After Evelyn was finally informed about what exactly Ezekiel had been putting himself through for the past few years, she immediately told both her husband and son that Ezekiel would never be training with that method ever again.
At which point Ezekiel and Warren were quick to disagree, as Ezekiel had given them his reasons for using such a suicidal method, and regardless of what they thought was best, Ezekiel had spoken to a remnant of the Ancient Void. This was not something that they could dispute without consequence. In this case being the guaranteed death of their son, or his possible death instead.
They argued back and forth for a little while, but eventually they managed to come to a compromise.
The family as a whole would be going to the Grand Cathedral for Wendy and Ellen’s Awakening ceremony. Whilst they were there, they would speak with one of the members of the Church so that they could confirm what Ezekiel had said about his cultivation technique. After displaying this method to the church, they would then try to work out an agreement so that Ezekiel could get supervision and protection as there was no way that he would be able to practice in peace without help.
With that said and done. The three wrapped up their conversation as Wendy and Ellen woke up.
Surprised but happy to see Ezekiel and Warren, the two little girls barreled into both of them as they insisted on playing since they essentially weren’t going to be going anywhere for the rest of the day.
As this was happening, Evelyn, who was still upset at the news and the decision that had been made, went back down to her store to deal with the rest of the customers for what little time was left in the day.
During this time, Ezekiel had a good time playing with his sisters. Sure, he had often spent time with them over the years. Especially when he proved himself capable of taking care of them on his own after the first few years had passed. It certainly helped his parents out, as it meant they could afford to be out of the house more often.
But there was a sense of burden that had been lifted from his shoulders. Sure, he had new worries due to the fact that he had no choice but to tell the church what he had discovered. But it also meant that he no longer had to keep it a secret from his parents.
Better yet, it meant that he’d be able to get some actual help with his progress. Maybe even information regarding higher level techniques that he could use to further refine his current method.
All in all, Ezekiel spent the rest of the day in higher spirits that he had come home with, and he had hopes for whatever was going to happen tomorrow, as he knew his parents would continue to support him.
It wasn’t until morning came, however, that he found a new problem. One that was utterly unrelated to the ones from the previous day.
“I don’t wanna go!” Wendy cried out as Evelyn tried to hold her down and get her dressed in a somewhat formal dress.
“Me neither!” Ellen said as she sat down and pouted in a chair. She had also been a hassle to get dressed, but the girls both knew that doing anything to damage the clothing their mother made for them was likely to get them put in time out. And time out with Reya as a warden wasn’t very fun, as you were harmlessly held in place, but couldn’t get out of the corner no matter what.
Ezekiel could remember going through it once or twice when he insisted that he could do something that his parents said he couldn’t, so he knew how frustrating it would be for two actual children to go through that. But at least his parents did do spankings. That was something he’d never experienced, and never wished to either.
“Girls, why are you both being so stubborn? We told you we’d be going out today a while ago. I thought you were looking forward to this?” Warren asked as he cleaned up his own uniform, making sure that he was presentable, as this wasn’t just the ceremony they were going to. Something that was causing him to be a bit more fidgety than he usually was.
Evelyn, on the other hand, was close to pulling her hair out in frustration. Usually, she’s put the twins in time out, but they had to leave, so that would defeat the purpose.
Worse yet, she was still apprehensive about the talk they would be having with the church’s Scholars that they were going to be meeting afterwards. Her nerves were still quite frayed from the previous day’s talk, and she wasn’t handling it half as well as Warren appeared to be.
“I don’t wanna go to the church! I don’t wanna see the people that hate big bro!” Wendy yelled as she hid behind a chair from Evelyn who had finally gotten her into her dress.
That brought Ezekiel, Warren, and Evelyn up short, as they had tried their best not to talk about the Church of Light in front of the girls as it would raise several difficult quests.
Ezekiel looked over at Reya and Theo who were sitting near the door. The two Spirit felines saw him staring before looking away awkwardly. He couldn’t help but sigh as his parents shared their own look of confusion and helplessness.
Ezekiel decided that he would try to put things to rest so that they could get going.
“Girls. It’s not this church that doesn’t like me.” He said as he approached Wendy to get her out from behind the chair.
“Huh?”
“Look at Theo.” Ezekiel said. “Theo is a cat, right?”
Wendy and Ellen looked confused as they replied.
