Choosing the path of energy that an individual was going to take was a very significant moment of their lives.
This was because once an individual awakened a certain energy inside their hearts, they would never be able to awaken another.
This meant that once an individual took on the path of mana, he or she would not be able to change and take on the path of aura.
Although mana and aura had their similarities, they were also quite conflicting with one another.
Thus, when an individual who had mana in their hearts forcibly took an aura primer and thereby awakened aura in the same heart, their death would be inevitable.
This was information that everyone in the world treated as common sense.
For Regis who wanted to take on the path of aura, being forcibly awakened by the demonic power in his heart was the same as being a slave to the demons for all his life.
Nevertheless, he was not able to change the outcome.
There were no miracles whatsoever.
'Noooo!!!'
It was the only thought in Regis's mind as he continued to convulse in pain.
Shiing—
Sparkle~ Sparkle~
In the crowd of children who were being baptized by the demonic power, there were some who began manifesting phenomena.
Some manifested a bronze phenomena, while others began manifesting silver phenomena.
There were even occasional gold flashes.
Awakening an energy in a human's heart would give them the chance of awakening a gift.
It was what was happening right at this moment.
"Hahaha! Excellent! Although they are only going to be suicide soldiers, there are many good seedlings in this batch!"
The demonic human leader laughed as he observed the phenomena being manifested by the children through the demonic power.
"Make sure to take note of everyone who has awakened a gift!"
"Yes, leader!"
He ordered several figures in black clothes.
However, there was something that caught his eyes.
There was someone among the children who had manifested a phenomenon in the form of shiny platinum energy.
"No way…" The demonic human leader's eyes widened.
"Someone who awakened a Platinum-grade Gift!? Bring that child to me!!"
"Yes, Leader!!"
However, no one noticed that in the midst of the children, a boy with snow-white hair and blood-red eyes also manifested a phenomenon.
It was not bronze, silver, nor gold.
It was not the shiny platinum like the one that caught their eyes.
And it was not a phenomenon made up of flashy white sparkles that resembled a Diamond-grade Gift.
It was a translucent– almost transparent color of white that covered his whole body.
However, due to the dim room and the countless other phenomena that were currently happening, no one was able to notice the translucent white phenomenon.
After who knew how long, Regis's mind cleared up.
'Is it finally over…?'
He thought, glad that the pain stopped.
'Or am I dead??'
Regis felt dizzy as he looked around the cave they were in.
Suddenly, his eyes became unfocused as various information became ingrained in his memory.
It did not take long, only a few seconds.
His eyes then refocused once more.
He looked around and saw the children he was with earlier.
Some were passed out, some still convulsing, and some were still screaming in pain.
However, there were also a few children who were standing silently.
And most of all, Regis saw a child being surrounded by other demonic humans in black clothes.
'What is this…?'
Regis closed his eyes and saw the name of the gift that was floating amidst his consciousness.
The grade of a human's gift could also be seen in the way the said gift's name manifested itself in one's consciousness.
If the letters are in the color of bronze, silver, and so on, then it would correspond according to their grades.
As for Diamond-grade Gifts, the gift's name would be covered in white sparkles.
However, looking at the translucent white words in his consciousness, Regis felt very confused.
After all, he could not even tell what grade his gift was.
[Perfect Adaptation]
What made his confusion worse was the information that became ingrained in his memory alongside the gift.
[You can adapt to anything]
Nothing more, nothing less…
'The fuck does this mean!?'
He cursed inside his mind.
***
"Regis!!!"
A pair of pale-pink eyes suddenly opened as a little girl suddenly sat up on a bed.
She looked around and saw the cozy interior of a house.
Suddenly remembering something, the little girl grabbed her head full of shell-pink hair as tears fell from her eyes.
"Hic… hic…."
Sniffling sounds could be heard as the little girl cried silently.
"Oh? You already up, little girl?"
A deep voice sounded, startling the little girl.
The little girl glared at the direction of the voice with anger in her eyes.
Sensing this, a figure slowly raised his hands and said, "Woah, woah. Chill out, little girl."
"Who are you!?! What did you do to me!?!"
"Hey, hey, easy. I'm the one who saved you alright~"
Hearing his words, the little girl let down her guard a bit.
She wiped her teary eyes and looked at the figure before her.
What met her pale-pink eyes were a pair of deep brown eyes.
It was a man who looked to be in his 50s.
He had a bald head and a chin full of beard.
The wrinkles in his face were a symbol of the countless years that he had lived.
"Are you calm now, little girl?" He asked gently.
The little girl nodded, tears threatening to fall from her eyes once again.
Seeing this, the old man panicked.
"Ehem… let me introduce myself first. My name is Doron. You can call me Uncle Doron."
The little girl blinked and replied after a short while, "M-My name is Dahlia."
"Oh! What a beautiful name!" Doron smiled gently.
After a moment, she asked, "U-Ummm… Uncle Doron, can you save my friend…?"
Doron raised his brow in intrigue before gently asking, "Oh? Tell me, where is your friend?"
"H-He was kidnapped by the people with pitch-black e-eyes…" She found it difficult to speak as she began to sniffle.
Although she had only woken up, all that was in Dahlia's mind was Regis's face.
Hearing her words, Doron's expression became grave.
"Are the people with pitch-black eyes you saw had crazy expressions on their faces?"
Seeing Dahlia nod, Doron's expression became worse.
Dahlia saw this and asked, "W-Why? Is there something wrong?"
Doron pursed his lips.
However, as he saw the tears about to fall from Dahlia's eyes, Doron sighed and spoke.
"I'm not sure if I should tell this to a child like you, but I think keeping it from you would only hurt you more…"