Angelus had been through a lot of situations that made him nervous in his sixteen years of life. The time he had been dared to jump off a roof, the time he tried to ask his crush out, his first kiss, and then his first fight. All of those at the time were probably the worst feelings that he had. After all, the worst came out of all those situations. He broke his leg jumping off the roof, his crush rejected him, he had bad breath on his first kiss, and he was laid out in his first fight. But even though he experienced all of that, and knew how bad it would be, he would still rather take all of them at once instead of the gut-wrenching feeling he had now.
When he was walking up the steps to the temple, he looked back to the people that he called his family. They hadn’t even realized that he was called up to the temple to be judged, and Angelus wasn’t sure if that was good or bad for him. His nerves were all over the place and he didn’t want to see everyone congratulate him. So he turned around to go up the steps, but before he did he saw Sylvia and Juno. The two of them were looking at him and watching him walking up, they got the attention of Olivia. When Olivia saw that I was already halfway up the stairs, she got everyone’s attention.
“Well, got to put it on now” He looked down and waved at them all, they all waved back at him, both Claudia and Olivia still having tears on their face, and the kids having smiles on theirs. Angelus gave them a confident smile that didn’t match his heart. Annie, Lily, and Ren wished him good luck, Claudia and Olivia did the same, both dabbing their eyes with a cloth they pulled from somewhere. Sylvia and Juno didn’t do much but smiled softly.
“Don’t worry, I got this.” He shouted, making an effort to try and hide his quivering voice. He turned around before he could listen to them say anything else. Walking up the stairs as quickly as he could, he eventually found himself facing the large doors of the temple. The doors alone were a work of art, made of a stone that Angelus had never seen in any other building, it looked to be almost glowing in the light. Carved into the door were seven symbols, each of them representing one of the seven major gods. Angelus didn’t study the gods very much, only the classes, but he did remember what symbol went to what god.
For Sycamore, the god of war, it was a pair of crossed swords in front of an owl with its wings spread.
For Shannon, the goddess of water, she had a container called a hydria that was tilted to pour water.
Summanus, the god of wind, had a storm cloud that was shooting a lightning bolt out from the bottom.
Terra, the goddess of earth, was a large mountain with a hammer held over it.
Ignis, the god of fire, had a serpentine dragon coiling around itself and facing the sky.
Vernal, the goddess of life, had a large, full-grown tree, with a sapling in the center of it
For Uwrath, the god of death, he had a shepherd crook with an hourglass that showed most of the sand to be at the bottom.
Angelus wished that he could stall for more time and just admire all of the temple. But there wasn’t a single inch of the temple that Angelus didn’t look at while growing up. Not only that, but the temple’s doors were opening. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing heart, failing to do so, he walked forward and entered the temple.
The inside of the temple matched the colors of the outside, a stained white that made the temple look grey. To either side of Angelus, there were multiple rows of pews that looked brand new, there were three pillars on both sides of the temple with white flowers tied to the center. Above each pillar was one of the seven gods’ symbols made of polished metal, with Vernal’s symbol being in the front of the temple. Behind each symbol were stained glass windows corresponding with the gods’ colors that would let sunlight shine through them.
“I see you take great interest in our temple young man.” Someone said in a deep, husky voice. Facing forward, Angelus saw the Voice walking towards him. Up close, Angelus was able to get a better look at him. He was tall, around the six-foot mark, and though he was wearing heavy robes, he could see that he was very muscular. Almost to the point where he could probably be considered an adventurer if he decided to put on armor. Angelus found that surprising, as the Voice looked like he could be in his late fifties.
“Well, yeah,” Angelus said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m not really one for religion or faith, so I never really had a chance to come to the pantheon temple.”
“Oh, you don’t have faith in the gods, boy?” The Voice growled in a deep voice.
“Wha-No, no, no. T-That’s not what I-” Angelus panicked for a second, trying to think of a way to fix this. The glare that the Voice was giving him was scary like he was trying to kill him with just his eyes. And seeing as Angelus didn’t know anything about the man’s abilities, he probably could. Angelus continued to try to say what he meant, but the glare really wasn’t helping.
“Great, you haven’t even spoken with the Voice for five minutes and you already got him to hate you.” what did help was when the man started to laugh.
“Huh?” Angelus was confused by his sudden change in demeanor, so he just stood there for half a minute. When the Voice finally started to catch his breath, he spoke again.
