Chapitre 3: Blessings
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Eldoria, saviors!"
Languid shouted to the students, but they were still too shocked to comprehend what was happening.
'Hmm... another failure? Perhaps they simply need a little kickstart.' Languid thought to himself before chanting something and snapping his fingers, sending a calming sensation through the bodies of the students.
"Now... are you all ready to listen?"
...
About thirty minutes passed, and Languid finally finished his long-winded explanation.
Basically, their goddess was at war with another goddess, and according to a prophecy from their god, they needed otherworldly heroes. The reason for their conflict was unknown, but it was said they truly hated each other.
"So... you summoned us—regular students—to fight against an evil god? And you're sure this was a smart idea?" Sylvia was the first to speak, quick nods coming from the other students.
"I know how it may sound, but you have all been blessed! Once you begin the awakening process, you will be granted abilities by the grace of Goddess Celestia! We will provide for your every need and give you top-notch training to ensure you are adequately prepared for the upcoming war." Languid finished, observing the reactions of the students.
Some showed joy, while others sobbed. But what really caught his attention were the reactions of two people in particular.
A rather tall man with black hair and eyes stood straight. He seemed more confused than scared, but Languid could sense the hostility emanating from him as he quickly scanned the room, eyeing each guard and exit.
The other was the woman next to him. She didn't seem scared either, but her gaze was focused entirely on the man beside her.
Shaking his head, Languid silenced everyone and made them follow him to the next room.
"Hey, bro! What power do you think I'll get? I'm thinking something cool, like from a comic! Maybe something with flight?" Eric's excited voice rang out as he jumped around Eden in excitement.
"You're afraid of heights; there's no way you'd want flight. But I guess we're about to find out." Eden replied, curious about what would happen to him.
"Ahhh, don't worry, Eden! Even if you don't get anything good, I'll protect you!" Sylvia suddenly appeared, patting her chest with a smug smile on her face.
Eden chuckled and said he was counting on it, causing Sylvia to speed up to be the first in line for awakening.
~
The testing process was quite straightforward.
Languid had everyone stand side by side and focus. Eventually, an avatar of the Goddess would descend and bestow everyone with an ability.
Once everyone was in position, a soothing light shone, relaxing all the students.
Then, an amazing sight occurred.
An ethereal figure slowly floated into the room. It took the form of a beautiful, mature woman with long, flowing blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She had a kind smile on her face as she stood in front of the first student.
"Everyone except the students, kneel before our goddess!" the king commanded, and everyone listened, prostrating the entire time until the goddess left.
Celestia approached Sylvia and placed her hand on her forehead, reading her thoughts and desires before granting her abilities.
'I want to protect Eden!'
Celestia paused at the name for a second before shaking her head. 'Couldn't be…I'm really losing it, huh?' She regained her composure and smiled at the love deeply engraved in the heart of the young maiden before her, then bestowed the perfect power.
Moving on, she did the same with the other students, but found nothing particularly interesting. She gave them random powers and continued until she reached a more intriguing section.
She stood before Eric and placed her hand on his forehead.
'I want to be in the limelight again! I want to get stronger…no I want to be the strongest! I want to be better than everyone! I want a harem, and for everyone to look up to me!'
Seeing his desires made her laugh at his simplicity. Of all the mortals she'd seen, he wasn't the first to have such wishes.
In a generous mood, she decided to give him some extra benefits.
Eric's body began emitting a faint light, but since the spectators were still prostrating, nobody except the other students noticed.
Celestia nodded in satisfaction, thinking that things were about to get interesting.
Next were Mike, Kei, and a chubby boy named Eli.
She gave them decent abilities and moved on to the final two people.
The next person was Alycia.
Celestia performed the same action, but the moment she touched Alycia's forehead, she paused, a massive smile forming on her face as she read Alycia's desires.
'Haha! It's one track in there. Who would've thought a girl like this had such a side to her... reminds me of my sisters!'
Celestia grew fond of the girl and decided to go all out, blessing her with the ability to fully manipulate five different elements without harm.
Normally, she would have only granted one, and even that would have been a weaker version. But she liked this girl, so she decided to spoil her a bit.
Finally, there was only one boy left.
She was quite excited for this one since Eden's name had come up several times from the desires of other students.
Upon reaching him, her first thought was curiosity. She didn't see fear or awe in his eyes; even lust was absent. His face showed a polite smile, but she couldn't tell if it was sincere.
'His eyes seem strange... his hair too...'
All these thoughts made Celestia even more excited to dive into his mind.
Her hand made contact with his forehead, and she waited and waited, but she couldn't read his desires.
'Hmm... it's not that he has no desires. Rather, there seems to be something blocking me from reading him.'
She tried to give him a random power but was met with an even bigger surprise.
'Wait, what?! There's already an energy slot in his body! And it seems strong as well!'
Discovering that Eden already had an ability piqued Celestia's interest even further.
A small part of her sparked with life as a thought crossed her mind. Her rational brain kept that hope locked away for fear of being wrong.
Deviating from her usual actions, she inserted some of her divine power into his body, intending to search his soul.
Suddenly, she felt a freezing sensation, as though a terrifying entity was watching her.
'You've intruded too far. Die.'
A voice spoke to her.
Celestia was a powerful god in the divine realm, and though there were many stronger, none had ever made her feel such fear.
She truly felt the embrace of death. Even though this was only an avatar, based on soul power alone she was certain this being could still kill her true body.
Inside Eden's mind, she struggled to look up, only to see a shadowy figure sitting lazily on a massive throne. The figure rested its head against its fist before it opened its eyes and saw her.
'Oh, it's you.' was all the being said before it withdrew the pressure and closed its eyes again.
"Hah... hah..." Celestia immediately gasped for air, confusion crossing her face before she felt a calming sensation as the icy death chamber transformed into a warm embrace.
A familiar embrace...
"!!!" Countless emotions surged through Celestia as she recognized the entity.
Tears began to stream down her face as she shakily approached the throne.
"I-Is that you? Darling?"
...
Meanwhile, the students who had already received their abilities stared at Eden and Celestia, noticing that they had been stationary for too long.
They saw Celestia's body begin to fade the moment she touched Eden, causing gossip to spread quickly.
The rumors were silenced as she appeared to stabilize and removed her hand from Eden's forehead.
~
Celestia was finished, but she remained in a trance, thinking about what had just transpired.
She had asked the figure many questions but received no response.
'It seems to only be on the defensive since his soul isn't fused yet... now that my divinity has advanced, I can help speed up the process! I need to bring him more shards.' Her mind raced with excitement as she looked at Eden, her gaze fervent.
Her passionate stare left Eden confused, wondering what she had found out about him.
"Unfortunately, this avatar has limitations! I'll have to bring my true body here, but that will take a while... Here, hold on to this!"
Celestia handed Eden a strange box, her avatar disappearing before she could explain further.
The confused Eden just stood there blankly, wondering if his carefully crafted mask might finally break in this strange new world.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone