1 8th Birthday: Awakening Ceremony

Edited by: Black Jesus

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The Ancient Flower Kingdom, Flora City, Royal Palace.

Endless chatter could be heard among a crowd of well-dressed people. The higher echelons of the Ancient Flower Kingdom had all gathered in the royal garden to witness either a celebratory or dismal occasion.

It was the Crown Princess Delilah's 8th birthday and also the awakening ceremony of her constitution. The results of the awakening ceremony would usually be within a predictable range. However, things were different for this Princess as she was the adopted granddaughter of the current Queen.

"What do you think the results will be?" said someone within the crowd.

"Phenomenal, of course. Although the Fairy Princess won't be inheriting Queen Lily's constitution, she is still a rare genius," replied another.

"Hmph. Even though her comprehension of spirit formations are good, that is after all regarding spirit powers. The main basis of strength, however, is based on a person's constitution. Also, we don't know the potential of her spirit either," a nearby person interjected with disdain.

When the Queen had adopted the Crown Princess, she was met with many objections; never-to-say when she named Delilah the Crown Princess and heir to the throne. The objections raised pertained to the lack of information regarding Delilah's ancestry. If she had a poor constitution, then the kingdom's prosperous state would turn into a precarious one. In this world ruled by the strong, a kingdom's prestige and prosperity were directly linked to its ruler's strength. It did not matter how talented she was in other aspects, if she lacked personal strength then no one would accept her as the ruler.

However, the Queen was obstinate and would not budge. This puzzled many people, but no one dared to keep voicing their objections as everyone knew the temper of the Queen. She single-handedly led the kingdom out of its declining state into ever-increasing prosperity. The Queen would never do anything that would harm the country. Thankfully, the situation became less tense as Delilah grew up. She showed an unrivaled genius in spirit formations and spirit power. Spirit power could also be counted as personal power and was usually linked with the quality of a person's constitution, although not always the case. This factored in with her fairy-like appearance and playful personality caused most of the higher echelon of the kingdom to accept and dote on her.

Suddenly, the doors of the palace opened.

"Queen Lily of house Flos has arrived!"

"Crown Princess Delilah of house Flos has arrived!"

As soon as the announcer spoke the endless chatter ceased and everyone straightened up. The disapproval of some of the people instantly disappeared and the rest had their eyes light up.

Walking down the palace steps leading into the garden was an older woman with a head full of grey hair. She wore a light pink gown and a crown encrusted with pink jewels. Although aged, you could tell from her features that she was once a marvelous beauty. She also exuded a strong aura that was filled with the innate arrogance found in a ruler. The old woman was naturally Queen Lily.

Following behind Queen Lily was a small figure who was the main focus of today's events. The little girl possessed flawless features and fair skin that held a shade of healthy pink. But what was most eye-catching was her hair and eyes. She had long hair that flowed down her shoulders and back like a silver river. Her pair of big violet eyes looked like stars; you could see that they were filled with both intelligence and curiosity. She wore a snow-white gown and was adorned with an oversized emerald necklace. When you looked at her, there was no denying that she would become a kingdom toppling beauty when she matured. This fairy-like girl was the Crown Princess, Delilah, who was also known as Fairy Princess.

The atmosphere instantly became tense. All eyes were focused on Delilah as the pair of grandmother and granddaughter walked towards the center of the garden. At the center was a large marble waterfall and in front of it were three pillars which each had a crystal clear orb that lay on top.

These crystal orbs were used to test one's constitution. The orb on the left would test magical affinity, the center for spirit potential, and right for physical attributes.

Silence prevailed the entire garden and only the taps of little footsteps along with the flowing of water could be heard. The ceremony immediately started as Delilah proceeded to walk towards the orb on the left.

Delilah's face was flushed a shade of red. She was filled with mixed emotions of excitement, expectation, and a hint of worry. Mature for her age, she realized the importance of what the test today held. She would shoulder the responsibility of millions of people in the future and their prosperity or decline depended on her results today. But she was also excited and expectant as it was always her dream to be strong like her grandmother. Holding her hand above the crystal orb, she turned around to look at her grandmother.

Queen Lily responded with an approving nod. You could see how much she loved Delilah as her gaze was only filled with warmth compared to when it was usually fierce.

Everyone held their breaths as Delilah proceeded to put her hand and focus on the crystal orb. The crowds gaze became focused.

Bzzz.

A dazzling radiance was cast from the orb which nearly blinded the audience. When the light rays died down, what could be seen was a pure turquoise color.

