Weeks passed by, and it was already September. Athelstan and Vladislav had reached the peak of the Channeller stage. Vladislav was already six years old and had grown much stronger.
Jian increased his strength to that of an Initiate Adept in their sparring sessions. You can already guess—they got beaten up badly.
The day when they would awaken their elements had arrived.
Vladislav walked with Athelstan towards the hall for the awakening ceremony.
They both wore elegant clothes.
Vladislav wore a black long-sleeve shirt that hugged his skin perfectly and showed his growing muscles, along with black pants and shoes of fine leather.
Athelstan wore a black jacket with golden stripes and a white shirt underneath. He too wore black pants made of smooth wool, and his shoes were white.
"You're looking good, brother," Athelstan said as he looked at Vladislav up and down.
"Thanks, can't say the same about you; you went all out," Vladislav smiled.
"You never know, there might be a fine girl at the ceremony," he winked.
"You're bald down there, so stop thinking about girls," Vladislav said.
"Takes one to know one, you bastard", Athelstan replied.
"Shut up," Vladislav replied in a low tone while Athelstan laughed at his reaction.
They bickered a bit more for a while.
They continued their light bickering until they reached the massive doors of the hall. The guards bowed respectfully, greeted them, and opened the doors.
"I wonder what elements I'll awaken. I hope it's something cool," Athelstan said.
"Yeah, me too," Vladislav replied.
After that, they stepped into the hall.
The hall was huge. Both sides of the hall were filled with people in the seats.
They all had the Schatten crest on their chests.
They exuded a heavy pressure on both of them—not to scare them, but to test them.
They both felt the pressure. It was suffocating and unbearable.
Shit. What kind of adults release their aura against kids? Are they trying to kill us or what? Vladislav thought.
Vladislav and Athelstan reinforced their bodies with mana, reducing the pressure on them.
They took a deep breath and walked forward.
The family members, seeing that they started walking despite their auras being released, smiled, nodded in approval, and stopped releasing their auras.
They both felt the pressure disappearing and kept walking. Soon they reached the end of the hall where Vladimir was seated high above on his throne with a serious face.
On his right was their mother, who had a wide grin on her face, and on his left was their grandmother, who waved at them. On the lower seats were Mikhail, Jian, Asa, and Leon.
Asa had a terrifying grin on her face as she looked at Vladislav.
Thinking about it, she has been too quiet since that 'day'. She never said anything about what I did for her for two straight months. That grin tells me she's probably planning something terrible to get back at me. Shit, just leave for the Schatten camp already! Vladislav thought.
Athelstan and Vladislav got on their knees and bowed.
"Greetings, Father, Mother, Grandmother, and everyone," they spoke in unison.
"Rise," Vladimir said.
"We are all here to witness the awakening of your elements and the birth of a new generation. You are the young ones responsible for continuing the legacy of our family, just as I did when I was younger and as I am doing right now until I pass the baton to you. This doesn't only include you two; it also applies to Asa and Leon and all the young generation of our family," Vladimir said.
Vladislav, Athelstan, Asa, Leon, and the other children nodded and bowed in understanding.
"It's good that you all understand. Now, Vladislav and Athelstan, move forward. We expect good results," he finished.
Then, out of nowhere, a table with an orb materialized and a woman appeared too. She had dark violet hair and purple slit eyes under her glasses. It was Lady Umbra.
The family members bowed when they saw her, and even Vladimir gave a slight bow.
That shocked Vladislav and Athelstan since they always thought she was only a librarian.
It seems she's some important person. I always thought she was just a librarian. I guess she must have a very important role in the family for even Father to bow to her. Vladislav thought, looking at the scene.
Lady Umbra spoke as she smiled at them, "Come closer to the orb." She gestured towards the crystal orb.
They both moved closer.
"Who's going first?" she asked while looking at the two.
"I'll go first," Athelstan stepped forward.
"You just have to touch the orb and then inject your mana. The crystal orb will resonate with your core and awaken your dormant affinity, so don't panic when the mana is sucked by the orb and then injected back into you. It shows different colours for different elements, and it shows blank if you don't have an affinity or if you still need time to awaken it." Lady Umbra instructed.
