The woman's warning reverberated throughout the auditorium, whose atmosphere was filled with fear, anguish, nervousness and admiration for the figure in front of them. Some cadets wriggled in their seats, others swung their legs in frantic rhythms or bit their fingernails. Despite the limited field of vision, Jimin knew that everyone's features reflected their anxiety at the arrival of the moment they had been waiting for the most, when they would be officially recognized as members of the army and begin their activities for the survival of humanity.

— My name is Lanna Adliz, lieutenant colonel of the PeaceArmy, third in the chain of command and I will be responsible for welcoming you — the reaction of surprise and delight was unanimous the moment the woman announced her position in the army. The third most important person in the organization, who probably had direct contact with the Major, was standing in front of them, welcoming simple cadets.

— Is it common to be greeted by someone of this rank? — whispered Tania next to him.

— I don't know — replied Jimin. He didn't know how the army prepared to welcome the new recruits, but he found it a little peculiar that someone so influential was taking up his time with them. 

— On the right, meet Lucca Ferreh, head tutor for the medical cadets — Lanna pointed to a middle-aged man with snow-white skin, thinning blond hair, light eyes, a slightly curved back and a protruding belly that almost escaped through his army blouse.

— On the left, Mattheu Crag, head tutor of the combatant cadets — the tall man with curly hair, a muscular build, light brown eyes and a pronounced jaw, marked by a scar that crossed his entire face linearly, nodded. Unlike Lucca, who conveyed peace and tranquility in his gaze, Mattheu looked like a god of war, ready to set fire to any place at any time.

— I imagine you know a little about the functions of the PeaceArmy and the importance of the organization for the Cocoon. Without the army, we wouldn't have a functioning society, capable not only of surviving, but also of producing, protecting itself from external threats, building safe spaces and guaranteeing peace and order. As of today, you bear the burden of being responsible for the success or failure of humanity. We are the front line in the battles, the beams that hold up the districts, the threads that keep them connected and the scales that allow them to endure on the basis of equality and justice — with every word he uttered, the cadets bowed their shoulders as they felt the weight of the responsibility they had just acquired.

— Before we talk about activities, routines, dormitories and clothing, I'd like to do a historical recap on what brought us to the moment we're living in — Lanna watched them as if she could read every thought in their minds or could see the essence of the cadets' souls.

— About 200 years ago, humanity faced near extinction as a result of man's own greed and obsession — the woman spoke again after a pause — With the gigantic technological advances of the time, globalized society was able to solve the problems that haunted human existence. Hunger was eradicated, there was a better distribution of food and unbridled population growth, wars were no longer seen as solutions to stalemates, programs and policies were developed that dealt with climate change and promoted the preservation of the world's fauna and flora. With increased investment in education, people understood the needs of the collective and an unprecedented distribution of income allowed previously poor countries to improve the quality of life of their nationals.

"In addition, values such as empathy, respect, solidarity, equity, justice and the preservation of life have become part of human coexistence. Elected rulers truly cared about the care of the societies they represented. Art was valued, enhancing people's souls and giving them a deeper critical vision. An international outlook became more widespread and countries began to help each other with their difficulties. A true dystopian society was established and human beings entered an era of peace never before experienced in history.

However, there was one obstacle that humanity could not overcome: death. Despite the increase in life expectancy on the planet – human beings lived peacefully until the age of 150 – the mysteries behind death remained unsolved. Large corporations, in partnership with various governments, set about finding a way to circumvent everyone's fate. Investment in research aimed at bringing greater longevity to human beings increased exponentially, culminating in the creation of the main multinational research center for this subject, the International Center Against Death — ICAD".

Jimin knew every detail about human history. Ever since he was a child, he had felt a huge appreciation for the past and spent hours of his day reading about the civilizations that had once existed, their organizational structure and the ideologies that guided them. However, the way Lanna phrased the details added to their impact, putting the weight of the losses suffered by the Awakening into every word.

— Years and years of research resulted in a possible solution to what they were looking for, based on the genetic modification of a virus controlled by nano-chips. They were attached to neurons, increasing their longevity, and to bone marrow, enhancing human stem cells and making them more resistant, durable, increasing their capacity for production and regeneration.

"The discovery, although promising, had not been tested and was therefore not reliable or effective. Nevertheless, Patrick Loukey, one of the major funders of the research, decided to test it on people clandestinely. The man, already in the final stages of his life and desperate to avoid the fate that awaited him, didn't want to die without enjoying the results of the research. The studies were not developed enough to predict the side effects of the virus on the brain: the goal was achieved – the body's cells were fortified to the extreme – but the animal instincts of the human being were amplified too much.

Thus, the Modified Ones emerged, individuals with immense longevity, high wound regeneration and dominated by instincts of hunting, hunger and violence, whose rationality had been reduced to almost zero. The test subjects succumbed to brutality and started attacking other people to satisfy their hunger, without caring about anything. 

The virus was, and still is, blood-borne and the bite of the Modified Ones became the final decree, turning all who attacked into irrational beasts. The abnormality spread at a gigantic pace, as research was conducted in Tokyo, one of the most populous cities of that period. In addition, due to the high level of regional and international integration, within a week half of the Asian continent was infected with the virus.

The environment was filled with absolute chaos, despair and disorder. The local police tried to contain the spread of the virus, but they were caught by surprise and there was no time to draw up an effective control plan. Those who survived the large-scale attacks hid in their homes and the infected filled the streets, occupying