Chapter 10
‘It’s her,’ Deon thought as he recalled the girl in the library. ‘I knew it. She is noble.’
The red-haired girl has a gentle smile as she walks, creating a gentle aura around her, and beside her is another girl with white hair and blue eyes. Unlike the red-haired girl, the white-haired girl gives off a cold, indifferent aura.
“It’s Princess Ariyana and Lady Selena”
“Wow, they look stunning as always.”
“You think it would be rude if I Introduce myself?”
“Goodluck with that”
‘The white-haired is the princess? Is lady Selena the name of the Red-hair?’ Deon thought, ‘Wow, that white hair looks so surreal.’
Deon was taught in a past history class that the royal family possesses two exclusive qualities that distinguish them from others: their unparalleled expertise in Ice magic and their distinct white hair. Deon had previously assumed that their hair would resemble that of the elderly. However, after encountering the princess, he realized that his perception was wrong.
Princess Ariyana’s White hair gave off a beautiful luster that seems shine brightly even though they were on an underground floor, with her blue eyes complimenting that luster. She has a lithe, graceful figure with a fair complexion.
Even though the two women had different auras, they appeared to be close and created a harmonious ambiance. With everyone being quiet, the two women stood out and seemed more radiant than the other ladies, who faded into the background.
“Wow”
Deon spun around at the sound of a familiar voice, only to find Lucien gawking at two stunning women. Deon found the situation rather amusing but also felt relieved knowing that he hadn't overreacted when he spotted Lady Selena at the library the previous day.
Deon looks toward Caleb, wanting Caleb’s help to make fun of Lucien, but when he sees Caleb, he almost bursts out laughing.
Caleb’s eyes are wide open, his eyebrows raised, his mouth open, and his jaw slightly dropping. Deon shook his head as he held his laughter.
As more and more attention went to the two beauties, so did the whispering, with Caleb even joining in: “Who are those two beauties?” Caleb whispered to his friends, not wanting to draw any attention himself
“I heard someone call them ‘Princess Ariyana and Lady Selena,’” Deon replied with a mischievous grin. “Why? Did you fall in love?”
“I think so,” Caleb replied in his rare soft voice as he stared at the two ladies.
Deon snickered when he heard Caleb and said: “Which one?”
“I don’t know, maybe both?” Caleb unknowingly replied
“Haha. Damn, you are greedy,” Deon said while laughing at Caleb’s bold comment
“No, I… I don’t mean that way” Caleb woke up from his stupor and tried to defend himself, but deon just kept chuckling. If they weren’t in such a public space, deon would’ve laughed his ass off
Knowing he couldn’t stop deon from laughing, Caleb looked at Lucien, who was daydreaming, and couldn’t help but push him
“Haha. What are you daydreaming about?” Caleb said with a hint of mockery, “Are you thinking you could become their knight in shining armor?”
“Shut up,” Lucien replied, quite annoyed at Caleb for ruining his thoughts
Hearing Caleb and Lucien, Deon couldn’t hold it anyone and burst out laughing, knowing that Caleb might have guessed correctly by how annoyed Lucien is
“What are you laughing at? It’s not that funny,” Lucien said but didn’t realize that his ears were turning red from embarrassment
Caleb also laughed when he saw Lucien’s red ears, making Lucien more embarrassed. The people nearby gave the trio an odd look for ruining the atmosphere, but the trio didn’t care.
…
The Interior architecture of the Temple is the same as the Colosseum and was designed to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators who gathered to witness the awakening ceremony.
The Awakening Temple's interior architecture was designed to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The use of arches, columns, and decorative details such as frescoes and statues helped to create a sense of grandeur and importance that befitted the public spectacles that took place within its walls.
The Awakening Temple has a complex system of underground passages and rooms that were used to house the participants before they were brought up to the ground floor. These rooms and passages were connected by a series of stairs and ramps that allowed for the efficient movement of people.
The ground floor of the Awakening Temple was a large oval-shaped space that measured approximately 90 meters by 55 meters. The floor is made of beautiful tiles that exude holiness and elegance.
In the middle of the ground floor is a large platform stage where the awakening ceremony will occur. The stage is also made of beautiful tiles with beautiful strips of gold throughout the stage, making it stand out on the ground floor.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The seating area of the Temple is divided into three levels, each supported by a series of arches and columns. The lower level is reserved for the most important people, such as senators and highly ranked officers of the kingdom. The middle level is for the nobles and other wealthy citizens, while the upper level is reserved for the common people.
The Awakening Temple's seating area has a capacity of around 50,000 people, who can enter and exit the building through a series of 80 entrances. These entrances were numbered and marked to help spectators find their seats.
As part of the 30 instructors’ task to protect and lead the apprentice knights to the capital, Instructor Cain is seated at the lower level.
Instructor Cain has his own expectations of the event and hopes that at least half of the apprentice knights he came with would be able to awaken, especially the grade 10s that he has been training since they were young.
“How many do you think will pass this awakening ceremony?” another instructor from a different branch asked Cain beside him
“I don’t know. I can only pray and hope our kids awakened safely,” Instructor Cain replied. Yesterday He acquainted with the other instructors and easily became friends as they have the same profession.