Delilah's face turned ashen. One magical affinity? Also, from what Delilah knew, this color did not match any of the colors of the Mage class affinities. This meant she had no hope of becoming a powerful mage like her grandmother. She hurriedly turned towards her grandma with a worried expression. But the reaction she saw was not in her expectations. Her grandmother held a smile that stretched from ear to ear. The surrounding crowd also had a mix of peculiar expressions.

Everyone was mainly stupefied.

Usually, people would have multiple affinities for magic and it was rare to have just one. The more affinities a person of the Mage class had usually was directly linked to their battle power. But people were not stupefied because of the number of magical affinities, but the actual affinity itself.

"Summoner!" someone who could not hold themselves back yelled.

"Not just a regular Summoner, but she has a 100% affinity for summoning magic. This means she has the potential to become a Celestial Summoner only recorded in legends," someone else added.

Although there had initially been disapproving nobles, their opinion stemmed from the worry they held towards the kingdom. Who did not want a stronger home country? This was great news for everyone as it meant that the kingdom could continue its prosperity with the next generation and most likely even rise to greater heights. The previously tense atmosphere was now filled with a celebratory air.

The surrounding group became so excited they lost themselves in a state of celebration, completely forgetting that they were in the presence of Queen Lily.

"Silence!" a hoarse female voice filled with domineering power sounded out.

The crowd instantly sank back into silence, scared silly.

"Lilah, this is great news. I'll explain everything to you later, okay?" a voice sounded out in Delilah's mind.

Delilah responded with a simple nod, holding onto her questions.

"Continue," said Queen Lily as she nodded approvingly with a doting smile.

Delilah's mood instantly turned from downcast to puzzled as she walked to the orb in the center. The crowd's eyes immediately lit up as they knew their princess was a genius in spirit formations and spiritual power which meant she had a high likelihood of possessing blue spirit potential and maybe even indigo spirit potential. According to the rainbow chart, they were ranked 2nd and 3rd in power. No one considered a purple spirit potential as that had not appeared in the immediate and surrounding regions for the past 1,000 years.

After placing her hand on the orb, another dazzling light appeared and what appeared resulted in a confused crowd.

Silver. The color of the crystal orb was silver. Even Queen Lily could only nod helplessly faced with the questioning gaze of her granddaughter.

Delilah felt like crying but no tears would come out. This ceremony did not go as she had expected it to at all. Her previous emotions were now filled with endless puzzlement.

Everyone looked at each other with weird expressions. Some were disappointed while others held an opinion that silver did not necessarily mean a bad thing. It could be just as good as blue spirit potential. But no one cared as everyone was still held up on the results for the magical affinity test.

However, nothing prepared the crowd for what Delilah did next. She proceeded to walk towards the next crystal orb on the right.

Usually, a person's constitution decided whether they would practice magic or physical empowerment. Rarely would a genius appear who was able to practice both of them. It was not that Delilah arrogantly thought herself to be a rare genius, it was just that she was not informed. She had the idea that people could choose either. However, this was far from the truth.

"Maybe this orb will give me a good surprise that will lift my mood," she thought as she placed her hand on the crystal orb.

After a couple of seconds passed, there seemed to be no reactions.

Phew.

Sighs of relief echoed throughout the crowd.

If Delilah really could practice both magic and physical empowerment as a Celestial Summoner, than that would really be too scary! One had to know that a Celestial Summoner was already on par with a genius who could practice both magic and physical empowerment but was even rarer.

Just as everyone started to calm down, the audience was met with a blinding light. When the crowd came to, they saw a dark shade of Cyan swirling within the orb.

Silence pervaded the atmosphere as everyone started pondering. A short moment after, the silence was broken with a shriek. The sound of someone falling on the floor could be heard shortly after.

"Oh my goodness!" said someone who came to a realization.

"Fu fu fu fusion attribute… physical fusion attribute…" someone muttered in a low voice. It was deathly quiet so everyone could still hear their words.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Do the heavens really have to be so unjust!?"

"Monster!"

Mixed emotions of envy, unfairness, and shock filled the crowd. Some fainted. Some had green eyes. Others cursed to the heavens for being so unjust.

Delilah felt wronged as she looked at the surrounding crowd. Was this such a bad result that someone had to faint? Why did someone call her a monster? She did not think she was that bad looking.

Although mature for her age, she was still a little wet behind the ears.

After calming down, everyone became elated because this meant if nothing went wrong, the Ancient Flower Kingdom would experience a drastic rise. The potential of a kingdom was directly linked to their ruler's and Delilah's potential was unlimited. The crowd instantly burst into an uproar.

This truly made Delilah's head hurt as she saw the people's attitude shift so suddenly. However, it seemed that her result was not so bad as everyone looked elated. But the one who she was most expectant of praise from the was not happy at all.

