Welcome to Vol 3: No Turning Back!
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[IT IS TIME.] A booming voice spoke out, as if it struck directly into my soul. A voice that I have heard before...
All of a sudden, I felt the different Mana flows within me started to spike. The feeling grew intense, making me groan.
"Ugh...", I uttered. The water ball floating around in my palm quickly destabilized, and splashed onto the ground, making the rug damp. The Mana surging inside only grew more and more intense. It was strong enough that I collapsed onto one of my knees, and started to breathe heavily. Aurelia frowned seeing me react like this.
"H-Hey! I was only joking earlier. Are you alright?", Aurelia said, quickly approaching my side and began checking on me.
"S-Stay back, Miss Aurelia. My Mana is rapidly expanding. I don't want you to get swallowed by it...", I tried to respond, only to feel another surge strike against my body. Prince Olivert also approached us, looking worried. Yet he couldn't even do anything before he became distracted by a deep blue aura that started releasing from my body. My eyes went dim, making me appear unresponsive.
"Is this supposed to happen, Master?", Aurelia questioned, shifting toward Roselia.
Sadly, Roselia couldn't even answer before the same booming voice that directly spoke to me actually spoke out externally for the first time. Enough which caused all three to cock their heads at the foreign voice.
[Potential Awakener's Mana Signature detected. Now establishing link...] The voice said.
To everyone's surprise, they tried looking around to see where this voice was coming from. The last thing they'd expect was for me to speak these words. This voice clearly wasn't mine. Despite that, the words came right out of my mouth.
"You...", Aurelia tried to say, seeing my eyes still dim. Hearing this, Roselia clicked her tongue.
"Tch. I had a feeling this would happen if we stayed here for too long. Amongst the Knights, you are one of the more troublesome ones to deal with.", Roselia uttered, only causing confusion between the two.
"What do you mean by that, miss witch?", Prince Olivert tried asking, wanting to know more.
It did not take long for the trio to get distracted by something else this time.
Ding...Dong...Ding...Dong...
The sound of an ancient bell started resounding around the entire room. It was deep and steady. It sounded off in a way that you couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was as if it was all over them.
"...A sound of a bell?", Aurelia said, trying to determine where it was coming from. She looked all around, and saw my wild blue aura not stopping. She frowned again. "...It isn't you who is doing this, is it, Naoto?", Aurelia quickly determined, wondering if that is the case. Prince Olivert turned quiet and just observed.
"Umu. It looks like something is taking root inside this palace. You two will be in for a good show.", Roselia answered, seeing me not respond.
"Is that right?", Prince Olivert responded. He saw me again. It's not like I was hurting or anything. I just felt this massive pressure striking against me, and I likely knew who it was.
I've heard this voice before...
Meanwhile, it wasn't just those who were residing in Naoto's guest room who experienced the sound of this ancient bell. The maids and the rest of the residents of Valflame Palace also became distracted. No matter where the sound carried itself, it remained the same. The sound of an ancient bell beginning to toll. It was as if it was resonating around the entire palace itself.
Within the main dining hall where the banquet had recently concluded, a couple figures remained behind, which included the newly-appointed 87th Emperor of Erebonia, Emperor Eugent III, and Naoto's Father, Giliath Osborne. Next to the two was Erebonia's new queen.
A woman who went by the name Empress Priscilla. Prince Olivert's new Mother-In-Law. Unlike other countries like Liberl, she is an Empress on equal footing with the Emperor. The two of these people rule all of Erebonia, while the man beside the two will eventually enact their policies. His debut as Chancellor will not happen until the passing of the Hundred Days War.
And it was through Empress Priscilla that Princess Alfin and Prince Cedric were born. Earlier in the day, Prince Olivert brought Naoto to meet his two siblings, and likewise, the Empress. Now that the banquet had concluded, her two children weren't present here. They were actively being attended by her personal wet nurse.
Emperor Eugent continued looking around as the tolling of a bell continued. He was unable to determine where it was coming from.
"A tolling of a bell? What in Aidios's name is going on here?", Emperor Eugent questioned. He was now distracted thanks to this. On the contrary, for Giliath seated next to him, he smiled.
"Does this not sound familiar to you, Your Majesty?", Giliath questioned, smiling.
"Now that you've mentioned it...", Emperor Eugent uttered, recalling a weird sense of familiarity with this bell toll. It was as if he had heard of it.
"How auspicious...", Empress Priscilla said, chiming in with a frown. RUMBLEEEE!
"Eeeek!", Empress Priscilla suddenly yelled out, feeling a subtle quake strike against the entire dining hall. She grabbed onto her chair while the quaking intensified. Thankfully, she did not fall out of place. Emperor Eugent and Giliath also braced for impact.
During the quake, time seemed to have slowed down, but after another moment or two, it soon began to pass. It wasn't violent enough where items started falling down from their cabinets. But it was enough to rattle items where they stood.
Once it had entirely died down, Emperor Eugent frowned.
"Something must be happening within the palace, but what exactly...?", Emperor Eugent uttered, wanting to find the cause of all of this.
"It should be HIM, Your Majesty. Why don't we head out and take a look outside?", Giliath suggested, drawing the two's eyes toward him.
"You seem to know something, General. Why am I feeling so nostalgic?", Emperor Eugent continued to ask, unsure why he was feeling like this. He should feel wary or scared thanks to what just struck his home. But to his surprise, all he felt was a sense of calm, and nostalgia. Like he had felt something from long ago.
They didn't directly head outside, of course. They had protocols to follow in events like this. All they did was wander toward the large windows that peered into the dining hall. Higher up, they could see Dreichels Plaza in the near distance. Their eyes wandered toward a particular area inside the plaza...
As the three started to observe what was happening outside, those residing in Naoto's guest room were equally distracted by the large quake. It lasted for a moment, but that didn't stop the booming voice from speaking out of my mouth.
I could be seen still kneeling down. Head pounding. Pressure rising against my entire body. Energies flowing around inside in a fervor. And all of a sudden, that all turned still. The blue aura vanished entirely. One more line was spoken by this voice.
As the three began to wander toward one of the windows on the left, their eyes turned wide, only to see space start distorted before Emperor Dreichel's statue in Dreichel's Plaza.
Meanwhile, back in our room where the four of us were, we were distracted by the large quaking of the Palace. But that didn't stop the mechanical voice from escaping from my mouth.
[The link has been established. Now initializing the starting trial for the Vermillion Trials proving grounds. Good luck, my future Awakener.] The familiar booming voice said once again, straight from my mouth. The three were drawn to what I had just said.
"...Vermillion Trials?", Aurelia questioned. She remained surprised, as did Prince Olivert. Roselia stood there, thoughts swirling around inside her own mind while she observed me in silence.