002 The Awakening Ceremony Part (1)

Raka is now pacing across his room as he wears his clothes, which aren't many. He wears a loincloth around his waist, covering his nether regions. 

A necklace made out of eagle talons adorned his neck while a grin that reached his ears decorated his face. 

He then stood at the entrance of the hut. He could see some of the tribesmen waiting for him a few meters away from him. 

Their eyes lit up as he stood at the entrance of the hut. "Raka!" one of the men among them called out. He was a burly man who seemed to be in his 30s; he, like the rest, had a loincloth across his waist. With his tan skin and a huge scar across his chest, his face was rough from the many battles he had fought alongside his father. 

"Uncle Ulug!" Raka called out. Ulug is one of the men this body's father put a lot of trust in and one of the few men who wished for Raka to become the next chief. 

Raka stood at the entrance, his golden eyes glinting with the memories of his past life. He had no one in his past life, as his mother died of cancer while his father died when he was young. 

"Mother...." he whispered to himself. He loved his past-life mother very much as she was the one who raised him by herself. His eyes moistened as he remembered her, her last words— "Live for yourself, my sweetie." 

He reminisced about his mother for a while before shaking his head, "I will, mother.... I will." 

He looked at the men once again, the men who stood by his father through thick and thin, with their eyes gleaming with confidence and determination. He mumbled, "Here I come!" 

He walked outside the hut; a cool breeze with the fresh scent of plants hit his tanned skin, making him feel rejuvenated. 

He walked toward Ulug and the rest of the men. "Uncle Ulug!" Raka called out as he hugged the burly man. 

Ulug returned the hug with a wide grin on his face; he had watched the chief's cub from the day he was born and had a special place in his heart. Pulling out from the hug, Ulug looked at Raka with a look of recognition. "You have grown well, Raka! Your father would be proud!" 

Raka smiled at Ulug as he heard his words. Placing his hands on Ulug's shoulders, he said, "Thank you, uncle. I will become the tribe's chief and bring the tribe to new heights!" 

It wasn't a lie as a man coming from modern day where, even with no magic, humans could do many things and develop many things—especially strategy. 

'The tactics and defence formations used by the tribe are outdated,' Raka muttered inwardly; he narrowed his eyes as he mumbled, 'I wonder if I can use those tactics here.' 

While Raka was in a daze, thinking about whether he could implement the knowledge from his past life, Ulug, noticing his daze, called him out, "Raka!" 

"Huh!?" Raka mumbled as he fell out of his daze. 

"What were you thinking about?" Ulug asked as a concerned look adorned his face. 

Shaking his head, Raka answered, "Nothing, Uncle." He then turned toward the sky, looking at the position of the sun while his face took the brunt of the midday sun. "Let's go; it's time." 

Ulug and the men behind him nodded their heads as they too sensed it was time to go toward the ancestral chamber, where the people of the tribe pray to their ancestors and also awaken their element. 

.............. 

Raka, Ulug, and the rest of the men following them walked toward a hut that was twice as big as the chief's house. It had its ceiling made of tree branches and leaves, while its walls were made of mud bricks. 

Skulls of various animals hung in front of the ancestral chamber with numbers etched on top of them. 

Ulug, noticing Raka's curious gaze on the skulls, leaned in and explained, "They are the biggest hunts that every chief has ever killed; the numbers are the order of the chiefs the tribe had." 

Raka nodded his head as he walked past the last of the animal skulls; it had the number one written on it. 

"That is the first chief of the tribe; he was the one who established it." Leaning in a little closer, "Your father's is at the entrance, right by the gate. After you become the chief, you will be given a five-year time period to provide the chamber with the skull to be placed on display." 

The group reached the entrance of the hut before Raka stopped; he turned back, looking at the people pouring in, standing on either side of the entrance to the hut, looking curiously at him. 

Ulug, looking at the people coming to the ancestral chambers, said, "You must awaken a powerful element, Raka. Those people who are throwing curious glances at you will throw daggers at you if you ever awaken a weak one." Ulug mumbled with a solemn look on his face. 

He recalled the stories in which the chief candidate was killed by the challengers before he became chief. 

Raka looked at his uncle, who was looking at him with concern and worry, and smiled, patting his uncle's back, "Don't worry, Uncle; I will definitely become the next chief." 

"Raka!" 

As Raka was chatting with his uncle Ulug, a voice filled with motherly affection and love walked toward him. She was wearing the same clothes as when he was with her, with the only exception being the crown of feathers adorning her head. 

The feathers were soft and waving against the wind, their colors a mesmerizing wave of rainbow. 

Raka's smile widened as he looked at his mother, his heart thumped softly against his chest while his golden eyes locked with her brown eyes. 

He could see the immense amount of love his mother had for him, but also the worry for the results of his awakening. 

The crowd became silent and stared at the mother-son duo, waiting for the declaration of his element. 

Many hoped it would be a strong one, while some hoped it would be weak. 

"Are you ready?" his mother asked, looking at him. 

Raka nodded his head and walked toward her, extending his hand and holding hers. "I am, mother." 

His mother smiled softly at him, nodded her head, and mumbled, "Follow me." 

Raka looked back one last time; he could see the reassuring smile on the faces of Ulug and the men who followed him. He could feel the curious glances that the crowd threw at him, and he could also feel the hostile gazes of some. 

Raka's eyes gleamed as he took it all in and turned around, walking into the hut, following his mother. 

This day would mark itself as the birth of a monster that people named—the demonic angel!