Everyone has an Award, but that raises the question of why isn't the power balance of this world not in constant turmoil. As someone will always have a strong award that can raise a challenge to the throne? Well, it seems there are two reasons why this isn't the case.
Reason number 1: A strong army. Having a strong award doesn't always mean you can challenge an army, especially the emperors' Royal bodyguards who have their strong awards.
Reason number 2: Not everyone can awaken their award. Everyone has the potential to have an award, but the problem is no one can awaken it, without a Memorial stone.
No person can awake their award without Memorial Stone. You might think as long as someone goes through a traumatic event they can awaken their Award, but no, this is not how it works. To awaken one needs a memorial stone. Therefore this leads to a question how do you get one? Pay a price and you can get almost everything in the world, memorial stones are the same as well, albeit being a bit expensive, memorial stones can be bought by anyone that has the money.
Although the price to buy one is the same as buying a private jet back in Earth. So this leads us to what is a Memorial Stone or what is it made of? Trying to inquire the source of Memorial stone is capital punishment in every part of the world, so no one other than the emperor and few high nobles know what a Memorial stone is. Anyone who knows what Memorial stone will be hunted down and their fate remain to be known.
Every 5 years memorial stones are bought to the empire. The first right to use it goes to the emperor's children, followed by the nobles, then the Emperor's army. The decision to use it to awaken your award is given to every prince or princess at the age of 10.
However, it seems like the head butler strongly advised John to reject the offer to use it and only use it at the age of 15, when he was offered one at the age of 10. Being the naïve kid he was he trusted butler Smith and never used it at age 10.
But as he grew older he got frustrated when his other siblings started to show off their powers while he could only watch on from the side. Couple that with his rebellious attitude when he is in his teens, he often questioned the decision of the butler and even argued with the butler often. This caused John to often avoid the butler and not talk to him.
However John wasn't a waste or useless prince, in fact, he is the kind of boy you will call as teacher's pet. Always trying working hard to learn and finish his homework set by his teachers rather than spend time enjoying with friends. The main reason for that is John was a loner. His siblings often stayed with their maternal family, they rarely came to stay in the palace until the age of 10, where they officially have to live in the palace. However due to John being looked after by the emperor's butler, he was always living inside the palace, surrounded by older people, and not going out much as the restriction for leaving and entering the palace is strict.
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After the age of 10 when other prince and princess came to live in the palace, John found it much harder to talk to other kids. As living with adults made it hard for him to talk to them, along with him, not awakening his powers gave the kids even more of reason to avoid him. Thus John watched as each day his siblings, and the adults all talked about going out or enjoying their time with their friend, he too yearned for them to even ask him to come and join them. He wanted to go out with friends, he dreamed of going with them, so he decided to get their attention.
He knew he couldn't impress them with an award as he hasn't awakened them, so he decided to work hard in his academics, getting perfect marks in each subject set by the royal tutors. He did get their attention but not the attention he wanted, they avoided him even more of after each year's result was posted. He didn't know why but finally one day he understood, all of the young prince and princess get scolded by their maternal family each day telling them to work hard like him and not fool around. This caused the kids anger, and they could not direct it at their elder so they directed it at him, but they could never hurt him due to him being in the palace ground so they avoided him like a plague.
For this reason, John wanted to awaken his award and the cause of his argument with butler every now and then. He didn't want to seem like a misfit freak, all he wants is friends. Thus John waited 5 long and tedious years for him to finally awake his award. While others wanted to awaken their award for power he wanted an award to use it as a reason to make friends.
But before he could even awaken his award, his life was taken away from him. All he remembers is that he was awoken by a sound near his bed before a hand grabbed and blocked his airway. He tried to move the hand away but the other hand of the assailant subdued him. He suffocated slowly and painfully while pushing against the mattress of the bed to get up and make some kind of noise. He knew he will die if this went on, so for the first time in his life he pleaded to the so-called deities that have been there to help those in need, but they never even responded to him.
Till his last moment, his only wish was surviving for 1 more day, just to awaken his award so he can make friends, even if it's for 1 day, he will have someone to call a friend before he leaves. But no one came other than death and her eternal darkness with it, but death left him as well, and the last thing he saw was a small light.
"What a tragic life? All he wanted was friends, yet the people among him wanted his ruin. Compared to him my life on earth was 100 times better. The least he should be given is another happy life." Mused Ez.
"Sorry John I am going to use your name from now on, but I am not going to carry on with your wish. You wanted to make friends with everyone using your award, but I came to survive, but I will make everyone who ignored your hand of friendship regret." Murmured Ez while still lying down.