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9.8% The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros / Chapter 19: Declaration of Divinity •2

Chapter 19: Declaration of Divinity •2

Nothing happened.

The hall had fallen silent when Aeric placed his hand on the crystal, but it remained the same. Aeric frowned slightly. He had expected some kind of reaction — a glow, a flicker, anything — but there was nothing. Not a spark. The ball remained cold and silent beneath his touch.

He blinked. 'Is this? Is this what's going to happen? Just nothing?'

Murmurs began to spread like wildfire through the crowd of Daughters. They were all shocked and in disbelief, and this rippled through the room, louder and louder with each passing second.

"Why doesn't he have a single glow? He didn't even light the crystal at all?"

"Is he even Awakened?"

"I'm not surprised," a particular voice hissed. "What would you expect from an anomaly like him? No Divinity. Not even a spark. He's cursed."

Aeric could hear them all, but his expression didn't change. With his palms still resting on the surface of the ball, his thoughts were elsewhere. Right before him, he could now see the reason why the Divine Crystal was not glowing. A sudden flash of information that appeared before his eyes.

[Breach identified]

[Outside force attempting to collect information about host]

[Information is being Secured]

[Information has been secured]

[Information can not be withdrawn from outside source]

'Well, well,' Aeric thought, feeling a slight smirk form in the corners of his lips, and some relief. 'The system has done its job perfectly. Looks like I won't have to worry about my Class or Skill being exposed after all.'

Even though he felt extremely relieved after seeing that, he did well to maintain his calm, detached demeanor. This sudden blackout from the crystal was likely going to bring more trouble his way, but at least it kept his powers hidden.

He had to act as clueless as everyone else.

The Divine Speaker's voice cracked as he stared at the crystal ball with a lot of worry on his face. "Calm down, everyone. Perhaps… there has been a mistake," he said, clearing his throat, eyes darting from the crystal to Aeric. "Remove your hands and place them on the Divine Crystal again. Do not rush. Let's try once more."

Aeric obliged, though inwardly he knew what would happen. He pressed his palm against the crystal's surface once again, and just as before, there was nothing. Silence. No light, no reaction. The murmurs increased to a cacophony of voices, and they all began to throw accusations and spread their disbelief like venom.

The Divine Speaker was very perplexed, his brow furrowed as he lifted his head and gazed at Aeric. "You said you performed your Coming of Age ritual, yes?"

Aeric raised an eyebrow, his voice smooth and unbothered. "Yes."

The Speaker frowned as his confused eyes searched for an explanation. "And the courtesan who performed it with you… can she confirm this?"

That was a problem. Aeric lifted his hand and scratched his head as he let out a soft, almost dismissive chuckle. "Well… Uhm… she's dead."

More gasps erupted from the assembly, and more whispers surged from every corner of the room.

"Who the hell kills their royal courtesan?"

"I heard she was a spy assassin that's why they killed her."

"No, she's dead because he's a demon here to kill us all, think!"

While this went on, the Speaker seemed at a loss for words, and the air grew even heavier with tension.

"You are certain you awakened your Soul Core, boy?"

Aeric nodded his head. "Yes, I am."

"Hmm," the Divine Speaker raised his hand to his chin in thought. "One's Affinity for Divinity can not be that low, especially if you're a child of Eros. Your connection to your father has to be stronger than ordinary Awakened Players."

'He's not a true child of Eros! Mother Guinevere is a whore who let a man impregnate her and then she gave birth to this... maggot!'

That was the thoughts of Aryanne of Moonlight, who Aeric gave a sharp glance at. How dare she speak of his mother that way!

She then scoffed loud enough for everyone to hear this time. "Talk about low affinity… What about no affinity?"

Everyone laughed out loud, cruel and biting laughter, including some teachers.

"The Divinity hates him so much it refuses to let him control it!" someone shouted. "He truly is an abomination!"

More laughter, the jeers sharp and cutting. Aeric remained still, watching all of them as his calm face betrayed no emotion. Let them laugh. He knew the truth, and the truth was far more dangerous than they could ever imagine.

