“The magic you have now cannot be transferred in any way, shape, or form. Neither can it be passed down from one person to another. This power, which you Inherited, can only be obtained from the gods and can only be received within the temples of Kismet.” I keep my eyes on him as he walks around the room.
He warns us that doing so would result in Divine Punishment. Unlike others, he doesn’t wait for a dramatic pause and doesn’t give us enough time to process what he was saying and continues rambling on.
“Bergamins with Golden Eyes receive acquired Inheritances. A Peculiar’s Inheritance, on the other hand, is unique. There's nothing else to say except that everything about it is strange; nothing is set in stone regarding how the magic manifests and how one uses the magic properly,” explains the Oracle.
A boy raises his hand and asks, “Shouldn't Peculiars be separated from Elementalists because they are obviously different? Despite the fact that both receive their magic from the same Awakening Ceremony, the difference between Peculiars and Elementalists is vast.”
The Oracle shakes his head once. “The two may be dissimilar, but the difference isn't significant. Both Inherit the deities’ powers, but they use them in very different ways. Peculiars cannot do everything an Elementalist does. And an Elementalist cannot do what a Peculiar can.” He goes back to the center of the room and draws a diagram about the difference between the two. “Fire Dancers, for example, can control fire. A flicker of fire will be produced with the flick of a finger. A thrust of a fist and a fireball will be cast. A Fire Dancer can create real fire, but a Peculiar cannot. They can, however, use the properties of fire to influence someone's emotions, make the person feel rage or fear or love. A Peculiar’s magic is powerful in its own way.”
“If it is so powerful, why hasn't a Peculiar been given the title Great?” Felicia asks.
“This is due to the fact that a Peculiar dies before reaching their full magical potential.”
“How come this is the case? Can I assume that none of the Peculiars are geniuses, incapable of comprehending the academy's books and other materials?” she asks again.
“Each Peculiar is unique, with no two Peculiars possessing the same abilities. It has also been recorded that when a Peculiar dies, some of the people they come in contact with, particularly their close ones, forget about them. Only a sliver of memory remains so we do not really know how insignificant or how great a Peculiar is,” he explains patiently.
…
..
.
To complete the Third Evaluation, all Awakened must familiarize themselves with their newly discovered magical abilities. That is exactly what the House of Hundred Doors is. And that's where we are right now — the Square in front of House of Hundred Doors — watching the Fire Dancers, the country’s most renowned dance troupe made up entirely of Fire Elementalists, perform a ceremonial dance. Their fiery red costumes sparkle as they reflect in the sun; they appear to be vampires with how their bodies glistened in the sun, as if bathed in glitters and glows.
“Such elegance,” Lady Aisha remarks.
I nod in agreement.
“Indeed,” another girl adds. “My sister is an apprentice Fire Dancer, and I've always thought how graceful she moves, but now that I'm seeing these experts, they're totally on another level.”
“The Four Elemental Troupe came to our village once, and I was able to see their performance. The Fire Dancers were my favorite. I mean, the Water Wavers and Air Weavers were elegant and sophisticated, while the Earth Molders were powerful, but the Fire Dancers were elegant, sophisticated, and powerful all at the same time,” Filipa tells us. “Oh, how I wish I could be one, one day. Unfortunately, I am not a Fire Elementalist; if I were, I would apply to be a Fire Dancer and devote my entire life to performing.”
Three other groups perform after the Fire Dancers, before the four of them do a collaborative performance. Following that, the High Oracle, along with all the Oracles, chant in front of the House of Hundred Doors, and the emblem on the massive door lights up and opens as they do so.
“It has now opened! I’ve been looking forward to doing this since I learned about it!” a boy exclaims.
When we get inside, some kids decide to count the doors in search of the fabled hundredth and one door, while others simply gaze in awe at how amazing and majestic the building's interior is. I can’t decide which of the five doors with the Light and Darkness emblem to enter. But something… a strange feeling… is pulling me somewhere else. Something is calling to me, urging me to ascend to the stairs. Unknowingly, I follow my instincts and enter a room; when the door closes, it vanishes, and I find myself in the middle of nothingness and boundless white. As the blinding light passes through my eyes, I squint and try to block it with my hands. I've been in this scenario a few times before, but the blinding light always hurts my eyes.