“Yes. He’s a cat.” Wendy said as she let Ezekiel pull her out.
“Is he the only cat in the house?” Ezekiel asked.
“No. Reya is here too!” Ellen said as she watched Ezekiel pull Wendy over.
He brought the two over to Reya and Theo as their parents watched. Both were happy that Ezekiel was dealing so well with this.
“So that means that there’s two cats here. Now, are they the same cat?” Ezekiel asked.
“No! Theo is white and Reya is black.” Wendy said.
“Theo also likes chicken, but Reya likes fish!” Ellen said.
“Exactly! They are both cats, but they are not the same cats. They like different things, and dislike different things. Just like the different Churches.” Ezekiel slowly explained.
“The Church of Ten is at a big Cathedral that welcomes everybody. I like them a lot, and they aren’t mean to me at all. It’s the Church of Light doesn’t like me, but that’s okay because they’re a bunch of stupid people who don’t know their butt from their face.” Ezekiel told his sisters.
The two giggled at Ezekiel’s description, as his parents chuckled and shared and exasperated look with one another.
“Now, since we’re going to the good church, maybe we can have some fun. You two haven’t seen a lot of the stuff you’re going to see today, so how about we head out, and you two can ask me anything you want about the stuff that you see.” Ezekiel said as he helped Wendy and Ellen put on their shoes.
“Okay!” The twins said at once.
“...don’t know their butt from their face...” Warren just muttered as he heard his son’s description.
It was times like this where he wondered where his son came up with these things. But for now, he was just happy that Ezekiel had solved the situation and they would soon be off to the Cathedral. Evelyn was of the same mind as she helped with Ellen’s shoes.
Ezekiel was just happy to be able to call someone a shit talker without actually cursing in front of his parents. He knew it was stupid thing to take joy in, but still felt proud about it.
Finally, after spending far more time than necessary getting Wendy and Ellen ready, the family of five headed out into the city to get to the Cathedral so that Wendy and Ellen could undergo their Awakening. Theo and Reya trailed behind for a moment before they both leapt up to their respective partner’s shoulders.
While they were walking around, the twins couldn’t help but look around in wonder as they saw the various buildings with houses, shops, and restaurants that they passed by. It was more than they had ever seen before, having been mostly raised at their home, or permitted to go and spend time in their family shop.
The look of wonder as they passed over the bridge connecting the outer city to the inner city, as the water flowed beneath them, was a joy to see. Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what he looked like back when he had made his first trek to the Grand Cathedral with his parents.
The small feats of magic also drew their attention, as the only magic they had seen before were the small feats here and there when Warren or Evelyn did something. Usually, it was Evelyn using her shadows to move stuff around and give herself extra limbs to handle more materials on her own.
Warren would sometimes use his magic to light up the room when reading the twins bedtime stories. Or to heal a couple of scrapes and bruises here and there when they got injured from roughhousing too much.
It reminded Ezekiel that the only other magic that the twins had witnessed before were small feats performed by Suzy and Martha, the current employees at Evelyn’s store. The young Glacial mage was now a full-time employee and would often help Evelyn with her enchanting now that she was an adult and a Tier two Mage.
Martha, on the other hand, was an old hand at the store, who was almost more like a nanny to the twins and Ezekiel than she was an employee. There was a time where she tried to continue watching over Ezekiel like she did when he was the same age as the twins, but he’d shown that he was much more responsible and independent than the twins were.
The twins loved the little stone toys the Tier two Cavern Mage would make for them. The fact that Martha could make them permanent toys was something the twins greatly appreciated, as neither Warren nor Evelyn could make lasting items with magic. Evelyn’s enchanted clothing didn’t count since they couldn’t play with them.
Thinking about Suzy and Martha also reminded Ezekiel of Hellen, and the falling out that had occurred between the woman who was of similar age to his mother. Evelyn had asked if Hellen’s son, who was only a little over a year older than Ezekiel would be able to play with Ezekiel after his school hours so that Ezekiel would be able to make some friends.
Upon learning that he was a Void Mage, Hellen insulted Ezekiel to his face in front of his mother, telling her that if Ezekiel ever met her son, it would only be to put Ezekiel in the trash where he belonged.
Needless to say, Evelyn fired Hellen for that offense, throwing her out of the building in front of Martha and Suzy, who merely cheered Evelyn on as they disagreed with Hellen’s sentiments.