“My apologies young man. But I’ve found out that people become less nervous after a good laugh.” The Voice straightened himself and once again stood at his full height. “Though, you seem more nervous than some of the others that have come in today.”
“Is it really that obvious, sir?” Angelus asked, and the Voice nodded and Angelus sighed. “Damnit, I was really hoping that I wasn’t.
“Well, it's only obvious to me because I’ve seen faces like yours hundreds of times.” The Voice replied, Angelus, looked up to him, and waited for him to continue. “The face of a youth who is on the verge of either achieving his greatest dream or waking up to a grim reality. Almost everyone who has come in today has had that look.”
“And how many of them have had their dream come true sir?” Angelus asked, hoping that it was more than he was expecting. But he knew, he was in the crowd for hours, watching the face of those who had not achieved a class. Some had taken the gods’ decision with grace and held their tears until they had reached their families and had cried silently. Others had stormed off, their at anger the gods enough to scream heresy at the sky. No one did anything to stop them, their anger understood. The Voice shook his head at the question.
“Not nearly enough, young man, this year especially. Though there have been more classes that were above the common or rare class, because of that, there have been fewer classes to give.” the Voice face took on a somber look. “I’ve had to break so many hearts today telling people that they will not have the opportunity to support their families. Or that their dreams just aren’t possible.”
“How do the gods pick who gets what class?” Angelus asked, trying to find some way to stall and prepare himself.
“It’s different for everyone. Some think that it’s the gods who choose who gets a class. Others think that we all have classes, but some of us manifest them in times of need. The Acadamy thinks that the gods infuse half of our souls with magic and the class comes from that.” The Voice explained. Angelus heard the same thing but was hoping for a more concrete answer than that. One that would give him hope, but once again, he was falling back on luck to help see him through this. “Are you ready, young man?”
Angelus didn’t answer him, afraid that his voice would fail him, he only nodded. At the nod, the older man turned around and started to walk towards the front of the temple. Angelus’s legs were shaking from all the emotions that were running through him, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with them. He had his methods, he’d usually tell a joke or try to find something funny in the situation. That was how he would always try to deal with any negative emotions, when he was sad, he’d talk with Donavin to distract himself from it. It was what he did for months before finding someone that would train him. If none of the kids were at home, then he would talk to Olivia or visit Claudia and see if they needed help with anything.
But now, as he walked behind the Voice towards a door that was behind Vernal’s pillar, he couldn’t distract himself. This was no time to tell jokes or to find someone to talk to, the Voice seemed like he would have loved to keep Angelus distracted for a little longer, but you can only delay the Ceremony for so long. Besides, with Donavin receiving his class, that meant that he would move away to the Champions Academy. Sure, he could still talk with Olivia and Claudia, but they had their own things to do, and the kids would hang out with him for only so long before they would go to their friends outside the orphanage. And since Angelus didn’t have much in the way of real friends outside of family, that meant he would have to find some way to deal with these emotions.
“Have to start sooner or later.” Angelus thought somberly. Once both men reached the door, the Voice opened it and motioned Angelus to move through it. Once through the door, Angelus saw a large hallway lit with the soft light of mana crystals. Angelus paused for a moment to gaze at the crystal. Angelus had seen them before, they were used in some areas of the city to keep it from getting too dark, but he hadn’t seen one this close before. These ones were different though, instead of the bright yellow light that the city crystals would give, these ones were as white as the moon and didn’t hurt Angelus’s eyes as he stared into them. He felt himself relax as he basked in its light, but he had no idea why.
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“Are you starting to calm down, young man?” The Voice asked, coming around Angelus and putting a large hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah, I actually am,” Angelus replied, feeling most of the anxiety from earlier leave his body. “Is it, because of these crystals?”
“You are a sharp young man.” the Voice chuckled, removing his hand from Angelus’s shoulder. “Indeed, it is because of these crystals. These crystals are called nurture crystals.”
“What do they do?” Angelus asked, curious about why these crystals were so different from the ones in the city. Angelus knew what mana crystals did, almost every city had mana crystals, and it would be difficult to find anyone who didn’t know. Mana crystals were naturally occurring crystals that would form when enough mana in an area was condensed and given solid form. When a crystal was formed, they would absorb the mana around it and store it in their center. What element the crystal produced was whatever element that surrounded it. The mountains would form wind or earth crystals, volcanos produced fire crystals, and so on. They were often used by adventurers to do lots of things, mostly related to fighting. Angelus wanted to hear what would produce something like nurture.
