The Sundown Royal Family are known for their Psionic ability, a variant of Psychic Power, but some awaken unique psychic abilities that make them different from the rest.
Seth, as the last born, was also born with Psionic Ability but they remained mostly dormant until now at the age of fourteen years.
Full awakening usually happened when Spatial Gold was placed in their eyes.
Anyone not of true Royal Bloodline would have their head explode, followed by their body leaving behind no trace of their existence.
The Spatial Gold would then consume the trace and refine itself.
The Royal Bloodlines could resist that, but not all could withstand the weight of the Gold in their eyes, let alone perceive the outside world.
That was why it was Sundown Empire tradition that all children of the Emperor, including babies, had the right to the Crown, but a series of trials were placed to cull down those who didn't meet the requirements.
The first and most important requirement was being able to read the Gold Majesty Letter.
Which will turn their eyes into gold.
The second trial was ceremonial to see how long the Prince could last with the gold in their eyes.
The third trial was bowing to the king to have the hold melted into their body.
The fourth trial was going to any of the old ancient grounds of the Empire that had historical value to the Empire.
The prince must be sent where he had never been and also did not know what Guardian Beast existed in the location.
Seth had a weak constitution but strong mental acuity. But the gold that touched his eyes came with sound, then his brain vibrated with it and his awareness just bloomed.
He now perceived better than he could before. Also, as he was intuitive with Psionic ability, he grasped how to manipulate this force into erasing sound around him.
Unfortunately, it was useless against a Psychic Beast that could fly.
The moment it was inside the chamber, the serpent slithered down and released a pulse of energy that spread across the chamber looking for the intruder.
She caught him, but he was slipping inside a small door under the throne.
Seth dropped into a damp narrow underground place.
His nose twitched as the scent of age hit him.
His eyes adapted fast and his heart skipped a beat. He turned up to go back but the place was sealed.
All around him were tiny snakes, some pulsing with force from their heads. Sensing him, they immediately scrambled away. They felt the superiority of his being.
His thoughts moved fast, noticing a faint light coming distance away.
If that was an entrance and the serpent came through it, he would be trapped with a fighting chance.
He ran there fast, ignoring spider webs catching his face and the dust his body was getting from the dirty walls.
A stench hit him as he glanced at it, causing his stomach to twist. The urge to vomit struck him, but he forced it down.
It was a fresh, half-eaten human carcass.
He didn't stop running, making sure he was still soundless.
That was not to alert the Psychic Beast.
Humans or beasts with Psychic Abilities were extremely sensitive to sound. No matter how silent it was, they would feel it when someone came close.
And as their ability grew, their sensitivity also increased.
Seth didn't halt as he saw a tiny crack on the wall.
'Rusty throne!' Seth cursed.
The serpent was by the location, sending its psychic pulse to feel for any movement.
It must have been there the moment he slid under the throne.
Seth's plan was filled with margins of error, but it would save him from humiliation.
All he had to do was reach the large opening. Seth dropped the force from his legs, and he ran faster.
Whoosh!
From the small crack, the serpent sent its force. Seth couldn't dodge; it was too fast. It crashed into his chest and slammed him against the wall.
Crack!
His ribs caved in and a wave of pain assaulted his head while blood burped out of his mouth.
Seth barely looked ahead, the serpent staring at him from the crack with one eye before it thinned out as another force slammed at him.
The force caved his sternum.
There was no resistance.
Their levels were vastly different.
As Seth slid down, the three skeletons strewn around crumbled.
The serpent moved away its eyes and hissed. The hundreds of baby snakes reacted and slithered toward the fresh Seth.
The moment it moved its eyes moved away, Seth sprang up and ran. It reacted and attacked, but he was not at the crack location.
It grasped what the human wanted and it moved too.
It was faster than Seth by large margins, but it had to turn around different walls and pillars before it reached the hall entrance, and it came as fast as it could.
The human was there, gazing up with sharp red eyes. Evidence that he was suppressing the pain.
The serpent dived down to swallow him whole, but met with a psychic push which made the serpent use its psychic force to crash into it.
Seth is Tier 1: Line Force.
A Line Force was the weakest psionic force, but as the serpent's psychic slammed at it, Seth Psions flashed yellow.
The yellow Psion was more than enough to blast the serpent back and it dug deeper into the serpent.
It hissed and slammed its face to the wall, forcing the yellow psion out.
The serpent became angry, its eyes changed, and Seth trembled as his eyes widened in horrifying realisation.
"That's enough!" An authoritative voice echoed in the ruin and the serpent's transformation stopped.
It was going into a State of Psychic Lord.
'I am against Tier 5?'
Seth heaved. He had already forgotten the pain in his chest. The fear had paralysed his body, and nothing could make his body move unless that fear was removed.
He swallowed hard, and he reached for the gold in him again, which made his Psion flare, making his body break away.
He stared at the serpent that stared back, this time with no hostility.
"Greetings!" He placed his hand on his chest.
His eyes fluttered down and the serpent hissed in annoyance before slithering away.
Seth spread his Psion on his chest before he climbed out.
Having the Psion on his chest arranged the broken ribs in place, and healing accelerated. That's how he was able to run hard when he was attacked.
The serpent had vanished. No, it hid behind its psychic force.
Seth ignored the slight pain and wandered around the ruins.
Is it not over? He wondered before he came to the edge of the ruin.
'I am inside a psionic bubble,' Seth said.
He looked back, 'Was I in true danger?'
'Was that the reason the eldest has his voice here? Is the serpent…'
Seth no longer felt safe. The serpent had aimed to kill him.
He swallowed hard. He didn't wait anymore. He reached in for the gold, and a flash of yellow force slammed at the barrier and it got torn.
Hot, dry wind slammed at his face. Sprinkles of sand flowed inside from the scalding desert.
The cruel sun was above, basking with menace.
'This is not supposed to happen,' Seth thought.
He had gone through every trial his siblings went through, but this was the strangest.
The Fifth Prince also had a weak constitution, making him unfit for physical combat. In his trial, some murals guide towards weapons which he used to fend off the beast.
The psychic beast was only Tier 3.
It is stronger than him, a Tier 1, but all he did was exchange some clashes with the beast, and the moment the weapons broke, he was pulled out.
Seth had assumed that the moment he resisted the serpent, he would be pulled out.
But he wasn't. And the beast was Tier 5.
Something was wrong with his trial.
Seth looked back again before he sighed and closed his eyes. He opened them; they were back to being gold again.
A slight headache came. His temples rippled with his veins. His breathing became ragged. He had moved the psionic force from his chest.
He ignored the pain as he stared at the deadly, scorching desert.
Then he blinked, and the eyelids developed golden lines, following the tiny veins found there.
Then the gold line spread slowly to his face.
In less than twenty seconds his face was covered, then his neck, toward his chest and hands. Before he completes his body.
His eyes ere now less gold; only the sclera was golden, and he could see.
Then he stepped outside the bubble.
His royal robe instantly caught fire and disintegrated in a spraying manner, revealing his gold-veined body.
***
"Father, allow us to pull him out.!" The First Prince's voice rose, shaking everyone around.
"He is only fourteen!" Third Princess muttered inwardly, but they heard her well.
The Seventh Prince turned and was about to walk out. Clearly, his intention was to save Seth, but his body became rigid and turned to gold.