before they embarked on their paths.

The Myriad steps was the name of the stairs, it had millions of steps each ascending, the steps helped the kids to temper their bodies and will for what was to come.

At the internal of Ten, Hundred, and Thousand the pressure would increase rasing the weight on their bodies.

A blaring horn echoed from the mountain peak signalling the start of their ascension, some broke into runs while others begun slow, some jogged while others casually walked.

The glaring sun shone above their heads with evey steps they took towards the top, when the first person ahead reached their hundredth step, the pressure increases  ever so slightly, in Ahmed's perspective he felt as if he had gained a kilogram in terms of weight.

The higher the first person ascended the greater the pressure increased for those below, it was a daunting task for the kids, some who had never trained in their lives let alone walked for more than a few paces.

Soon enough the first person reached the one thousand step, he paused and looked behind him and sighed, he then sat on the said staircase waiting for the others, after less than half an hour nearly all the kids had caught up, those who were close to the first were able to catch a breathe after seeing through the other kids plan.

After more than half had gathered, the first place begun his ascent once more, he steps were slow yet fast, his breathe was calm and in rhythm.

"Who's that guy?" Ahmed couldn't help but ask, he wasn't as exhausted as others but he wasn't as lively as the first place.

"That's Eren Yeager, some say the Yeager House is from a Giants decent that's why their physical capabilities are so exaggerated." A blonde girl who was beside Ahmed replied while catching her breath, the pressure had increased once and ot was clearly pushing her and many others closer to their limits.

After awakening many would get to learn of their descent, for some it was the heroes, others it was the fabled demigods, the collosal giants, some came from renowned mortals, some were unlucky to discover their roots were tied down to the cursed and damned.

'Rahman and Laverne never told me what they awakened, dad wasn't able to awaken and neither was mom, I wonder why they hid it, was it for suspense?' He wondered while he continued his climb.

Despite all kids being given the chance to awaken not everyone was able to, such was the case for Ahmed's parents, his father was always bitter about it and his mother never talked about it.

He had also noticed his elder siblings always avoided talking about such things whenever they came home.

'Its been two years since they last came home, I wonder if they are ok.'

Ahmed had been close with his siblings when growing up, well he was as close as a last born could be. His elder brother Rahman was seven years older than him, their interactions were quite few mostly because his elder brother wasn't that much of a talker, but they did connect in their own way.

His elder sister Laverne was the one he was closest to, she had been consistent in his memories when growing up, though he would never say it to her face he thought of her as his best friend.

'Now's really not the time for nostalgic.' He sighed as he continued his climb, his pendant tightly clung to his now sweaty chest beneath his shirt, he had long taken off his jacket and was even beginning to wonder why he carried it.

Eren soon reached his ten thousandth step, the formerly fifty kilogram weight was increased to a hundred kilos, many were unable to take a single step forward as their bodies refused to move, some grit their teeth as they forced themselves to walk while others had resolved gazes to see it through to the end.

Ahmed's body slowly adapted to the pressure, he grit his teeth as he took every step forward, his gaze was filled with firm resolve to the point where he numbed the pain.

Steam poured out of his body im waves, as he braced through the pressure, he wouldn't back down even  if it meant breaking a bone or two, injury wasn't a new thing on the stairs, even death wasn't that far off.

This his determined eyes he continued to walk fully immersed in his task to the point where everything else disappeared from his perception, all he could see was the stairs all he was meant to do was to ascend.

And ascend he did, this was his first step towards the peak, the first of many more steps to come.