Hellen tried to cause a fuss afterwards, but the fact that Evelyn didn’t do anything to harm her beyond a bruise or two, and the fact that Warren was a guard captain with some pull in the city, meant that nothing came about from it.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
At least, nothing publicly noticeable. Ezekiel was almost certain that it was Hellen that had started spreading word about the fact that he was a Void Mage, as he knew his parents didn’t advertise it.
“We’re here.” Warren said, snapping Ezekiel out of his thoughts as they approached the Cathedral.
Looking around, Ezekiel saw that there were once again countless people visiting the Cathedral for the children’s Awakening. It seemed like the majority of the city had showed up, but Ezekiel knew that couldn’t be the case.
The Alkenas, for instance, were not in attendance, as they did not have any children of age for Awakening. This meant that they’d still be working at their manor for the most part. Ezekiel mused that Shari was likely spending time ether with her friends on their day off or was spending time helping out with their manor’s day to day business. That or training with their guards, but his money was on spending time with friends. Shari hated business stuff, and much more preferred to goof off.
As they entered the Cathedral, Ezekiel was once again in wonder as he looked at the mural depicting the ten Ancient Spirits who saved the world. Staring in awe and frustration at one in particular.
The Ancient of the Void seemed to stare down at him as he looked up at it. Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel like he was being judged and was found wanting as if he had failed to meet the expectations placed upon him.
Noticing that Ezekiel had stopped, Warren and Evelyn turned back to seem him staring at the mural of the Ancient Void. His gaze was unreadable to them as Ezekiel tried to deal with his chaotic thoughts.
Ten years in this world, and other than only just finding out he was supposed to grow his Void magic, Ezekiel still had no idea what it was the Void wanted from him. Nor what was expected of him once he finally got stronger.
He felt like he was stuck in a loop of wondering what if’s and how to’s. Yet not a single answer was in sight.
“Ezekiel, son.” Warren spoke out, pulling Ezekiel from his thoughts regarding the unfortunate situation he’d found himself in.
He knew that patience was the only answer. So long as he grew stronger and opened the door, he would find his answers. Sooner or later.
Ezekiel moved at a slight jog to catch up to his family, joining them again as they turned the corner and headed down the hall to the room where Wendy and Ellen would be going through their Awakening.
It was the same room as the one that Ezekiel underwent his own Awakening. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts regarding his sisters’ Awakening pass through his mind. Now that he had revealed his accumulation technique to his parents, he knew that if either of his sisters Awakened with a Void affinity would make his life ten times more difficult, as there was no way his sisters wouldn’t want to practice magic.
Not that he would ever tell his sisters how he practiced even if they were Void Mages, as there was no way that he would let them do something so suicidal. He fully recognized the hypocrisy of his thought process, but unlike him, his sisters didn’t have a life’s worth of caution and experience to fall back on when it came to taking precautions.
Eventually, the same Scholar from his own ceremony, Marid, entered the room and began his introduction, explaining the different elements and the colors that would indicate which one a person was attuned to. Finally, as the speech wound down, Marid began reading off from a list of names.
As the children from around the room stepped forward, placing their hands upon the orb that would determine their fates as they Awakened to the different elements of mana.
The first few kids went up with no problem. Most were nervous, whilst some were excited. Things were going well, at least until one kid went up. A little girl named Sella Kaspere, who had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her parents stood to the side as she went up to the pedestal. The mother had gray eyes, indicating that she was a Tempest mage, whilst her father had brown eyes that seemed to have cracks or cobbles inside them. He was clearly a Cavern mage from what Ezekiel could tell.
Looking at her parents, and then back at the girl with her hands on the Awakening Crystal, Ezekiel prayed to the Ancients as a nervous apprehension spread out through his body.
He could only hope that he was either wrong, or that the girl’s parents were much like his own.
As the orb glowed pure white, Ezekiel examined the girl at the pedestal as closely as he could from across the room. To his despair, the girl had turned stark white and was shaking like a leaf. She clearly knew what her awakening meant and was terrified as to what being a Void mage would mean for her.
“... I’m sorry my dear. It seems you are a Void Mage.” Marid said with a solemn and regretful tone.
