Vicente gazed into the red eyes of this redhead and politely explained the situation. "Senior, my sister is blind, and I have been authorized by someone else to bring her here."
"Oh?" That woman looked at Lauren with a hint of pity after hearing about Lauren's condition.
However, she quickly returned her focus back to Vicente, asking, "What's her name?"
"Lauren."
The redhead looked at the young black-haired girl next to Vicente before saying, "Lauren, you are now already at the awakening site. Just stay where you are. You won't need to move from now on."
Lauren simply nodded and replied, "OK."
She then turned her attention back to Vicente and took hold of his shirt while practically dragging him out of there as she said,
"As for you, little lad, come with me."
"Uh? Hey, let go of me. I can walk by myself!" Vicente protested at this woman's rogue behavior, however, she just smiled at him.
As she stepped off the platform, she stopped dragging him, released her grip on his shirt, and explained.
"You will accompany your sister's Awakening by my side. No one except children who are 14 years old and don't possess a Magic Gem may be on the platform during the Awakening.
A younger child or an adult with a Magic Gem could suffer severe consequences if they are present on the platform during the Awakening."
"Is that so?" Vice straightened his clothes and inquired as he looked at this beautiful woman, "Has it ever happened that someone outside those parameters ever stayed there during Awakening?"
"Hmm, it has happened several times. So we know about the danger of doing that." She replied, observing the surroundings. "Many have even tragically died doing that..."
Gulp!
Vicente looked into the woman's eyes with a solemn expression and asked, "Is that also the reason why we can't have more than one Magic Gem?"
Given how amazing it was to have only one Magic Gem, many had already considered the possibility of having two of them simultaneously!
Be it unfortunately or fortunately, this was impossible since the gems were connected to the magician's soul, and to have two of them, one would need to have two souls!
"Hmm, without having a space to add a second Magic Gem, the person who went through a second Awakening would suffer a mental and physical collapse, with chances of more than 80% of their soul being obliterated.
Even if one were incredibly talented, although they won't die, that person would still be crippled in every imaginable way." She didn't mind answering this child's questions and gladly provided information.
Being a member of the Awakening Temple, it was a part of her duties to pursue knowledge regarding the Magic Gems and Pentagrams, and she loved to talk about this subject.
While Vicente didn't know her, he could see it in her countenance.
Even as she taught him while observing the surroundings, this woman had a deep satisfaction in her voice.
Meanwhile, as time quickly passed, more 14-year-olds joined the Awakening Platform until 50 of them were awaiting the moment when the clock on one of the side walls would strike in the middle of the day.
Since there were only a few minutes left, the chatter of family, friends, and other onlookers was gradually diminishing as the special moment approached.
While Vicente was watching his sister, feeling sweat developing in his hands, Andrew and Nina stood in front of the glass wall, overlooking the platform.
Andrew was looking at his daughter, waiting to see if she would inherit his or Kate's characteristics.
In this world, you couldn't be sure of that until the very day of the Awakening, so he was only focused on observing his daughter, waiting for that sign to occur.
He hoped Lauren would inherit Kate's talent since she had more magical talent than him.
If that were to happen, then he could finally find some reassurance about the future of his children.
While Kate did not have a great magical talent, she had at least reached the end of the 2nd stage.
If Lauren were to inherit Kate's talent, even after being blind, she could help Nina and Vicente somehow.
'Kate, oh, Kate, if only I had been the one to die instead of you, our children would have had a better life,' Andrew lamented as he closed his eyes.
Unlike Kate, he had no living relatives. All he had was him and his children. Thus, Vicente and his sisters had no one to rely on since their grandparents were also unlikely to help them, which was different from what happened with paternal grandparents in this world.
While Andrew was lost in his thoughts, Nina wasn't paying any attention to her old man, and all she had on her mind was this fantastic place and the desire to awaken her magical talents one day.
'One day, I will come here just like my big sister and finally help her and big brother!' She thought, dreaming of following in her big sister's footsteps, feeling more excited than other members of her family.
Luckily, small children overcame their losses faster, and even though she was deaf and motherless, Nina could already smile and think of a better future.
She had trouble walking and was deaf. But so what? She believed that one day, she could control the mana in her body and become a magician!
This was the thought of this little girl...
Finally, as the central clock in that area struck noon, the ringing of a bell originated from a large bell on the top of the fifth floor of the Awakening Temple.
In that instant, everyone in the surrounding area was as if they had suddenly come to a complete stop without any remaining conversations or even vague thoughts.
The platform where the 14-year-olds stood began to transform as the dark obelisk in the center of the zone changed color, becoming extremely white. It was so white that no one was even able to look directly at it.
Mana condensed in the surroundings and coalesced, forming some substance that resembled water in appearance; however, it didn't have the physical properties of water and appeared as if it were a mirage.
Those seeing it for the first time opened their eyes wide, intrigued as they could subtly notice the energy they were feeling in their bodies.
As Vicente paid attention to this, noticing the 'stars' on the ceiling trembling, a voice addressed.
"Young participants, welcome to my temple for the Awakening Ceremony.
I wish you all the best. I hope everyone here today awakens their skills, and you all will reach their peak and be successful in your journeys.
Go on, seek your desires, become magicians, and bring the world your uniqueness!
I look forward to meeting the next Archmage of Polaris Realm!
Will they appear here? I sincerely hope so!
Get your Magic Gems!"
The voice said as all the teenagers took deeper breaths, feeling inspired and extremely touched by these words.
Archmage... What was an Archmage?
That was the title of the strongest magician that was known to millions around this continent!
However, as they tried to locate where this powerful voice had come from, the obelisk in the center of that area shot up a special energy along with the last words that the master of this temple addressed.
Then...
Several of the gems that had been stuck in the ceiling of this place started glowing brightly, emitting the same color as the obelisk, and shot up from the ceiling, flying in complicated trajectories.
But quickly, several of these gems took their way, 'choosing' their owners, those who were the most compatible with them among the participants.
While some of the young people on the platform even felt a little afraid at the sight of these gems flying at their top speed, rushing towards them, even the most uncertain ones didn't move even a bit.
In the blink of an eye, these gems quickly found their compatible owners and approached them, colluding with their foreheads like a revolver bullet.
Vicente observed as one of these shiny things hit the area between his sister's brows, and couldn't help but feel his heart race faster in anticipation.
While it looked like it might hurt a lot after the gem hit the forehead, he knew this was normal procedure, and his sister wouldn't be hurt in the slightest.
Even if someone were to fail to connect to a Magic Gem, they had very little chance of being injured during the Awakening.
Meanwhile, Lauren felt the warmth of the gem as it penetrated her forehead, signaling the beginning of her Awakening.
'What will I get?
Sigh! Unfortunately, I won't even be able to see what the shape of my Magic Gem looks like... Will it be as beautiful as Mother's?' She couldn't help but wonder and let out a sigh.