A singular chair of a material that was neither wood nor stone. Its design was not very luxurious, but also not bland or simple. It looked quite comfortable and ergonomic, especially with its slight recline and the armrests. But other than that, there was nothing else noteworthy about it. Its size was enough for a child of six years to be able to sit in. Perhaps it would grow accordingly as he aged.
The moment that the chair manifested, the immense pressure vanished. It was like a fleeting dream that the deacon almost did not believe his memory of it if not for the fact that he was watching the children struggling to stand up again. But looking at the unremarkable chair, the deacon truly could not think of it as anything but. He sighed as his hope and expectations vanished with the pressure.
"A chair, useless martial soul. Test your soul power."
The deacon called it useless, and the other children could not help but agree. After all, compared to an umbrella or a stick, the chair could not even be wielded as a weapon unless one would treat it as a heavy blunt object. However, unlike them, Caelum saw something that no one else did.
In the brief moment that the pressure erupted, when everyone was forced to kneel or concentrate on their soul power to remain standing, they failed to see the ubiquitous flash of an image. It lasted no longer than a second, but it was real, branded into Caelum's mind. A majestic palace stood upon the edge of existence, and within stood a grand throne of utter divinity. Seated upon it was a being as old as existence itself, gazing through time to witness the beginning of it all.
It gazed upon him.
The vision was impossibly short, but Caelum felt as though he stood there, before the palace, for an eternity. And yet, he felt no fear. Only an appreciation for an end that has yet to come. He stretched his hand out, laying it upon the crystal orb to see if his innate soul power would allow him to reach that palace, and he was not disappointed.
The crystal orb erupted with a bright light once more, blinding the rest who were definitely unprepared this time. No one would have guessed that a chair could even have a notable amount of innate soul power, and yet here it was, displaying a full innate soul power. Worse yet, the crystal orb shattered into countless fragments. This has never happened before, or at least, as far as the deacon knew.
The deacon was left in a daze before snapping back to attention. Hurriedly, he wrote up their certificates, distributing them quickly before rushing back to the city to report. He was an assault-type soul master, and yet his speed at that moment rivaled even agility-type soul masters. It was as though his life was under threat.
Back in the nameless village, with the awakening ceremony complete, the children all returned home, delivering the news to their parents. In one particular house, Caelum and Celine sat quietly in the living room. It was just noon and their mother was still in the city, working. So the two sat there, staring at each other in silence. The weight of their awakening made it difficult to process their thoughts. After all…
"I have two martial souls."
Celine spoke first, breaking the ice with a gaze filled with confusion and a budding excitement. This was the secret she had barely managed to hide from the deacon and the other children earlier. With a breath, she summoned her second martial soul, illuminating the inside of the house with its ethereal light.
It was the silver moon around which the dragon had coiled, but it seemed unique and different compared to the moon they see at night. This one seemed to have a corona around it, blue flares like that of a very hot sun. Even staring at it, they could not tell whether it was a solid mass of rock or a ball of flames so hot that it turned silvery white.
"I have two martial souls too."
Even as he stared in surprise at the beautiful sun-like moon, Caelum replied blankly. His body began glowing faintly, unnoticeable if one does not focus on him. This was how his second martial soul went unnoticed. Besides the chair, his other martial soul was his entire body. It was a very rare martial soul, but filled with immense potential.
Behind him, a faint silhouette appeared. It was the silhouette of the man who sat upon the throne at the edge of existence. And while most of his features were vague, his amethyst eyes shone with resplendent crimson and gold.
"What do we tell mom? You didn't inherit her Chained Wolf."
"We tell her the truth. And it's not like it's a secret that I was born without a father. Maybe my birth had something to do with my martial souls."
The two nodded in agreement as they fell silent once more, staring at their martial souls. Such a strange thing, for both of them to have twin martial souls of such mystical air. Perhaps it was fate.
Celine had been adopted by their mother when she was three years old, found wandering around in the city without anyone to look after her. Her original name had been Xu Lin'er, but following her new family's naming style, she was given the new name Celine which she happily accepted.
Later that night, as the moon rose in the sky, their mother finally returned home, bringing a roll of cake to celebrate. She did not care if her children had innate soul power or not. The reason she wanted to celebrate was to let them know that whether they become soul masters or not, being alive and together was a blessing to her. They were her children, her only family. And unlike her former family who turned their backs on her, these children trusted her wholeheartedly.
Seeing them both reveal two martial souls each, she was very happy for them even though she was just as confused. It was not lost on her that this much coincidence was not something born of random chance alone. For a moment, she considered asking her former family—the Blaiddyd Clan—for help, but thought better of it. She was just Grace now, no longer bearing the name of the Wolf King. She could only rely on herself when it came to her children.
"Is that… a domain?"
She mused aloud as she felt the strange tug from her son's first martial soul, the chair. Although it was much weaker than when it first awakened, Grace felt the same power that compelled her to kneel. She smiled as she knelt down before her own son, the pride of a soul master gone, leaving only the indulgence of a mother. Her kneeling was not of subservience, however. She met her son's gaze and hugged him tight while calling for her daughter.
That night, the house was enveloped in the peaceful warmth of family.