Teresa folded her clipboard shut and looked around the room, letting her gaze settle on each row in turn before she spoke again.
"Centuries ago," she began, voice calm and clear, "the Equin Rulers built Paradise as humanity’s final sanctuary after the Awakening began. Here, every awakened Participant is given the opportunity to discover where they can best serve humanity."
A few people shifted in their seats. Someone near the front exhaled audibly.
She continued. "I know some of you are wondering why a place like this exists at all."
A handful of heads nodded immediately. Jisung found himself nodding too, almost without meaning to.
"The answer is simple." She smiled, "Humanity cannot survive on strength alone."
She began pacing slowly across the front of the room, hands loosely clasped behind her back. The soft click of her shoes echoing in the silence.
"The Awakening changed our world forever. It created extraordinary people, but it also created extraordinary responsibilities. Paradise exists because no civilization can endure if everyone walks in different directions."
Her eyes moved across the rows of faces.
"Some of you will become Hunters. Others will become Researchers. Some will teach, heal, build, govern, grow food, protect our citizens, preserve knowledge, or perform duties you have never imagined."
She paused.
"Every role is important. And every role begins the same way."
Her eyes swept the room once more before speaking again. "We call this, The Procedures."
The room went noticeably quieter. Jisung felt the truth of the statement settle deeply within him. Sam’s words from earlier this morning and the conversation with Angela and Zhang Wu from the night before echoed faintly in his head.
’They were right after all.’ he thought to himself.
"The Procedures exist to understand you. Not merely your talents... but your judgement, your temperament, your convictions, your potential and most important of all,"
She tapped the clipboard lightly against her palm, a small habitual gesture.
"...your loyalty."
Jisung noticed several people straighten in their seats around him.
"Only then... can Paradise determine where you will flourish, and where humanity needs you most. So yes," the woman said, smiling knowingly, "...every awakened Participant must complete the Procedures. There are no exceptions."
Someone near the back hesitantly raised a hand.
"...Can someone refuse?"
A few heads turned toward the speaker.
"No." Her answer came gently, but without hesitation. "The Procedures are mandatory for every awakened citizen. If Paradise is to function as one community, then every member must first understand where they belong within it."
She gave the room a moment to sit with that.
"You will also remain within the Procedures until every required stage has been completed."
A murmur spread through the crowd.
"So..." another participant asked, "if I want to leave?"
"You simply cannot."
The room went completely still.
"Not because you are prisoners," she said, shaking her head. "But because an incomplete Procedure benefits no one. Not you, and not Paradise."
Her expression softened.
"I understand that many of you are frightened. That is perfectly natural. Most Participants who sat where you are sitting now felt exactly the same. The only thing we ask of you..." she said, looking directly across the rows, "...is honesty. There are no correct answers. There are no preferred answers. There are only truthful ones."
She folded her hands behind her back.
"The Procedures cannot discover who you are if you attempt to become someone else."
Silence settled over the room, heavier than before. Sam’s warning from earlier that morning replayed in his head with sudden clarity.
’Be one hundred percent honest. If you mess up the first stage, it affects everything afterwards.’
Jisung felt goosebumps crawl up his arms.
Teresa smiled once more.
"Good. Now that we’ve covered the purpose of the Procedures..." She opened her clipboard again. "...let us begin with Stage One."
Someone in the back started clapping, and a ripple of applause followed. Jisung didn’t know why but went along it. She let it fade on its own before continuing.
"I’m sure many of you are wondering what exactly the Procedures are." A few people laughed, embarrassed at being called out so directly. "That’s normal," she said, smiling. "I’d be more concerned if you weren’t." She continued. "The first part of Stage One is called Diary Session. And yes, I know." She laughed softly, covering her mouth for a second. "It’s not the most exciting name."
That earned an actual laugh from the crowd.
"I was expecting something cooler," someone muttered nearby.
"So was I," another voice agreed.
Even Jisung found himself smiling despite everything.
The woman nodded, unsurprised.
"I usually get that reaction." She clasped her hands behind her back and slowly began pacing again. "But Diary Session exists for a reason. Before anyone can walk confidently toward the future... they must first understand the road that brought them here."
She looked around the room.
"Think of it like... speaking to a therapist."
Several Participants chuckled.
"There it is." She pointed at them, playful. "I knew that comparison would land."
