Suddenly, a solemn hush fell over the courtyard as an elder stepped forward onto the central stage.
The elder was an imposing figure in his late sixties, with a deeply weathered face, sharp, piercing eyes, and a long, silver beard that cascaded down his chest.
he was a Rank two Mage, yet his eyes held an unfathomably deep knowledge, as though he had witnessed countless mysteries of the world..
Raising his hands, his deep, resonant voice echoed across the massive hall. "Silence! The Element Awakening Ceremony is about to commence!"
With a flick of his wrist, a velvet pouch materialized in his palm, overflowing with hundreds of glowing wooden beads.
"Every five-year-old child present today will draw a lot," the elder announced, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
"Inscribed on each of these beads is a sequential number. With over three hundred children gathered here today, you will step onto the platform strictly in numerical order."
With a sudden sweep of mana, he tossed the pouch into the air. The glowing beads scattered like a shower of falling stars, floating gracefully through the courtyard until a single bead descended precisely into the palm of every child.
Arthur and Ethan caught their respective beads as well.
Ethan glanced down at his palm. Inscribed on his wooden bead was the number 49. Turning to his younger brother, he saw that Arthur’s bead bore the number 27.
A cold, knowing smirk touched the corner of Ethan’s lips.
Just like my past life, he thought quietly, a chilling glint in his eyes. Not a single thing has changed.
"Whose bead bears the number one?" the elder’s voice boomed across the hall.
A tense hush fell over the courtyard as children and parents alike began glancing around, searching the crowd to see who held the first lot.
Moments later, a ten-year-old boy stepped out from the crowd. He was dressed in simple, worn-out black garments.
With a heavy, anxious heart, he made his way forward and climbed up onto the central circular awakening platform.
Following the elder’s stern command, the boy sat down cross-legged right at the dead center of the platform.
"Begin sensing the ambient mana around you," the elder instructed.
Being ten years old, this boy was making his second and final attempt at awakening; having experienced the process once before in his earlier years, he knew the routine well.
Closing his eyes, he immediately began drawing the surrounding mana toward himself, pulling it deep into his lungs through rhythmic inhalations.
At a hand gesture from the elder, an attendant dressed in simple ceremonial robes stepped forward, carrying a small glass vial filled with a shimmering, multi-colored liquid.
This special concoction had been brewed using the crushed leaves of twelve sacred trees, each representing one of the twelve elemental paths.
The attendant handed the vial to the boy, who quickly drank it down.
The moment the liquid hit his stomach, a violent shockwave of energy coursed through his entire body. His skin flushed crimson as his core temperature skyrocketed, the powerful potion forcing his latent spiritual pathways open.
"Focus on your breathing!" the elder warned sharply. "Do not let the mana slip away!"
The boy gritted his teeth, shifting back into a concentrated mana-breathing.
As the elder and the attendants stepped back to give him space, a faint, wispy blue aura began to materialize around the boy’s frame, though the surrounding mana still appeared unstable and scattered.
Boom!
A sudden, weak pulse of mana erupted from his body. However, the shockwave was far too feeble; not a single one of the twelve towering elemental monoliths surrounding the platform so much as quivered.
Seeing the motionless pillars, the color drained completely from the boy’s face, turning it ashen and pale. A sharp spasm racked his chest, and a mouthful of dark blood spilled past his lips.
The elder shook his head heavily. "You have failed to awaken an element. Your attempt is a failure."
Before the boy could even slump entirely to the ground, two attendants rushed forward, lifting his unconscious, trembling body and carrying him away from the platform.
"Next! Number two!" the elder called out.
A small five-year-old girl stepped forward. She wore a bright, canary-yellow dress, and her raven-black hair was tied up into two playful pigtails that bounced with every step.
She possessed a remarkably cute, doll-like face, though her striking, ruby-red eyes instantly set her apart from the ordinary children.
As she hurried toward the platform, she tripped slightly on the stone step, nearly taking a nasty spill before catching her balance at the last second.
Blushing softly, she managed to climb up properly and sat down cross-legged at the center.
Following the standard procedure, the elder handed her the elemental potion.
She drank it down quickly, and within moments, her delicate skin flushed red as her body temperature spiked, forcing her spiritual pathways open.
She closed her eyes tightly, desperately drawing in the surrounding mana. But a few agonizing moments later, when the mana wave finally burst from her small frame, absolute stillness followed.
Not a single stone reacted.
She had failed to awaken any element.
A crushing wave of disappointment washed over her face, turning her complexion deathly pale.
As the little girl slumped in failure, the parents who had brought her suddenly stepped forward, their faces twisting into expressions of bitter disgust.
"Useless," the man spat, glaring down at her with open hatred. "I told you adopting an orphan from the slums was a waste of time and money. Our damn rotten luck! We thought a healthy-looking brat like her would at least manage to awaken some basic element."
The woman crossed her arms, her voice sharp with venom. "Such a massive disappointment. What a complete waste of our coin."
Hearing the harsh, cruel words of the people she had called family, the little girl burst into tears, her heart shattering all over again.
She had been nothing more than an investment to them—taken in under the selfish hope that if she miraculously awakened her mana, they could exploit her success for wealth. Now that she had failed, their masked affection instantly evaporated into cruel abandonment.
"Shut your filthy mouths and stop your pathetic whining."
A cold, authoritative voice cut sharply through the air. The adoptive parents froze, turning around in absolute shock to see Ethan stepping forward, his eyes burning with an icy glare.
Because of the fierce mana backlash, a thin trail of blood was still trickling down the corner of the little girl’s lips.
Ignoring the gasps of the crowd, Ethan walked straight up to her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, fragrant medicinal pill. It was a high-grade vitality pill—something his father, the town’s wealthy mayor, kept stocked in their estate for emergencies.
Kneeling down, Ethan pressed the green pill into her trembling hand. "Eat this."
Trusting him implicitly, the girl swallowed the pill. Within seconds, the soothing medicinal energy washed through her core, instantly easing the sharp pains of the backlash. She looked up at Ethan through teary, bloodshot eyes, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you..."
Ethan gently placed a hand on her head, offering a soft, reassuring pat. "Don’t worry about them, and stop crying. You don’t need to stress over this failure today. I am entirely certain that when you turn ten, you will awaken a powerful element."
Hearing those kind, encouraging words from someone she barely knew, fresh tears spilled from her ruby-red eyes, but this time, they were tears of overwhelming touched emotion.