Everything around him felt cold and damp. With an occasional straight tube light bulb appearing every five minutes of so, it was hard for Sehun to see through the darkness. He did not know where he was. He could see that the walls were made of stones, with little cracks here and there that showed the age of the place. His best guess was that they were walking along an empty sewer or underground tunnel that would lead them to their destination.

  As the long and narrow alley enclosed itself around the 20 warriors, the rubber soles of their shoes repeatedly rubbed against the wet floor as they walked on into the darkness.

  Splish-splash, splish-splash. 

  The sound of their footsteps echoed inside the empty passageway. One by one, they followed along aimlessly, not knowing what lied ahead of them.

  Sehun found himself walking behind the guy from Sector 1, Chanyeol, as he recalled. Indeed, he was tall, a giant in fact. He thought to himself in amusement. Even if Chanyeol did not have such a striking hair colour, his height alone would have made him stand out. 

  He noticed another girl who standing close to the boy and realized that they were both from the same sector.

  Did the two of them know each other? He wondered. They were walking together side by side with barely a gap in between. 

  They looked pretty close. They must have already known each other before this, maybe they are friends. 

  In that moment, Chanyeol raise his hand to touch the small of her back and gave her a reassuring look before placing it softly atop her shoulders. She leaned her body towards him in response.

  Sehun thought the pair endearing as he came to the realization that they were more than friends.

  Yet he found himself sighing, suddenly feeling a rush of pity for them as he remembered what they were doing there in the first place.

  Jongin on the other hand, was keeping up alongside him with both his hands stuffed down his pockets. That nonchalant look on his face clearly shows that he could not be bothered with the whole situation. 

  The entire walk was basically a quiet one. No one knew what to say since most of the Warriors did not know each other. And given the current situation that they were all in, it was understandable that not everyone would be in a conversing mood. 

  There was still a little chatter going on here and there between those who came with family though. He spotted the brothers, Theo and James at the head of the pack. Their voices loudest among the rest.

  Between the sight of James jumping around excitedly while punching his fists up in air and Theo asking him to quiet down, Sehun could hear snippets of what they were saying.

  “What do you think our first training will be? Do you think that I’ll be able to show them my powers in the first round?” he heard James ask with a tone of eagerness.

  Sehun did not understand how anyone could find any of this bearable, much less exciting. To him, this place was just like a torture house and they were all just pawns that the Capital owns and controls; he knew that the Warriors were getting used for propaganda purposes and that the Aionios would kill them the first chance they get.

  “I don’t know James, keep it down will you,” Theo said, obviously exasperated at his overly excited brother.

  Following closely behind them, Sehun noticed the other brothers sharing a conversation as well. That being said, Baekhyun and Luhan were a huge contrast in comparison to the previous pair. From the looks of how the two kept whispering to each other in hushed tones, their personalities seem alike. Sehun could sense that they were both quiet introverts, the kind who would prefer to avoid trouble if they could. They were exceptionally close though, he could tell from just one look. Even though it was the first time seeing the two, he could tell from the way they interacted that neither of them wanted to leave the other’s side. 

  Somewhere to the right of the two, Sehun spotted a unique couple. It was too obvious for Sehun to ignore. Unlike Chanyeol and Lyra, Effy and Freddie seemed to be more comfortable with their public displays of affection. Even in the light’s poor attempt at illuminating the place, Sehun could see that one of Freddie's hands was in his pocket while the other found its place tightly on the girl's narrow waist. She had both of her arms around him, hugging her lover tightly. He then leaned  in towards her and planted a kiss on top of her head as they walked on.

  Was it actually better to have someone here to go through it together with? Sehun wondered.

  “Are you okay Silver?” he heard someone nearby whisper.

  Sehun turned his head slightly to his left and spotted the youngest participant over his shoulder.

  “I'm alright. At least you're with me,” the girl responded calmly as she held onto her older brother's arm. 

  “I'll be here,” he comforted her as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

  The scene before him made Sehun's insides felt emptier than before as he walked along the group alone.

  After a couple more minutes of continuous walking and chattering, the Warriors found themselves stopping at the end of the tunnel faced with a group of five, standing at attention while waiting for their arrival. He noted how they were each dressed in different coloured clothing. Their outfit consisted of a plain coloured top, some of which had sleeves while others did not, coupled with black training pants that were commonly worn during combats.

