Dev was woken by his younger sister Kaley three days before ascension day.
“Dev! Mom says to get up! The power’s out and you need to catch the bus!”
Dev groaned at his sister’s annoying voice, before shooting up as her words registered.
“Bleep!” he had developed the habit of censoring himself when his mom washed out his mouth with soap when he was 11.
He jumped out of bed, getting dressed in record time. Today was not the day to be late to school. He rushed out of his bedroom, only to be surprised by the spread of food on the table.
He heard giggling from his sister.
He sighed, “The power’s not out, is it?”
“Nope!” she said, in her high, clear voice. She had just turned eleven, and specialized in making his life hell.
Dev would have complained further, but he had actually gotten to sleep early in anticipation of today. Today, his school prepped for ascension day.
He sat at the table, grabbing a plate and loading it with toast, waffles, cheesy scrambled eggs, and sausages.
“What’s the occasion?” he asked.
“I think Mom is afraid that you’ll run off if you get a good result on ascension day.”
“I’m not afraid of him running away,” his mom said as she walked in, hugging him as he spread grape and strawberry jelly on his toast, “He has to go off eventually, though I’d certainly hope it would be something considerably safer than cultivation.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom,” Dev replied, before taking a bite of his toast.
“What? I’m not kicking you out,” she joked at him, “Yet.”
“Woo-hoo,” he deadpanned.
“Keep talking like that and I really will kick you out.”
“Sorry. Thanks for making breakfast,” he said, getting up and hugging her.
“Of course, dear. You have to be big and full of energy for school today. That imperial adjudicator is coming by today to help you prepare for ascension day, right?”
“Yeah. That’s what they say.”
“Then you better eat up.”
Having said so, she left the room again to go get ready for the day.
With the extra time from waking up early, he took his time eating his breakfast, enjoying the food spread. After finishing his food, he went back to his bedroom and packed his bag to be ready for the bus. His sister came by and bothered him for a minute before she got ready. The lucky squirt wouldn’t need to get on the bus until twenty minutes after he did.
He passed the time surfing the internet while waiting for the bus. About five minutes before the bus was due to arrive, he shrugged his bag on and made his rounds, saying bye to his mom and sister, as his dad had already left for an early day at work, preparing everything for the ascension.
He headed outside, and after about a minute, the bus pulled up with a squeal of breaks.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
He got on, heading towards the middle back of the bus, saying hi to a couple of guys he knid of knew along the way.
The bus moved along, and after a couple more stops, they arrived at the school. Today had an adjusted schedule, so he went to his homeroom to check in.
He got there, nodding to his homeroom teacher, Mr. Tensor.
“Hello, Mr. Cantor,” the teacher said, marking Dev’s name off, “We’ll be leaving for assembly shortly.”
Dev put his backpack up against the wall. They wouldn’t need it for the assembly.
The bell rang, and they made their way to the gym, being seated on the bleachers.
The principal walked onto the court with a microphone.
“Students of Aquilate North! We are here today, as you no doubt already know, to prepare you for ascension day. But it is not my job to prepare you. That job goes to an empire official, sent out for this purpose! Please greet Mr. Serenata!”
Saying so, he handed the microphone off to a man in robes, who promptly put it down and instead spoke loud enough to be heard by everyone.
“Thank you, Mr. Rel,” he said warmly, his voice echoing, “I am here to both quash incorrect rumors and to enable you to get the most out of the events of the next few days.
“Kairos. It is a protected term within the empire. Misuse comes with heavy legal penalties because it refers to the highest of opportunities. In three days, your planet will be ascended to tier two, and when that happens, a Kairos will be initiated. Fate will become malleable, and you’ll have a chance to surpass your current capabilities.
“As the world ascends, you will be squeezed between the heavens and the earth, giving you an opportunity to comprehend an aspect or axiom.”
He created a projection in the air of an orb surrounded by lights.
“An aspect is any of the many truths you can find in the world. Which aspects you can access are determined by your affinities.” All but two of the lights disappeared. “I myself have found aspects of sound and light come to me easily.
“An axiom, on the other hand, is internal.” Saying so, he zoomed in on the orb, “I have discovered a single axiom of my own. Patience. That is why I am one of the people sent out for your introduction.”
“We recommend that you reach for aspects rather than axioms. This is because aspects can be tested for. An axiom can only be detected by an expert in soul magic or by the owner learning to manifest it themselves. Those that believe they have discovered an axiom will be given the opportunity to learn how to manifest them, but be warned, it will be far more difficult than discovering an aspect. Those who manage to discover an aspect or axiom will be given a second opportunity to ascend.
“If one of you is truly lucky, this kairos will allow you to develop an affinity for fate. And that would be a reforging.
“Now, we are going to be testing everyone’s complete affinities. For those of you that have tested your affinities before, this will be a much quicker process. This device is top of the line, and fueled by spirit stones imported for this purpose,” he said, bringing out a finger clip and demonstrating, “All it will be is a sharp needle poke, then you’ll have your results printed out.”
A printer cart wheeled itself in and the printer printed off a page. Mr. Serenata projected it in the air, where it showed that he had high affinities for light and sound, a mid affinity for earth, and low affinities for runes, time, and ice.
“As you can see, it’s quick and easy. We’ll be testing each of you, starting with the first row. Along with your readout, you will receive information on meditational techniques, including special methods where applicable.
“Now, if the first row could begin moving—” Several students ran to be first, “—walk, do not run! If the first row could begin moving, we will hopefully be able to get through the entire school in an hour,” he said, bringing out two other scanners.
Dev counted, and his class was in the twelfth row, just a few from the top. He got out his phone; it was going to be a bit of a wait. There were over a thousand students in his school, and it was taking fifteen seconds apiece.
He used his phone to look up Anima cultivation techniques. He had done that before, in the three years since his first test, but he might as well refresh himself. There truly weren’t many options. All the good ones required a master to help you perceive your own soul.
After around 45 minutes, it was his row’s turn, and they filed down the aisle and then split into the three lines. He put his finger in the scanner, felt a sharp poke, then was released. He then joined the line of people waiting for their papers to be printed.
When he got his paper, he saw that he had excellent Anima affinity, but nothing else. He peeked at other people’s results, and it seemed like he was on the high end as far as affinities go. He didn’t see anyone else with an excellent affinity, and most had lows or mediums. Though only a couple of others only had a single affinity like he did. But this was still a great result, right?