The morning light hit his face as Orion slowly awoke, dazed.
"Ugh. How long was I out for? It hurts—" Orion's body screamed at him at every contraction of a muscle. Slowly, he helped himself up and sat on his bed. He took a deep breath before checking his phone once again. —28th of July 2102.
'I'm 18.'
For Orion, it was probably the most painful birthday, figuratively and literally. He stood up with great effort and examined his.
'My muscles are denser, my eyes are more... powerful?' Orion could barely focus without his eyes tearing. 'My mana is now fully formed and... I'm already at the peak stage of the first realm?'
Within a realm, there were 5 subsidiary stages. Namely: Initial stage, Early Stage, Middle Stage, Late Stage and Peak stage.
Orion glanced at the empty box on his desk.
'So this is the power of the Earth's core—or at least a small piece of it. It worked, I became as powerful as if I remained in the Inner World.'
Orion sat on his bed, then slowly lay back, and stared at the ceiling blankly.
'What do I do now?'
To Orion, returning to the Inner World was already planned; in fact, his father was supposed to come pick him up today, on his 18th birthday. But now, he felt... alone and somehow abandoned. The silence of his apartment felt suffocating for the first time in years.
'Dad...' The image of his father came crashing into his empty mind. His jokes, enthusiasm, and goofiness. Toren Blade was... a Blade—the blade of Xios and its ruler. Of course, he wasn't the most powerful, but he was strong, strong enough and charismatic enough to make the strongest mages and warriors bow. Yet... he was gone.
Orion felt pain, but not in his heart, not yet. At the back of his throat, he felt a small pain. Every breath, every sigh, every second... he wanted it to disappear, but... he couldn't; it was somehow frustrating. Right now, Orion wanted only one thing: To break something, but he held it in.
'I need to move forward'
Knock— Knock—
First came the knocks, then,
"Orion! Are you there?! Please! Open the door, please!"
A woman's voice could be heard, one he was familiar with. Orion subconsciously used his new mana sense and tapped into his onyx space ring. Instantly, a blade appeared in his hand. It was a tachi—Starlight, its blade as black as onyx while its handle was silver. On the blade itself were various silver designs, similar to the Blade family's trademark.
The front door of the apartment creaked. The first thing the woman saw was a blade, a beautiful blade aiming at her, but not attacking, just there. Then came the whisper;
"Elisa..."
The figure in the apartment stepped out, keeping the blade between him and the woman, Elisa.
"Orion, what are you doing? It's me, Elisa! Are you... against me too?" Orion took in Elisa's haggard appearance and spoke softly.
"They say you caused Dad's death..." Orion's blood was boiling, his mind racing with thoughts and speculations.
"I-I was framed! I didn't do anything! Please Orion... You know I would never hurt Toren, I love him as much as I love you."
Orion glared at her, looking straight into her eyes, trying to search for any deceit in them, but after a moment of tense silence, Orion whispered, "Get inside."
After a while, Elisa was now seated on Orion's small bed. She had simple black leather pants and a white blouse. She also had a cloak around her, masking her body's features.
"Orion... I'm glad you're okay." The relief in Elisa's expression was genuine. It made Orion calm down and sit in a chair in front of his desk.
The relationship between Orion and his stepmother was far from cold or distant. When Orion turned 2, his father remarried and brought Elisa to the royal palace as the new queen. As Orion grew, he experienced some of his father's memories of his biological mother thanks to the royal sorcerer's runes. Orion always craved human touch since he was little. Although he had his father for most of his life, his father wasn't the physical type, aside from occasional hugs. As time went on, he grew closer to Elisa and slowly considered her as his mother, a mother who loved him and who loved.
"Why didn't you disarm me?" While Elisa didn't put up a fight against Orion, it didn't mean she was weak; in actuality, she was a True Mage the last time Orion saw her, and now, her presence feels even stronger."
"I-I... I would never hurt you." Elisa's crystal blue eyes glistened as she turned to look into Orion's eyes. "Orion... They framed me, the one who hurt Toren. I-I am not sure who they are, but they are strong... strong enough to kill Toren. Toren was close to the 6th realm."
'Already? Didn't he become a sorcerer just 4 years ago?'
"Toren was at the Late Stage. A Late-Stage Sorcerer. They killed him and took his mana core. I managed to reach the treasury and used an artefact to teleport to the Outer World, but Cristina, my Raven Blade, informed me that the assassin disappeared and that they suspect it's me who did it."
Orion sighed, and the pain in the back of his throat amplified. "What now? What... am I supposed to do?" Orion leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling. "I... don't know what to do, Elisa..."
Elisa looked down at her lap; she too didn't have an answer. But after a moment of silence, which felt like an eternity, she spoke. "We need to fight... We need to return and—"
"No. It's too soon. The situation is still hot. They are probably searching for you. Sigh. I plan to join the academy next year."
"Academy?" Although Elisa wasn't surprised at his decision, she was surprised at the way he was talking. He seemed colder... She knew the news of his father's passing hurt him, but she didn't expect him to be like this. Her little Orion was soft, kind, and expressive...
"Yes. I awakened thanks to the piece of the Earth's core father gave me. I am as powerful as if I remained in the Inner World. Right now I need to—"
Suddenly, Orion felt warmth. Warmth, he never thought he was going to feel this moment. It felt almost alien, given the situation and conversation. 'Hug? what—'
"Orion..." Elisa's soft voice entered his ears. "You are acting differently from the Orion I know. Don't distance yourself, Orion... Toren wouldn't want that. You need to face it, don't run away from it."
Hearing this, Orion froze. This time, it wasn't just his throat but also his head that was aching. Orion tried to ignore it and embraced his stepmother, but it was in vain. Soon, Elisa let go of Orion and stepped back, looking down into Orion's eyes, which were surprisingly not glistening with tears.
'He's changed. No... he matured. But it still feels too foreign.'
Orion took a deep breath before saying softly.
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
Elisa bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say now. After a short moment of silence, she sighed, relieving the room of its tension.
"I'll trust your words, but if you need someone, you know I'm always here for you."
"Hmm."
"So, um. What now?"
Orion looked out his bedroom window, staring at the rising sun.
'What now? Hmm... In this era, only money and strength matter. I lack strength as well as money, although temporarily. I need to train and become not just strong but also skilled to pass the entrance exam as a foreign Chosen.'
***
Across the 3 kingdoms and other zones of the Inner World— the second layer of planet Earth— there exists only a single academy. The Aurelian Academy. It was named after the first Rank 6 of Earth, Aurelian Acisculus from Romania. He later founded the academy in the center of the Kingdoms and Zones. The academy was not just any academy. It was an academy made to house all Chosen and forge them into weapons against the horrors that roam the Inner World and threaten to invade the Outer World.
The land controlled by the academy was as big as a major country's making it a perfect place to train and house the future heroes of Earth.
And now, Orion had to somehow make it through the exam and obtain a high enough score to get the privilege to learn from the best professors of Aurelian Academy, AND had to become strong and skilled enough to execute that while having only 3 months to prepare and get used to his awakened powers which his peers already did almost a year ago.
Orion stared at the ceiling while lying on his bed. He was currently alone in his bedroom while his mother went out to a stash house to seek an appearance-changing artefact. He stared at the ceiling blankly.
'Why is there a pain in my throat? ...I need to move forward. My father is dead. Dad is dead. I won't see him again. I—'
Drip—
Drip—
'Ah... tears...'