More laughter spread, the tension in the room easing slightly for the first time since they’d all sat down.
"It isn’t an interrogation. It isn’t a judgement. It isn’t meant to embarrass you." Her voice remained warm. "It’s simply a conversation. A chance for Paradise to understand who you are... so Paradise can understand where you belong."
Jisung was smiling along with everyone else until he heard a familiar notification rang inside Jisung’s mind.
Ding!
His smile flattened and his body jolted upright.
"Gah!"
A scream tore out of his lips louder than he expected it to.
The entire room turned toward him. Zachariah whispered to him. "Jisung. What’s the problem?"
The woman blinked, clipboard still open in her hands.
"Participant?"
Jisung stared blankly ahead for a second unable to answer any of the questions asked directly to him. His heart slammed hard against his ribs. The translucent blue window hovering before his face.
’Calm down and think, Jisung.’
He swallowed. "S-Sorry." He slowly stood, legs feeling slightly unsteady. "I... have a question."
Her expression softened immediately.
"Of course. What would you like to know?"
Jisung hesitated, feeling dozens of eyes on him. He looked around the room once, then back at her.
"You keep mentioning... Stage One." He swallowed. "Does that mean... there are multiple stages?"
A wave of murmurs swept across the chamber almost instantly.
"...What?"
"There are stages?"
"I thought this was one test!"
"...Yeah. Like ’boom!’ one shot and we’re done,"
Valerie turned immediately toward Zachariah, eyes wide. "See?" she whispered loudly. "That’s exactly what I said!"
Several people groaned. Someone near the back buried his face in both hands.
"I just want to get this over with..."
As the room quickly grew noisy, the woman simply waited. But when the voices rose too high, she gently raised one hand.
The noise quieted almost instantly. She smiled.
"Yes. There are multiple stages. And each stage has phases within them."
Another chorus of sighs and mutters answered her.
"I know," she said sympathetically. "But right now... the only stage that matters... is this one."
The room slowly settled again.
She folded her clipboard beneath one arm.
"Many participants worry about what comes next. They ask about later stages, they wonder what role they’ll receive, what rewards they’ll get and what their future in Paradise will look like."
Her smile remained gentle, but her eyes were steady.
"But none of those questions can be answered until Stage One is complete. Because Stage One establishes the foundation upon which every remaining Procedure is built."
She glanced slowly around the room.
"The role you’re offered, the responsibilities you’re trusted with and even how others within Paradise come to know you. So don’t think about tomorrow. Think about today."
A participant raised his hand.
"So... if we do well today... everything else becomes easier?"
She smiled.
"That’s one way to think about it."
Another hand shot up almost immediately.
"And if we do badly?"
For the first time, her smile became just a little more mysterious.
"Then Paradise simply learns something different about you."
Nobody laughed. She quickly brightened again.
"But don’t overthink it. It’s a conversation. Answer honestly. Trust the process. And before you know it... you’ll be wondering why you were nervous in the first place."
A few nervous chuckles answered her. She nodded toward the large door at the front of the chamber.
"In a few moments, participants will be called one by one. When your name is announced, calmly make your way through that door. There will be someone waiting to guide you."
She took one final look around the room.
"Relax. Breathe. And welcome to the beginning of your journey once again."
She smiled brightly.
"Let... the Procedures begin."
Cheers erupted throughout the room. Some people clapped, while others exchanged excited or anxious looks. A few simply stared at the door as if it might open on its own.
Jisung didn’t hear any of it.
His eyes remained fixed on the translucent blue window hanging in front of him. His blood ran cold.
He glanced around quickly and back to the system message.
’Is this... another Awakening Trial?’
He swallowed hard. Slowly and carefully, he looked back at the screen.
[DIARY SESSION - #UNCLASSIFIED]
[PARTICIPANT 34 YU JISUNG
MISSION: Tell a truth and not a lie.
Throughout your Diary Session, you will answer seven questions. Each question grants three opportunities to answer truthfully. Every false answer consumes one opportunity. Exhaust all three opportunities for a single question and the corresponding penalty will be enforced.
TIME LIMIT: Until Diary Session concludes.
DIFFICULTY: C
PENALTY: —
REWARD: 2,000 Coins]
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Author’s Note: If you’re enjoying the novel, don’t forget to add it to your library and show some support. It really helps!
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