The Awakening Temple
It was only talked about by the mortals. Everyone knew of its existence, but a mortal never destined to walk the path of an Ascendant would never be able to see this temple. Surrounding each Temple existed several arrays that hid it from the mortal world.
Most nobles and families knew of its general location but were never able to set foot in its surroundings due to the various arrays drawn to confuse individuals without the talent to become Ascendants.
In the capital of the Kingdom of Alfeara, where the Alerion family held land, one of these Awakening Temples existed. The people of the kingdom discovered that the path through this Mist Mountain was where people not destined to walk the path got lost, only to find themselves where they started the next day. When word got out that the path of Ascendants had been found in the kingdom, the king personally made a tradition in respect of these mysterious beings. The path to the Mist Mountains, where the Awakening Hall resided, was to be walked upon by foot. No carriage or beast mount was allowed on this path.
Respecting this tradition, Ethan Alerion walked with his fists clenched, trying to calm his nerves. Stopping in his steps for a second, he was just about to turn around, looking down at his feet. "Tsk.... I can do thi...."
Suddenly, throwing him off balance, he felt a hand cover his mouth, lifting him off the ground easily. He was moved sharply into a dark alley, and because the path was usually deserted, no one saw it happen.
Slam!
Ethan hit his back on the floor with so much force, feeling pain shoot through him. He lost focus and panicked, but gritting his teeth, he fought through the pain to face his attacker. Taking a few steps back, Ethan finally saw them: two men with intricate tattoos all over. They had their faces covered, but immediately upon seeing them, Ethan stumbled backwards, losing his composure.
"Be quick, empty it in there," one of them suddenly said, throwing a bag to the floor in front of Ethan.
Ethan, seeing a way out, was about to scramble towards the bag to give everything he had—better they left him alone as soon as possible. But remembering something, he stopped reaching for the bag and muttered under his breath, "He wouldn't reach for the bag. How can I even walk the path if I can't even stand my own ground?" Lifting his head, he looked at the two men with anger in his eyes. "Do..."
A smack to the side of his head, delivered with so much speed he wasn't able to react. Ethan immediately lost his life from the hit, just as he was about to exchange words with the men.
"Tsk..... stupid nobles. Come on, let's empty his pockets. We don't get a lot of them, but they're usually loaded."
The second attacker looked shocked that his partner had just killed a noble like it was nothing. "J..John, that was a noble. What about their families? What if they come looking?"
John looked back at his partner.
"Get over here. You're new to this; just do what I tell you and you'll be fine. Forget about their families. The nobles who go towards the Mist Mountain are never looked for by their families as long as they don't see us here. We'll be fine."
The second attacker immediately joined his partner in emptying Ethan's pockets.
"Alright, grab the legs. We'll move the body over there."
"Sure". The second attacker lifted Ethan's body by his legs.
And just like that, the path for the young master of the Alerion family came to an end before it could even begin.
A Few minutes after they left
The cold of the cobblestones seeped through his clothes- clothes that felt damp. Ethan pushed himself up, his limbs protesting with an unfamiliar ache.
"The hell? Did I get run over by a truck or something?" He murmured while trying to stand, and surprisingly, his world seemed... taller and his center of gravity was off.
He looked down at his hands. They were small, pale, and the fingers were slender but short.
"Why the hell do my arms look short?" he whispered, his voice a higher, younger tone.
What the hell? he screamed.
Stumbling into a grimy, cracked windowpane. The face that stared back was a boy no older than 14, fine-boned, with messy snow-white hair and wide, brown eyes set in a face that looked more cute than handsome to Ethan
"Ahh.... I'm a kid. Real classic. For some reason, I don't know why I was expecting to arrive as a 32-year-old man," Ethan in the mirror mouthed slowly with his eyes wide.
The reality of Leo's warning was a punch to the gut. I'm not exactly sure how perfect your transmigration is going to go....'
It suddenly doesn't feel like an adventure anymore.
"I'm trapped... in the body of a child!!!,....what grand opportunity, this is just a cruel joke.
How am I supposed to hunt and destroy the godly essence?"
"I've got two years to prepare, but I'm a kid?" Shaking his head, he continued talking to himself, "I don't see any way to keep up a deadline this short."
Despair threatened to swallow him whole. But as he leaned against the glass, a grim determination took hold of him as he stepped out of the alley.
The city hit him with a wall of smells. The air felt different, almost like it was fully saturated with substances he couldn't understand. He felt a thin resistance while waving his hands in the air slowly.
A blinding, intense pain shot through his skull as a flood of images and sensations that weren't his shot through his consciousness.
The scent of faded perfume and dust. A crumbling manor with a coat of arms, he couldn't quite grasp, as the images were almost too fast to grasp much.
He whispered a name, ALERION, his name ALERION ETHAN.
a declining noble family, of which he was the last direct descendant.
a last-ditch attempt at salvaging the family "The Awakening" at the god temple.
a journey through the city from his manor.
arrogant words to a mugger.
a sharp crack and then.... nothing.
The pain receded, leaving him gasping on the cobblestones, the memories settling within his mind.
The original Ethan was the last descendant of his noble family, the Alerion family.
after losing both parents, he was next in line for the throne, but with his age and his non-ascended status, the family members wouldn't even take him seriously.
As a last attempt, he made this trip to the temple after he became 14 to ascend his affinity because only with real power will he be able to take the family head status and return his family to its former status.
on his way, he was robbed, but as a kid, he ended up saying too much and got hit a little too hard. He died.
, and in that exact moment, Ethan's soul replaced his.
'Whoa," he breathed, the pieces clicking into place
A low grin slowly spread across his youthful face, a stark, unnerving contrast to his pained posture.
A world like this was just what suited him.
He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the lingering headache. He now had a direction and an identity.
First, the "awakening" was his ticket in, determining that he wouldn't be able to do anything about Ethan's family till he had enough power. He pushed those thoughts and focused on what intrigued him the most. Power, true power like what he felt from Leo. Ethan couldn't wait because, unlike the young master Alerion, he wanted something like this, craved it with all his being. Stepping onto the path, he began walking towards the Awakening temple.