Chương 31: Chapter 32: Awakening Ritual

I could taste the success at the tip of my tongue—or the more accurate expression would be, at the tip of my essence threads. Covered under the blanket, I fiddled with the Arcane Knot as flickers of green and blue light shimmered. With Arcane Acuity, Arcane Affinity and my mental attributes working in tandem, I found it easier to manipulate the mess of essence threads within the cube. But of course, there was a difference between easy and easier.

For the last couple of hours, I had been putting in incessant work, untangling the weave through the pattern I was only now beginning to see. It was way past my bedtime. Mum would kill me if she saw me like this. But I was at the very precipice of success, too close to simply give up. The Arcane Knot required me to manipulate all eight of my essence threads to make any headway in solving it.

My Fractal Sight did help with observing the imperfections in the knotted weave, giving me a fair shot at solving them with merely eight essence threads. However, the sheer amount of manipulation required to solve it was already barging towards my limit. I could weave a pair of threads without paying much attention. Four required a bit of conscious thought, while eight were at the very edge of my current capabilities. Thankfully, the process did not require me to manipulate all eight threads at all times.

For the most part, I had left six threads at an impasse while untangling the knots with two. Slowly, that one pair turned to two, and then three, until I finally found myself working with all eight of my essence threads as I moved closer to success. I was uncertain if solving the puzzle would give me any other benefit besides fine-tuning my control. Even if it didn't, the knots had become a challenge that I couldn't turn back from. I would literally get no sleep if I left it as it was right now.

And if I did leave it, all the work I had put in for the last couple of hours would be for nought. The knot would reset. True, I would have an easier time untangling it the next time, but that didn't mean it would be effortless. It wouldn't be effortless unless I had a couple of dozen essence threads under my control. One by one, seven threads of weave connected together in an incomplete form as I worked through to find the last string at an alarming pace.

I worked with a sure confidence that I could tell if I managed to find the perfect form. Fractal Sight not only enabled me to see the intricacies at play—no, with my understanding of all things arcane and weave growing, I found I could somehow differentiate between what worked and what didn't. So much so that it felt as if I was becoming a little too obsessive about the perfect form, to the point of it being unhealthy. As it turned out, I could tell if what I found was a perfect weave.

The spell's voice confirmed it. [A new way is accessible: Empower I (1/10)] [Congratulations! Way of Essence Weaving IV (102/100) is complete.] [+4 Arcane Acuity] [+4 Arcane Affinity] [Way of Essence Weaving V (102/250) is now accessible.] Whoa! I took a sharp breath as the implications finally struck me. Without realising that it had been two hours since I completed the fourth layer of Essence Weaving, I emerged from the folds of the blanket with the vibrating cube in hand.

However, my whole attention was on the perfect weave I had untangled. Empower? That sounded like a skill to increase physical prowess, but without Enhancement-type essence, it should be impossible... Unless Empower was for shaping— Rays of light flickered from the cube, accompanied by a celebratory bell cuckooing, interrupting my thoughts. I quickly wrapped the cube with both palms, pushing it into the folds of the blanket to mute the noise. Unfortunately, I was already a little too late.

The door of my room burst open, and only then did I notice it was already bright. Mum barged in, not giving me enough time to hide under the blanket and feign sleep. I wanted to say this was an invasion of my privacy. But my case was still salvageable, considering how eerily close the time was to my usual waking hours.

"I just woke up," I said, with a nervous smile.

"A bit earlier than usual, but you know, it's a special day." She said nothing, holding a disapproving glance that made it clear she wasn't buying into anything I had to say. Mum stepped closer to the bed and held out her palm towards me. Averting my gaze, I sighed and handed her the device.

"You think just because you have essence you don't need to rest?"

"No," I said, not looking at her directly.

"Essence does stimulate your recovery," she answered, surprising me, "but not in the way you want it to."

"It's only one night," I said, sulking.

"And it will become your usual habit in no time if you aren't careful about it."

"Mum, you don't understand," I said.

"I had to."

"I do understand." She shook her head.

"You forget who made you the device. Sometimes I think all of this was a mistake. But you did solve one of them, didn't you?" I nodded. She exhaled.

"So, which one is it?"