Ezekiel was shocked, and from the way his father’s hands tightened into fists beside him, and his mother’s small smile flattened into a grim line, his parents were also shocked and somewhat dismayed at what had happened.
A scholar of the Church of Ten had shown regret at a person’s elemental affinity. Even Ezekiel knew this was strange, as he could clearly remember Marid saying congratulations during his own ceremony, even though everyone in the room was able to tell that he hadn't meant it.
Although, the one saving grace Marid had, was that he clearly didn’t like what he was saying. Especially if the clenched jaw and fists were any indication.
Yet the most shocking thing were not Marid’s words. It was words from Sella’s parents as she approached them.
“Disgusting.” Her mother had said as Sella got closer. “How in the world could I have given birth to something like you.”
At those words, Sella looked up at her father, who just grimaced and looked away. At that moment, Sella looked to the floor and began to cry. The only thing keeping her cries from becoming a loud and echoing bawling was the fact that her mother told her to be quiet in a harsh and rasping whisper.
Ezekiel was half a dozen steps forward before he felt a hand grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Turning around to glare at whoever it was that had grabbed him, Ezekiel was shocked to see that it was his father that had stopped him. More so that it looked like his father was struggling momentarily to hold him back. Theo had also stepped in to stop him, having taken hold of his pants leg to hold him back.
“Not now.” Warren whispered to Ezekiel. “I know you want to help, and I’m so proud of you for it, but if you go over there now, it’ll just cause a scene, and we need to stay on the Church’s good side. Especially for the meeting we’ll be having after this.”
Ezekiel hated the fact that his father was right but knew that there was nothing that he could do right now that wouldn’t get some party in trouble for his efforts. Either his own family, or the little girl crying her eyes out not fifty feet away from him.
As he relaxed from his tensed-up position, Ezekiel noticed that he felt much weaker than he had before. Almost like he was drained of energy. He felt like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.
Looking inwards as he tried to figure out what that feeling was, Ezekiel was shocked to see that he had subconsciously used more of his mana. He knew that he could use his mana to enhance his physical abilities. He tended to do so in order to train with his father and the Alkena’s family guards, but he’d never used it unconsciously before. He couldn’t help but think that this must be what it’s like to lose control of one’s emotions; you end up using your mana in a familiar manner subconsciously. Which was unfortunate, as he barely had a dozen motes left in him after that little display.
Deciding that now was not the time to focus on his new self-discovery, Ezekiel made his way back to stand next to his family. Luckily, no one seemed to have seen Ezekiel’s little outburst. But they didn’t have much time to calm down as Ellen’s name was called out by Marid.
For a moment, nobody moved. Most people had noticed what had happened in the wake of Sella’s Awakening, and it seemed that the remaining children had no desire to risk something similar happening to them.
Looking at his sisters, Ezekiel could see that they were shaking as Marid called out Ellen’s name once again. But she wouldn’t move. Even as Evelyn pulled at her to get her to go up, Ellen wouldn’t move. No matter what Evelyn said, Ellen wouldn’t move, not even when Reya started tugging at her dress. Something that she never did due to fear of Evelyn’s wrath.
“That won’t happen to you.” Ezekiel whispered in her ear as he bent down to hold her close. “I’m a void mage, and you know that mom and dad love me, so you know that they’ll love you as well, just as much. Maybe even more.”
Ezekiel’s words seemed to calm his sisters down a fair bit. They were still nervous, but they were no longer shaking where they stood.
“Ellen Luminance!” Marid said once again, this time in a much less patient tone of voice.
“C’mon. I’ll walk you both up there, and then we’ll both walk back down, and then mom and dad will both give you great big hugs to show how proud of you they are.” Ezekiel said as he grabbed his sisters’ hands and gently tugged them forward.
Pulling them through the groups of people in the way and leading Wendy and Ellen to the center of the room where the pedestal laid at rest for the various Awakenings. Fully aware of the gazes from all the strangers around the room, Ezekiel ignored them all as he calmly coaxed his sisters to the orb.
Behind them, Evelyn and Warren stood tall and proud as they watched their son help his sisters in their time of need. It was more obvious than ever that their son was not the trash that some thought that he was. His compassion alone was more than enough to show them that he was a far better person than most people in this room, if not the whole city.
Pulling Ellen forwards, he gestured for her to step up to the pedestal.
