Outside the Ceremonial Sanctuary.
A gray mist showed everything happening in the cave; it was observational magic, and its projected image was sharp.
The young masters, the wives, the elders, and the clan leader stood silently, attentively watching what was happening inside the shrine.
There was the perfect image of Kael walking along the river toward the torii gates with an indifferent expression.
The white lotus flowers, floating on the crystal clear jade green river, illuminated the cave with a white glow.
The clan elders, who seemed to be part of the Inner Council, began to murmur expectantly.
"More than forty lotuses have already been enlightened. Your talent may be A-rank, like the other young masters."
"That's right, though he may not have the characteristics of a Medici, his blood is. Through his body runs one of the finest bloodlines in this realm."
"Kekeke, it seems that the patriarch's last son is also brimming with talent. With this, we need not worry about the future of the clan, with so many talented young masters."
"But according to reports about the seventh young master, they said he was spineless. It seems it was all an act. How could someone with Medici blood running through his veins be so pitiful?"
At that moment, the clan elders fell silent at the sight of the burning lotuses.
Sixty-seven... seventy-five... seventy-six... seventy-seven... seventy-nine lit lotuses....
"Impossible!" cried the first young master and the fourth young master in unison, incredulous and full of shock as they looked at the mist that showed the interior of the shrine.
...
The icy water of the river hit hard against Kael's legs, stopping just below his knees. The cold bit into his skin, but he remained still, focused.
Then he closed his eyes.
In that instant, something changed.
An intense pressure welled up deep inside him, just below his abdomen, as if a second heart began to beat. It was rough at first, almost painful, like a crystal being formed from its essence. But then... a warmth expanded.
His consciousness was pulled inward, into that newborn space.
Empty.
Before him rose a chamber of pure crystal, infinite and geometric. The walls, the floor glowed with a bluish transparency.
But then, in the center of that wasteland, a flash.
A drop of silvery light appeared, suspended in the air like living mercury. It glowed once, twice... and then burst into a torrent of luminous filaments. Mana, argent, and dense as stellar liquid, began to flow, filling every corner of the core.
It was mana essence.
As he watched his core fill with silver-colored mana and coagulate into a sea, Kael knew that this was his sea of mana, formed by the essence that now flowed freely within him. With this, he had just entered the world of Magicians, Knights, and Zu Masters.
His consciousness came back to reality. Once again, he was in the jade-hued, crystal-clear river. However, something was not right.
Kael's vision became distorted. The emerald green of the water turned crimson, thick as blood. He looked down and... from its mouth emerged multiple black tentacles, wet and repulsive, writhing with a life of their own.
At this, he frowned. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It didn't feel like an illusion, but something visceral, tangible. The tentacles slithered over his body, sliding down his clothes, and stretched out into the sea, merging with it.
Then he understood: the walls of the cave had disappeared. Now he was in the middle of an ocean of blood under a sky tinged with scarlet red.
"Ninety-seven burning lotuses! Rank S! Rank S talent!" cried a voice, the voice of the old man who had led him there.
Everything returned to normal in the blink of an eye.
Kael remained motionless, his brow furrowed. The bad feeling wouldn't leave him. Something was not right. And now he was beginning to regret having agreed to use that Zu without first studying it thoroughly.
"Congratulations, young Kael!" shouted the clan elder, excitedly. Now, Kael was the second person to awaken an S rank in the Medici Clan of this generation.
Kael looked at the elder and asked, emerging from the river, "What is my talent?"
The old man, excited, replied, "Kael, you just got a rank S. You lit ninety-seven lotuses, which means your talent is rank S!"
S-rank, very different from my past life. The difference is like heaven and earth. It seems that the system limited a part of my talent, so the S rank was shown. Kale knew that the system had influenced.
"Young Kael, follow me. Now that you have created your mana core, we need to leave the ceremonial shrine," said the clan elder.
The two left the cave and exited the ceremonial sanctuary, where the elders of the Inner Clan Council, the young masters, the wives of the clan leader, and Zephyr looked at Kael with different emotions.
However, Kael's expression showed no emotion. His eyes, dark as the abyss, were calm as a lake, but shone with a dark light.
"With this, the Awakening Ceremony is terminated," Zephyr announced in a cold tone, and added, looking at his son, "Now that you have awakened, you may leave the mansion. You can also enter the family vault and choose which technique you want to practice, either sword or magic. There are also the Zu."
"I understand, father," Kael said in a neutral voice, staring at his father. Now that he had awakened his mana core, he had to get his plans in motion.
And he was somewhat curious about what was in the vault, since in his past life, he was unable to enter due to his mediocre talent.
Zephyr smiled slightly at his son's attitude, as he thought:
This is what the attitude of someone destined for greatness should be like: to be above everyone else.
If only he knew that Kael didn't care about honor, greatness, or any kind of attachment. In his heart, there was only one goal: to reach the Divine Throne.
"You may all return to your chores. Son, tomorrow one of the elders will come for you to enter the vault and choose three items," declared the patriarch.
After his words, everyone began to leave the ceremonial sanctuary. Kael walked beside his mother, who was silently crying with happiness.
Alessia could not believe that her son had S-rank talent, but she also felt concerned. She had sensed the looks of anger and hatred directed towards them. With this, she knew that their status within the Clan had completely changed.
Not long after, Kael was back in his room. He had ignored all the false flattery of the elders and his stepmother.
His mind was on the hallucination he had after his mana core was formed. In his past life, he didn't know much about the powers of the Zu Masters, so he didn't have much information.
But now he had a rough idea, and it was that they were not as easy as he had previously thought.
Well, I already have my mana core. So I can put my plans into motion.
Kael sorted through his thoughts and checked his profile for changes in his status.
Kael Medici
Title: Strayed Demon.
Talent: SSS.
Mana Core: Awakened.
Rank: 9
Traits: Refinement (A), Swordsmanship (A) Melee (S), Tamer (C)...
Strength: 33 +
Endurance: 31+
Agility: 31 +
Vitality: 60 +
Mana Capacity: 97%
Stat points: 119