Today's the day the first phase of Awakening Ritual would take place.
Me and mom make our way towards the main house hand-in-hand.
In these 6 months, she had been stuck by my side like glue.
"Nel, are you nervous?"
[Excited!]
"Of course you are. I have never seen you acting so giddy in your adorably small life."
'How could I not be excited? I am about to get superpowers only seen in fantasy!!'
"What's so good about gaining such powers anyway?"
[Create fireballs]
"You do know there's close to zero percent chance of you gaining that type of power, right?"
[BIG FIREBALLS!!]
"Arghh! Why am I even trying to reason with you?"
'Well, even if it's not some fire-related ability, I would accept anything as long as it's practical and fun to use.'
Upon entering the hallway, we were greeted by many mother-children pairs just like us. Technically, they all are my aunts and siblings.
Many eyes fell upon us—more specifically, me.
"Mom look! That boy over there is completely white! He looks like a doll!"
"Why are his eyelids closed?"
"Is he sick? He looks so delicate."
Children—naturally innocent, curious beings without filters. My unique appearance would obviously draw their attention. If not for the serious occasion, I could imagine them jumping at me.
"SILENCE!!!!!"
A booming voice sent ripples across the hall; no one dared to speak after that.
"The concubines are to leave this hallway! The maids will guide you to your quarters. The children are to stay back!"
Confused muttering spread through the hallway.
"MOVE!!!"
Another ripple. This time, some concubines started to leave. Children, in their panic held onto them, but the pressure exuded by the announcer killed any resistance among them, leaving only silent sobs.
Some mothers still held on, but as the pressure continued to build, soon they too succumbed and left.
Only a handful of concubines remained—my mother being one of them.
The hand holding me is shaking, but she still holds on.
[Mom leave, it will be fine. Promise.]
At those words, she bends down and gives me a tight hug that lasted more than a minute. Then she stands up and slowly walks away with small steps.
With that, only children in the hallway remained.
"Good. Now! Follow me!"
We started following him through the broad hallway. I minded my steps to not collide with others.
Soon, we arrived before a wormhole portal.
"Coordinates are set! Step inside!"
We did just that.
Upon entering, the first sensation that greeted me was the pleasant coolness of wet, rocky land under my feet, accompanied by shallow water that reached slightly above my ankles.
I seem to have entered some dark enclosed cave.
How did I know it was a dark cave despite not being able to see?
"IT'S SO DARK HERE I CAN'T SEE!!!"
"MOM I AM SCARED!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
'Jeez guys. Stop losing your mind over losing your sight for a while. Your temporary is my lifetime.'
Children, being children, are naturally scared of this drastic change in environment. Their voices seem to echo, so I know it's an enclosed space.
"STAY QUIET!! STAND STILL IN YOUR PLACE UNTIL FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN!"
With those words, the cave was filled with pin-drop silence, as if the earlier cries had never happened.
Even I can't move my body.
'What the hell is this pressure!? I'm not scared of some guy shouting, so why does my body betray me? Even lifting a finger seems impossible!'
The only time I have felt such oppressive pressure was from the duke.
'This pressure must be some power or technique that beings of higher realm possess.'
Time went by as we all stood still.
"Welcome to your first phase of Awakening Ritual—Divine Awakening! Be grateful for the lifetime opportunity given to you!"
'Divine awakening? What's that?'
From the books I read, I know there are many ways one can awaken through different rituals—Blood Awakening, Affinity Awakening, Mutational Awakening, and many more. But nowhere was Divine Awakening ever mentioned.
"All 114 candidates present, good. Staff! You may begin!"
'What shall they begin?'
My question didn't last long, as the water that was barely above my feet started to rise, reaching up to my knees in no time, and it kept rising.
Struggling grunts could be heard from everywhere, but that's all the freedom that was allowed to us.
Water reached my belly, then chest, my mouth—and before I knew it, I was completely submerged.
'What type of sadistic torture is this!!'
