Prayer

What reason did Lucas have to venture to the grave of his deceased mother? He was planning to pray over it.

Of the various ways to train one's spirits, the best is to engage in spiritual affairs. Praying is one of the most effective methods. Yet one could not just pray randomly. They had to pray to Almighty God.

Being raised a Christian, Lucas was always taught to pray faithfully in Jesus's name, and his prayers would always be answered. Reaching the sepulcher of deceased Chang members, he found his mother's tombstone. Under it lay the bones of the woman who gave birth to him. It was not the first time he'd been here.

Each year on her birthday, Lucas and his half-siblings came here to pay their respects. In one such year, Lucas prayed over the sepulcher when no one was around and felt a strange sensation.

Since that time, for the past week, he has been coming here to pray in secret. And each time he did so, his spirit felt as if someone was touching him. Unafraid, he continued to pray.

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

When Lucas finished the prayer, a light shone inside the sepulcher. Some time passed after that. Lucas would eventually leave as he always had to prepare for his upcoming match tomorrow. Like Hieronymus instructed, he was to face someone of his choosing early in the morning. Because this was accepted by the patriarch, the entire sect was made known.

It was already nightfall by the time Lucas decided to walk back to his mansion. He thought of what people were likely believing about his recent actions. A grade two was attempting to combat one of their members. And not just any grade two, but a descendant of the patriarch.

They likely thought he was going to make a fool of himself. Grade twos were not ill-equipped to fight devils. What made them think they could match up against any other grades higher than them? Even if a grade two was physically stronger than a man, most of their roles in society dealt with labourious tasks such as difficult construction.

Hardly any of them fought for sport. Their spirits were drained too quickly; hence, their title as Readers.

"Ya really know how to make a fool of yourself, huh?" a woman asked at the front of Lucas's mansion.

Lucas was not at all surprised to see who it was. He had spotted her waiting there several yards away before he arrived. Amelia Chang, a beautiful nineteen-year-old girl with golden wavy hair that complimented her pale, indigo eyes. Due to her slender build, a lot of adolescent members loved to stare at her when she wasn't looking.

Not many dared to, though. When they were caught, her quick-tempered manner usually left them in a hospital half dead.

"The patriarch ordered no one to meddle with me until my fight, Lady Amelia."

"Details, details," she responded. "What made you think I came here to mess with you? I was just wondering if Ben made you request a fight with the patriarch."

'No,' Lucas thought to himself. 'She's hiding something.'

Based on Amelia's gesture and slick smile, she wouldn't have approached him without a reason. Most of the descendants only cared about one thing: reputation. If their reputation increased, their chances of becoming the successor to the throne did as well. What Lucas deduced was that Amelia was plotting to use him for her popularity.

"I'll be cheering you on," she winked, walking past him.

Lucas was right. Amelia had planned something. The fact that she was here at night meant that she had already made her move. Putting those thoughts aside, Lucas entered the house.

Entering his bed, he considered the rest of the descendants. They weren't stupid. All of them had been given an astute education from birth. Tutors were paid seven-figure salaries, and various artifacts were given to them all—all except for Lucas.

In terms of behaviour, they each had their own personalities.

Amelia, though quick-tempered, always knew how to control her anger. Persephone, not just one of the strongest women but also Spain's youngest top model. Octavius and Valentina, the eldest and strongest of the descendants, prioritize the sect's name more than the others. Lastly were the third and second youngest, Benjamin and Alejandro, equally intelligent and arrogant due to their attractive appearances.

While their parents were only grade threes, they still held quite a lot of authority within the sect for being the patriarch's first generational children. Lucas had spent more than enough time with them at awkward dinner tables not to be coerced by their charms and allocations. All except Octavius, whom he had only observed during a special event held by the patriarch. Out of all the descendants, Lucas believed he and Victoria were the deadliest.

Regardless, they all shared the Chang surname. That meant they would all have to suffer the same fate.

The next morning, Lucas arose and got dressed. Sporting a regular white shirt with blue jeans on, he opened his door only to find something in front of it. Picking it up, he saw it was a pharaonic dagger carved with hieroglyphics. It was an artifact found in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

From what Lucas remembered from the textbooks, it could boost the next attack performed by one's spirit. A one-time use. They weren't expensive and were quite commonly used by grade threes. As for who would have left it behind, Lucas hypothesized that it would be Amelia.

Without hesitation, he crushed it with his bare hand. The last thing he wanted was to receive help from a descendant.

Leaving the third mansion, Lucas traversed to the only place official matches could be held in the sect: the Barcelona Colosseum. Whilst walking towards it, some of the sect members spotted him. Lucas was never widely known within the sect due to having been locked in his room for most of his time here. But after his charade with Hieronymus, he garnered a lot of attention.

A boy taller than him couldn't help but stop him in his tracks. Standing in front of him was a sect member. He had a trainee uniform on, so Lucas could tell he was fairly new. And considering he was taller than him by at least a foot, he suspected he was also older.

"Kid, I'ma stop you now," he said. "Everyone thinks you're gonna get torched."

Lucas observed as he turned around to nod at his peers watching from the side. It was evident, due to his fame, that they knew who he was now.

"Move," Lucas demanded.

"Huh…? Hey, I was just tryna give ya some advice since you're the patriarch's…"

Lucas interrupted the trainee by walking right past him. His friends noticed he was being ignored, so they laughed. Feeling embarrassed, the trainee turned to grab Lucas by the shoulder. Suddenly, the trainee's world spun.

He was now looking at the sky with his back to the ground. Lucas was standing right atop of his head. In a resolute tone, he said, "You made two mistakes. The first was not addressing me by my title. The second was placing your hands on me."