The Ceremony Ends

Noah felt waves of excitement rush through him. He did not know if he would be lucky enough to get picked. But just the thought of a powerful Patron God like that of his half-brother's was enough to fill him with endless excitement.

"I-I... This makes so much of a difference in what my future holds!" As Joseph continued to mumble in excitement, three more glows suddenly lit up in the room, zeroing on each of the young men that had yet to be picked, leaving them with wide eyes.

Noah's body trembled as the world turned dark before his eyes. His body felt as though it was floating in a void, and his sense of direction went haywire. A few moments later, everything returned to normal, but he found himself standing in complete darkness, with only faint starlight in the background.

'Where am I?' He wondered, but before he could wonder for too long, he was shocked by the sight of the darkness parting to reveal two gigantic eyes that gazed down at him.

"Hmm..."

The hum of the being before him was so powerful that Noah's entire mind froze over, going into shock and blanking out completely. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself on the ground, surrounded by his half-brothers.

"What happened?" He asked them, holding his head as a sharp pain twinged through his temples.

"Well, you just froze up for a moment and fainted. We've been trying to wake you up for the past couple of minutes." Griffith explained as they helped Noah up. He immediately sat down as he felt a wave of pain wash over his head. He felt like his brain had been smashed by a block of wood.

"You tell us what happened. You gave us a scare!" Higan grumbled, not liking the sudden tension that rose when Noah had fainted. It was not exactly a nice thing. He was enjoying his moment of being freed from the shackles of the identity he was born with, and then someone he considered a friend suddenly encountered a mishap right before his eyes.

"I... I don't know, honestly. I can't explain it. I need more time to process what happened first." Noah tried to remember what had happened, as his memory was a bit fuzzy, but a throb wracked his head, forcing him to stop.

"Just rest, then."

After everything had calmed down, the other young men continued to talk about their Patron Gods while Noah rested. Higan and Griffith had also been chosen by powerful Patron Gods like Joseph had been.

Griffith had been chosen by a fearsome ancient god that he had only read sparse record about, but in all those records, the might and power of the ancient god were clearly outlined. His Patron God was the ancient deity, Huracan, an immensely powerful god who controlled the forces of nature. In the tales and stories about this ancient god, some claimed that he had been one of the forces that crafted the world and turned it into what it was, but many people did not truly believe these stories. After all, there were many other gods that claimed that the world had been made by their own power.

Higan, on the other hand, had been chosen by another ancient god with a creation story, Enki. The ancient god Enki was often associated with the domains of water, wisdom and crafts, and healing. He also had a creation story, but not one that claimed to have created the world out of nothing.

All three young men were happy to have been chosen by immensely powerful Patron Gods. With these Patron Gods supporting them, they would have enough leverage to be able to leave the Orsted Family and join the Royal Family in various important positions, gaining freedom and status!

Of course, just because their Patron Gods were powerful did not mean that they themselves had become all powerful. Of all the powers and domains that their Patron Gods had control over, only a small portion of power was given to them as Avatars. It was up to them to explore that power later and find out its limits. Their value would depend on the powers they gained from their Patron Gods.

Everyone turned to look at Noah who had a confused look on his face. With the passage of time, he had begun to feel better and recalled what had happened. He explained it all to them, and soon, they all had that same confused look on their faces. Never had they heard of something like this happening.

"We need to tell the Royal Family about this. Something is wrong." Griffith said.

'That much is clear, but normally, whenever this sort of thing happens, telling the ones in charge is always dangerous.' Noah thought grimly, but he did not really have much of a choice. He did not know what was happening, or who his Patron God was. He did not know where to begin understanding all of this and his best bet was the Royal Family.

The ceremony went on with many others getting chosen. Cries of joy and happiness rang out every once in a while from the crowd of commoners, or from the various younger servants that served in the Royal Palace. A few guards and nobles were also chosen, but their reactions were more controlled as they had to portray themselves by a different image. They were not mere commoners and could not react in a way that commoners would.

Like that, twelve whole hours passed, and the ceremony came to an end late at night. The commoners began to disperse while those that had been selected as Avatars converged at the center of the square, waiting for directives from the Royal Family.

Before long, a representative of the Royal Family appeared. Literally.

A middle-aged man with long golden hair that reached down to his back appeared out of nowhere in midair, his luxurious robes swaying with the breeze.

"Greetings, everyone! I congratulate you all!"