Ascendant was word synonymous with power, mystery, and fear. These mysterious beings, though they hardly interacted with the mortal world of Talruy, yet they left an irrevocable mark on the hearts of its mortals. They were known for wielding various laws as pure weapons of miracles and destruction. They were also walking troves of knowledge and treasure.
The Sun Temple, The Moraves Family, The Beast Temple, Fate Scryers, The Aeltic Order, the Illusionists, and Z.E.R.O. These are all organizations in the world of Talruy, steeped in mystery and godhood. Long before the Silence of the Gods, these organizations existed under a collective name known as the Temples. Known for their connections with several unique Gods, they recruited mortals with the potential to go through something called an Awakening, allowing them to step onto the path of ascension. Through continuous refining and accumulation, they all aspired to become Gods on this path.
After the Day of Silence, when the world of the Temples lost its connection to the Gods, each of these temples—driven by the inherent human tendency toward greed—took control of its various structures and transformed them as best it could for personal benefit. Some of them went as far as changing the names of the temples to suit their pride and nature. But the Gods were gone; who would punish this change when the temples themselves were the peak of power in this world? To the world of Ascendants, this change was radical, but to the mortal world, this change was barely noticed.
For every family, noble or not, once their kids had ascendant potential and reached the age of 14, they were sent to the Awakening Temple in hopes that their offspring would elevate their life when they became Ascendants.
Ethan Alerion, the heir to the Alerion noble family, was one of those kids who had the potential to become the ever-mysterious Ascendant.
Sigh, Ethan couldn't remember how many times he had done this today already. He lost his father, an Ascendant who was the sole king of the family. With his ascendant powers, he kept the family afloat. But shortly after Ethan's birth, his father went on a mission to a rift and died trying to kill a Rank 3 demon that was wreaking havoc in the northern region. Shortly after his father lost to the demon, a Rank 4 Flame Ascendant swiftly suppressed the demon before vanishing. This was the story he was told growing up.
He was never there to witness this event, but growing up and seeing the achievements of his supreme father, the Lightning Terror, and that he still lost to a demon, had terrified him. Yet he had been encouraged since he was young by all the elders to walk this path and lead the family back to greatness.
Raising his head to the sky, he muttered to himself, "I'm really not as brave as he was. I don't think I can do it." He spoke to himself in his favorite spot in his father's mansion. It was a single balcony that was built at the edge of the Beast Forest. He loved this spot more than any place in the entire estate owned by his family.
He suddenly laughed at himself. "The Alerion family, huh." "WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!!" He suddenly screamed at the forest, prompting several growls and monster sounds in return. "I could refuse, but I can see it in their eyes. The only reason they still respect me is because they fear the path too. Can't you see I'm scared too?" Ethan suddenly said to himself, shivering a little.
Standing up suddenly, he smoothed his flowing white hair, staring into the distance with his light blue eyes, with a face that carried a natural calm to it.
"Anyway... today's the day. I don't want to be late." He walked back into the room, leaving the balcony, but not before looking at the view one last time.
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"Young master, you'll have to walk the remaining path to the Awakening Temple alone," the Alerion family's carriage driver called out to the person he had driven.
Ethan Alerion, who heard him, took a deep breath. "It can't be all bad," he muttered. Stepping out of his carriage, he nodded towards his father's butler, Ray, a seasoned warrior who had served his father from his initial days as an Ascendant.
Ray was the only person like family to Ethan, as he had lost his mom after losing his father. Now, he had to walk a path that his father had taken because he wanted to keep his father's name. All this was clear to the seasoned eyes of Ray, but he refused to mention it since his young master refused to mention it to him.
"You look amazing as usual, Young Master Ethan. Your father and your mother would be proud."
Ethan smiled gently, embarrassed, as he responded to this man who had practically been his father all his life, growing up in that lonely mansion. It was either Ray's or his father's library. "You know, for a man who prides himself on following orders, you always ignore mine."
Ray smiled as he walked up to Ethan, fixing his collar as he responded, "I'll follow your orders, but calling you young master is a requirement. I'm not changing it any day." Seeing his only family up this close made Ethan a little emotional, as he finally asked a question Ray had never heard from him his whole life.
"D... d... do you think... I can do it?"
Ray, hearing this question, was shocked. He'd known the young master had always been scared, but for him to say it out loud was out of character. Immediately, he recovered and responded, "Of course.... And if you can't, I promise to protect you with my life. But only if you can't." Saying those last words, he placed both hands on Ethan's shoulders and looked at him seriously; he knew the amount of burden Ethan had been placing on himself.
Ethan, seeing this, gradually recovered. "No, Uncle. I can do this."
Ray smiled, seeing this, and stepped aside as Ethan began to walk forward to his Awakening. He couldn't bring himself to say goodbye because he felt that saying something would reduce the little courage he had gathered.