While the vicar was finishing his introductory speech, the novices carefully placed a mysterious sphere the size of a soccer ball on the altar, resting on an elegant tripod. Its surface shimmered as if a swarm of constellations were dancing inside. She herself seemed to be a fragment of the night sky, absorbing the secrets of the distant stars.
Every self—respecting citizen knew that these spheres were the foundation of the power of the entire Roman Empire, a treasure that had no price. Made from the legendary orichalcum ore, they served as conduits of divine power, helping people in their awakening.
The only source of this ore was the depths of the Quirinal, one of the seven great soaring hills of Rome. Alas, only those who laid the foundation (4) could survive in its mines. In early times, many worthy patricians had to sacrifice their lives to obtain orichalcum. Their victims were still admired today, when foreign slaves and prisoners replaced native citizens in hard labor.
The sphere on the altar was not just a jewel—it represented power, mystery, and the promise of a bright future for all Romans awaiting awakening.
While the sphere was being powered by the energy of the altar, Adam handed over responsibility for the ceremony to his trusted supporter, Cardinal Allarik of the Church of Light.
A short, slightly stooped brown-haired man slowly ascended the platform. Opening a massive book draped in a gold cover, he stopped at the top of the altar and began to chant:
"In the name of our Lord, the majestic God of Light, I proclaim the beginning of the awakening ceremony. O great guardian, grant your messenger in the human world permission to carry out your will, for the benefit of all believers. Phoebe... ("Amen" to Apollo)."
As if in response to the priest's prayers, the entire pyramid was illuminated with the purest divine light.
"Come here, child." – Allaric announced solemnly, having already turned around to face the crowd.
Grace watched the scene with mild awe. When she heard the priest's call, she let go of her mother's hand and walked with small steps to the altar.
Unsteadily climbing to the top of the shining pyramid, she stopped right in front of the priest, waiting for instructions.
The girl felt a mixture of awe, admiration and expectation. She couldn't wait to find out what kind of magic core she would receive, and how her brother, mother, and Kasi would react to it.
'If it turns out to be an S-class core, I'll be praised, right? Yes, it will be! Mommy will give toys, and my brother will admire his older sister even more.'
'I'm definitely going to win this bet. But what should I wish for? Let him put away my toys all day? No, it's too easy.'
'Maybe he'll comb my hair? No way, this is a punishment, not a reward! But I want this ignoramus to learn how to be gentle... I thought of it, ahahah. Let him train on his mom, he certainly won't hurt her! That's settled. Ahahaha. I'm a real genius,' the little girl was lost in thought, waiting for the beginning.
Noticing Grace's distracted and slightly worried state, Eric smiled at her encouragingly and asked her to put her hand in the "Source Sphere". Grace obeyed.
"Focus on your body, relax, feel the changes in it. When you feel a slight tickle in the abdominal area, concentrate on it. Remember this feeling. Can you feel it? Now try to direct the tickle up your body to your arm, and then send it into the sphere," Allarik instructed in the same comforting tone.
Grace was extremely focused, at first she felt nothing but a slight numbness all over her body. Trying to relax, she felt an unusual tingling sensation just above her navel.
As if noticing her intense attention, the tingling intensified. Grace imagined it rising to her solar plexus, where it was already itching distinctly.
Concentrating, the girl directed the itch up her body, directly to her arms, then to her elbows, hands, until it reached her fingertips. As if succumbing to an extraordinary attraction, the energy fell into a dark sphere.
As soon as this happened, the "Source Sphere" was illuminated with a rainbow light.
The darkness seemed to have disappeared. Like a living fire, multicolored flashes danced inside. Red, yellow, green, light blue, light blue and dark purple. All seven colors were present, intertwining with each other.
The radiance of the sphere was so dazzling that it illuminated the entire altar, creating a mystical aura that seemed to match the intensity of the soft white color.
Without explanation, everyone present realized that the princess' magic core was exceptional. Comparing their own awakening rituals with the current one, most of the results were disappointing.
Of course, this is also due to the quality of the "Origin Sphere" itself. But that's why high-quality products are used for the royal family. Their genes are inherently strong. A standard awakening stone simply won't work and can help sense their core. And a low-quality sphere is highly likely to fail to reflect its type.
There were gasps of admiration from everywhere. Light exclamations and whispers could be heard here and there as the priest frantically flipped through the book in an attempt to determine the type of core.
Finally, after completing the calculations and coming to an obvious but incredible conclusion, the excited priest spoke:
"After analyzing the past ritual, I responsibly declare that the core of Princess Grace is a legendary class magic core with a Class S throughput. A rainbow magic core that allows its user to use any elemental magic without overloading. The future deeds of the princess will undoubtedly shake not only the province of Light, but also the entire Roman Empire."
Upon hearing the detailed explanations from the cardinal himself, another collective sigh went through the crowd. To understand how special this core is, you need to know that most of those present were able to develop their cores to A-class only after years of hard effort and countless resources spent.
These resources would be enough to provide a small city for a decade to come. And so the little girl gets all the fruits of their hard work just by right of birth.
To further remind them of the injustice of life, a ray of light fell directly from heaven and enclosed the altar in an impregnable light cylinder. Every citizen of the province of Light knew what such a phenomenon meant.
The patron god of the province, the most handsome man in the world, Apollo himself, wants to personally talk to the princess.
Few people had such an honor. It is extremely difficult for representatives of the aristocracy to interest the God of Light. This usually requires extremely expensive offerings. If God himself is interested in a little girl, then she will certainly receive his divine blessing.
