Bab 45: Arius' awakening and Coronation

Amadeus had turned twelve years old and was currently standing in the Throne room along with his mother and grandparents. The two had come back from the clan as Arius was currently finishing off his Awakening ceremony. From what they heard, he had completed it quite well and had successfully awakened. Baldrik had currently gone to fetch him and they were just waiting for them to come back.

Seeing the horns on Amadeus, Caesar looked at him with envious eyes as Atia pinched his side.

"But?"

Giving her husband a stern look, she convinced him not to spar with Amadeus. She feared that the old geezer would mistakenly kill Amadeus due to his excitement. Amadeus saw this and gave a discreet mocking smile to his grandfather. Caesar just happened to glance at Amadeus as a vein popped out his head when he saw the smile. It was like he was saying, where are your horns?

'This brat.'

Their childish confrontation ended when they felt someone enter the throne room. Baldrik walked in while a jolly Arius followed behind. The kid had messy hair and dirt all over his face. His training attire was torn here and there but they could see the shine in his red eyes being brighter than ever. He had left his spiky red hair short and it just reached the back of his neck while he had strands of hair falling down either side of his face. He held a katana in his hand and his smile became wider as he came forward. It was just the six of them as Lily's parents weren't able to make it.

Running to his mother, Lily hugged him and checked all over for injuries.

"I'm fine mum."

Lily nodded and got back up as Amadeus came forward with a smile, patting his shoulder.

"Come."

Amadeus led Arius to his grandparents as Caesar came in front of him and pulled his cheeks.

"Uwawawa."

Caesar gave a laugh as he let go while Atia came in front of Arius and sized him up. Giving him a stern look and a small nod, she moved away while Caesar went behind the ball that would give them Arius' stats.

"You know how it goes."

Arius gave a nod as he had seen his older brother doing it four years ago. Putting both hands on the crystal ball, he injected his mana into it. The crystal ball started glowing for a short period of time as a crystal card was ejected from the ball.

Caesar handed the card to Arius where he dropped a drop of blood onto the crystal ball and out came Arius' stats.

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Name: Arius Drakos

Age: 7

Race: Fire and Ice Dragon

Title: Second Prince of the Drakonis Empire, Hero, Companion of the otherworldly heroes

Class:

Mana: 750 (1500)

Strength: 160 (320)

Agility: 150 (300)

Vitality: 400 (800)

Phys. Resistance: 600 (1200)

Mag. Resistance: 600 (1200)

Active Skills:

Dragon-Human Transformation

Flight

Dragon's roar

Passive Skills:

Dragon's natural shield

Dragon's regeneration

Fire element aptitude

Ice elemental aptitude

Sword combatant

CQC combatant

…

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They weren't as high as Amadeus' but they were still exceptional compared to other Dragon's of similar age. Seeing that there was still enough daylight left, they started making their way towards the clan ancestral temple. Waiting there were the same dragons that guarded the place as they bowed in the direction of the three golden dragons. Entering the place, it wasn't Granny that was waiting for them this time but another woman that had similar features to Granny.

She seemed to be middle-aged with a stern look on her face and plane white eyes. Her black hair with greying ends was put into a bun at the back and she wore loose grey robes. After a set of procedures, the same door opened where Amadeus walked through four years ago, and this time it was Arius that had walked through.

The group waited for about an hour and Arius walked out also with a hint of arrogance. Amadeus looked at his brother and sighed, it was the duty of an older brother to keep his little sibling in check. Turning around, he bowed to his parents, grand-parents and the woman who opened the door,

"Can you please step out for a bit?"

The four nodded and complied as they knew what was going to happen. While the lady looked confused, she followed the rest as she saw them complying. Arius was confused as to what was happening but only saw his brother turn around with a solemn look. Walking to the side, he picked up a stick with incredible respect,

"This skill was passed onto me by Granny as she foresaw this situation."

Arius looked even more confused, as Amadeus walked towards him. Whipping the stick on his hand, a smile unknowingly crept onto Amadeus' face while he tried his best to hide it. Arius got a chill up his spine and his brother disappeared from his vision.

*Whack*

Screams once more filled the temple after four years. A short while later, the family saw Amadeus come out with a refreshed look and Arius following behind him with a limp, fearfully looking at Amadeus. It seemed that Amadeus hitting him with a stick while his eyes were closed and a small smile plastered on his face had traumatised him slightly. He flinched every time Amadeus moved his hand but the latter never gave up and put an arm around his neck. He could feel Arius trembling but ignored it.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to Arius.

"So what class did you get?"

It turned out the latter got a class known as 'Champion' and it boosted his stats to a certain extent. It also came with a halo that helped boost the abilities of the user's allies, it was quite a strong class. It was no wonder that he came out with a bit of arrogance.

"Here."

A longsword suddenly appeared in Amadeus' hand as he gave it to Arius. It was the same black sword that he got from the dwarven castle. The protests from the sword had long since died out and it didn't try to create any contract with Amadeus. It feared the heat released from Amadeus so it stayed quiet. Arius immediately liked it as soon as he held it. The process of the contract only took a couple or so seconds while Arius unsheathed the sword around.

"Thanks, elder brother."

The sword didn't say anything and just stayed quiet. Only when Amadeus left did it start speaking, scaring Arius.

While Arius had turned eight, three months later Baldrik stepped down as Emperor and the coronation of Amadeus was held on his thirteenth birthday.

The streets of Emerald City were packed to the brim and the crowd extended to outside the city. There were even more people that had come to the capital than when Amadeus first showed his face to the masses. Tents were pitched outside as all the hotels were full and business was booming, stalls were opened and one could see children running through the crowds.

