Ferrum looked up at the morning sky, the sun shining brightly down on him.
Trees stood out in the distance with their green leaves, the lake pure blue, and the beasts lived peacefully on the plains.
Then a Phoenix flew by.
The Phoenix hovered above the boy before landing in front of him. Its body vanished and running towards him was a woman.
“Ferrum! What are you doing here? Everyone has been searching for you for hours!”
“Zera? What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember? Today is Randivo’s Awakening Ceremony. It starts in 30 minutes!”
“Oh. Right, then let us get going.”
Zera shook her head before muttering an incantation.
“With the flames of hell and eternity united, grant me the flames of Yurigan, Phoenix of the Immortal Hellfire.”
Suddenly her body glowed brightly and transformed into a Phoenix. Ferrum quickly mounted the Phoenix as they both took off.
“Soon, I’ll be a Mythic just like you two.” Ferrum said.
“Yes, hopefully you will possess a Legend! The chances may be low, but it is never impossible.”
Zera was what people would call a Mythic, people chosen to host the power of Myths. Commonly, most would host Elementals, creatures born of a specific element. Then there are those who possess Legendary type Myths. Only a small percentage can possess a Legendary type Myth and even then, if they do, it is difficult for them to control it. If one is not compatible or too weak willed as a Mythic, they will be controlled by the Spirit of their Myth.
Zera was a Legendary type Mythic. Her power is that of Yurigan, the Phoenix that fought in the old war. At the time of her Awakening Ceremony, the Phoenix and her were compatible and thus, she wields the full power of the Legendary Phoenix.
Humans awaken their Myths early on at the age of 15 to the late age of 18. Others awaken during the age they are considered teenagers or adults. There have been rare occasions where some awaken it as soon as they are born.
“So what Myth do you think Randivo will awaken?”
“I do not know, Ferrum. However, with the history of awakenings in the Shiron family, he will awaken a Legendary Myth.”
“That sounds nice. If only I shared blood with you guys.”
Ferrum was not related to the Shirons. Zera and Randivo’s father, who would raise him alongside his children, adopted him. Though an outsider at first, the people eventually accepted him as one of them.
After a while, the two flew above a village. The townspeople looked up and waved at them.
“Hello, Lady Zera!” a young boy yelled to them, waving as they flew by.
“Give Randivo a hello for me!”
Ferrum and Zera chuckled as both of them ascended the mountain towards a temple.
As they arrived, Zera reverted to her human form. The two landed as they rushed inside the temple.
At the entrance, they met with a woman dressed in a kimono. She looked at Zera and an angry look sparked in her eyes.
“Zera.” She said and Zera immediately stopped in her tracks.
“Y-yes, mother?”
“Why aren’t you dressed? The ceremony starts in 10 minutes. Hurry up and get changed, young lady!”
“Y-yes, mother!”
Zera quickly sprinted inside and Ferrum stood there idly. He slowly took a step forward until Zera’s mother stepped in front of him.
“Come with me, Ferrum.” She said before walking off.
Ferrum followed her to a room where the smell of incense filled the room. Ferrum looked over at Zera’s mother, who stood next to a portrait of a man.
“What are we doing here, mother?”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“My husband… your father wanted me to tell you that if he ever died, he wanted you to have this.”
She reached towards an amulet in the drawer and presented it to Ferrum. The amulet bore a violet crystal, which dimmed lightly. Ferrum took the amulet before putting it on.
“On that day when we rescued you, your… real father, who we presumed wore that amulet. Though I was against it, it was Gerui’s idea. Gerui has always said that bloodlines are important and that you need to always remember yours, even if you have little to no memory of them. You were only an infant.”
“Well, father was always considerate no matter what it was. I owe him my life.”
“And you will by attending this ceremony. Now get changed, young man, you have 5 minutes.”
Ferrum chuckled before leaving the room, not before giving prayers to Gerui, the man that adopted him.
After getting changed, Ferrum walked into a courtyard where many people surrounded a stage. Standing on top was Randivo, son of Gerui and soon to be Grandmaster of the Clara-Cordis.
“Just in time, aren’t yah!?”
Ferrum turned as Zera approached him. She wore a blue and amber colored kimono.
“Yeah, but don’t you think that we could’ve just done both ceremonies today or tomorrow? Why have one now when there will be another tomorrow?”
“The process of the Awakening Ceremony and the Coronation Ceremony is vastly different and would take too much time, if you include the party and the after party. Look, we just have today and tomorrow, then we can finally rest while brother has to do all the work.”
“I heard that!” Randivo yelled from the stage. The two snickered as time continued to pass.
Eventually, the ceremony officially began.
An old man walked up to Randivo and placed his palm on his head while two men dressed in ceremonial clothing chained him up.