"The spell says Empower," I said, cocking an eyebrow. Was there a chance to get something other than Empower?

"I should congratulate you, but that would only encourage you to push on with these unhealthy ways. Regrettably, I know full well what happens when you force a child." She sighed in defeat, clearly thinking this would take me away from her a little more as all my other practice did.

"I will never practise again after bedtime," I promised. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"We'll see," Mum said, narrowing her eyes. She probably had spiralled into a bad sleep cycle too many times to believe I could keep that promise.

"All right, the sun has just risen. Go take a bath, and you can go to the sacrarium after that." I blinked.

"Shouldn't I be sleeping right now?" The cube had drained a lot of my Will, and all the other work I did yesterday had left me a bit cranky.

"No, it will only mess with your sleep cycle. You will sleep earlier tonight to remedy that. You are relieved of sword practice for the day." I usually did not bathe before my physical training in the morning. But today was a special occasion. Other than it being solstice, it was also Eran's awakening day. If I were to go through the communal awakening ceremony, it would still have taken me another year. Thankfully, I was saved from that fate. Now it was Eran's turn, and also the turn of many of my other friends.

After draping on a fine tunic and easy trousers, I ran straight to his house, only to find his father there.

"They left for the temple some time ago," the man said. I thanked him and shot off towards the sacrarium. The sacrarium in Karmel was nothing like the sanctuary I had seen in the city. No, it was a withered stone chapel that perhaps had seen better days a century ago, back when Karmel Valley barely had a community as it did now. Folks from afar still visited every now and then, thinking it was a pilgrimage spot or a sanctum of historical importance.

After all, before the Empire, only nomadic tribes resided in Karmel Valley. The temple was large, though most of it was broken structures and columns. A stone arch with a broken top invited me in as I found a flock of people crowding around the space. The ceremony began at the break of dawn; half of it should have already finished by now. Forcing my way through the crowd, I found that not everyone was allowed inside the temple today, given the occasion.

Only the candidates of the right age and their closest relatives, parents or guardians, were permitted inside. With my tall stature for my age, I had no problem persuading the two guards to let me enter. The sheer number of people had already troubled them enough in keeping track of everyone's birth, allowing me to sneak in easily to find my friend. Eran had come with his ma. Standing in one corner with her, he looked more anxious than ever, his gaze constantly flickering around at the other kids.

I sneaked behind him and clapped him on the shoulder abruptly, whispering, "Boo!" into his ear. Eran jumped to his feet with a squeal.

"Never do that!" he cried. Soon, we became the centre of attention, before a stern voice echoed.

"Silence." I found an elderly man with muddy blond hair in a long white ceremonial robe. The sceptre adorned with sunstone gems and the fire insignia on his chest pointed him as a clergyman of the goddess Solas.

"Sorry, Sir Rector," we said in unison, bowing our heads. The man was not a resident of our town. He came every year during solstice to facilitate the ceremony. This year was no different. He shook his head and ushered the next child into the ceremonial chamber.

"Don't do that. I almost sh..." Eran didn't continue, clasping his mouth to stop himself from uttering a bad word inside the temple.

"Aren't you a year too young to go through the awakening ritual?" another voice chimed in as I turned to find blonde locks of hair and a diminutive figure standing under the shadow of Eran's mother.

"Who said I am here for my awakening?" I grinned. Diana raised her eyebrows, her lips parting to say something. I shushed her, raising a finger to my lips.

"Don't tell them. They would throw me out before I can see your awakening." Diana was there with her mother, but unlike Eran's nervous energy, she exhibited an air of anticipation. She looked like she couldn't wait to awaken, no matter what gift she received. A quick glance towards her mother told me why. Diana's mother didn't have any sign of spirituality on her, marking her as one of the common folks. That made Diana the first in her family to have access to the Spell, unless her father had been an awakened.

The boy who entered the awakening chamber returned in due time, with a reddish spark in his core and a huge grin plastered to his face.

"The smile says he awakened something good," Eran muttered. I could see the flickers of essence on his body, though the pathways were not as prominent as they would be within someone who practised Essence Unification or any other essence arts. I could see the weave of his gift too, however, I was not experienced enough in discerning them to tell what it was. Thankfully, we did not have to wait, as the boy announced it himself.