Meanwhile, at the top of the pyramid itself, surrounded by the sacred radiance, Grace stood wide-eyed. She watched with fear and interest the blurred white figure that resembled a human.
By this time, the cardinal had already prostrated himself in reverence and reverence, hitting his forehead on the ground.
"What are you doing, Princess? Kneel before our god!" he said, sweating profusely.
"Never mind, never mind, let it stand, those who don't know are innocent." – said the figure in a neutral voice. "What's your name, girl?" he asked, while his eyes shone like searchlights. Those eyes stood out even against his figure of light.
"I'm...I'm... Grace... The Princess," Grace replied lamely. She was clearly under a lot of stress from such intense attention.
"I see. So Grace is a very pretty name. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I decided to show up in person because I admired your talent. Do you want to become my full-fledged priestess and sworn daughter? Just like little Eva. You will be able to enjoy both secular and ecclesiastical life. You will guide people on the path of light. You'll become even more beautiful. You can get fame and honor. And eventually get to Illisium. How does it sound?"
"I... rather... Starlight... The princess. Yeah... My mother is Ekaterina... Permission..." Grace stammered, very nervous. However, she was unexpectedly interrupted by the cardinal.:
"My God, let me tell you some important news. Alone."
"Oh, you're brave to interrupt a conversation with my future holy daughter. But go ahead, keep going. Let me hear it. I hope it's really something important," God replied.
"Yes, this minute, dear God. The fact is that, according to our assumptions, the girl's brother may be a harbinger of the night. Don't be impertinent, Your Excellency, but this humble one thinks it's worth considering this fact, allowing the girl to stay in the secular world," the priest quickly replied, sweating profusely under the stern gaze of the supreme being.
"Hmmm... A harbinger of the night? How did you come to such conclusions? Was the night all over the world?" The God of Light asked. Now he was interested.
"Responding to my lord, two phenomena happened during the birth of children: first, a rainbow appeared, which clearly refers to Princess Grace. Then the phenomenon was interrupted by the universal night. We don't know for sure, but we assume that it could be the phenomenon of the birth of Prince Grey."
"The boy has dark hair, despite the fact that his father is blond and his mother is gray. This may be just a consequence of an interrupted phenomenon, but it is possible that it caused the eclipse."
"I took the liberty to address the Roman pontiffs. They issued a decree on further investigation. We can confirm the information exactly by checking the child's magic core."
"The Roman Senate fears that the boy may be responsible for the prophecy of St. Matthew: "When day and night lose their rhythm, IT will be born, marking the decline of humanity." By their decree, all priests conduct a thorough check of all those born on that day. He's right over there, standing next to Vicar Adam," the priest explained, pointing at Gray.
The God of Light shifted his sparkling gaze to the members of the royal family, studying each one for a long time and intently. When he noticed Katerina, his gaze shone so intensely that it could burn through walls. For a moment, God was stunned, but no one could notice the small change.
It seemed to others that nothing was happening. However, a whole whirlwind of emotions was raging inside him. He stared at Katerina's figure for about 10 seconds. One must understand that for a god, 10 seconds of reflection can be equal to a dozen years of active research by a team of mortal philosophers. But in the end, he looked away and looked at the dark-haired boy.
"Interesting. How interesting. I didn't expect something like this when I came here. To think that this could happen. Maybe he is, and maybe not. That changes everything. What a big variable. It opens up so many possibilities. I need to do something urgently." The god of Light muttered to himself, not paying attention to the fact that he involuntarily voiced his thoughts aloud.
"Do you know what is required of you?!" the god asked, grabbing Allarik by the wrist. He sent a stream of pure light energy into the priest, which also carried a set of instructions.
Allaric looked at his hand, which had just been held by god, and his eyes narrowed slightly. However, he replied in a firm tone, "Yes, my lord!"
Good. Know that you have my support. After all, give the girl to Eva to raise, she is small, and she can be raised properly. This is your reward for your faithful service to the light," the god continued, placing his hand on the top of Allarik's head.
"My daughter, come here. I have to go, but I have a gift for you, it will protect you from any harm," the god said, handing her a white bracelet.
Grace approached, rejoicing either at the gift or at the end of an unusual conversation.
"Good luck, child. Allarik, do not let down my trust," the god said goodbye, dissolving into particles of light.
No one heard him mutter.:
"Apollo, oh dear Apollo, you can't blame me for what's about to happen. You brought this disaster on yourself. Who asked you to leave the altar unattended? You chose to ignore this call. Ahahahahah."
"I need to find Apophis urgently. Only he can hide the boy from the attention of Hedra and Nyx. Ahahahah. Pratos has a chance!"
Meanwhile, Eric got up, took a deep breath, and looked with a very complicated gaze at a little girl who was happily playing with a bracelet. The girl had no idea that the value of her new toy could be compared to a small estate in the center of the capital.
In the end, he could only take a breath and strengthen his faith. He's already been through a lot today, or he'll be through it again.
Watching the dome of light dissipate, Allaric tried to make sense of what had happened. The whole situation seemed a little strange, and doubts crept into my head. What did the divine Apollo notice? Did the prophecy even excite him? Did all the fears of the Roman pontiffs turn out to be real?
Having come to a conclusion, Allarik decided to fully trust the judgment of his god, as always. Should he doubt God's words at all? Of course not.
God gave him power and status. His job is to fulfill God's will, to carry the word of God to the masses, and not to ponder the motives of a higher being. He doesn't want to become a heretic.