Athelstan nodded and touched the orb with his hand.
"I wonder what element they will awaken," the family members murmured.
"Probably the same as the family head," someone said.
Athelstan inserted his mana into the orb. The orb lit up with a white colour, and Athelstan felt his mana being sucked dry.
C'mon, you can do it, brother. Vladislav cheered for him inside his head.
And then—
The orb turned purple. The purple light lit up the hall. Athelstan's body crackled with purple lightning, looking breathtaking.
The crowd cheered.
"Let's go! Purple lightning!" someone screamed.
"I told you he would take after the family head," another voice said.
But before they could continue, the colour of the orb changed.
It turned colourless.
Then time froze where Athelstan stood, and then it turned back to normal.
Everyone who didn't pay close attention wouldn't have noticed time shifting where Athelstan stood, but those who did had their eyes wide open and mouths agape. That included Vladislav, Mary, Mikhail, Joan, and Leon who rarely showed an expression had his eyes wide open. Geneviève smiled, expecting nothing less of her son, and Vladimir smiled as well, his hands clenched the throne's armrests, making them crack slightly.
"As expected of my son," his voice echoed through the hall.
"Congratulations, At," Vladislav said as he looked at Athelstan warmly.
Hearing praise from both his father and his brother made him smile brightly.
Lady Umbra looked at him with a smile.
"No way, the time element? That's crazy!" the crowd screamed.
"He's going to be a genius; dual elements are so broken because one of them is a rare element," someone said.
"Imagine if he awakened a thir—" the person couldn't even finish his sentence when suddenly the hall turned bright.
White light poured from Athelstan's body, lighting the hall. His eyes became white and light came out of them.
People covered their eyes from the light.
"Hahahaha, that's my nephew!!" Jian screamed as he stood up alongside the others.
"Woah!" the crowd screamed in happiness.
"He's going to raise the Schatten name even higher!"
Vladimir's hands trembled on his armrests as he smiled in happiness for his son. Geneviève held his hand firmly; hers were also shaking.
After that, Athelstan stepped back and walked back to where Vladislav stood with a grin on his face. Vladislav hugged him and patted his back. "Congratulations, little bro," he said.
"Thanks, brother," Athelstan replied with a smile. "Now it's your turn, show them what you got," Athelstan finished.
"Of course, can't let my younger brother outshine me or I'd die of embarrassment," Vladislav smiled and replied as he walked towards the orb.
"I expect great things from you," Lady Umbra said with a smirk.
"Of course," he nodded.
He looked at the orb.
Outside, he looked composed, but inside his heart was beating so fast. He was scared—scared that he wouldn't awaken as many elements as Athelstan or as good as his—but then he shook the feeling away.
Whatever the outcome, it won't stop me from moving forward.
The crowd now turned silent and watched him.
They had various thoughts.
What element would he awaken?
Would he awaken fewer elements than Athelstan?
Or would he be outshone by his younger brother?
Vladimir, on his throne, never doubted Vladislav. Whatever element he got, he wouldn't judge him, but he had a feeling—no, he knew he'd awaken something great, just like Athelstan.
"Come on, my baby," Geneviève's voice was soft as she spoke under her breath.
Jian thought, 'He already showed signs of awakening the lightning element before. Now I just wonder if he's going to awaken other elements.'
"C'mon, you bastard, I know you're going to awaken something good as well," Asa said as she clenched her hands into fists while looking at him.
Vladislav took a deep breath and looked at the orb.
He moved his hand and touched the orb.
For a couple of minutes, nothing happened.
"Isn't he taking too lon—"
Before whoever it was could have finished the sentence, Vladislav heard a voice in his head:
[[You are the true god.]] The Voice spoke.
'What—' He thought.
And then everyone trembled as the hall shook.
**************
A/N: idk why I keep writing 'ass' instead of 'Asa' lmao. Might as well just change her name to 'Ass'