And the person I desperately want to see appeared before me.
This time though, I did not cry.
“How come you didn't answer my calls? Mariana, you've gone missing. The feeling I had — the connection you and I share never left… but it went away… I thought that would be forever… Do you understand what I mean? You… you were… you left. Gone. Mariana, you vanished.” My brows furrow as I express my grievances to her. I am hurt. I have many things I want to say but I don’t know where to start. “You abandoned me.”
“I needed to be somewhere—”
“Where?”
“Just– just somewhere,” she stutters and I know she’s lying.
I try everything I can to keep my emotions under control. “Where were you?” I ask again.
“I-I-” Mariana turns her head towards me and her eyes lock with mine. “I'm so sorry.”
“You deserted me.” Despite my best efforts, disappointment still finds its way out of my mouth.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” she denies aggressively while she flails her arms around. “I'm not supposed to talk to you in the temple because the Keepers might notice something out of the ordinary. They are sensitive to Divine Connection and may notice something.” She moves forward to comfort me but I keep my distance; my heart aches and sinks, leaving a lump in my throat.
“You abandoned me,” I repeat. “I have so much to say, I suffered so much and you weren’t there. How could you! You told me that you’ll always be there for me. You stole my soul without considering what I will feel and threw it here, then you just vanished.”
“No, no, no, no,” she says in a calmer voice. “I’m… I wanted to talk, but I couldn't. You see, I shouldn’t…” She looks away and stays silent.
I shake my head. “You started talking to me like waaay before. My First Evaluation. My Second Evaluation. You spoke to me in and out of Cylian Paradise; you told me about Ningning's power after my soul returned to my body that one time.” I remind her of the time when the High Oracle handed me over to my mother following the conclusion of my First Evaluation. “You telling me you can’t talk because they might notice something isn't a valid reason… or something that will stop you because you've already done it! You could and did communicate with me even when I was in my house full of magic circles and shit. Nothing prevented you from communicating so why now?! Why now when I need you the most? What happened? It's as if you're hiding something from me… are you?” I ask, my voice filled with suspicion and doubt.
I hope I get answers to my questions.
She moves forward and places her hands on my shoulders, holding me back. “I am not hiding anything,” she says softly and smiles, attempting to calm me down. “I’ve been… I don't know anymore —” She gives up making up excuses and sighs in defeat, “Just… whatever, tell me about the third assessment, everything you know.”
“W-what? Why?” I ask, perplexed by the abrupt change in subject.
“Just… just tell me,” she says, hesitant at first but finding her voice at the last second.
“It's basically — I mean, literally — the awakening of someone's magical abilities that people Inherited from one of the Children. If it works, they can now use magic; if it doesn't, then sorry,” I tell her half heartedly.
“How about the Second Evaluation?”
“What is the point of all this? This does not answer my question!”
“Just answer my questions and I promise that from now on, I will not lie to you. I need you to answer me while also listening to what you yourself say.”
I shake my head and shrug her hand off my shoulders, but I still do what she said. “The First Evaluation is the name and whatever. The second is for communication. Then the third eval. is all about awakening the magic abilities. Happy? I answered your questions and listened to my own answers. So, can you answer me now?”
She inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly. “Correct. The first is Divine Blessing in the form of the Blessed Name, while the third is Divine Protection in the form of awakening one's magical abilities. The second one is Divine Attachment in the form of connection between you and the god. There's a reason these assessments are years apart and cannot be completed in a single sitting. Except for the Royal Families of pureblood kingdoms, all the other children in this world grow up just the same as those on Earth. It takes five years for the next evaluation because only then can they communicate and express themselves verbally. It is essential to form a connection and bond with the deity who has taken a liking to you; after all, they will be lending you their powers. The stronger your bond and understanding of the god and their power, the more powerful you will become and the more abilities you will possess. When a person reaches the age of eight, they have a better chance of awakening successfully and smoothly,” she explains slowly and calmly, giving me time to take in everything she says. “You, however, didn’t get a chance to do so with your god.”