Suddenly a loud bout of trumpets sounded throughout the seating area, drawing the spectators’ attention.
“Hm? What happening? Is it starting?” Instructor Cain asked
“You don’t know?” the instructor beside cain asked
“Know what?” Instructor Cain asked
“Princess Ariyana is participating in this year’s awakening ceremony, so the king and the whole royal family are attending this year’s ceremony,” The other instructor excitedly said as he looked towards a private booth in the seating area.
“Wait. Really?” Instructor Cain also looked toward the private booth, hoping to get a glimpse of the royal family within
The private booth is located at the lower level of the Awakening temple and has a thin curtain that prevents people from seeing what is inside the booth.
Instructor Cain couldn’t help but be disappointed when he didn’t see the royal family but still felt happy and excited being in the presence of their King, and so did many of the spectators as they started cheering excitedly.
Soon, another bout of trumpets sounded but was more continuous and melodious than the last one, signaling the start of the Awakening Ceremony, and with the cheers of the spectators, the whole Temple was full of life.
“Finally, it’s starting,” Instructor Cain excitedly said
Five people appeared on the ground floor. All of them wore a priest robe with a gold cross on their chest, symbolizing The God of Light Church
Four of the priest encircled an elderly priest that has a scepter in his hands while the four other priests were holding a God of Light Banner as they walked toward the stage on the Temple's ground
Upon the arrival of the five priests, the banner holders swiftly made their way to each corner to properly display their banners in their designated slots. The elder priest, who carried the scepter, confidently stood his ground in the center of the stage.
The elder priest looked at the crowd with a gentle smile and began speaking with his voice ringing throughout the Temple:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
As we gather here today to celebrate The Awakening Ceremony, I want to take a moment to reflect on the significance of this occasion. The Awakening Ceremony is not just a religious ceremony but a sacred gathering where we come together as a community to worship and give thanks to the God of Light.
In a world that is often filled with chaos and uncertainty, the Awakening ceremony provides us with a sense of peace and stability. It is a time for us to set aside our worries and concerns and focus on our faith and relationship with God…….”
The Old priest continued his long speech that was befitting for Sunday mass, but no one interrupted the priest, with some devoted believers watching and listening to the priest closely.
…
Awakening Temple: Underground Hall
At the Underground Hall that was connected to the ground floor, Deon could hear everything that the elder priest was saying and became excited, but as minutes passed, the elder priest continued his very long speech without any indication of stopping, making deon quite annoyed.
‘How long are you going to speak? Let’s just start already,’ Deon thought, but as that thought came, he quickly changed it. ‘Oh. Uh. I mean, I am honored to be blessed by the God of light.’
Deon didn’t want to screw up his awakening ceremony by insulting the elderly priest, even if he was thinking about it. After all, the awakening ceremony involves the gods, and who knows, maybe they could hear his thoughts and might smite him for being rude and ungrateful.
“Awakening our mana within ourselves is not an easy task, but it is a rewarding one. As an Awakened, you have the power to Inspire and Save our citizens with your power and skill. You can inspire wonder and amazement in those around you and leave them with memories that will last a lifetime.
So, For a better and brighter future, Welcome our best and brightest youths for the annual Awakening Ceremony,” the elder priest ended his long speech with the spectator cheering as they welcomed the participants.
‘Here we go,’ Deon thought. As the line, he is in starts to move forward.
As deon becomes closer to the ground floor, he starts to hear the countless cheers from spectators that seem to shake the whole Temple, making deon excited and nervous at the same time.
When deon enters the ground floor, he is greeted by countless cheering spectators that almost make him dazed and freeze on the spot, but the moving line unconsciously makes him walk forward.
It was the first time deon had seen such a massive crowd that seemed to tower over him, and they were all cheering for him, or at least part of it. Such thought made him so excited and proud that no words could describe
Deon and other participants ascended to the stage in the middle of the ground floor and sat on the stage encircling the elder priest.
Deon also noticed a different line of participants coming from another direction on the ground floor, wearing something similar to a priest’s robe.
‘So the chosen for the church was in a different room than us,’ deon thought as he tried to distract himself from his rapidly beating heart.
Soon, all the 1000 participants were on stage, with all of them sitting. The elder priest was left standing on the stage, which made him stand out.
“Are you ready, my children?” The old priest asked the youths in front of him with his gentle voice and smile
“Yes, Father,” Some of the participants answered, but some didn’t, as they were too nervous.
“Good, I wish you all good luck, and may the blessing of the god of light shine upon you all,” the old priest warmly said before holding his scepter tightly and slowly raising it to the air.
The motion of the priest made the crowd silent as they respectfully watched the old priest, with some devoted spectators, begin praying to their God.
“%&^$%^*$*^” the Old Priest spoke in a different language as the scepter started to shine brightly.
Deon closed his eyes the moment he saw the light in the scepter as per the instruction he read and mentally prepared himself for what was about to come.
After a few seconds of waiting, He felt the stage below him disappear, and deon started falling without anything catching him.
The fall made deon open his eyes, and he is dumbfounded at what he sees.
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Thought for Thoughts
* White hair Royals = Ice magic Specialists
* Why are the Sunday Masses so long?