"Next, the cardinal of the Church of the Holy Light, Eric, will assume responsibility for the ceremony."
Allaric slowly ascended the altar, stopping right in front of the stone of awakening. He opened the thick book in his hands and began to chant:
"In the name of our Lord, the majestic God of Light, I proclaim the beginning of the awakening ceremony. O great God, grant your messenger in the human world permission to carry out your will, for the benefit of all living people. Phoebe... ("Amen" to Apollo)."
When the platform, and behind it the entire altar, lit up with pure white light, accumulating energy for the ceremony. The priest turned around and proclaimed: "Come here, child."
Grace watched the whole scene with mild awe. When she heard the priest's call, she let go of her mother's hand and walked with small steps to the altar. Climbing it, she stopped right in front of the priest, waiting for instructions.
The girl was a little worried and waited. She was mostly curious about what kind of magic core she would receive and how her brother, mom, and Kasi would react to it. If it's an S-class core, will they praise it? Maybe her mom will give her something, and her brother will admire his older sister even more.
If she wins a bet with her brother, should she teach him a lesson and make him put away her toys all day? Or would it be better to ask him to comb her hair? No, it's more like a punishment for her. But she wants her brother to do it as pleasantly as her mother. That's settled. If she wins, she'll make him practice combing his mom's hair all day. Just let him try to hurt her. She's a real genius. Ah ha ha ha.
Eric smiled good-naturedly at a little girl who was lost in her inner world and asked her to put her hand on a floating sphere. She did as she was told.
"Focus on your body, relax, feel the changes in it. When you feel a little tickle in your stomach, concentrate on it. Remember that feeling. Can you feel it? Now try to direct the tickle up your body to your arm, and then send it into the sphere," Allaric instructed in the same gentle tone.
Grace was extremely focused, at first she felt nothing from the sphere, except for a slight numbness all over her body. After trying to relax and surrender to this unfamiliar feeling, she felt a slight tingling sensation just above her navel. This tingling sensation grew stronger, rising to the solar plexus. It was already itching distinctly there. After hearing the instructions, Grace tried to direct the tickle up her body, directly to her hands, until the tickle reached her fingers and hit the dark sphere.
As soon as this happened, the Sphere changed its dark color to iridescent. It shimmered in different shades, like a living fire. Red, yellow, green, light blue, light blue and dark purple. All the colors were there and intertwined with each other. The radiance of the sphere was so dazzling that it illuminated the entire altar, creating a magical aura that seemed to match the intensity of the soft white color.
Even without the priest's explanation, every spectator understood that Princess Grace's magic core was exceptional. Remembering their own awakening rituals and comparing them with the current one, most of the results were disappointing. Of course, this is also due to the quality of the awakening stone and the sphere itself. But that's why high-quality products are used for the royal family. Their genes are inherently strong. A weak awakening stone simply won't be able to help a member of the royal family sense their core, and a low-quality sphere is highly unlikely to be able to reflect its type.
Sighs could be heard everywhere. Light exclamations and whispers could be heard here and there as the priest flipped through his book in an attempt to determine the type of core. Finally, having completed his calculations and come to an obvious but improbable conclusion, Eric spoke:
"After analyzing the past ritual, I responsibly declare that the core of Princess Grace is a legendary class magic core with a Class S throughput. A rainbow magic core that allows its user to use any elemental magic without overloading. The future deeds of the princess will undoubtedly shake not only the province of Light, but also the entire Roman Empire."
Upon hearing the detailed explanations from the cardinal himself, another collective sigh went through the crowd. To understand how special this core is, you need to know that most of those present were able to develop their cores to S-class only after years of hard training and countless resources spent. These resources would be enough to provide a small town for a decade to come. And so the little girl gets all the fruits of their hard work for several decades just by right of birth.
To remind the crowd even more about the injustice of life. Right before Grace could walk down the aisle and enjoy her moment of glory. A ray of light descended directly from heaven onto the platform, which enclosed the altar in an impregnable light cylinder. Every citizen of the Province of Light knew what that meant.
The patron god of the province, the most handsome man in the world, Apollo himself, wants to personally talk to the princess. Few people had such an honor. It is extremely difficult for representatives of the aristocracy to interest the God of Light. This usually requires extremely expensive offerings. If God himself is interested in Princess Grace, then she will definitely receive considerable benefits.
Meanwhile, Grace was standing on the platform, staring at a blurred white figure that resembled a man. Allaric had already fallen to his knees by this time, hitting his forehead on the ground.
"What are you doing, Princess? Kneel before our god!" he said, sweating profusely.