The maids around Amadeus were currently busying themselves as they dressed him up. Ariadne was combing his hair while Eriko made sure there weren't any imperfections. Emily and Velia were off getting his clothes ready for the ceremony. Amadeus looked at himself in the mirror and saw the determination in his eyes. The doubts he had were thrown to the back of his mind, all that mattered now was the present, the future was yet to come.

Upon being dressed he wore a purple ceremonial robe that dragged on the floor but this time with no dragon's depicted on it. His hair was put into a high ponytail while only two of his front horns remained on either side of his head. He was able to make the back two disappear but the ones in front seemed to be permanent.

A knock was heard followed by a voice,

"You Highness, it's time."

Sighing lightly, he looked once more in the mirror and hyped himself up.

'It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine…'

His odd coloured eyes seemed to speak volumes as they possessed a maturity not found in a thirteen year old. Unlike those novels Amadeus had read, he wasn't some lone being that went against the world, he was now going to be responsible for the lives of an empire and each of his actions came with major responsibilities.

His fair skin possessed no imperfections apart from the scar beneath his left cheek. That, however, added to his charm rather than diminish it. The childishness on his face wasn't entirely gone but most of it was covered by his stoic face. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his maids who gave him encouraging smiles as a small one also blossomed on his face. As Eriko opened the door, the smile was gone and a strong resolve filled his face.

Within the throne room, two crowds of people stood on either side of the carpet in the middle. There were all sorts of nobles and officials that were there with the more important one in front. The dukes were at the forefront while Lily and Arius were even ahead of them. The Blades stood along the edges of the carpet and stairs. All of them were standing quietly and respectfully as Baldrik was standing next to the throne.

Behind him were a group of people with veils covering their faces. The loose red garments they wore, disallowed people to recognise them as male or female. The garbs they wore were inlaid with a golden silk that looked different from where one looked at it from. If they walked past them then they would see a dragon soaring in the sky.

However, none dared to look at them as they were members of the Church of the Dragon God. Religion was something that the populace needed. It gave them hope and something to fall back on, and if they were faithful enough, they would be blessed by the one they believed in. So naturally, the Drakonis Empire had one that was dedicated to the Dragon God. There weren't strict restrictions to it and it accepted everyone. As for the other gods and goddesses of the world, Drakonis Empire had their temples stationed here and there but the vast majority followed the Dragon God.

Suddenly, the door opened and a voice was heard resounding throughout the room,

"Crown Prince Amadeus Drakos has arrived!"

Amadeus walked in with steady footsteps as they were the only thing heard in the room. They were light, almost quiet allowing people to think that it belonged to a child but each step echoed in their hearts. Amadeus made his way forward and halted before the steps to the throne. He then kneeled down and felt Baldrik's vision pass over him.

"Rise!"

Amadeus got up and started walking up the stairs. As soon as he first stepped onto it, visions filled his mind, it was the start of the war of Dragons against the Gods. He was already told about this before by Atia. Each of the steps were inlaid with formations that sent visions depicting the war. Each of the visions were from multiple perspectives and each step corresponded a year of the war.

This was so the future generation won't forget what the past generations went through to get them to today. One by one, each step was firm and decisive, not hesitation within then whatsoever. In the past four years, Amadeus had gone to train with no equipment, not even food to help gather experience and improve his mentality. He would live in the wild for up to a week, however, he would have to catch up with his lessons. This lifestyle trained his mental abilities to the max but all that training couldn't compare to what he was going through right now.

For him, all that was happening in the battlefield was currently happening to him. Hate, Anger, Sadness and many more emotions flooded his body as he felt like he was there during the war. When a Dragon lost his life, he lost it, when he won a battle, he felt the elation of winning. Like that, Amadeus treaded the steps in firm manner as a new step bought in a whole new life and feelings.

By the time he reached the top, his forehead had a few droplets of sweat while his breathing slightly heavy. However, all the innocence in his eyes was lost as he had seen things that one couldn't even dream. Yet, knowing that another war of a much larger scale was along the horizon, determination filled his eyes. Baldrik gave a slight nod of approval while a priest came next to Amadeus and held out a pillow. On it was a ceremonial dagger and crystal plate with the names of the previous Dragon Emperors. Knowing what to do, Amadeus took the dagger and cut his palm, pressing it down on the crystal plate.

A booming voice left the priest as the screens outside the palace saw the Coronation ceremony. Many screen were placed allowing the population to see it. Everyone held their breaths as the priest started speaking,

"Do you, Crown Prince Amadeus Drakos, give your blood and soul to protect the Empire and her citizens?"

"I do."

…

"Do you, Crown Prince Amadeus Drakos…"

One after another, many oaths were given with Amadeus complying to them. Upon finishing, the priest stepped aside while Baldrik came forward,

"Then, Crown Prince Amadeus Drakos, no, my son, I, Emperor Baldrik Drakos, will hand over my responsibilities I carry onto you."

Baldrik took off his crown and placed it on Amadeus' head. The two were worried that the horns would come in the way but that wasn't the case as the crown shaped itself and worked around the horn.

"Emperor Amadeus Drakos."

His father held him by the shoulders and brought him up. And as if on cue, a group of the figures behind Baldrik bought out a golden Emperor Robe and donned it around his shoulders. A group of dragons roared as all the all the people in the throne room kneeled while his mother bowed. Everyone outside the palace celebrated and nearly drowned out the cries of the Dragons. His father stepped aside as Amadeus turned around, the crown was extremely light on his head, but a sudden weight was added onto his heart.