Upon arriving in the capital, the group begins to realize this is no fever dream—they really are in another world. The castle is so massive it can be seen from anywhere in the city. Even before reaching the Royal Capital, the group could see it rising from the city's center. With high walls separating the castle from the noble district and a structure of concentric rings, the city is divided by canals.
"In the center is the Royal Castle, surrounded by the Noble District. After that comes the Commercial District, and then the Residential District. In a corner far from the residential area, along the outer wall, is the slum. For your own safety, avoid that area," one of the soldiers explained.
"If we were from this world, we'd probably live there," a voice quipped humorously, pointing towards the slum.
The group turned to see who had made such a comment in front of the Royal Knights and, to no one's surprise, it was Aldo. A chubby, smiling young man who was trying to understand why no one was laughing at his observation. Although everyone knew he was probably right, no one was about to admit it in front of the knights. The group was about to meet the King, the most powerful figure in the region, and that kind of comment wasn't going to help.
"Aldo, you're not helping," Alice said through her teeth, struggling to contain the urge to smack him.
Everyone chuckled, and the journey continued until the group arrived at the capital, where they were taken directly to the castle. Once there, they waited to be summoned in a large hall, with servants offering them food and drinks they had never seen before. Both were, frankly, bland. Few of the drinks were non-alcoholic, and the food was greasy and unseasoned. A pair of guards stood at each of the room's eight doors. A man near the main entrance drew their curiosity. He was dressed like a butler but had done nothing since they arrived. He just stood there, as still as one of the guards.
Then, one of the doors opened, and in walked a beautiful woman with long white hair, clad in long purple robes and a matching pointed hat. She walked towards Regina, who had been sitting on a sofa but stood up as the woman approached her.
"Greetings. You are the one responsible for this group, are you not?" the woman asked.
"The person in charge of the class is Mr. Gabriel, who was taken for medical care. My name is Regina, and I'm the mother of one of the students. But I believe I can answer for now," Regina replied.
"Indeed. I am Adria Frost, the Royal Court Mage to King Leopold James Avakar. It is my duty to receive you and prepare you for your audience with His Majesty."
As she spoke, another woman entered the hall. Leaning on a cane, she approached the mage with slow steps and remained silent, observing the students.
"This, Ms. Regina, is Mother Dina. She is the one who foresaw your arrival five years ago," Adria explained.
"It is almost all in accordance with my vision. However, one adult is missing," the old woman said.
"Mr. Gabriel was taken to receive medical care," Regina explained.
"He is in the vision. But there were meant to be six adults. Three men and three women," the old woman replied thoughtfully.
"Well... there was supposed to be one more man, but he passed away two days before the trip. So he wasn't on the bus with us."
"I see... That is a pity. He was to be a fundamental piece for humanity's survival in the challenges to come."
"What do you mean?!" Regina began to feel a chill of fear.
"You were sent by the Goddess to aid us in the battle against the demons. They are about to begin a new war against humanity," the old woman explained. A shiver ran down Regina's spine. Demons? A battle? She glanced around at the young faces. They're just children, ripped from their lives and thrown into a conflict that sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. The responsibility of caring for them, already heavy, suddenly became crushing.
"But... just a moment... how is a group of children supposed to fight demons?! That makes no sense!" Disbelief and fear fought for space in her voice. Her mind raced, trying to process the information. She thought of Sarah, of her determination in karate training, but demons were something else entirely.
"All of you received a blessing from the Goddess the moment you were transported to this world," Adria explained. Regina clasped her hands together, trying to maintain her composure.
"A blessing? What could a blessing do against demons?" She felt unprepared, inadequate to protect these children in such a dangerous, unknown world. The calm she had tried to maintain since arriving on the mountain began to crumble, giving way to a rising sense of dread.
"What kind of blessing?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, searching for some thread of hope in Adria's explanation. She was still trying to maintain her posture so the young people wouldn't panic, but it seemed some, like Regis, were ecstatic about the situation.
"I will explain everything to all of you during the audience. I am too old to repeat myself. I will explain it once to everyone who needs to know."
At that moment, the mysterious man who hadn't moved approached Ms. Frost and said something to her privately. She nodded in agreement, and the man stepped away to announce: "The King is ready to receive you. Please, proceed to the throne room. Kindly follow me," he said, and with a gesture of his hand, he showed them the way, then began to lead them down a long corridor.
Everything was grandiose, from the size of the rooms to the imposing decor and the exaggerated security. The students followed Regina, who led the group to their audience with the King. They stopped behind a massive set of double doors, made of metal adorned with gold, and waited to be announced. Then they heard a voice from the other side. "Found on Red Dragon Mountain, the group of Heroes sent by the Goddess!"
