Doomsday: My Football System In The Apocalypse

The awakening ceremony ended in the afternoon, and by that time, everyone had performed the ritual. 

They were all divided into four different groups, probably according to the strength of the ability they had awakened or for some other reason. The girl whose appearance had altered surprisingly stood alone. A few meters away from her was a group of around 50 awakeners, the second-largest group. 

Not far from them stood more than a hundred awakeners, the largest group. Behind everyone stood the last group, who were surprisingly fewer than 20 in number. Emmy was among them. They were the ones who had failed to awaken an ability. 

Emmy didn't know how they were divided into groups, but he guessed it was related to the nature of the abilities they had awakened. It seemed that the first person to perform the ritual had awakened a unique ability, which was why she stood alone. 

What confused Emmy was the number of people who had failed to awaken an ability; they were surprisingly few. He had thought there would be around 50 of them, but there were barely 20. What shocked him the most was that, among those who failed to awaken, he was the only one picked by the light. Others were either not chosen or didn't experience the light at all. 

This puzzled him greatly. 

He was certain he hadn't awakened an ability, so why was he picked by the light? Not only that, but he had spent the most time under the embrace of the light. 

It didn't make sense. 

"Ah..." 

Emmy sighed, still confused and saddened by everything. He also remembered the strange words he saw after waking up from being unconscious. 

"I still have to ask Sunny a lot of things," 

He muttered under his breath. But now, he had to deal with the matter at hand because, at that moment, an older man approached his group. The same happened with the other groups. The man on the platform began to speak. 

"Those who have awakened their ability will be given a manual to understand more about their ability and how to increase their power. You will also be given a wristwatch to track the level of your ability. If it's an ability we haven't seen before, you'll have to spend more time with the officials for them to study it and create a manual for you," 

The man continued. 

"As for those who failed to awaken their ability, you'll be examined to see if you have a chance next year. Follow the people in front of you." 

Emmy sighed as they started walking behind the older man. 

Sitting among the crowd, Sunny watched closely as his brother was taken away with the others. He felt uneasy. Back when he had come for his own ceremony two years ago, they had done the same thing. Anyone who awakened a new, unrecorded ability spent more time with the officials to study the ability and create a manual. The same thing had happened to him. However, even after spending close to two days with the officials, they were unable to learn anything about his ability, so they had no choice but to leave him to figure it out on his own. 

That wasn't what worried him today, though. It wasn't even the fact that Emmy had failed to awaken an ability. He could protect him from bullies, so he wasn't worried about that. What made him anxious was the fact that his brother and the others who had failed to awaken were being taken to a different room. 

Although this was how it was done every year—people who failed to awaken were taken away for "examinations"—Sunny suspected the truth. 

He had realized two years ago that these so-called examinations were lethal. Everyone who failed to awaken their ability seemed to die slowly in the days following the ceremony. 

Sunny had always wondered why this was the case. Even though many failed to awaken each year, they all died in similar ways: suicide, depression, or drug overdoses. The official explanation was always the same—'they couldn't cope with life as "no-ability trash" and took their own lives.' 

Sunny only realized this story was fabricated after his friend failed to awaken two years ago. His friend had committed suicide a week after the ceremony, but Sunny knew better. His friend was ambitious and determined, and he had vowed to keep trying every year until he succeeded. His attitude had changed drastically after the ceremony, and Sunny began to suspect foul play. 

Sunny's suspicions deepened when he noticed the behavior of others who failed to awaken. Their mood always changed before their deaths. Whatever they were given during these "examinations" was killing them. 

Though he couldn't confirm this theory, he wasn't willing to take any chances with his brother. 

---

Emmy and the others followed the man blindly, unaware of what awaited them. Although Sunny had told him to be careful, Emmy hadn't noticed anything suspicious—until they entered a room filled with medical beds. The room was large, cozy, and painted entirely white, resembling a hospital with medical equipment scattered throughout. 

But what shocked Emmy was the fact that the people beside him began collapsing one by one as they entered the room. 

His heart sank. 

"What's going on? Is this what Sunny meant?" 

He turned to look at the man who had led them there. The man smiled brightly and said, 

"Don't worry, it's part of the examination." 

Emmy barely heard him as his vision blurred and he began to stagger. 

Suddenly, something blocked his line of sight: 

[Host is being affected by a toxic sleeping smoke.] 

[Host doesn't have enough resistance against it.] 

[Host will eventually pass out if inhalation continues.] 

And so he did. He fell like the others and passed out. 

The man let out a sigh of relief. 

"Ah, I thought he was like that boy from two years ago. I can't go through that again." 

"Bring them in," 

The man instructed. 

Several figures emerged from the shadows and began carrying the unconscious students to the beds. As one of them carried Emmy, a shadow slipped off his body and hid among the equipment unnoticed. 

Once everyone was placed on the beds, the man began his work. A large medical device with two trays followed him. One tray held black and yellow syringes filled with serum, while the other held neatly arranged pills. 

The man approached the first child, and a fluorescent light illuminated the boy's forehead. The man injected the serum into his head and placed two pills in his mouth before moving on to the next