Naturally, I couldn't breathe anymore.
Asphyxiated, my mind started to blur. Water entered my lungs, and consciousness was fading, on the verge of collapsing.
...Or it should have.
'My mind feels clear?'
Consciousness returned. My body feels light, weightless.
I opened my eyes to a white, cloudy space.
Wait! Opened my eyes? I CAN SEE!!!
I look at my arms—they seem transparent and ethereal.
'This is not my physical body. Am I a spirit now? Am I dead? Oh shit! Mom's gonna kill me if she finds out I died!'
My weird thoughts came to a halt when I felt presence—multiple presences.
When I looked around, hundreds—thousands—of beings started entering this cloudy domain.
Just like me, their bodies are spirit-like, but... they shine. There's this holy glow covering them. It's blinding, despite not having physical eyes to see.
They come close to me... and pass by to somewhere else.
'Am I being ignored?'
This goes on for minutes, maybe hours. My perception of time feels weird.
'I am bored.'
I started observing these beings more closely to pass time.
These presences appeared in all forms—of different shape, size, and color.
Some smaller than my thumb. Some larger than mountains.
Some giving serene vibes, some mysterious, and some bone-chilling terror.
They appear in all known spectrum of colors.
Most of them didn't even spare a glance at me, treating me like a roadside pebble.
'I'm no attention seeker, but being treated like this doesn't feel great.'
̸̨̫͖̱̱͎̯̖͙̣̥͖̣̑̏̀͌̿̉̐̈̓̔̉̀I̴̝̯͈͓̾̒̋̒̾̐̂͑̚̚͠n̴̡̨͍̺͖̭̹̜̙̋́̅̓͛̚͘͜t̶̡͉̫̻͖͚̼́́̂̇̇̑̀̾̉̓̄̍̌̂͘ͅȩ̸̡̺̭̲̦̳͇͇͍̀̇̿͌̒́͘͠r̸͕̠̹͓͔̠͈̜̓̅ͅę̷̨̣̘̖̦͓̠̭̈́̅̿̋͋̉̄̈́̂̚̕ͅš̴̢̥͇̘̣͍͉̪̹͍̮̗͉̒̓̽̊̀͂t̶̻̹̣̣̬̆̊͐̃̒̈͒̆ỉ̶̩͍͖̺̩̺͓̥̩̞̙̟̰̓̿̓̆́͝͝n̶̡͖͇̜̂̔͑̽͗̌̈́̍̎̈͘̚͠ḡ̸̡̪̹̯̭̱̫͍̩͔͔̞̒̓͑̀̆͂͗͜ͅ
"?????"
A 'presence' finally took notice of me, floating right in front of me.
'Did it call me interesting?'
Its voice was distorted and genderless, so it's hard to understand.
It looks vastly different from the other presences.
Its size, height, color, and shape... nothing.
It's not invinsible per se. I simply can't perceive what it is. It's in front of me, but it also doesn't feel anywhere near me.
'Is this what a 4th-dimensional being would look like?'
