"Lucifer, I believe your daughter will at least get a Grade 10 spirit. After all, anyone with a fiery spirit constitution would undoubtedly have a powerful spirit." August Emhyr said.
"As if anyone can obtain a Grade 10 spirit, even the royal family's heir only possesses a low-level Grade 10 spirit. Don't just say that having a fiery spirit constitution means you'll have a powerful spirit." Darrion snorted.
"Darrion, you're growing old, aren't you? Did you overlook my daughter Aaliyah? She has a low- level Grade 10 Glacial Drake and was chosen for the Empyrean Institute with the crown prince you just mentioned. Did you really forget how badly she beat your eldest son? She came dangerously close to severing his bloodline. It makes me laugh every time I think about it. That punk deserved it for touching her." Lucifer saw an opportunity to retaliate right away.
Ryan cleverly interrupted them before Darrion could say anything, "Father! Rivia and Zahia have arrived. Can we begin with the awakening ceremony?"
Rivia and Zahia entered the arena together. Rivia was already talking and laughing with Zahia, pointing at Dale as if mocking him. Rivia was the only one who had Lucifer's fiery red hair. Her red, coily hair covered her lively face. She appeared to be always up to something, and she frequently teased Ryan. They approached Ryan and stood next to him after greeting Lucifer and other family heads.
Ryan was greeted by two soft cushions and sensed Rivia's breath on his ear, "Little brother, you don't even come to play with me these days. You used to be so excited to take a bath with me when you were younger. Now all you do is keep training every day."
'If I had a choice, I would never leave your side.' Ryan pondered. "At the very least, Rivia, don't call me little brother in front of others. Also, don't worry; once I awaken my spirit, I will spend a lot of time with you." Ryan gave Rivia a wink. Rivia appeared to be perplexed by what he was saying, so she simply nodded.
"You two, take this soul burst elixir. Zahia, you should go first onto the arena. Drink this elixir so that it could awaken your spirit. Remember to always keep your mind serene no matter what happens. Father will love you both no matter what spirit you get." Lucifer said the last sentence while looking at Ryan. Of course, he was aware of his son's predicament, which is why he didn't send Ryan first. He adored his son, but he didn't want Ryan to be publicly humiliated. He then turned to Rivia, "Where is Serena? She was supposed to be here"
"Father I searched for her, but I couldn't find her in her courtyard so she must be busy with some work. Should I go look for her again?", asked Rivia.
"Its okay. We should start now", ordered Lucifer.
Zahia timidly walked on the stage and nervously looked back at Ryan. Even at such a time, she was worried about Ryan. But when she noticed him calmly smiling at her, she sat in a meditative position and drank the soul burst elixir. Nothing happened for half a minute, then clouds began to gather in the night sky above the arena. At first, it was limited to the arena, but then it quickly covered the whole family castle. Grumbles and growls of approaching lightning began to ring in everyone's ears. Suddenly, Zahia's body was engulfed in jet black fire, accompanied by a high-pitched cry.
All the family heads were speechless including Lucifer while looking up at the sky. "Could she have a King Grade spirit? But how could this be possible. Only people in ancient kingdoms and empires with favoured bloodlines can obtain a spirit above Grade-10." Viola Bestia was astonished at the sight before her. Darrion Cherub, meanwhile, was mumbling incomprehensible words like, "How...this can't happen... why does she...lightning tribulation." Then, Darrion received a mental message from Havok Necromi. 'Don't worry, she won't be able to rise.' Darrion just nodded back to him. During all of this commotion, no one noticed the green jade necklace that had been glowing around Zahia's neck since the clouds began to gather.
Listening to the family heads, Ryan deduced that Zahia had a strong spirit but he couldn't figure out what a king grade spirit was. From what his grandfather had explained him before, he thought top-level Grade 10 spirit was the strongest. 'Jiji what are they talking about? What is King grade-spirit and why is lightning gathering above Zahia?'
'Of course, bumpkin like you wouldn't know anything about spirits above Grade-10. You know that average people have a spirt until Grade-5 and usually don't walk on the path of cultivation living their life as commoners. Those who walk on the path of cultivation usually have at least Grade-6. Those with more talent have a higher-Grade spirit. But it seems the potential limit in small kingdom like this is Grade-10. But that isn't the end of cultivation. There are cultivation geniuses who can get a spirit even above that. These geniuses with spirit above Grade 10 have to go through the heavenly lightning tribulation whose number of strikes also determines their rank.' The heathen soul wasn't surprised even at the sight of King grade spirit.
'So does that mean Zahia's spirit is even stronger than mine, because I didn't get any lightning tribulation?' Ryan inquired in his mind.
'No'
'But you… Never mind, then how strong is my spirit?'
The heathen soul got annoyed and said, 'I don't know'.
Ryan quickly shut up once he saw that he wasn't going to get an answer.
Amon appeared out of nowhere on the stage's edge facing the north side, just as the lightning roiling in the sky appeared to be on the verge of striking. His blind eyes warned the heads of the family not to interfere with the lightning tribulation.
The jet-black fire that engulfed Zahia began to gather above her head. The entire atmosphere was shrouded in darkness. Due to the scorching heat around the stage, people in the arena began to retreat. Ryan, too, felt the heat as if a thousand needles were piercing his skin. Just in time for the lightning strike, the jet-black fire transformed into an exuberant Dark Phoenix. The lightning strike zapped towards Zahia's head, but was met by Dark Phoenix's cry and dissipated instantly. A stronger second and third lightning tribulation struck down quickly, but met the same fate as the first. Lightning stopped falling after that and Ryan heaved a sigh of relief.
"Lucifer! Dèvel family has a bright future now that Zahia has a King-Grade spirit" August Emhyr immediately rejoiced at such an occasion. But Lucifer didn't reply as he was looking at the clouds which were still roiling, not showing any intentions of clearing.
*RUMBLES*
'Emperor Grade Spirit', Ryan heard the heathen soul's slightly surprised voice in his soul sea.