“Well, like every mana crystal in the world, they absorb the mana that gets close to them. However, unlike regular crystals where they store the mana in their core, nurture crystals instead produce an aura. They came from the elven continent, Sylveria, and they use these crystals to help grow their trees.” Angelus listened closely as the Voice explained. He’d never heard of any crystal like this before. All of the ones that he knew of were only the elemental crystals, but he never heard of crystals that evoked emotions. “While the elves found that these crystals work well with their trees, we humans found it helps bring our minds at ease when we are surrounded by its aura.”.
“And the best place to use crystals like these are right here?” Angelus questioned. A crystal that produced an aura of nurture seemed like it would have a lot more use in other locations.
“Oh no, far from it.” The man laughed. “Our temple is only borrowing these crystals, they are loaned to us from the academy every year during the Ceremony. It helps calm the minds of those who are about to be judged.”
And just like that, Angelus’s mood was brought low. Though it was nowhere near where it was before entering the hall. His stomach didn’t feel like it had the weight of a brick, nor did his heart feel like it was going to leap through his chest. He felt like he was back to himself, or at least to the point where he could act like himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the Voice.
“I’m ready.” He said, his voice coming out steady. The older man didn't say anything, only smiled and turned around. Once again, Angelus followed his footsteps echoing the entire time. At the end of the hall, there was a stone door with two disciples on either side of it. They didn’t say anything to them, but they stepped forward in unison and turned around. Behind them was a clear crystal ball that was embedded in the wall behind them. They reached out and when they touched it, a blue line started to trace the door frame. As the line followed the frame, runes began to appear on the door. Angelus was caught off guard by the runes, not expecting to see any on something like a door.
Runes were like mana crystals in a way, that they were used to help adventurers in fights. Some would put runes on swords or armor to make them more durable, others would use them to make them lighter without losing the materials. Angelus remembered reading a story about a man who was a treasure hunter, Victor Grey. In one of his adventures, he ran into a door that held hidden runes, each rune serving a different purpose. Some were to make the door heavier, others would help it handle brute force. Looking at the runes on the door, Angelus didn’t know what any of them meant. They all looked like simple shapes and rough letters, but in the book, it said that each rune had a meaning that would amplify or bring out the magic in some way or shape.
Before Angelus could look deeper, the runes disappeared and the door began to open on its own. Walking into the room, he saw that the Inside was a large, circular room with stone walls that held all of the main gods’ symbols, all surrounded by runes that didn’t make sense to him and the light of nurture crystals. In the middle of the room was a large circular platform with runes carved all throughout it. Walking into the room, Angelus looked around and saw the last of the disciples. there were four of them, all wearing white robes that were similar to the Voice’s but they didn’t have the bracelets. Each of the disciples stood around the platform in the center, they all looked like they had seen better days. Two of them were sweating profusely, with the other two were taking steady breaths. What they all had in common was the empty bottle that surrounded their feet.
“Mana potions?” Angelus mumbled, he had seen them from time to time in Claudia’s clinic and knew them well. Sometimes when she was busy, Claudia would skip breakfast altogether and just drink one on the way to her clinic.
“Yes they are, the ceremony is always a rough day for my disciples.” Walking from behind him, the Voice walked up to the two sweating disciples and pulled out two mana potions from his sleeves. “It takes a lot of mana to channel a protection shell around the judged.”
“Why would you need a protection shell around me? Don’t we receive our magic and then either get a class or nothing happens?” Angelus didn’t understand, every time he heard about the ceremony, no one ever mentioned needing to be protected. “Is this dangerous?”
“No, it’s not dangerous.” the Voice assured, the two men finishing their bottles and looking like they got a second wind. “But when receiving the magic for a possible class, the mana around the participant can run a little…wild. At the start, the mana will be absorbed into your body, filling you with mana and changing it to be absorbed. But when it ends, all of the mana in your body will shoot out as a physical force. It’s like a strong wind, but with some people, it can come out quite strong. We just take precautions so that no one ends up hurt.”
Angelus nodded and began to walk forward, already knowing what he will have to do. Walking up to the platform, he stepped up to it. Unlike the rest of the room, the platform was bare, no runes of any kind were written on it. He looked around and saw the Voice and his disciples getting ready, no instructions were given to them, having gone through the process at least of hundred times today, they didn’t need it.