"I succeeded!" the boy shouted with childish glee, raising a fist.

"I received Harden." The Rector told the boy and his parents to celebrate outside and make room for the others. They quickly exited amidst the congratulatory words of others.

"One of the more common gifts," Eran muttered, his eyes lingering on the boy.

"I wouldn't even complain if I got that."

"Of course, you wouldn't," Diana whispered. Harden was common, but that didn't make it any less efficient. Who wouldn't want to have ample strength and high endurance, and the ability to toughen your skin as hard as a stone?

"You wanted it too?"

"I wouldn't say no," Diana chimed. I could see the nervousness in her too, though she had hidden it better than my best friend did.

"Well, you don't have to wait no more," her mother said, her accent thicker than her child's. Patting Diana on the shoulder, she pushed her towards the waiting Rector.

"It's your turn now."

"Good luck," Eran and I said in unison as her figure disappeared into the chamber.

"My turn is up next," Eran said, his palm red and white from clenching. His mother patted him on the shoulder, easing him a bit.

"You will do fine," I assured him.

"Remember, there is no inferior gift, only inferior people and trainers." The awakening process required one to stand still, arms raised to a large metallic stele where many different runes were carved. The process should only take a few moments and cause a couple of minutes of disorientation for it to complete. A vast difference from my own awakening, which took hours, and if I counted all the time it required of me to practise Essence Unification, then perhaps months would be the right answer.

Seconds after she was gone, Diana strolled out of the chamber with a measured look on her face, her lips pressed into a thin line. Everyone was looking at her, but she expressed nothing like the kid before her did. While a few began to pat her shoulder, offering comfort or words to alleviate her pain, I saw a deep surge of orange spark within. Even the spark of her weave was more prominent.

"Sweetheart, how did it go?" her mother asked, a deluge of emotions playing on her face. Diana crept towards us and failed to remain calm. Soon her lips curved upwards in a grin that reached her eyes, her expression was one of glee.

"You succeeded! What did you get?"

"I did," she answered, hugging her.

"Mama, I'm a Shaper!" she shouted for the whole room to hear. Gasps of surprise and incredulity filled the crowd, and they forgot to even congratulate her. When they did, Diana was already in her mother's arms, squished so tight that it became hard for her to breathe. The Rector let them have their moment of celebration before reminding them of propriety. Eran was called up as he was next in line.

"Remember, we love you, Moppet," his mother said as he took his first step.

"No matter what gift you awaken." I clapped him on the shoulder as the Rector ushered him to the chamber. As soon as his figure was hidden behind the hardwood door, a nervous air seized my shoulders. Although I believed he would acquire something good, something fitting for all the hard work he had put in, I could not stop myself from biting my finger. His mother was no better, her eyes closed, muttering prayers under her breath, her palms clasped on her chest.

I was not really pious—my mum did not raise me that way—but I still closed my eyes and offered a prayer for my friend. If the goddess listens to people, perhaps one more voice would be helpful in my friend's case, forgetting that whatever gift he awakened was something he was born with. But of course, offering a gift should not be impossible for a primordial being, though they were rarer than Fabled classes.

"Anyone here for Eran Stonecutter?" the Rector's voice cut through the air and woke both of us from our prayers. I opened my eyes to find the elderly clergyman alone as he came out of the chamber. Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the room behind him as I tried to find Eran's figure.

"What happened to my boy?" his mother cried, moving a few steps forward. Without answering, the holy man gestured for her to enter the chamber. His pensive gaze didn't inspire any confidence. I waited in unrest. My left leg fidgeted, shuddering unwittingly; thankfully, they came out soon. Eran's mother, Risna Stonecutter, carried him out of the chamber, her expression a mask of worry.

"What happened to him?" The question crawled out of my lips as I crept closer.

"Is he all right?"

"He will be fine," the Rector answered the question that everyone in the room was probably wondering.

"Just a bit more disoriented from the awakening." That looked far more than disorientation. But then, in my eyes, I saw a spark of deep red and a weave so complicated that I couldn't make heads or tails of it. But as the Rector said, I didn't find anything overtly wrong with him. Hopefully, Eran will be fine.... End of Part I of Book One