“Ellen Luminance?” Marid asked as he looked down at the little girl standing nervously before him.
“Yes...” Ellen muttered quietly as she approached the orb.
“Please place your hands on the orb.” Marid requested as he gestured to the crystal on the pedestal.
Ellen did as she was told as she closed her eyes in apprehension. For a moment, nothing happened, and then, after several seconds passed, a Radiant golden light emanated from the orb.
Opening her eyes in shock at what she was seeing, Ellen gave a great big smile as she turned to Ezekiel, not even bothering to wait for Marid to declare her a Radiant mage as she barreled into Ezekiel’s chest. Giving her brother a great big hug as she smiled brilliantly up at him.
Marid couldn’t help but smile as well, as he saw the wonderful display of familial affection.
“Wendy Luminance!” Marid called out as he looked at his scroll once again.
Wendy, no longer as nervous as she was before, and being a little bit more brazen than Ellen, marched the dozen or so steps between the pedestal and herself and siblings with as much bravado as a five-year-old could muster when they had just been shaking at the knees in fear.
Not even waiting for Marid to tell her what to do, Wendy placed both her hands on the pedestal. A moment passed, then two, and eventually she had spent more time at the pedestal than Ellen had. But finally, the orb turned an almost solid black color that seemed to absorb all light that got near it.
“Congratulations! You’re an Obscurity mage.” Marid said with as much enthusiasm as he had for Ellen.
Wendy also charged her brother, jumping at him much like Ellen had, and it was much more difficult for him to stay standing as he had both of his sisters hanging off of him like a pair of juvenile monkeys.
“Congrats you two! I knew you’d both be amazing.” Ezekiel said as he carried both of his sisters back to where his parents were standing.
He barely made it two steps before Marid spoke up.
“Indeed, young man. Your sisters really are quite amazing. Most twins of the same sex tend to have the same element. It’s usually only fraternal twins of opposite sexes that have opposing elements. Your sisters are quite the pair, and I’m sure we’ll be able to expect great things from both of them.” Marid said as he looked down at Ezekiel and his sisters. “If you don’t mind my curiosity, as their brother, which of your sisters do you share an element with?”
Ezekiel froze at that question, knowing that all eyes in the room were on him at the moment.
Turning to his parents, he still saw the looks of pride on their faces as they nodded towards him. Lying would do no good after all, and one of the reasons they’d come here was because he was a Void mage. Theo and Reya were nodding as well. So, he turned to look over his shoulder as he answered.
“I don’t share an element with any of my family. I’m a Void mage.” Ezekiel said with certainty and pride as he turned back around and carried his sisters through the room towards their parents. Not once did he look back, so he missed the look of shock that sat on Marid’s face at his words.
A part of him regretted what he had said, as he could clearly see the looks of disdain on several people’s faces, but he did his best to ignore them as he walked forward. The only people he spared a glance towards were the Kasperes, and he kept his face perfectly neutral as he did.
Sella looked at him with a somewhat viscous look of wonder, shame, and more than a little bit of envy as she watched him head back. Her parents were even worse, however, as they noticed the looks, they were receiving from several of the families inside the room. Few of them were pleasant, and Ezekiel couldn’t help but worry that he had made things worse for Sella.
He resolved to ask if his father could use his connections to check in on the poor girl at some point to make sure nothing happened to her in the near future.
The rest of the ceremony passed without incident. There were a few more children that awakened the Radiant and Obscurity elements. As well as a couple of Life and Lightning elements. There was even a single Death mage, who was clearly the son of one of the city’s grave keepers that was given a wide but respectful birth. Ezekiel noticed that his mother had both dark Indigo eyes and hair, so she was at least a Tier three Mage. But she didn’t have a Spirit with her, so she wasn’t a hunter.
Eventually, as the room cleared out, Ezekiel and his family also left the ceremony room. But unlike the rest of the families, they didn’t head to the exit in order to leave the Cathedral. Instead, they headed further into the Cathedral into areas that didn’t have many people.
Going further and further in, the twins grew curious as they were heading to places that they had never seen before. But there were plenty of murals that they could use to entertain themselves with as they looked around.
Finally, they reached a relatively out of the way section of the Cathedral. A simple wooden door stood in front of them.
Warren approached the door and knocked.
“Come in.” Said an elderly voice from the other side of the door.