The only one who was not celebrating seemed to be Delilah's Grandmother, Queen Lily. She wore a grim expression as if she just witnessed a horrendous scene.

The crowd seemed to forget one critical factor. Yes, it was good that Delilah was a once-in-a-thousand-years genius, but their small kingdom by possessing such a heaven-defying talent would definitely attract the envy of the neighboring countries. A Celestial Summoner was already pushing the limits, but having a dual attribute constitution as a Celestial Summoner spelled the birth of a major threat to neighboring countries; never-to-say a Celestial Summoner who also had a physical fusion attribute.

A resolute expression appeared on Queen Lily's face.

"Silence!" she proclaimed.

"Has everyone become senile? How do you think neighboring countries will feel if they learn that our small Ancient Flower Kingdom possesses such a rare genius? Do you think that if the word were to get out about Delilah that the bigger kingdoms and even the empire won't look covetously upon her if not filled with hostility? I hope everyone here understands that this cannot be made public. Everyone whom I have gathered here today can be considered my most loyal subjects. However, I have decided that I need to place a spirit seal on you as to never divulge the results of these tests to anyone else. This is not up for negotiation, am I clear?" she said as she swept a fierce gaze towards the crowd.

Breaking free from their joyful stupors, the mood of the audience instantly turned much more serious. Everyone readily nodded as they understood the weight of what this meant.

Spirit seals were the highest form of a personal seal as it was directly linked to one's spirit. This would ensure that no news of this would leak out at least for the time being. Even if they wanted to refuse, they were no match for the Queen in terms of power.

"As the matter of her training cannot be hidden, it will be announced that Delilah has a rare dual constitution. But the matter of her having a 100% affinity for summoning magic and a physical fusion attribute will not be released under any circumstances."

After making the declaration, everyone proceeded to the Queen to get a spirit seal and then left. The power awakening ceremony had been a roller coaster of emotions which ended on a bittersweet note.

There stood only Queen Lily and the petite silver-haired and violet-eyed Delilah. Delilah had furrowed brows and looked as if she was pondering over all the questions she had.

Queen Lily walked up to Delilah and rubbed her head as she stared at her with a worried expression. With a wave of her hand, a barrier was put up and a separate space was made.

"Lilah, I know you have many questions. Grandmama will answer them for you now."

"Grandmama, can I not be a Mage like you?"

"No, but you hold the potential to become something greater, much greater," said Queen Lily.

"Greater?" Delilah had always looked up towards Mages as her grandma was a Mage. The most powerful person in the kingdom at that as well.

"Yes, greater," Queen Lily nodded back.

A moment of silence was held as Queen Lily seemed to be contemplating something. She then turned and smiled at Delilah.

"Lilah, you are a very talented child. Although you are a rare genius, I hope that this won't go to your head. Although your natural gifts could be counted as a blessing, they could also spell a disaster for you. Do you understand?"

"Mm," Delilah nodded obediently.

"I know you have more questions but I will leave that to your instructors whom I'll appoint tomorrow. It seems like yesterday you were just a toddler. The time when you will become a young woman is right around the corner."

Queen Lily sighed as the smile on her face turned into a serious expression.

"I wanted to hold this conversation for a later date but this awakening ceremony has gone unexpected so I won't delay any longer. Lilah, are you certain you want to inherit the kingdom?"

"Of course I do Grandmama. I want to be a great and powerful ruler just like you!" Delilah replied resolutely.

Cupping her hand around Delilah's small face, a hint of approval flashed within Queen Lily's eyes.

"Mm, good. Grandmama is proud of you. Lilah, grandmama has something to tell you. "

"What it is grandmama?"

"Grandmama has decided to pass down the throne to you when you turn 18."

Delilah's brows furrowed. Was that not too early to inherit the throne?

"What do you mean Grandmama?"

"Lilah, Grandmama is not doing so well. I'm sorry for not telling you but the injury I sustained on the last expedition is getting worse with every passing day. Grandmama is extremely sorry to have to burden you when you're so young," said Queen Lily with a pained expression.

Those words were like claps of thunder to Delilah's ears. She naturally knew the underlying message in what her grandma just said. Her grandma did not have much time left to live. She could not make out an expression as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

Although she had a high level of maturity for her age, she was still, after all, just a child.

"Grandmama is lying!" Delilah screamed as she ran out of the enchanted space. This was one of the rare times where she acted like her age.

Queen Lily let out a sigh and looked as if she had aged 5 years.

"Although it was too early to tell her, things have gone unexpectedly. I knew she was special but never would I have guessed to this degree. Whether this is a blessing or a curse, only time can tell. Oh my dear Lilah, I hope you can pass this tribulation."