  The first man who stepped out of the line had a red sleeveless shirt on. Sehun raised his brows slightly as he noticed that he could see the outline of guy's abs even through the thick material.  The top might perhaps be a bit too tight, he thought with a sarcastic voice in his head. 

  Said guy then went on to announce his name as Drew.

  Drew had a full set of thick, black hair with his whole fringe pushed back to reveal a menacing face of his. Everything about him looked creepy, his eyes were small and pulled back, often shifting back and forth while he took a quick glance at each and every one of the Warriors. 

  Sehun could see that the guy had a deep crease across his forehead as he spoke. But amongst all that, what caught his attention the most was inarguably that frightening scar stretched across the upper half of Drew's face. It started from the top of his left eyebrow and ended aptly above his lips. There was no doubt that Drew was much stronger than any other average person, he was one of the toughest-looking guy Sehun had seen in his life.

  Something had to have happened to leave such a wound on him, Sehun just wished that he would never have to find out what it was.

  “On behalf of my fellow trainers, I welcome you all to the Rift,” his voice resonated throughout the space. “This area right behind me, is where most of your time here will be spent at, so we encourage you all to make yourselves comfortable as soon as you can." Drew told them as he casually pointed backwards to direct at the space behind him.

  “Now let me explain why you guys are here,” he started. “Apart from it being your living quarters, the Rift is a place specially created for all Warriors that are to participate in the Purity Games to receive as much training from the professionals as they can,” he said. 

  “During the course of your training, each and every one of you will be required to go through 3 main stages. The first will be about the psychological state of the individual. The second is physical combat and the last round will ultimately be a combination of both,” he explained as he shifted his weight between his legs.

  “Take note that each trainer will be in charge of 2 specific sectors. But if at any point in time you find yourself met with an obstacle, you may choose to approach the other trainers for help or advice,” he pointed out.

  “As trainers, we will be acting as your guides and mentors throughout your journey here and I ensure you all that we will do our best to prepare you for the actual games,” he said. 

  “And with that, let us now start with the group allocations. I will be in charge of training warriors from Sectors 1 and 2.”

  One by one, Chanyeol, Lyra, Theo and James made their way pass the group to present themselves in front of Drew. He motioned for them to follow him before walking straight into the Rift.

  The next mentor Sehun spotted was wearing a grey hoodie and stepped up with a slight bounce in his steps. He looked a bit too perky to be in sort of place.

  “Hey guys, my name is Lucas and I'll be the trainer for Sectors 3 and 4,” he said as he smiled a crooked, but charming smile.

  Lucas had blond hair and he was tall, just slightly shorter than Sehun himself. The kind looking trainer had eyes that were a dark shade of brown, making him a stark contrast from Drew. 

  Likewise, he saw the other Warriors, Luhan, Baekhyun, Jongdae and Yifan follow Lucas to the Rift.

  The third mentor was a female.

  She sported a blue tank top, which revealed her thin but sturdy arms. Sehun noticed that her eyes were a peculiar shade of grey and her hair was long, straight and brown, together with the fact that she had exceptionally fair skin and a tiny statue, it all kind of made her look like a little fairy.

  “Hi everyone, I'm Cassie and I'm the trainer for Sectors 5 and 6. Would the respective warriors kindly follow me to the Rift,” she said with a gentle smile as she began calling out the names.

  From the corner of his eyes, he saw Silver, Yixing, Junmyeon and Minseok emerge from the remaining group and approach her as she gave each of them a slight welcoming hug.

  As they were leaving the tunnel, he managed to catch a glimpse of Cassie talking to Silver as she placed a hand around the younger girl's shoulder.

  Leila was the name of the other female trainer; she was in charge of Sectors 7 and 8.

  Her eyes were an attractive green colour and her cropped hair was pulled all the way back into a short ponytail to reveal her exquisite face. She sported a head-to-toe black outfit consisting of a black sleeveless top with tight black leggings that accentuated her long, thin legs. Despite her tomboyish looks, Sehun realized that she was absolutely gorgeous.

   Next in line was Hazel, Kendall, Kyungsoo and Zitao who trailed behind Leila as she led them into the Rift as per routine.

  Last but not least, Sehun shifted his vision to the man that would be his trainer, his mentor.

  “My name is Jonathan and I'll be in charge of Sectors 9 and 10," he announced.