"Silence!" The Divine Speaker's voice boomed across the room, cutting through the laughter like a whip. "You were all warned prior. No one is to use that word here!" His face had gone pale, and he exchanged a quick glance with the Head Mistress.

Miss Lysandra, standing tall and regal beside the Speaker, added with a steely tone, "There will be no such disrespect in this Institution. Nyssa of Twilight, meet me in my office after the Assembly for your punishment."

"But ma—"

"You heard me, young lady!"

In the crowd, Rosette was sitting with her arms folded as she watched all of this with an unreadable expression, her usual aloofness masking whatever thoughts she harbored. Misty, on the other hand, seemed nervous, her gaze moved continuously between Aeric and the murmuring crowd.

"It is quite strange that even his Class can't be revealed," the Divine Speaker said, possibly to himself in thought. "And it is against the Divine Law to speak of your Class before it is announced publicly in the Declaration of Divinity. This is a most unique situation."

He turned to Aeric. "Come now, boy."

"So, he's a Classless Player with no Divinity at all!" someone shouted from the back as Aeric turned to leave.

More laughter.

But Aeric paid them no mind. He walked out of the hall while the Daughters watched, some with disdainful faces of laughter, others such as Celestia and Melina with curiosity, while others like Meira did not care at all.

'Some see me as a joke, some as an eyesore, others as a mystery,' Aeric thought. 'Well that's just perfect. The less they know, the better. They'll never see it coming, and by the time they do, their powers would already be mine.'

He remained composed and made his way down the stairs with measured steps. The Divine Speaker walked on one side of him, the Head Mistress on the other, both of their faces clouded with worry.

Such a thing had never happened before. Not in years and years of numerous Declarations.

They moved swiftly and once they got down on the hallway, they headed outside the Institution. Aeric glanced at the Speaker, then at the Head Mistress, noticing their concerned expressions. His curiosity flickered.

"Where are you taking me?" Aeric asked.

"We're taking you to the Institution's Divine Priest," the Speaker answered curtly. "To verify if you've truly awakened your Core."

'Of course,' Aeric thought with a subtle sigh. 'They weren't going to let this go easily.' The fact that the crystal hadn't reacted had stirred up more trouble than he anticipated. But still… he wasn't worried. In fact, there was a dark satisfaction in knowing his secret was still safe.

As they ascended the stone staircases, the heavy wooden doors of the Assembly closing behind them, Aeric allowed himself a small smile. Everything was all going according to plan.


Chapter 20: Awakened Test •1

They took Aeric to a smaller building beside the school, amongst other smaller buildings. However, to be fair, this building was not small at all.

It was like a miniature castle, the size of a bungalow but the shape of a fortress. It had spires and a golden door with a painting of what Aeric assumed to be Eros posing like a celestial being with arms stretched and the insignia of all five regions below him.

Aeric scoffed after laying eyes on it. 'Narcissist,' he thought.

They led him inside the building and everything suddenly seemed to be different than the outside. Well, not really when it came to the looks. It was still made of gold and more shiny materials that caused the room to sparkle, but it seemed to be some kind of shrine.

It was structured like a small hall, curved from the ceiling, stretching to the corners of the room and down to the floor where a red mat was spread. There were silver ropes dangling at all corners with something that seemed to be glowing beads that the ropes connected into.

Vines of luminescent ivy crawled along the walls, and they also seemed to glow with some magical essence. They danced across the intricate carvings of celestial symbols that were etched into the stone. At the deepest end on the farthest wall of the shrine was a massive, circular doorway framed by a delicate lattice of shimmering crystal.

Beyond that doorway lied the inner sanctum, where some more stronger divine practices were held.

After scanning the room curiously, Aeric's eyes landed on a strange old man with a white long beard and a beautiful but old purple cloak, hunching with his back facing them. He seemed to be in some kind of prayer.

Aeric glanced at Lysandra and the Divine Speaker, wondering whether they were going to interrupt the man's prayer or just wait it out.