Ṱ̸̡̧̫͎̯͎̭̯̝̱̻͂̿̕͜ḧ̶̢͈͉̭̻̻͇̪̗͕́̐̎̔̃̏́̉͘͜͠ͅȋ̴̞̖̻̞͖̳̞̀̋͐̈́̏̒͠š̵̺̣̱̲̀͌̃̓͠͝ ̸̱͕̱͓̯̼̋̇̒s̷̡̛̓̉͐̑̂͒̈́̏͊͛̑͝ò̴̡̡̳̬̹̣̝̳̮̔̾͠ù̵͎̭̜̦͓̇̓͒͛̎̕̕ͅļ̴̼͍̥͔̉͊̈́͛͒͛̃͂̐͂̽̊̊͘͘ ̵̩͍͚̣͘ͅḑ̵̹̘̹̭͔͍̜̪̟͖͂̓̊̐ͅŏ̶̫͓̲̲̜̘͙̯͔̖̞͚̆̓̋̚e̷͚̗͑͌̅̓͂̈́̔̚͝ś̶̞͊́̂͆̃̍̈́͐̉̚̕͝n̸̢̳̰̩͔̥͎̘̈̀̃'̷̱̻̣̩͔͚͚̺̤̪̥͌̓̀͌̓̄̋͝t̸̛͔̪̭̗̣̒͂̒̈́ ̴̫͍͕̜͈̩̕b̴̡̺̱̟̲̤̉ȩ̸͕͈̼͉̿̓̑͑͋̍͊̀̀͝l̷̨̗͈̙͇̱̻̜̬̗̄̒͑̿̓̏̀͘ǫ̶̩̆͛̈́̆n̸̗̹̞͚̩͉͂̃͌̎̆ͅg̴̡̨̢͔͈̟͕̺̜̭͌̔͑̍̿͋̀ ̶̨̛̼̰̩̹̙̦͇͕̤͕̻͈̻̔͐̈́̒͝ḩ̸̞͈̈́͐̚͠ḙ̷̛͇̤̫͚̦͙̜͚̺̖̹̭̙͙͒́r̶̨̘͚̝̣̖̘̜̺̬̩̪͔̾̀̾̌̆̋̀̊́̓͑̍̆̚ę̶̛̗̗̫̻̲̩͚͔̱̹͍̞̺̀̈̿̑́̃͂͗̕ͅ.̸̨̥͈̗̏̒̅̆͒̂ ̷̨̨͉̗͖̗͇̻̰̣͇̝̻̮̊͜Ǐ̵̢͓̪͕͔̦t̸̯͙̙̲̺̮̤͇͖͛ ̴̧͕̜̳̅̃̓̒̒̌̿́̿̐͌͋͝w̸̢̢̡̤̻̞͙̫͚̖̹͆̓̍̆͋̑͌͐̉̑̓͑̕ͅi̵̛͕͙̲͉͔̣͌̄̑̒͆̀̀̾̆̏̈́̕͠l̶̡̼̼͇̼̩̰̃̎͒̀̊̈̈́̕l̴̡̛͙̲͎̗̩̰̠͎̟̱̺̀͗̈̆̐̉͂͒͗̈̑͂͠ ̴̡̧̳͎̞̻̗̭̝̬̣̩̖̎͐̍̏̅͘͜b̵̧̞͈͕̩͔͚͙́̒͆̅ë̸̹̯͍͚͎̮̰̰̼̺́̾́͒́́̿̓͐̃̕͝͠͝ ̶̡̡̡̲͙̦̝̱̪̟͎̲̪͌̊̉̊͜ͅf̸̛͉́̍͐̄̍̐͛̒̾̽̽͑̎̕ṵ̸̦̠̪͓̭͊̾͂̓͑̄̍͋͐̂̑̿͜͠͝͝n̶̨̨̼͍̖̼̰͙͌̂͘̚ͅͅ ̶̢̧̩̳̻̜͍͎̹̰̠̗͓̊̂̉̉̀̇ţ̷̢̤̣͍͔͈̪͇̥̺̱́̈́̏͛͊̃̓̄̓̈́͌̾̾͝o̴͙̦͎͐̉͝ͅ ̸͖̤̪̙̻͈̆͗̄̽͛̃̌̄s̴̡̛̻̱̞̣̮̯͍̗͖͈̩̪̒̈́̉̑̌̈̑̈́̂͘͜ͅê̸͈͋e̶̼̤͉̣̭̜̋̾͑̊̂̽̽̾̽ ̴̹̦͉̯̒̈̈̃̐͝w̶̡̡͙͉̮̭̥̩̲̤͖̻̘̿͛̎̊͑̑̆̏̀͂̽͌̓͝h̵̢̡̟̦̤͓̲̯̯̲͔̬̬͔͓̊́̀͋e̵͍̗͚̺͈̙̞͕̔̀̿̌̅͠ŗ̶̢͙̣̣̣̟̯̼͈̞̓̉̃̈̾̓͊͊̃͋̚͝͝e̵̠̭͑̇̈́̈́͂̈́̒̒̆͌͒͌͠ ̷̡̤̳̣̬͈͙͈̳͕̾̉ͅi̴͚̪̙̳̟̤̝͔͛̏͜ţ̶̢͔̙͉͔̣͋̏̋̀̏̕͠ ̸̢̢͈̺̻̣̱̞̄̑̌̐̄̀̾̿g̴̹͇̼̦̟̤̭̻̜̯̤̉͊͆͆͑ͅǫ̴̞̦͔͙̩͕̭͚̇͂̆͌͛̆̚̚ě̷̡̨̜̰̃̾̇͊̓̊s̷̛͚̺̺̲̤̝̓.̸̜͔͕̖͈̜̩̖̈̏͜
"...what?"
