Between two flames

A better life?

The girl deeply regretted falling into such a trap, but now she had no choice but to prove her right to be a part of the organization. There was no way back.

For a while, Reichimo managed to remain inactive, but as the number of those fighting for their lives significantly decreased, she soon had to fight, which she didn't want to do at all. However, she wanted to live.

Astrith quickly analyzed the situation, and her attention eventually focused on a very aggressive guy, who apparently also noticed her at that moment and began to rapidly decrease the distance between them. Rei braced herself, waiting for him to make the first move.

Throughout her life, she had developed an interesting habit of using the minimum of her abilities and movements in battles. She had long realized that many complex and energy-consuming movements, performed very quickly and chaotically, were ultimately useless and never led to victory. Fighting while conserving as much energy as possible, using her wits and intellect to devise the most beneficial sequence of actions and techniques for the given situation—that was efficiency.

She dealt with that guy quickly, as he made a very unfortunate first move, simply lunging forward and using his power. Rei dodged by crouching down and sweeping his legs from behind. In an instant, the guy was on the floor, meeting his end right there. She repelled any subsequent attacks in much the same way.

In the process of "survival," the girl noticed that the panic effect, which the unknown figure intended to instill among the candidates, worked perfectly. Now many of the participants couldn't think about effective combat, resulting in their quick death. This test was far from being about strength and powers. It was a test of endurance and, most importantly, stress resistance - the ability to keep a clear mind in such unexpectedly changing conditions.

At some point in the battle, which would more accurately be called a massacre, Astrith failed to watch her back and, while dealing with one of the candidates, was suddenly thrown against the wall. After the girl hit the dense concrete with incredible force, a cloud of knives flew at her.

"Do I look like a target in a shooting gallery?!" she exclaimed and, barely dodging the attack, caught one of the knives by the blade and immediately sent it right into the skull of its owner.

Now her left hand was adorned with her own blood, streaming from a deep cut made by the caught blade.

"Enough!" a loud echo resounded in the air - "I've seen enough" said the now-familiar voice, but quieter.

"There are fifteen of you left... well, today is your lucky day..." the figure of the unknown man reappeared on stage - "Congratulations, I'm glad to see new faces in our ranks." Saying this, he spread his arms to the sides.

These words were spoken with a certain solemnity and simultaneously an intimidating tone. The girl should have been glad - after all, she had survived and passed the test - but there was no joy. She felt only hopelessness. A heavy thought arose in her mind that her future was now completely uncertain, and a crushing despair mixed with a feeling of dread toward the organization weighed on her soul.

Meanwhile, steps emerged from the stage.

"Come here" said the man, after which the remaining 15 people walked onto the stage.

"And now, a special tracker will be implanted in you, which will receive notifications about meetings and will also monitor your actions during missions" he said, and after these words, many people began to protest. A murmur rose, clearly displeasing the still-unknown man, who apparently was one of the main figures in the organization.

"Are we going to be dogs on a leash now?", "I didn't sign up for this!", "Are we your lab rats?" - cries came from the group of miraculously surviving people.

"Oh, what a pity... Then my faithful subordinates will have to... kill you" said the man, his mad eyes flashing, sending a wave of cold over anyone nearby.

The shouters quickly fell silent and nervously swallowed.

"Well, it's okay, such loudmouths don't live long here anyway" he flashed his eyes again and broke into a crazy smile.

"So, our organization is a community, aimed at uniting 'Hermits,' ensuring their more comfortable existence and development" he paused briefly, "but also, one of our main goals is to monitor the maintenance of at least some morality in the outside world" he added, somewhat disappointed, but then immediately returned to his previous tone. "Approach these guys, they will implant the tracker" the man indicated two sturdy guys standing in the corner of the stage, closer to the exit. All the beings obediently approached them.

Having the tracker implanted was not very pleasant, but it wasn't extremely painful either, though some might cry out when the device was inserted into their body. However, they quickly quieted down, fearing a swift trip to hell.

After all 15 people underwent the procedure, they headed to the main building and scattered into rooms at random. There was no significant difference between the rooms. Everything was arranged like an ordinary dormitory, only more eerie. "I'm not very sure about the part: comfortable existence..." thought Reichimo when she entered the room and saw a space more similar to a prison cell.

Still, the girl quickly brushed off the thought, realizing she should be grateful for the provided shelter, provisions, and protection. She chose a bed by the window and, after bandaging her wound, tried to make the room look more comfortable.

After some time, another person moved into her room. He was a tall guy with disheveled ashen hair and dark purple eyes. His arms were covered in bandages, and the face had dark eyebags. He seemed quite calm, which was exactly what Rei wanted for a roommate.

The girl quickly scanned his figure from head to toe and then continued working on the appearance of the room.