They waited it out.

Eventually, the man turned around and faced them, eyes studying the three of them one by one, but very quickly, as though he was being bothered.

"Divine Speaker." He acknowledged the Speaker and walked toward a chair that looked something reminiscent of a throne.

"Divine Priest," the Speaker greeted back with a nod.

"Lady Lysandra," the Priest acknowledged her as well.

"Priest," the Head Mistress said sternly.

Aeric waited for them to get to him, but when the Divine Priest didn't say anything, he pouted. 'Son Aeric?' he mimicked the Priest's aged voice in his mind. 'Why thank you. Divine Priest.'

After a long inspection, the Divine Priest sighed and sat back, he had this aura of knowledge and power, one that he had certainly earned from his long years.

"This the Son Aeric if I'm not mistaken?" he asked the two grownups.

"Yes he is," the Divine Speaker answered.

The Priest looked at him with more curiosity now, scanning his features. "Why have you brought him here? Should he not be at his Declaration?"

"Well, that is the issue, Divine Priest," the Speaker stepped forward. "The Divine Crystal refused to emit a glow of any intensity. It remained the same when the Son touched it."

The Priest seemed to grunt with dissatisfaction. "Did the boy perform his Coming of Age ritual?"

"He claims so, and his sisters both seem to concur with it. Apparently, the courtesan he performed the ritual with was a spy assassin, sent by Mother Selene, and so she was killed. That is the claim."

"Hmm." The Divine Priest adjusted himself in his seat. "That is a very serious allegation. But for now, I will focus on the Son." He shifted his wise eyes to Aeric who stood still and stiff. "It is against the Divine Laws to speak of your Class and Main Skill before it is Declared, and doing so could affect the intensity of your divine glow. Did you tell anyone about your Class or your Main Skill, Aeric of Starlight?"

Gazing at the man, almost lost in the ardency in his eyes, Aeric shook his head. "No. I didn't."

The Priest rubbed his long beard with his hands, thinking. "Hmm." He rose up from his seat, mind seemingly made up. "Very well. This is a unique situation. I've never heard of it before but I always believed it to be a possibility. And there could be several instances that could lead to such... developments."

Aeric frowned. 'I'm sure none of which includes a system that overrides the game world and gives me a unique Class and Main Skill.'

"You will perform an Awakened Test," the Divine Priest announced.

Aeric frowned. 'An Awakened Test? What the hell's that?'

[Awakened Tests are powerful Divinity Searching Protocols which when performed can assess genuine Divinity availability and sustainability inside an Awakened Player.]

'So it's just the Divine Crystal... but stronger?'

[Awakened Tests are usually more refined and nuanced than the Divine Crystal. They reveal the total Divine Body and the Divinity present, while the Crystal only reveals the soul core which is just the reflection of the Divine Body.]

'That's a lot of word salad. Long story cut short, can you block out the Awakened Test?'

[Any attempts to shield against Awakened Tests return futile.]

'Well try!'

[Invalid request. Awakened Tests are irrefutable.]

'Back in the hall room, you said no outside source can not withdraw information from me!'

[Your soul core is the crux of information. Your soul core has been shielded by the system. However, the Awakened Test does not pry into the soul core, they attain information from the Divine Body itself which is what the Soul Core reflects.]

Aeric thought of it like an x-ray device. These Awakened Tests were going to show the Divine Body which was apparently similar to the skeletal systems and nervous systems. That way, it could reveal if there was actually any Divinity flowing in that system, the same way as blood would flow in the circulatory system.

'Fuck. My cover is being blown already?'

"You don't intend to stand there and gape all day, do you?" the Divine Priest asked, turning to look at him as he had already begun walking to that door in the far wall.

Aeric shook his head, returning to the present. "No... Divine Priest," he replied.

"Then move those royal legs of yours. Follow me into the inner sanctum." He turned around and walked further, while Aeric still watched with some hesitance. The Divine Priest opened the door with a magic spell that unlocked it, then he walked inside.


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