“Who is he again?” Ferrum whispered to Zera, the latter facepalmed.
“That’s the Oracle! She and her ancestors are the ones that see the Awakening Ceremony through. It’s how dad awoke his Myth. She is to make sure that the Myth we awaken is compatible with our body, otherwise she will delay the awakening.”
“She can do that?”
“Yeah, but don’t get any strange ideas. Though she can delay, she cannot awaken a Mythic’s power early. You’re just a late bloomer, alright? Maybe on your next birthday you’ll finally awaken.”
Ferrum stared at his hands and sighed. Though he was already 17, there was no sign of him awakening.”
“She is right, Ferrum, no Myth has even laid eyes on Randivo even when he was of age, however when he soon reached 18, I sensed a strange power in him.” Their mother said, standing next to them.
Meanwhile, the Oracle let out a chant, and his hands glowed. Randivo took a deep breath as his chest started to glow. Suddenly, the Oracle quickly took his hand off of Randivo and the latter stared at him.
“It is time.”
The Oracle left the stage as Randivo’s body shined. He let out a soft grunt before transforming into a vicious roar. Those outside the temple grounds could hear it and watched as a pillar of light ascended into the sky.
Everyone turned away as the light brightened. When it slowly dissipated, Ferrum was the first to turn around.
Standing in Randivo’s place was a massive Devil. It radiated with a divine presence and its wings trickling with heavenly energy. Though it was massive, its weight did not make the wooden platform collapse.
“So it is true. Like father, like son. Randivo Shiron bears the mantle and the Legendary Myth, Jearer! Devil of the Soaring Heavens!”
The Devil took a deep breath, looking around before looking straight at Ferrum.
Ferrum looked up at the Devil in its eyes. Suddenly the Devil snatched Ferrum, and this quickly caused panic.
“B-brother!” Ferrum gulped. The Devil’s grip tightening as Ferrum struggled to escape.
“Randivo!”
Suddenly, a Phoenix appeared in the Devil’s face. It cawed at the Devil. The Devil glared at the Phoenix and let out a guttering noise.
“No, Zera! You can’t fight him!”
Zera looked at Ferrum before looking at Randivo. Then the Devil let out an evil chuckle.
“Ah, this brings back… memories.”
The Devil let go of Ferrum; the latter dropping to the ground. Light wrapped around the Devil’s body before shrinking, Randivo appearing in the Devil’s place.
“Learn to have a little fun, Zera. You’ve always been on guard ever since becoming Yurigan’s Mythic.”
“Hmph, don’t do that! It worries me!” Zera said as she reverted to her human form.
“Heh, you actually worried me for a bit, Randivo.” Ferrum dusted himself. Randivo offered a hand, lifting Ferrum up.
“Well then, the Awakening Ceremony is done. After tonight’s after party, we must prepare for the Coronation.” Their mother said, walking towards them.
“Mother.”
“Randivo. If only your father was here, he’d be so proud.”
“Yes, we all wish he was here. If only he had not succumbed to his illness.”
Ferrum watched as the two conversed before turning around, staring at the very top of the mountain.
It was when he noticed something strange.
There was a figure standing on a branch, staring down at him. Ferrum blinked, and the figure vanished.
“Ferrum, is everything alright?” Randivo asked.
“Y-yeah, just a little tired.”
“Still staying up late again? Come on now, it never would have worked out with that girl.”
“Oh shut up, it’s not that.”
Ferrum shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Ever since Zera became a Mythic, he’s been slacking on sleep because of stress. He didn’t know why he was stressed, but ever since, he’s had minor hallucinations. He shrugged them off and all, but as the days passed, he grew more paranoid and today, it was getting worse.
“I’m going to return to my room.” Ferrum announced.
“Don’t you want to drink tea with the elders? Not that I would if I had the chance.” Zera said.
“I’m just… gonna lay my head down, is all.”
Ferrum returned to his room and laid down on his futon. He looked up at the ceiling and slowly dozed off.
Meanwhile, Zera and Randivo silently stood outside of Ferrum’s room. They looked at each other before taking a peek at Ferrum.
“He’s been acting strange for a while. I found him sitting at the edge of a cliff, staring off into the distance.”
“I’m pretty sure he just developed a habit of daydreaming.”
“Randivo! I’m serious! Before I became a Mythic, he was never been like this. He was… always hanging out with that girl until they broke up, but that never made him like this. He would train with us every day!”
“Well, now that you say that, it is quite strange, but I just think he just has difficulty sleeping. It happens Zera.”
“Ugh.” Zera grunted, palming her face.
“Look, we’ll see how he does tomorrow, alright? If there is anything abnormal about him, I am going to call the apothecary. For now, let’s return to the ceremony.”
“Yeah, the party is about to begin.”