"Hello, lost souls. My name is Aurora. My purpose for being here is to guide you onto the path in a new world."
Her voice resonated with sincerity and warmth across the entirety of the class, delivering a sense of peace and home to the students.
Dusty turned his head and looked around. The space was pure white, stretching on forever with no horizon in sight.
An eerie silence fell over the students as Aurora smiled gently. "This place," she began, her voice reverberating in the vast white expanse, "is The Above. A dimension where life and death converge, a temporary realm where anything is possible."
As the angel spread her arms, as if welcoming them with a warm embrace, she spoke, "Each of you has been selected," she continued, her eyes gleaming with gentle light, "to travel on a journey to save a world in peril. A journey that will present many dangers you must face."
Dusty's gaze narrowed, and his jaw tightened. Though the angel appeared to have good intentions, if the Underworld had taught him one thing, it was that when something seems too good to be true, there is often a catch. The sweetness of the angel's words felt almost... too perfect? He scanned her face, looking for a hint of deceit, falsehood, a lie, something that lurked beneath her kind exterior. Her perfect smile felt wrong to him.
Dusty couldn't shake the feeling that this seemingly benevolent guide might be leading him somewhere far more dangerous and deadly than the Underworld.
Unable to contain his skepticism, Dusty let out a sarcastic snort. "Seriously? And how exactly do you expect a bunch of teenagers to, you know, save an entire world?" He noticed the sharp glare the angel was giving him and realized he had spoken a little too freely. "I mean," he quickly amended, trying not to lose his cool, "what's the plan exactly? Group projects? Because, honestly, I'm not exactly the most collaborative type of guy." He shot a sharp look back at the angel, gauging her reaction.
Suddenly, a classmate stepped forward, his confidence befitting his role in the class. "Hello," coughed Mark, the class president, trying to pull himself together, "I would like to apologize for my classmate's rudeness and-"
Before he could continue, a smooth and warm voice cut through the air. "Indeed, hello. As I stated earlier, you have all been chosen for a great task," the angel announced, her voice rippling in the endless white space.
"To save the world, you will be granted magical abilities to aid you in this challenge. These abilities will be given to you upon your arrival in the new world. They will be unique and personally tailored to each of you."
Dusty, ever the pragmatist, remained silent, his eyes fixed on the angel as if he were dissecting her every word. The others, however, had not yet realized how intimidating the angel could be and were less restrained.
A collective gasp swept through the students. This time, a different voice broke the silence, the desperation clear in his words, "How do we get back home?!" The question voiced the unspoken fear that was slowly dawning on the class. Anxious heads nodded in agreement, the initial appeal of the situation quickly turning into a matter of life or death.
Just seconds later, the angel's response came in an unnaturally calm voice: "I'm afraid I cannot help you at this time."
The different voice returned, "What happens to those who are unable to defend themselves?" His name was Alistair. It was a unique name, yet it represented him perfectly. He was a righteous defender of the weak, having aided the previous Dusty on various occasions to avoid bullying, yet he had only just entered class when the flash occurred.
"I'm not the one who decides that; fate is. I suppose Death in combat is the most likely outcome."
This statement hit like a truck. Their sheltered lives, having never experienced suffering, death, or war, didn't prepare them for such a harsh reality. Alistair stepped forward with an unexpected resolve, "If I get a powerful ability, I'll protect all of you! We're in this together!" His words ignited a spark of hope within the students. Cheers erupted; he had successfully motivated them all to move forward. Something that could only be described as a newfound courage.
"Hell yeah!" one shouted. "We got this, guys!" another chimed in. "We can do it!"
The angel raised her right hand, silencing the cries of hope. Her voice, now devoid of warmth, "It is time for you all to go. I have one final warning: among you is a demon. It's kill or be killed. Life or death. Survive. I wish you all good luck." The words would have sparked accusations left and right, but with a final wave of her hand, the white void around them began to crack and fracture into small fragments.
As the fragments fell, a black void came into view. A wave of terror washed over them as the ground itself crumbled before their eyes. Screams rippled through the air.
Dusty slowly felt himself getting unusually tired. He tried his best to keep his eyes open, but it was of no use.
He found himself falling.
And falling.
After what seemed like an eternity, everything faded to black.
The students, pulled into an oblivion of the unknown, disappeared.