The week passed quickly, and the long-awaited day had finally arrived—the day I would bond with my spiritual creature and become one of the Spiritborn.
I quickly ate my breakfast and bid farewell to my parents, who looked at me with anticipation. Even I couldn't contain my excitement, so I rushed to school and entered the classroom. Only a few of my classmates remained: chubby William, Lucy, and the twins, Alice and Adam. The days when our class was full of buzzing students were gone—now, only the talented ones remained.
As I walked in, all of them turned to look at me. Since I was the last to arrive, I found myself locked in a brief staring contest with them before William broke the silence. He approached me with his usual grin and invited me to join their group. I hesitated for a moment but quickly accepted—after all, it was always better to be in a group than to be alone.
"What are you guys planning to bond with today?" William asked eagerly.
"I'm thinking of contracting an anaconda," Lucy said confidently. "And once I reach 15% fusion, I plan to choose the Fire element."
That made sense. At 15% fusion, Spiritborns could choose an element, which would greatly influence their future abilities. Fire was considered a destructive element, perfect for those who wanted high damage potential. While there were many elements, we had only been taught about the four basic ones—Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Sub-elements existed, but learning about them required further studies at the Academy.
"That's a great choice, Lucy. As for me, I have no choice but to contract a White Tiger," William said with a smirk. "When I reach 15%, I'll choose the Earth element so I can get protective skills."
Honestly, that felt like a waste of a Tiger's potential. Tigers thrived with the Fire element, tearing through anything in their way. But in the end, it was William's decision.
"I'm bonding with an octopus, and Lumine is bonding with a jellyfish," said Adam, the elder twin.
"Then you both have to choose the Water element to function properly. Are you okay with that?" William asked, his tone uncertain.
"Yes, we are," Lumine replied. "Water is our favorite element anyway, so it makes sense that our spiritual creatures would be an octopus and a jellyfish."
"Alright, what about you, Lucius?" William turned to me.
"I'm choosing to bond with a wasp. Wings and venom—what more could I ask for?" I said with a satisfied expression.
Everyone gasped in surprise.
"What about your element after reaching 15% fusion?" Lucy asked, intrigued.
"I haven't thought about it yet," I admitted. "It'll be a while before I reach that point, so I'll decide later."
Fusion wasn't easy—it required time and effort to understand one's creature.
Before we could continue, our teacher, Kendrick, entered the room, his expression beaming like he had just won the lottery.
"Hello, kids," he greeted us. "Today, your entire lives will change. You will bond with your spiritual creatures and be reborn as Spiritborns. But before we head outside for the Director's speech, I need to give you a general idea of what will happen."
We listened intently.
"First, we will go to the stadium, where our honorable Director will address you all. After that, you'll enter the Library of Spiritual Creatures, where you'll inform the staff about your chosen category. They will lead you to the section that contains the eggs of your selected species. Each egg will be labeled, ensuring that you get exactly what you want."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Remember, only choose eggs that match your talent level. If you overreach, your fusion could fail, and—"
He let the weight of those words sink in before moving on.
"Once you have chosen your egg, you'll be taken to a special room for Awakening. Inside, you'll enter a capsule with your chosen spiritual creature's egg. During fusion, you will gain access to the system. When you wake up, you might see a floating screen before you—that's completely normal."
That part sounded exciting, but then his tone became serious.
"One last thing—depending on your creature, your body will undergo complete reformation to match it. The process is extremely painful. If your endurance is low, you may not survive the process."
A tense silence filled the room. Many of us had assumed Awakening would be a smooth process, but now the reality sank in. Some of us might not survive.
"But don't worry," Kendrick continued, his voice reassuring. "I have something to help you through it—Serenity Pills. These will ease your pain, calm your mind, and increase your chances of survival."
Relief spread through the room as he handed out the pills. We each took one, then followed him to the stadium.
The place was packed—5,000 students filled the massive structure, all of them around my age. That meant one thing—our school alone had produced nearly 5,000 individuals with the talent to become Spiritborns.
Even though most of them had lower-ranked talents (E, D, C, or even F), they still had a chance. Talent levels only determined what creatures one could bond with, but after fusion, they didn't matter as much. Some people had F-ranked talent but could still bond with Apex Predators under strict conditions. The world had changed so much, and scientists were still struggling to understand its mysteries.
The Director took the stage and began his speech—long, boring, and full of praise for this year's talented students. He proudly announced that three students had awakened with S-rank talent. I knew Lucy and I were two of them, but who was the third?
I didn't have time to dwell on it. Soon, we were heading toward the Library of Spiritual Eggs.
Inside, Teacher Kendrick could no longer accompany us—only students and staff were allowed entry. Even the Director has to get a permission from higher ups to enter this place. We each declared our chosen creatures, then went our separate ways.
A green-haired, purple-eyed staff member led me to the wasp section. He was oddly cheerful, talking to me the entire way with a strange smile, but I quickly forgot about him once I stepped inside.
The room was filled with wasp eggs. Unlike typical eggs, these looked exactly like real wasp eggs— elongated, and clustered together. I felt a little stupid for expecting them to look like bird eggs.
I scanned the selection. Yellowjacket, Paper, Cicada Killer, and—most importantly—the Great Black wasps'eggs were present here.
Since i was determined to bond with a wasp, i had already researched the types of wasps present here on the Internet. Every creature that existed on Earth, existed here in Astrivale too.
The Great Black Wasp's venom was powerful enough to paralyze prey indefinitely. If I later chose the Fire element, I could enhance my poison, making it even deadlier. The idea of paralyzing an enemy with a single sting was too good to pass up.
I was about to pick up a Great Black Wasp egg when something caught my eye—a faint glow in the corner of the room.
Curious, I walked over and saw an egg unlike any other. It was primarily white with hints of pink and had a barely noticeable floral pattern on its shell.
I read the label.
"Unknown Insect Egg."
What was it doing here?
As I stared at it, my heart pounded. A wave of joy washed over me, an inexplicable pull drawing me to it.
I hesitated. Logically, I should choose the Great Black Wasp—it was a safer bet. But every fiber of my being screamed at me to pick this one instead. The mere thought of leaving it behind filled me with disgust and anger.
I clenched my fists, my mind torn between reason and instinct.
This egg could decide my entire future. Choosing an unknown creature was a huge risk.
But maybe, just this once... I was willing to take that risk.