With that, the doors swung open, revealing an enormous hall with a blue and gold carpet stretching to the throne, where the King and his Queen were seated. The King, a man with brown hair and a full beard, gestured with his right hand for the group to approach. The butler stepped back and guided the heroes forward. They did so, all very nervous, with Regina always leading the way.
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Avakar. I have been informed by my court mage that you have arrived, as our oracle foretold. I would like to know more about you," the King said with a smile.
Regina glanced around to see if she could speak and received a confirming nod from the butler. "I'm afraid I do not have much to tell, as we do not know how it happened either. We were on our way to a competition in another country and just... 'appeared' on that mountain. That is the sum of it."
"Hmm... I see. It seems you have even less information than we do," the King pondered for a moment, then said, "In that case, Ms. Frost, I ask that you enlighten us."
"With pleasure, Your Majesty," Adria said, curtsying to the King. Then, turning to Regina's group, she began her explanation. "Five years ago, Mother Dina foresaw the arrival of a group of heroes who would be sent by the Goddess herself to aid us. Each of its members would receive a blessing from the Goddess. It was also foreseen that seven members would die on the day of their arrival. Aside from the arrival location and the lack of one adult, everything is exactly as the Mother described."
"On that day, I even received information on the individual blessing of each of you," Mother Dina said, stepping closer to Ms. Frost.
"In that case, please, present this specific matter to everyone," the King said.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. I will then ask that, one by one, you step forward and introduce yourselves, so that I may announce your blessing and explain a bit more of the situation in the meantime," Mother Dina said.
"Then I shall start. My name is Regina Connors. I am the mother of Sarah, that girl over there," she said, pointing to her daughter.
"Ms. Connors, allow me," Mother Dina said, taking Regina's hand. "Yes. Analyzing again, I can confirm that your blessing is the 'Blessing of the Protector'."
"What does that mean?" Regina asked.
"It means you have been blessed with the ability to protect those around you. The protector is one with the gift of creating the most powerful barriers ever seen, as well as other defensive magics."
"All of you shall undergo a period of training to master your abilities, a task which I myself shall oversee," Adria stated. "Furthermore, Mother Dina has informed me that you are to be given new names, in accordance with your abilities. Therefore, as you introduce yourselves, you shall also receive your new family names."
"Exactly. Starting with Ms. Regina, now Regina Shine. From this day forward, your descendants will bear these names as family names, to reference the great heroes," Dina announced.
"Very well. Let us proceed," Adria interrupted.
A woman of medium height with long, straight black hair stepped forward and introduced herself. "Well then, my name is Mara, and I am Renata's mother," she said, pointing to her daughter.
"Very well, Mara. For having received the Blessing of the Vampire, you shall also receive the name Mara Drain. The vampire's blessing allows you to drain the energy of those with whom you have physical contact. It is a very powerful ability and can be crucial in deciding battles against mighty foes. You will need, like everyone, to master your ability well, as it has great potential for harm, including to your allies."
Mara just nodded her thanks and returned to her place. The ceremony continued in this fashion, with everyone being introduced and receiving names and a brief description of their abilities. Gabriel's ability and new name were also presented.
The king concluded the audience, and the butler led them to a grand hall where dinner would be served. Like all the other rooms in the castle, the dining hall was enormous and opulently decorated. It wasn't long before the students began to excitedly discuss their powers.
"I have to admit I didn't really get your power, but mine seems kind of crappy. Being able to manipulate water is cool, but I don't see it being very useful in a fight. What am I gonna do, get the enemies wet?" Renata said, still trying to make sense of the situation.
"I thought my ability was really vague. I mean, 'Blessing of the Hero' is a cool name and all, but what does it do? She just said I'll have to carry the greatest burden... How?! I don't even know what I can do!" Amanda said. She paused, then continued more calmly, speaking to Renata. "But the water blessing seems more tangible. Controlling water opens up a lot of possibilities; you just have to figure out how to use it to our advantage."
"True, Rae. Amanda still needs to figure out what her blessing does, but we just need to figure out what to do with ours," said Sarah, a short young girl with red hair.
"I can't wait to learn how to use these powers," said an excited, short Black girl with green eyes. "I can't wait to experiment with the possibilities of the Doppelganger blessing."
"Yours does sound really interesting, Kali," Amanda commented, trying to sound more cheerful so the others wouldn't worry about her.
In another corner of the hall, the boys were discussing their powers. "Damn, Carlos! I always knew you were strong, but being picked as the team's tank right off the bat like that was impressive," said Aldo.
"Look who's talking. You're basically an Uchiha with that power to create illusions," Luca replied.
"It's true," said an emotional Aldo.
Time passed, the group had dinner amidst their conversations, and ended up going to bed very late, the excitement still running high.