*****
Cough! Cough!
I found myself waking up in real world while violently coughing my heart out.
For some reason, no water came out like I expected, considering how much I had swallowed.
After a few minutes or so, I felt fine and stood on my feet. From the noise around me, it seems other children also started coming to their senses.
'What happened in that cloud domain?'
I remember observing the multiple glowing 'presence', then I found myself just waking up here.
Something definitely did happen in my final moments, but I can't remember.
'Sigh~ no use brainstorming over something far beyond my reach.'
"Activate the Synthesis Currents!!"
At the announcer's command, a light buzzing feeling was felt across my body. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable.
"Lukas! Your body is shining!"
A girl's voice came a few feet away from me, followed by several other gasps and similar reactions all around me.
'It seems some children are shining, just like the presences I saw in that cloud domain.'
"18 out of 114. Roughly 16% harvest. Not bad—much better than last generation's 7%."
The announcer commented.
The portal reappeared right after, and we found ourselves back in the mansion hall.
"Those marked, step forward."
"W-What's this?"
"My body is moving on its own!"
The 18 children were pulled from the crowd and stood in front.
"Congratulations! You've all been chosen by deities themselves! You have taken your first step at being Apostles of gods!"
"Only those with great aptitude and potential get chosen. Be grateful for the Duke's bloodline flowing through your veins! Even one among an entire city of commoners won't ever get chosen with their inferior bloodline. Always be proud of that blood!"
"Tattoo-like markings are left on your neck, signifying the markings of god. You now have the potential to reach great heights—nothing can limit you under the heavens!"
With that, the announcer stopped.
'He got actually passionate by the end of his speech. So... the glowing beings were actually gods?'
After sorting out my thoughts, a brief sense of disappointment came over me.
'I wasn't selected after all. Well, if aptitude is the primary factor of being chosen, one look at my body is all it takes to know why I wasn't.'
The announcer spoke again.
"Those not selected, don't feel everything is lost. You also have the potential to reach great heights—but through a different path than the path of the divine. Further instructions will be given later."
"That's it for today. Follow the maids—they will take you to the quarters your mothers reside in."
The hall grew noisy with excitement. Finally leaving this oppressive environment would make anyone happy.
"The 18 chosen are to stay to back."
Thump Thump Thump
Heavy metal boots thumping noise echoed through the hall.
"Meet the Templars, from this day on they shall be your only guardians and you will live under their care in Temple until you become capable of independence."
'Having to leave your mother at just 5 is quite sad. It makes me kind of glad for not being chosen.'
I continued on my way towards the quaters.
'Ouch!'
As I was walking, I felt an itching pain on my neck. I moved my hand to check and felt a scratch mark around the size of my nail.
'I don't remember scratching my neck... well, whatever.'
I didn't think much of it.
*****
While I was sad for not being selected, mother couldn't be happier.
She didn't show it outright, but a small smile never left her mouth.
Following that I didn't talk to her that day, no matter how much she begged.