  Jonathan had a dark green shirt on. And even though it was not tight fitting like Drew's, Sehun could still see that he was just as fit as the other mentor was. His shoulders were broad and though his arms were not as muscular, they were just enough to show that he was not someone you would want to mess with.

  Sehun eventually stepped forward along with Jongin, Effy and Freddie by his side and the four of them tread on the heels of their trainer. 

  As his feet brought him away from the tunnel and further into the Rift, Sehun realized that none of the Warriors from the previous groups could be seen. He continued on, occasionally taking the time to notice just how big the Rift actually was. It looked to him as wide and long, almost rectangular in shape. The walls surrounding them made out of rocks and stones, which are piled on top of one another, had water dripping between its cracks.

  The place looked old.

  Just then, the slightest sound of gushing water reached his ears. He guessed that the source of it was the cause for the damp floors.

  As he made his way deeper into the Rift, the splashing progressively grew louder and louder. Sehun tilted his neck to see past Jongin's head and found a huge waterfall standing at the other end. He took a moment to observe the gigantic flow of water. Towards bottom of the waterfall, he saw a deep metal drain that allowed the water to flow through the area, it was what helped prevent the whole place from flooding. 

  Once they reached the foot of the falls, he got surprised at how the water was slowly starting to part right in the middle; multiple metal bars, one after another were moving outwards, making a passageway for them to crossover to the other side. 

  Jonathan continued to lead them pass the falls into another walkway. This time, the journey to the next section took a shorter amount of time to reach. The five of them soon found themselves in a circular room with all of the other warriors spread around the place. 

  Sehun noted how they were already all dressed in different coloured outfits, just like the trainers.

  Cutting him from his thoughts, Jonathan turned around to face the four of them as he spoke.

  “Please look for your respective bunk beds at the corners of the room,” he instructed them.

  “Once you've done so, you will find that there is an outfit laid out for you on your bed. Put it on and gather with the rest of the group as soon as possible,” the mentor said and left for the door at the end of the room.

  As Freddie and Effy made their way towards the right side of the room, Sehun spotted the other two empty bunk beds opposite end near a door and made his way towards it with Jongin following behind him.

  Upon arriving at their sleeping quarters, Sehun noticed that the tag above the beds read Sector 10, and at the foot of the beds were plaques, which indicated their names. As he scanned their beds, which looked pitiful to say the least, he realized that it was made up of nothing else but a metal bed frame with a cheap excuse for a mattress that laid on top of it.

  Seeing how Jongin’s name was on the top bunk, Sehun was naturally left with the bottom. He had actually preferred it that way.

  While he began to take his shirt off and change into the white one provided for him, he took a quick glance at Jongin’s outfit was black.

  He wondered what the colours represented exactly. 

  After successfully changing out of his old slacks, which were starting to smell a little, Sehun put on the plain white shirt and black sweatpants that were not even long enough to cover up his ankles.

  He and Jongin then made their way by jogging over to assemble with the rest.

  Sehun found himself among a sea of colours as he started to take note of those who were wearing red and grouped Chanyeol, Effy, Freddie, Baekhyun and Jongdae together. He noticed that those who were clad in black consisted of Jongin, Hazel, Silver and Zitao; and those in blue were Yixing, Junmyeon, Minseok, Lyra and Kendall. As for the rest, Sehun noticed that Kyungsoo, Theo and James were all wearing dark green shirts, while Kris and Luhan were wearing grey.

  After taking a long, hard look at everyone else's outfit, Sehun slightly furrowed his brows in confusion as he realized that he was the only one wearing white.

  Without noticing it, the door that Jonathan had gone into earlier was already opened. All five trainers gradually made their way out and positioned themselves in a line in front of the group of warriors. 

  “As you all know,” Jonathan spoke out. “There are 3 main stages in your training. The first stage is all about gaining control of your mind. We believe that the ability to control your thoughts is absolutely crucial during the games.”

  “It is important to understand that without control, even the Crafters with the best abilities would fail to succeed,” warned the trainer.

  “So if you will all follow me into the control room, that is where we will begin the first stage of your training,” he motioned as the other trainers followed him through the same door.

  Sehun started to panick a little on the inside.

  Who knows what would happen once they pass through that door? What do they mean exactly when they say that they have to gain control of their thoughts? Just how are they going to train them to do that? 

  All these questions continued running through his mind as he was the last to step through the door.