Chapter 46: Registration [2]

The first item on the roadmap was simple and terrifying in equal measure: he had to place his hand on an Awakening Stone again.

Rael felt the old tension rise the moment he read the line. The last time he had touched one of those stones it had been in front of thousands of people—classmates, teachers, every major family in Solaria, including his own. The declaration of "No class detected" had echoed through the hall and broken something inside him that still had not fully healed. Today there would be no audience, yet the weight of that memory pressed against his ribs all the same.

The Church handled every official awakening stone. The section of the Association given over to them already felt different from the rest of the building. Black-robed figures moved quietly between pillars. Soft light filtered through high windows. A short line of hopeful late-awakeners stood in front of a wide set of doors. Most of them looked exhausted. Some left the chamber with blank faces and red eyes—another failure, another dream quietly ending. Late awakening was the last thin hope for people who had been declared ordinary the first time. Rael watched them and said nothing.

While he waited he studied a large board mounted on the wall. It listed the recognized tiers of human power:

Mortal → Awakened → Elite → Expert → Master → Grandmaster → Sovereign → Transcendent

Each tier was further divided into three internal stages. The gap between any two full tiers was described as enormous. His own status still refused to display a tier. Until the stone officially recognized him, the system treated him as incomplete.

A young man in a black priest’s gown called his name. Rael followed. The corridor began in the clean white of the Association, but with every step the color warmed. White gave way to soft red. The air grew heavier, scented with old incense and polished stone. By the time they stopped before a pair of tall double doors the architecture had changed completely. The priest opened the doors without a word and gestured for him to enter.

The hall beyond was vast.

High vaulted ceilings disappeared into shadow. Rows of dark wooden pews stretched toward a raised dais. Along the walls, narrow stained-glass windows cast fractured crimson light across the floor.

Rael was not a very religious person even though his family use to give big donation to the churches every year he just couldn’t believe the same values.

At the far end stood a statue that dominated the entire space. It was the statue of the God. It was carved from pale stone and covered in intricate patterns of gold. The figure had no ears, no mouth, no hair—only a single enormous golden eye set in the center of its face. The eye seemed to watch everything at once. A cold line traced its way down Rael’s spine.

"Come here, my child."

The voice belonged to a nun standing at the base of the statue. She was fully covered in pale robes, only her face visible. Up close she looked no older than Rael himself. She took his wrist with surprising strength and guided him forward.

The Awakening Stone rested on a low pedestal directly beneath the statue’s gaze. It was shaped exactly like a human eye, the iris a swirl of cloudy crystal. The nun placed his hand flat against its surface and did not release him. Her other hand rested lightly on his forearm. Soft chanting began under her breath—words he could not understand.

"Channel your mana," she said.

Rael hesitated only a second, then let a thin stream of mana flow into the stone.

Light exploded outward.

First pure white, so bright he could not look directly at it. The light shifted to yellow, then deepened into a rich, burning orange. The stone pulled at him. His eyes refused to close. Tears formed and dried almost instantly against the heat radiating from the crystal. The hall remained completely silent except for the nun’s continued chant.

A clear voice spoke from the stone itself.

"Awakened... Infernomancer Class."

A translucent panel appeared in the air beside the pedestal:

[Infernomancer (B-Rank)]

The nun’s face broke into a genuine smile. "Congratulations, child. A B-Rank Class you will become a great warrior."

Hearing a girl his own age call him child felt strange, but Rael barely noticed. The stone was not finished. A second surge of light erupted—brighter than the first. He felt the Analyze class being examined, measured, dragged into the open. Instinct took over. He tore his hand free.

The light flared one final time, flooding every corner of the hall in searing gold-white radiance before collapsing back into the stone. The sudden darkness left afterimages burning across his vision.

The nun stood frozen. A single tear ran down her cheek. Her hands trembled as she reached out, caught his wrist again, and pressed his palm against the soft skin of her face. She held it there as if confirming something only she could feel. She did not speak. She only looked at him with an expression that mixed recognition, grief, and something close to reverence.

Rael pulled his hand back carefully. "I passed, right? I should go."

She blinked, returning to herself with visible effort. "Yes... yes. Here." She pressed a thin green band into his hand. "Speak with Brother Sam outside. He will guide you to the next stage."

Rael nodded once and walked toward the doors. They opened at his approach and closed heavily behind him.

Inside the hall the nun sank to her knees on the cold stone floor. Her voice, when it finally came, was broken and barely audible.

"Ooh Great Father..."

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