Awakening

"Yes, you are. And the next time I see you, I'll chop your head off!"

'You should have killed him, kid' It was the first thing he heard as he started walking down the street. 'You can't just kill anyone you like! It's not a buffet' Daniel thought, replying to the voice. He heard a light chuckle soon after saying that.

Having nothing else to do, Daniel headed straight to the Academy. Today was a break for the first year due to The Awakening Ceremony that was going to be held tomorrow. Daniel saw some of the first years on the field, sitting with their friends and having a good time.

He went straight into his room and opened the red cloth that was wrapped around the book, revealing it. The book had a wooden cover that had a skull embedded in it. 'What is this book?' he asked the voice but got no answer. He slowly started turning the pages which were made of hard leather. It had some ancient inscriptions on it. Unable to understand what was written on it Daniel continued slowly turning its pages until a black erupted from the book and it started floating.

"What the...?!" Daniel cursed as he saw the book floating on its own. The black aura started covering the book until it was nothing but an orb of dark light, floating in the sky.

Daniel stared at the orb of light as it kept floating and suddenly dashed through him, entering the same way as others. But this time it was different, Daniel started having migraines to an extent that he felt that his head was gonna explode. "Aagh...!" He groaned holding his head as the pain started growing. His vision started becoming fuzzy and soon he started losing consciousness. *Thud* He fell to the ground, slowly closing his eyes, losing consciousness.

"Finally awake, huh?" He woke up to a familiar voice. Opening his eyes he stood up and found himself in the same dark place where he first met him. Daniel turned towards the direction of the voice and saw him sitting on a chair, smiling.

"What was that?!" Daniel asked him with an aloof tone. The Voice simply flicked his fingers and a chair appeared behind Daniel. "Sit" he said motioning his hand towards him. Daniel sat down, still waiting for an answer from him. The Voice adjusted his posture and said "The dark essence you just absorbed contained the power from one of the world's most powerful artifacts. The headache you just had was because your body was not powerful enough to handle all its power. I have suppressed the excess magic. You would be able to unlock all its power in a few months." The Voice explained to him what was going on.

"And what would have happened if had not suppressed the excess magical energy?" Daniel asked feeling a bit curious. "You would have been blown from the inside out" he said with a cold tone. A chill ran through his spine as he heard that. "Well, then I should send you back now" The Voice said and was about to snap his fingers when Daniel stopped him. "Wait! You still haven't told me your name".

"Asmodeus"

*Snap* He snapped his finger sending Daniel back into his body.

"Aagh..." Daniel groaned as he got up from the floor. His head still hurt a bit but it was still better than the migraine. His eyes were still somewhat fuzzy and his body felt a lot tighter than usual. After sitting down for a while he went straight into his washroom.

"Whoa...!" Daniel exclaimed as he saw his reflection in the mirror. He had gotten taller and more buffed in jest a few hours. He kept staring at the mirror for a few minutes before he heard a voice in his head 'Yeah, you are beautiful, princess. Now get a move on'.

He came out of his washroom after taking a shower and wore his clothes. He did not wear his jacket today as it was the day for The Awakening Ceremony. It was still quite early in the morning so he had enough time before attending the ceremony.

'You still didn't tell me about yourself' Daniel said to Asmodeus while exiting his dormitory. 'I will. When the time comes, I will' Asmodeus said in a deep and cold voice.

After having his breakfast Daniel checked the time. It was already past eight. He started walking towards the auditorium. Entering the auditorium through the back gate he saw that it was already filled with students. He sat down in an empty seat which was available in one of the last rows while no one noticed him.

There was still time for the ceremony to start, so he started looking around to see who all were present here. Glancing around Daniel saw many parents sitting in the guest rows. Some of them looked like they were nobles while others looked like they were from middle-class families.

Shortly afterward Daniel saw The Headmaster enter the auditorium with a man followed behind him. A glance at the man and anybody could say that he was either a noble or a very rich merchant. He was wearing pieces of jewelry all over his body.

Soon everyone sat down including the rich man, except for the headmaster. After waiting a while he stepped forward, "Good Morning Everyone. So as every one of you here knows that we have gathered here today to witness the two hundred and twenty-first awakening ceremony of The Lawrence Academy. As the guest of honor today we have amongst us, Duke William von Rochefort. The Ceremony shall now begin!"

After the headmaster stepped down the stage, Professor Albert took the place and started calling out the names. "Ralph Sternbow!" the first name was called. A boy stood up from the second row. He had dirty blonde hair and a medium physique. He walked up on the stage and stood in front of a big glass orb. He touched it, making it glow. A bright white light appeared and the orb started glowing red. "Ralph Sternbow has awakened The Fire Attribute!" Professor Albert called out again.

A few minutes later another name was called out.

"Daniel Wolferd!"