Chapter 28: The Astral Light Martial Hall Part 1

The sun was already moving down as an orange hue spread across the horizon. Orson was up, looking at the sky, and Lenora was beside him, fast asleep. It had been four hours since Lenora had fallen asleep, and after a while, the weather had grown cold. So Orson went inside to make something for the two of them, and when he came back, Lenora was already up, looking around, lost.

So Orson went close to her and carried her up.

Lenora was startled before looking up. It was Orson. She felt weird in his hands. She was wearing a crop top, so she could feel his skin on her body, and she could also feel his body as well. His chest was strangely soft and tight as her head touched it. It was warm as well, with a sweet smell to it.

Lenora was not going to say it, but she always felt secure in his hands. But since he came back and carried her, his soft body had a firmness to it that wasn’t there before.

Thinking about his body reminded her of what Emily said about husband and wife. Unknown to her, her face turned a bit red.

It was not that she was against the idea of having Orson, but she did not love him. That didn’t mean she could not do it. She was going to die soon, and she did not want to die a virgin.

Just as Orson carried her from the backyard to the dinner table, Lenora had come up with multiple scenarios to put Orson in, and he would have no choice but to bed her.

Weird. First, I was thinking about my family in my sleep, and now just because I felt a man’s body, I have gone crazy.

Lenora shook her head a bit.

Orson just watched her as he placed her down on her chair. As they ate the small lunch he prepared, Orson’s comms beeped. Orson looked down at his wrist. His watch was beeping.

"Are you not going to answer it?"

Orson looked down at his comms. He tapped it, and a distant display popped up with a man. He tapped to pick up, and a hologram of a smiling, handsome, long-haired man about Orson’s age popped out from his comlink.

The man asked, "Hey, Orson. What have you been up to lately? It’s been a while since we met. Let’s hang out."

Orson looked at the guy talking. It was Julian Graves, Sen’s little brother. Corvin, Orson, Julian, and Riven grew up together, although Corvin joined the group a bit later after his family cast him out. All four of them were outcasts to their families. Orson had no life gate, Julian had one but didn’t want to become an Awakened, Corvin had a Crimson gate and Riven was good, but he acted more like a child. So the four had been practically best friends.

Orson looked up at his wife, who was red in the face but was eating more reservedly now.

Orson asked, "So where are we going? You will know when you come out first. Okay, we are all waiting for you, okay."

Before they could hang up, Orson added, "Okay, but I’m bringing my wife as well."

Julian went silent for a while before saying, "But Riven is bringing his elder brother."

So Orson asked, "So?"

Julian just sighed before saying, "He and Lenora used to be dating before she got injured."

Lenora, who was eating, looked up as she heard her name.

Orson just sighed. "That’s good. She will be with someone she knows."

Before Julian could say anything, Orson cut the call.

Wow, Orson still—can’t read social cues, Julian thought as he looked at the people before him. It was him, Corvin, Riven, and Aeron, all in a transport on their way to Orson’s home.

Hover cars were used around the district. Transports were used to move from district to district, but it was only the wealthy people who could afford it.

A while later, they reached Orson’s home, and he and Lenora were already outside waiting for them. Corvin and Julian went to help Orson get Lenora into the transport, and Aeron watched as they did. He had brown hair with blue eyes. He was very handsome—but most of the Awakened in the world were handsome—but he was the most Orson had ever seen. He had this gentleness about him that made you be at your best behavior, but the aura was more focused by the fact that he was wearing glasses.

He greeted Orson and Lenora, who just said hi.

The ride, which Julian had thought was going to be quiet and awkward, was anything but that, thanks to Corvin and his full mouth.

"So, Orson, guess where we are going?"

Orson looked at him. "Well, I don’t really know."

Corvin just smiled, his face lighting up as he said, "The Astral Light Martial Hall. My idol, General Elias, will be there. In an exhibition fight held there. He was chosen last year, and his broadsword skills are so fierce—"

Corvin was full of yearning.

In this era, apart from the usual sports, music, and so on, fighting had evolved as well, becoming the most popular in the current era. All around the world, there was a competition between Awakened—the first rank—and Resonant—the second—for martial skill. Not abilities, but skill. The use of abilities was allowed, but most Awakened tried not to challenge rank-two Awakened because they were on a level of their own. And the top one hundred would challenge each other for the top ten. And the top ten could have their names on the world stage, in which everyone would know their names as the Astral Winners.

In recent years, Seraphina had always been the champion of Steel Armor Guild, but her name was never on the Astral Winners, so she was never among the top ten, since no one— not even her guild members—knew who she was. Ranking number five last year, General Elias was known for his fierce broadsword skills. He was very popular among young people and even more well-liked than the top four. He was paid as high as ten million Astral credits for any exhibition match.

Knowing his popularity, Orson was nevertheless shocked when he saw a full house at the Astral Light Martial Hall, which could accommodate more than a hundred thousand people. Many crazy fans were holding signs and calling out General Elias’s name. When he appeared, a girl was so excited that she fainted.

"If I could have my name on the Astral Winner board like General Elias once in my life, then I’d know I’ve lived," Corvin said admiringly.

"You will, Fan Corvin," Orson smiled and said, watching the young people around him going crazy for General Elias’s appearance.