"Never mind, never mind, let it stand, those who don't know are innocent." – said the figure in a neutral voice. "My daughter, what is your name?" he asked as his eyes shone with intense light. Those eyes stood out even against his figure of light.
"I'm...I'm... Grace... The princess," the little girl replied haltingly. She was clearly under a lot of stress from the attention.
"I see. So Grace is a very pretty name. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just admire your talent, that's why I showed up. Do you want to become my full-fledged priestess? Just like little Eva. You will be able to enjoy both secular and ecclesiastical life. You will guide people on the path of light. You'll become even more beautiful. You can get fame and honor. And eventually you can get to Illysium. How does it sound?"
"I... rather... Starlight... The princess. Yeah... My mother is Ekaterina... Permission..." Grace continued to speak, feeling very nervous. However, she was interrupted by Allaric.
"My God, let me tell you some important news. In private," the priest forcefully voiced his thoughts.
"Oh, you're brave to interrupt a conversation with my future holy daughter. But go ahead, keep going. Let me hear it. She can't hear us. I hope it's something important," God replied.
"Yes, this minute, dear God. The fact is that the girl's brother, according to our assumptions, is a harbinger of the night. I think it's worth considering this fact, allowing the girl to stay in the secular world," the priest quickly replied, sweating profusely under the stern gaze of the supreme being.
"Hmmm... A harbinger of the night? How did you come to such conclusions? Was the night all over the world?" The God of Light asked. Now he was interested.
"Responding to my lord, two phenomena happened during the birth of children: first, a rainbow appeared, which clearly refers to Princess Grace. Then came the universal night, we assume that it could be the phenomenon of the birth of Prince Grey. This theory is supported by the presence of dark hair in the boy, despite the fact that the father is blond and the mother is gray. I took the liberty to address the Roman pontiffs. They issued a decree on further investigation. We can confirm the information exactly by checking his magic core. We believe that he may be responsible for St. Matthew's prophecy made 5,000 years ago: "When day and night lose their rhythm, HE will be born, marking the decline of humanity." The boy is over there, standing next to Vicar Adam," the priest explained, pointing at Gray.
The God of Light shifted his sparkling white gaze to the figures of the royal family. He looked at each person for a long time and intently. When he noticed Katerina, his gaze shone even more intensely. It only took a moment, and no one was able to notice the change. It seemed to others that nothing was happening. However, a whirlwind of emotions was raging inside the God. He stared at Katerina's figure for about 10 seconds. One must understand that for a god, 10 seconds of reflection can be equal to a dozen years of active research by a team of mortal philosophers. But in the end, he looked away and looked at the dark-haired boy.
"Interesting. How interesting. I didn't expect something like this when I came here. To think that this could happen. Maybe he is, and maybe not. That changes everything. What a big variable. It opens up so many possibilities. I need to do something urgently." The god of Light muttered to himself, not paying attention to the fact that he involuntarily voiced his thoughts aloud.
"Do you know what is required of you?!" the god asked, grabbing Allarik by the wrist. He sent a stream of pure light energy into the priest, which also carried certain information.
Allaric looked at his hand, which had just been held by god, and his eyes narrowed slightly. However, he replied in a firm tone, "Yes, my lord!"
Good. Know that you have my support. After all, give the girl to Eva to raise, she is still small, she can be raised. This is your reward for your faithful service to the light," the god continued, placing his hand on the top of Allarik's head.
"My daughter, come here. I have to go, but I have a gift for you, it will protect you from any harm," the god said, handing her a white bracelet.
"Um..." Grace approached, rejoicing either at the gift or at the end of such a difficult conversation.
"Good luck, child. Allarik, don't let down my trust," the god said goodbye, dissolving into particles of light.
Eric stood up, took a deep breath and looked with a very complicated look at a little girl who was happily playing with a new toy. The girl did not know that the value of this toy could be compared with a small estate in the center of the capital of the Roman Empire. In the end, he could only take a breath and strengthen his faith.
He's already been through a lot today, or he'll be through it again. Watching the dome of light dissipate, Allaric tried to make sense of what had happened. The whole situation seemed a bit strange. However, everything was very logical, except for the moment when god got lost in emotions. What did he notice about the little boy? Or Princess Grace? Or maybe in his friend's family itself?
Did the god of light get so excited about the prophecy? Are all the theories 100% real? Having come to this conclusion, Allarik decided to trust the judgment of his god, as always. Should he doubt God's words at all? Of course not, God gave him power and status. His job is to do God's will, to carry the word of God to the masses, not to ponder his decisions. He doesn't want to become a heretic.
Having decided something for himself, Eric regained a kind, neutral look and prepared to act.