At the very center of Emberstone Valley stood an arched altar, mysterious patterns carved across its surface, covering the entire valley.
Gradually, the blood moon in the sky slowly unveiled itself from behind the clouds, bathing the valley in crimson moonlight.
Under the blood-red moonlight, the mysterious patterns throughout the valley began lighting up one by one... until they were all glowing, and the altar radiated strange energy.
Elsa, the half-elf in charge of this awakening ceremony, looked solemn.
"It's time."
From her storage space, she pulled out a sealed scroll.
Murmuring under her breath: "...May the sacred fire's protection be with us!"
Her jade-like hands unsealed the scroll, and a pure white flame drifted down onto the altar.
"BOOM!"
The altar burst into flames, wreathed in pure white fire.
Seeing the altar successfully ignited, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and turned to address the apprentices below:
"The awakening ceremony has begun. You'll go up one by one in the predetermined order. The sacred fire will protect you."
Hearing Elsa's instructions, the apprentices below felt excitement mixed with nervousness. The first young man stepped onto the altar, and the pure white flames began gathering around him, guiding his spiritual awakening.
Before long, the pure white flames dispersed, and the young man walked down looking dejected—clearly, the awakening had failed.
This definitely threw cold water on everyone's excitement. They all kept praying silently that they'd succeed in their awakening...
Time quietly passed, and before they knew it, a third of the people had undergone the awakening ceremony, but still no one had completed their awakening.
"Captain, looks like this batch won't have any successful awakenings either."
Among the seven awakened ones overseeing this ceremony, a short half-elf spoke up.
"Don't let your guard down. Stay fully alert!"
Elsa's expression was serious. She had this nagging sense of crisis in her heart.
Just then, a strong girl in animal hide who had newly stepped onto the altar was surrounded by pure white flames.
A few moments later, all the pure white flames on the altar suddenly flared up dramatically.
"Finally, we have our first one."
A glimmer of joy flashed in the seven Psionics' eyes.
A moment later, the pure white flames returned to normal, revealing the girl who had successfully awakened.
The changes to her body were visible to the naked eye. Her already sturdy frame suddenly shot up to nearly six feet tall, as if she'd instantly matured from adolescence to adulthood. The muscles on her exposed arms radiated powerful strength, and her presence felt heavy and imposing.
"So this is Psionic awakening—like a completely different person!"
Carlos was amazed. Based on his past-life memories, he guessed this girl in animal hide had entered the Berserker pathway.
On the altar, the girl realized she'd successfully awakened and was overjoyed. She couldn't help but let out an excited roar, like a wild beast's howl that echoed throughout the valley.
After roaring, she held her head high and walked down with a proud expression.
"So this is awakening?"
Carlos maintained a calm expression, but his eyes couldn't help showing uncontrollable anticipation.
After Grace the animal hide girl successfully awakened, the few apprentices behind her felt hope rekindling in their eyes. One after another, they went up, then came down looking disappointed...
Finally, it was Kathy and Carlos's turn.
"Carlos, I'm so nervous."
Kathy didn't have much confidence in herself.
"It'll be fine. Believe in yourself—you'll definitely succeed in awakening."
She had succeeded in his past life, so barring any accidents, Kathy should succeed again in this life.
Carlos's firm confidence eased Kathy's nerves a bit. She bit her lip lightly.
"Carlos, I believe in you."
After saying that, she stood on her tiptoes and the young woman lightly pecked the young man's cheek, then mustered her courage and walked determinedly onto the altar.
Carlos wiped away the lingering moisture on his face with some distaste. His heart didn't skip a beat—she'd been pulling this trick since they were kids, and he was used to it by now.
"If I remember right, Kathy should be entering the Jungle pathway."
Just as Carlos had guessed, the pure white flames on the altar flared up, and Kathy had successfully awakened, causing quite a stir among the onlookers.
"Carlos! I did it!"
Kathy excitedly jumped down from the altar, her body now covered with a layer of golden fur and two cute little dog ears.
"Congratulations."
It just so happened that Carlos was next. He didn't have time to celebrate with Kathy and stepped onto the altar.
Immediately, the pure white flames in the altar blazed brightly, swirling around Carlos's body.
Carlos felt waves of strange power continuously flowing into his body, his soul being constantly elevated, gradually revealing its deepest essence...
Suddenly, a mysterious voice rang out in Carlos's mind:
[Awakening imminent, please select pathway]
In Carlos's soul vision, the success rates for various pathway awakenings appeared.
[Death Herald pathway: Awakening success rate 100%]
[Jungle pathway: Awakening success rate 10%—corrected to 100% by demigod mark]
[Concealer pathway: Awakening success rate 80%]
[Arcane pathway: Awakening success rate 75%]
...
[Watcher pathway: Awakening success rate 30%]
...
"The Jungle pathway awakening success rate is also 100%—that's the demigod mark's influence."
"As for the Death Herald pathway, what a coincidence. In my past life, 'I' entered this very path."
"Which pathway should I choose for awakening?"
Without much deliberation, Carlos decided on the Death Herald pathway.
In his previous life, in the virtual world, he had been one of the top Death Herald pathway players. He was extremely familiar with all the secrets and advancement methods of the Death Herald pathway, and he was confident he could reach the pinnacle again.
As for the Jungle pathway, he wasn't as familiar with it.
Plus, choosing the Death Herald pathway meant the demigod mark could grant Carlos any skill from the Jungle pathway—a huge advantage.
In "The Dark Era," Psionics only had the chance to awaken various skills once their spirituality reached certain thresholds. Generally speaking, the later the stage, the more powerful the awakened skills.
Conversely, if he chose the Jungle pathway, Carlos's initial advantages would be greatly reduced. At the very least, he wouldn't have the chance to acquire powerful late-stage skills from other pathways.
"Awaken Death Herald pathway!"
[Beginning awakening... awakening in progress...]
Carlos felt his soul and body intertwining and ascending once again, beginning to generate wisps of pale Death Herald energy. His skin took on a pallid hue—the result of Death Herald energy infusion.
[Awakening successful!]
[Name: Carlos Valois]
[Pathway: Death Herald pathway]
[Spirituality: 1 (0/1000)]
[Health: 150 (Constitution × 50)]
[Psionic Energy: 40 (Spirituality × 10 + Mental × 10)]
[Attributes: Strength 3/Speed 3/Constitution 3/Mental 3]
[Skills: None]
[Special: Demigod Mark (Jungle pathway)]
[Remaining Skill Points: 1; Remaining Attribute Points: 1]
"Every initial attribute reached 3 points!"
Carlos clenched his fist, sensing the powerful force within his body.
Ordinary Psionics, after awakening, would typically have one or two initial attributes reach 1 point, with the rest falling short of 1 point.
But Carlos's initial attributes were far superior, enough to match Psionics with spirituality levels of 3 or even 4.