How is this possible? His blood is tainted.
Have the gods themselves awoken from their slumber and blessed him?
That's impossible. There are no gods. Those are just rumours.
Then explain to me why a bastard of tainted commoner blood has awakened a celestial grade soul?
The murmurs were almost deafening, as a staggering 99% of the royal high court couldn't believe their eyes.
But amidst the doubt, one person watched the scene unfold with tears of admiration in her eyes.
Gina Vashti.
She had never assumed the family name, as her presence was never welcomed here, not within the royal court, but she couldn't help but sneak in when she heard the commotion from outside.
She'd thought her biggest fear had come true. That her son failed.
Instead, she came in and met a marvellous sight. A celestial-grade fire soul.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Even Aurelius didn't get that sort of talent, only stopping at Monarch-level.
She'd heard of the king's crowned heir, Kai achieving a legendary-grade domain with a sub-domain that was also legendary.
And she feared for the future of Kion, her child.
She'd hoped that he'd at least managed to snag a common-grade soul. That would lessen the shame and scorn that would come at them right after.
But a celestial-grade soul?
That was even too much.
This much power could also mean unwanted attention towards her son's well-being.
Kingdoms would topple and lands will burn to possess that kind of power.
Being this powerful was a big security risk, especially considering the fact that the royal court might just feel intimidated by him and throw them both out of the kingdom.
She wondered how things would turn out when that happened. How would they even survive?
But it was then that she saw the shared look of admiration, that she bore, on Aurelius' face
Gina felt a tad bit of reassurance.
Assurance that her boy would be given the best resources and be sent to the best academies.
The king wouldn't joke with quality talent like this.
And if the King himself took Kion serious, then no one would take him for granted anymore.
He would be just as, if not more special, than the crowned prince himself.
The one person who had looked down on them the most.
Meanwhile, Kion was fuming. But above all, he was shocked.
It was almost as if Kion knew he would get this kind of power. The confidence he took on this morning was unrivalled and unexpected.
Like he himself was announcing his own entry into power in a subtle manner.
He knew what this meant for him, and especially after the way his father had reacted earlier, he was sure of one thing.
Kion had levelled the playing field.
He wasn't just a mere bastard son of a whore with unpure blood anymore.
He was a force to be reckoned with. A force that King Aurelius' power-hungry paws wouldn't be able to stay off of.
It was in this moment, that he decided within himself to train harder than ever.
There wouldn't be breaks or tests for him, only pure, unrivalled hard work.
He would remain stronger until his dying breath, ensuring that his brother never caught up to his power level.
He was already an uncommon-ranked warrior with legendary potential. This kept him a good two power levels higher than Kai, who was practically rankless at the moment.
He wouldn't give up that advantage for anything.
Suddenly, Kai was wrenched from his thoughts as the courtroom gasped once more.
Immediately, his eyes darted to where Kion knelt, and what he saw next made his heart sink further.
On top his head, next to the red symbol of flame, was a rare sub-domain most people could only dream of getting.
Acquiring a sub-domain of a soul core was rare enough, but there were some sub-domains that were marked rarer than others.
The lightning soul being one of them.
People who had lightning as their primary soul domains weren't even up to 100 in Stormholt.
And Kion had simply just gotten it not even as a primary domain, which was relatively easier, but as a sub-domain.
The most shocking thing about it all was the class, a blue tint surrounding the lightning symbol.
Mythic-level.
A step lower than legendary, but still powerful all the same.
Mythic-level souls were as rare as they came, and acquiring one as a sub-domain right after bagging a celestial-grade soul was quite the shocker.
Most hadn't even expected him to get a subsidiary domain, as a celestial-grade soul was all the power he needed to conquer kingdoms if he wanted.
Basically, Kion was powerful, and had exceeded all expectations (if any) that had been placed upon him.
The courtroom was shocked.
Aurelius was pleased, something that hardly came by for the strict king.
And Kion, well, was just stirring awake.
As the last stage of the awakening ritual had been successfully completed.
At this time, his physical changes were hard to miss.
He had grown some muscle to accommodate his swordsmanship skill. He had also become taller, his height increasing to a solid 6'5" and his weight jumping to 190 pounds. He looked more imposing
Unbelievable.
He might be the strongest prince Stormholt has ever had in its history.
He even outdid the crowned heir.
Kion heard the usual whispers from the members of the courtroom as he was escorted out by the priests' apprentice.
But this time, instead of the usual scorn and mockery he received from the elders and advisors, Kion sensed something in their words that he never thought he'd get to experience in his lifetime.
Admiration.
It was all shocking. How an entire courtroom of old haters had quickly switched roles.
And it was when the apprentice had told him of the soul(s) he awakened that he finally understood why.
"You awakened a celestial-grade fire soul and a subsidiary mythic-grade lightning soul, my prince." The apprentice said to him, smiling ear-to-ear.
"Stormholt will be great again!" He said with newfound admiration, and Kion couldn't help but smile under his infectious cheer.
He vaguely remembered how the power systems worked in his last life, although he hadn't known much of it due to the fact that he never really awakened then.
But it seemed he'd not only awakened one, but two powerful souls.
"Well, well. That goddess has outdone herself." Kion thought to himself, as he was beginning to appreciate Thea for granting him another chance.
However, his mood soured when his mind brushed over the past events that had just recently happened, and it was then that Kion realised that there was more to it than it seemed.
During his enlightenment, after he had narrowly evaded the onslaught of arrows with his powerful doppelgänger friend, Kion had found himself in a dark void.
A place similar to the pocket realm which Thea inhabited. Her self-proclaimed prison.
However, it was not the nature of the place, but the next words that his look-alike told him that really made his heart skip.
Trust no one.
The words came out of him in a blur, and of they were said to just about anyone else, they may have missed out on the subtle message.
Not because of their mere inability to comprehend the words themselves. That was even the easy part.
But the discreet tell-tale signs that spoke of a darker message. One that existed beyond just "trust".
It was in the way the boy's eyes grew dark and stormy, the way his body stiffened, his voice carrying on the message with a firm stance that gave no way for debating or controversy.
Trust no one.
It was short, quick, and momentous, as in the next moment, the boy vanished again, as Kion's dark void of a world crumbled and gave way to a blinding light that seared his vision.
His eyes squinted as he blinked, and in the next moment, he saw himself back at the courtroom, the elders and scribes gaping and gawking like they had just seen a ghost.
The boy had gone, and Kion found himself with even more questions than answers after that strange encounter.
But amidst the confusion, the message was clear and simple.
Trust no one.
And that meant no one.
Not even the goddess who'd granted him reincarnation.