11 Awakening

It was the night before Dark's eighteenth birthday. He and his sister Lilia were staying in old Chairman Scarlet's Home. The old couple treated the siblings as their own grandchildren. They resembled their parents when they were still young.

"Lilia. Is our surprise for your brother ready?"

"Yes Grandma. I've finished all the preparations needed for tomorrow. I also invited his friends from school." Lilia told the chairman's wife as she was baking a cake this late at night.

"Make sure to sleep after you finish that little girl or else your brother will wake up earlier than you." She wore a happy face while reminding the little girl not to overwork herself.

Lilia took the icing bag and wrote his brother's name on top of the chocolate cake that she baked for her brother. Finishing the cake, she wiped her forehead with her head with a face full of smiles.

"Time to leave this chilled for tomorrow." She placed the cake inside the refrigerator and cleaned the kitchen so that she won't leave any evidence.

.

*Booom*

It was midnight when a large explosion woke the entire household up. The alarms kept on ringing. Everyone went out of their rooms except for one person, Dark.

"Grandma, Grandpa what's happening?" Lilia immediately ran out of the door. She asked the old couple since their rooms are just next to each other.

"It seems that it came from the direction of Dark's room." The old man deduced from the volume of the explosion.

The head butler immediately evacuated the servants in the household. While the trio went towards the young man's room being escorted by exceed guards hired by the couple.

The area was becoming more destructed as they ventured towards the room. The door was destroyed and was blown away by the strong force that was coming inside it. Strong force emitted radiant light field with dazzling colors.

"Brother!" Lilia ran towards the room. But Mr. Scarlet prevented her from going inside.

"Your brother is undergoing awakening. Don't disturb him." The old man created a barrier made up of his own force to block away the energy emitted by Dark's awakening.

Awakening depends on each person. However, the intensity defines the rank of the gift that one is about to receive.

"This awakening is much worse than your parents!" Mrs. Scarlet exclaimed. The couple was also a witness of their parents' awakening. Both caused quite of a commotion but not as large as this!

"Hunter! Go secure the area make sure no one goes near here!" The old man commanded one of his guards. He needed to shout just to make sure his guard heard him because the energy is just too loud.

The guard rushed outside and commanded the butler and servants to take shelter further away and tasked the team waiting outside to secure the area. The Scarlet Family was no ordinary family. It holds a huge amount of power and wealth enough to defeat a small country alone. The guards that secured the area were all Rank B Exceed and above. However, even when equipped with above average gears, the weaker guards couldn't stand against the force emitted. Thanks to Mr. Scarlet's barrier Lilia was able to withstand such amount of pressure.

When the pressure reached its highest peak, Dark was floating inside the room.

He opened his eyes.

Azure sparks lit.

Fire started bursting around the teenager's body.

The ground beneath his feet started to crack and form earth pillars around the room.

Water gushed outside the cracks.

Strange vines suddenly grew and wrapped the earthen pillars.

The water started to turn into frosts.

Gusts of wind destroyed everything that was in its reach.

Then the radiant light became brighter blinding everyone.

When the light disappeared, the flames went out.

The wind became silent.

The ice slowly melted.

The vines steadily wilted.

And the pillars turned into dust.

Just like that, the pressure slowly calmed.

Everyone who witnessed the scene was astounded! This was a sight to behold. Such awakening has never happened before. The veteran exceeds were confused. But at the same time happy for their 'grandchild.' Meanwhile, the little girl was worried about her brother. She immediately ran into the room when she saw that his body fell to the ground.

"Brother!" She cried beside him.

Dark slowly opened his eyes. When Lilia saw this, she became relieved but at the same time was shocked by what she was seeing.

Dark's eye color was constantly changing. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and sometimes these colors combined and formed an aurora like colored eyes.

"Brother your eyes!" She screamed.

"Huh?!"

Everyone went into the room after Lilia. They saw the teenager's eyes flickering in different colors. The old lady rushed out of the room when she saw her grandchild. She went to her room to get a medicine that she made and gave it to Dark. This medicine was a recovery potion custom made by the famous chemist. Dark recovered his lost energy and was able to control the flickering of his eyes. His eyes now turned back to brown. The original color before his premature awakening

"Kid what a huge commotion you made." The old man laughed hard. He knew that Dark successfully awakened and was now a full-pledged exceed.

"I've finally awakened." Dark was very happy. Now that he is an exceed, he can join the association or guilds to take missions and climb his way to Rank S.

"Brother was that your gift just now?" His sister curiously asked.

"Probably. But I can't control it yet." Dark honestly told his sister. He sighed.

"Don't worry about it. You'll master your gift one of these days." The old man patted the boy's shoulder. "You should rest first. You have just awakened. Your body must have taken a very big toll. Even you consumed the potion it was not really enough." The old woman advised him.

"I understand." Dark nodded.

Since the mansion was destroyed, they decided to go move in a hotel nearby. While Dark was resting, Old man Scarlet was questioned by the authorities about the commotion in his house. He told them that they didn't know anything. They just woke up and fled the area. When they came back the mansion was left in shambles. He kept the awakening a secret. The authorities naturally believed in the old veteran's words. He was a trusted since he was the principal of the very academy that produces elite exceeds. They thought that it was like the incident with the wyvern, but the chairman took care of it quickly.

.

Dark was in his own room in the hotel. He rested the whole day. He wondered why strange things always happen during his birthdays. But he brushed the idea off. Sera and Tomo called Dark to know his conditioned and he informed them that nothing happened to them. Dark didn't know that the two girls were supposed to go to the mansion and surprise him. But now the plan has been ruined.

Dark was lying on his bed while playing with his hands. He tried to concentrate and formed an image of fire inside his head. Small ember burned on his hand. The flame was hot, but his hand was not hurt at all. He was not able to maintain it for long and the fire went out. The stress from materializing the flame was too much so he decided to sleep again and retire for the day.