Free Web NovelChapter 11: The Awakening
A gigantic gray crystal stood at the center of the castle’s open courtyard, rising from the stone floor like a jagged shard of frozen thunder. Its surface was smooth yet fractured, veined with silver lines that pulsed faintly, like a slow, sleeping heartbeat.
Lucien’s figure, alongside Seraphina and the three men, appeared before the crystal.
"First, we need to check your talent. So we can know what we can train on," Seraphina said as they stood before the gray crystal.
This was the Awakening Crystal, a medium through which talents were manifested.
Every race, at the age of thirteen to fourteen, went through this process called the Awakening Ceremony.
There were different talents that could be awakened: Origin Physique, Origin Bloodline, Origin Elements, and Origin Soul.
Some powerful Origin Bloodlines could mutually awaken Origin Elements, Origin Souls, and Origin Physiques. But they wouldn’t be as strong as the bloodline itself; only in rare situations, with certain bloodlines, could they rival it.
Lucien looked at the same crystal, only slightly bigger, responsible for his three failures.
But this time, his lips curled up into a strange smile.
"It’s better to use some runes to conceal this, or this castle might be overcrowded," Lucien said confidently.
The three men frowned at Lucien’s words, but Seraphina chuckled.
Lucien had basis for his confidence, and the reason was his Gacha rewards from the system.
He placed his hands on the gray crystal. A warm energy entered his body.
Ding!
[Detecting an unknown energy scanning Host’s body. Detecting the situation Host is in.]
[Activating fifty percent of the Primordial Anchor Body’s concealing feature.]
Hearing and reading the system notification made him grin.
Seraphina and the others waited, but seconds passed with no result.
"Is it me, or aren’t you guys feeling the atmosphere is getting hotter?" Seraphina questioned, her eyebrows creased at the unknown phenomenon.
That was when they finally noticed something was wrong.
BOOM!
A loud explosion resounded, and what they looked at caused them to freeze.
The gray crystal had turned into a flaming crystal. A pillar of flame erupted, piercing through the castle into the sky, a blazing column of molten fire that clawed at the heavens, its heat warping the air around it.
They were shocked. Seraphina quickly made her move, bringing out a rune with a strange character etched into its surface, ancient and intricate, pulsing with a faint golden light.
The rune shone with brilliant golden light, then dissolved into countless particles that scattered like fireflies in the wind.
All around the mansion, a barrier appeared, covering the entire estate in a translucent dome of shimmering gold. This was what was able to stop the flaming pillar, containing its fury and holding it back from spreading further.
All the maids in the mansion were shocked by this, their eyes wide as they looked up, frozen in place as they witnessed the blazing pillar tearing through the sky above them.
"Empress, you used the Void Containment Rune," Kelvin said in shock. The rune was a rare and powerful artifact; they hadn’t expected Seraphina to use it just to conceal this.
All of a sudden, Seraphina’s gaze turned chilly. Her killing intent flared, making them shiver where they stood.
Kelvin froze, his mind racing as he wondered what he had done to anger the Empress.
"Empress..." Seraphina mouthed the word slowly, deliberately, each syllable dripping with cold warning.
It was then Kelvin realized his error. He forced a smile, bowing his head. "Young Miss, I deserve punishment."
Seraphina’s killing intent withdrew, dismissing him without another word. Her attention shifted to Lucien, who stood before the awakening crystal.
It seems he hadn’t heard, she thought, a flicker of relief passing through her.
"You will face your punishment later," she said, her tone flat. Her words made Kelvin sweat, realizing he had stepped into trouble.
The flaming pillar slowly died down, its fury fading into embers that scattered into the air. But then, a strange vision appeared.
It felt like a starry sky, but what they were seeing weren’t stars. They were something similar, each one a deep, burning red, glowing with intense, pulsing energy.
The vision appeared for only a split second, but it didn’t escape anyone’s eyes. It left them all confused, frozen in the aftermath of what they had just witnessed.
But the show was just beginning.
The crystal returned to its gray color. Seraphina and the others were filled with anticipation.
What Lucien awakened first was the Origin Element. And from the flames, it was a Fire Origin Element, blazing and untamed, radiating an intensity that made the air itself tremble.
As for one with such intense energy, they had never seen it before, except from the Empress.
Did this mean this young man possessed the same talent as their Empress, a Dragon-Phoenix?
The three men found it hard to believe, but the next scene was what truly shook their minds.
What they saw was a pair of gigantic eyes appearing over the awakening crystal.
Draconic. Domineering. It was like watching the universe being created and destroyed in an endless cycle.
Only Seraphina could look at it. As for Darwin, Kelvin, and Ignis, they couldn’t; the pressure those eyes bore was beyond what they could withstand.
ROAR!
All it took was an ancient dragon chant. The pressure magnified, spreading throughout the mansion as if declaring its presence to the world.
Darwin and the others had to use their Origin powers to protect themselves. Only Seraphina bore the brunt of it.
As for the maids, the chefs, everyone in the mansion, the sudden pressure made them instantly fall to the ground, blood spilling from their mouths.
Those who tried to resist it with their strength received backlash. Only the strong were able to protect themselves against the pressure.
But everyone was alarmed, all wondering what was happening.
The pressure was contained by the barrier, locking it within the mansion.
Then the pressure began to decrease. When they thought it had ended, they began to hear shaking sounds.
They were confused, all looking for the source, only to see it was their weapons.
Swords. Knives. Daggers. Even those that had blades as part, spears, halberds, glaives. They were all shaking.
"My Armament!" This cry resounded through the mansion. Those close looked at the person, only to see an armoured man staring at the sky, as if his love had been stolen.
When they followed his gaze, they saw his weapon, a sword, had flown into the sky.
It wasn’t only his. Within seconds, their armaments had flown from their sheaths.
For those holding spears, halberds, and the like, they tried desperately to hold their armaments down, but all they could do was watch as they left their grasp and soared into the sky.
Tragic cries resounded throughout the castle, everyone wondering what sorcery this was.
These cries alarmed everyone in the castle, including Seraphina and the three men with her.
"What’s happening?" Kelvin muttered. Had an enemy attacked? They immediately became vigilant.
Suddenly, they felt everywhere was dark. Weren’t they in the afternoon?
It wasn’t supposed to be this dark.
They instinctively looked above them. But the scene above made them feel chills.