“Are you saying that I lack connection? I lack connection? No way, no. That's bullshit because if anything, I have better– no, the best connection because I'm talking to you. You.” I scoff at her, but when I see Mariana's serious expression, I drop it and think about what she said seriously. “I… I don’t understand. You– I mean I am connected to you. I bond with you. I communicate with you, like all the time, so why… why are you telling me that I don’t have enough bonding or whatever?”
“Yes, you communicate with me. You are correct; we have a bond; we are connected. But I'm not the one with whom you needed to connect. It’s Ningning. That is her symbol on your wrist. Not mine.”
“She is you. She’s a part of you. She… she… I mean… you…” My lips move like a fish, trying to form a word but failing.
“That’s the reason why I didn’t contact you in hopes that you will have a bond with Ningning. I purposely did not tell you because it’s supposed to be by instinct — your connection. So I thought that you would communicate and bond over with a snap of a finger if I backed off a little.”
“You should’ve just told me.”
“That’s the thing. There should be no need for me to tell you because it is something you should know by heart rather than something you should be told. You relying on me too much will only stifle your development, which is something I don't want to happen so I've decided to stop telling you what you should and must do all the time. You must now make your own decisions and follow your own path. I cannot protect you forever; if I do, you won't be able to grow. If I do everything you ask — just like what I've been doing — your foundation will become brittle, and you will fail even before you have a chance to prove yourself. And that’s what happened.”
“You felt it too, right? That the power that encircled you during the Awakening Ceremony is not that of Light nor Darkness, but of Wind. It’s due to the fact that your connection to the Deity of Light and Darkness is shaky. I created a distraction and made it appear powerful, without harming the other children. I cannot do that every time because it will go against the Universal Law.”
“You must now make your own decisions and follow your own path. With Ningning and not me.”
I stare at her without understanding at first, I find it hard to process everything. I refuse to understand what she said. I just recently lost the person I had begun to recognize as my mother. I showed Ash my card, who is clearly a spy and can stab me anytime. And now, after being thrown into this strange world, I'm going to lose the person on whom I rely the most.
Tears trickle down my face and onto my lips. There was a part of me that hated Mariana for what she said. I wanted to demand to know what she meant by all that. But my voice is being controlled by my own fear, my own doubt, my own hate. I can't speak. I can't complain. I can't get angry. I'm tired of this life. Eight years here and it has already shown me more pain and terror than I have ever experienced in my previous life.
“Don’t cry. I’m doing this for your own good. That’s why, starting from today, I will only observe and intervene if there are no other options. Instead, I want you to put your faith in Ningning and her power. I promise you won't be disappointed. She's the strongest.”
She is right, even if her words hurt to hear. I have no choice. I can’t just do what I did back then. I can’t choke again. I refuse to choke. I have to make my own way in this world and begin a life independent of her.
“I'll give you a gift as a token. Give me your wrist,” she says. “I will grant you the largest and widest subspace ever granted to a pureblood royal descendant anywhere in the world.”
“A subspace?” I ask as I watch her feel the pulse on my left wrist.
She gives a slight nod. “Uh-huh. A subspace. All direct descendants of the first kings are gifted the power of space and can create a subspace, the volume of which is similar to an Hermes bag. I'll guide you through the first stages of this power's enlightenment so that you can create a subspace the size of a house. I will also let you use this ability to cut through space and enter it only to exit in a different location. You will be the only person to have teleportation ability. You use it wisely. These are my gifts to you; I’m sorry I wasn’t there to comfort you,” she says as her two fingers on my pulse glow and a current flows through my wrist.
When she is finished, her body vanishes along with the white abyss, and I find myself in an empty room except for a crystal floating in front of me. I take it, and it glows, and I hear a voice tell me that I have found the hundredth and one door.
“Take me with you, my child, and I shall be useful to you,” a voice from within the crystal says. And I did.
I walk away from the room with a new resolve. Be stronger to protect my loved ones and cherish my time with them.
What will tomorrow bring?
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