“Okay young man, let me explain what will happen to you once we begin just so you are not scared or spooked.” Angelus nodded to the Voice. “After we put up the shield, I will open up the ceiling and will expose you to the light of the crystal. You will need to stand under it with the light hitting your forehead. Do not be scared if you feel a slight burning, that is normal. After that it doesn’t matter what you do, all that you need to do is stand under it. You can close your eyes if it helps, but do not move from the light. Do you understand?” Again, Angelus nodded. “Good, then let us begin. Put up the shield.”
“Yes sir.” all the disciples responded at once and with the precision of a trained unit, kneeled and channeled their magic into the runes at their feet. When the rune at their feet filled, a long trail of smaller runes began to light up with magic, up until it reached the platform. When it did, a translucent wall started to build around him. As it was building around him, Angelus started to remember the bubbles that he saw when he was younger, the way the light was reflecting off the surface, the circular shape that it took, it made him chuckle as the shield closed above him.
With the shield closed, the Voice did his part, channeling his magic to a rune under him and activating a trail of runes that lead to the ceiling. When it reached the ceiling, the sound of machinery could be heard, and then the ceiling began to split apart. Angelus didn’t react to it, now deciding that this was no longer a normal temple. What he did react to was the beam of light that appeared before him. It was a thin, white line no thicker than his pinkie, yet it was this beam that would decide if he was worthy of protecting people, of giving all that he felt his family of misfits was worth, of defeating the beasts that wish nothing but harm. He wanted to know how the gods viewed him, whether they saw him as an orphan with no chance at a bright future, or a worthy investment. To do that, all he had to do was step into the light, he saw nothing else at that moment. The entire world had gone dark, the Voice, the disciples, the shield, everything was gone. Everything except for the light, the small pillar that would either make him ascend, or leave him in darkness.
Steeling himself, he stepped under the light and closed his eyes, there was nothing around him so there was no reason to keep them open. He stayed under the light for a minute, and that was when the burning started. It wasn’t bad, just a slight temperature rise, but after some time, it started to get uncomfortable. Angelus didn’t move one inch, fearing that if he did that would show weakness to the gods. Instead, he thought about what he would do if he got a class, he had a plan all set out when he got it. He would attend the academy, come out with good marks and more skills than he went in with, go on adventures and fight beasts, make and send money to Myrefall, save a cute girl, get married to her, and become a father. It was the plan that he made when he was a kid and saw nothing wrong with it when he got older. But that entire plan relied on him becoming an adventurer.
The burning increased, but again, he didn’t flinch. The image of his family, not the one who brought him into this world, but the one who raised him in this world. The two mothers that raised him, Olivia and Claudia, both guided him and raised him the best they could. Annie, the sister that so desperately wanted to prove her maturity. The twins, Lily and Ren, one wanted to find adventures while the other wanted to lose himself to books, yet they always end up in trouble when together. The newest members of his family, Sylvia and Juno, one finally breaking out of their shell and the other bound to follow. And then there was Donavin, the brother that he grew up with ever since he had his first memory.
Increasing again, the pain on his forehead just felt like too much for him, but he stood as tall as he could. He felt tears build in his eyes, but with the pain he felt, he almost missed them. But the pain was nothing, not like the training that he went through with Brutus. The running, the lifting, the sparring, the breaking. It was all coming back to him, all the pain that he felt in the years leading up to the ceremony, and he smiled slightly. There were times he cried, times he vomited, times he just laid down, Brutus witnessed all of them, and didn’t judge him in any way. Only told him to get back up and do it again when he was done. The old bastard was always tough on Angelus, but he was never cruel. It was the reason that Angelus always went back for more training, why he risked his money on high-risk gambles where ever they would allow him. So that his dream could become a reality.
Angelus didn’t know how long it had been, but the burning still increased, the pain making Angelus open his eyes for the first time since this began. It was too much for him and he didn’t know if he could endure any longer. Angelus saw nothing, not the shield, not the Voice, not his disciples. The pain increased again and he almost passed out, but he held on, he just needed to endure this and show he was worthy. Then the pain stopped, the darkness that he saw disappeared, he saw the Voice and his disciple, they were all on their knees, shouting at each other, Angelus couldn’t hear them, either due to the shield or just how tired he felt. The shield started to crack around him, but Angelus couldn’t tell, he just wanted to sleep. Angelus fell to the floor and started to close his eyes, the shield cracked even more, allowing Angelus to hear that they were yelling, but couldn’t understand them in his daze. He got one good look around the room before he passed out and had one thought.
“Was there always a man with a black robe?” And then the shield broke.