For ten lustres, this suffocating darkness had been Kael Eidolon's entire universe. He had lived it in total blindness... not a blindness of damaged eyes, but of his unawakened bound. To Kael, the world was not a canvas of shapes and colors, but a shifting tapestry of vibrations, thermal change and pressures. He knew his mother, Vestera, by her gentle warmth and the unique cadence of her breathing.
Today, however was his First Divide event. He could finally see, feel and hear.
Vestera's bound walked towards Kael, its voice vibrated directly within his mind. It was Vestera's power [Telepathy]. And it gently guided his small shadow hands into the ceremonial robes.
"You don't have to feel the pressure, my love," the bound murmured, its tone a soothing balm against Kael's anxiety. "I am certain you will succeed in your First Divide and get your bound and receive your powers. When the veil parts, you will finally see the world. You will meet your brothers and sisters. But remember this above all else: you must be kind to them. Never let it get to your head that you are the First Child. Always be humble, Kael. Promise me."
Kael couldn't speak but he nodded, a fierce determination settling into his small shoulders. He reached out, his hand finding his mother's dress. "Let's go." Vestera's bound said.
When they stepped outside the cloistered of the quarters, a Night Rider was already waiting in the obsidian courtyard. The beast was a terrifying amalgamation of skeleton and armored sinew, its eyes burning with low embers. It had been dispatched specifically to carry the First Child to the Convergence Hall located at the center of Dareldht.
~~
When they arrived, the sheer scale of the gathering pressed down on Kael's heightened instincts. The Convergence Hall was a monumental amphitheater, and today, it held the entire upper echelon of the Nocthe Kingdom.
As Kael and Vestera approached, the massive, mythril-reinforced doors groaned open. Just then a pillar of thick, viscous black light erupted from the center of the hall, shooting straight up into the cocoon sky. It was the terrifying, awe-inspiring manifestation of Lestel's Axiom Rewrite.
Kael could sense the suffocating density of the High Silhouette Lords, the Veil Lords, and the ruthless Dusk Marshals were all present, their collective auras creating a crushing psychological weight.
High above them sat the true rulers: the Queen, the Regent Vilad, and the apex of their world... the Black Sovereign himself, Berstel Un Eidolon. Beside him sat Lestel Umbraxis, the leader of the Gloam Synod.
An assembly of this magnitude was practically unheard of. It was a gathering reserved for existential threats or historic triumphs. Today, it was for the First Child's Divide event. Last time was 10 lustres ago.
Vestera led Kael through the crowd, passing rows of other hollow black children. These were the offspring of nobility, standing frozen and terrified, waiting for their own moments of awakening.
When they reached the designated focal point before the dais, Vestera and her bound dropped to their knees in reverence. Sensing his mother's movement, Kael instinctively knelt beside her. Above them, the light-angling artifacts embedded in the walls moved, shifting their focus until a harsh, brilliant beam illuminated the mother and son, pinning them beneath the collective gaze of everyone.
~~
The Speaker of the Hall, a towering figure draped in ceremonial vestments, stepped forward. He bowed deeply toward the Black Sovereign before his own bound stepped to the front, its voice booming across the hall.
"We have gathered on this auspicious and joyous occasion to witness the First Divide," the bound proclaimed, its voice echoing off the walls. "Today, we shall bear witness to the bounds and awakening powers of the children of our High Silhouette Lords, our Veil Lords, our Dusk Marshals, and the Black Sovereign himself."
The bound gestured toward a monolithic pedestal in the center of the room. "Step forward when called, and place your hand upon the artifact forged by the hands of Lord Arstal Umbraxis, the First Leader of the Gloam Synod."
The Speaker took a deep breath, scanning his scroll. "Valerion Morvath, son of High Silhouette Lord, Orion Morvath."
A young boy stepped forward, his movements rigid with anxiety, guided gently by the firm hand of a Veil Knight. Valerion approached the ancient artifact and pressed his palm against its polished surface. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, a tear ripped through the air behind him. His bound began to coalesce, weaving together from himself until a mental link connected them both.
The Speaker's bound read the glowing runes on the artifact. "His affinity is established. His powers are Solitude and Inertia. A dual power manifestation."
Suddenly, Valerion gasped. The mental link had opened his senses. For the very first time, he could see the architecture of the hall, hear the whispers of the crowd, and feel the true weight of his own flesh. The sensory overload was immense. He tried to command his newly formed bound to move, but the mental strain was too great; the bound flickered wildly before vanishing.
"Do not despair," the Speaker comforted smoothly. "You will get used to the strain with time."
One by one, the names were called. "Soren Vespera, daughter of High Silhouette Lord, Lucan Vespera..." Each child stepped up, endured the trial, and claimed their destiny.
Then, a heavy, expectant silence fell over the grand hall.
"Kael Eidolon," the Speaker announced, his voice trembling slightly. "Son of the Black Sovereign, Berstel Un Eidolon."
A Veil Knight stepped forward, his grip firm but respectful as he took Kael's hands and led him to the pedestal. Kael reached out blindly, his small palm making contact with the artifact.
The reaction was instantaneous.
A violent, ecstatic shockwave surged up Kael's arm. For the first time in his ten lustres of life, light flooded his consciousness. His bound manifested instantly, stabilizing with ease that none of the other children had shown.
Kael looked down at himself in absolute wonder. His body resembled a shifting, midnight-dark shadow silhouette. He looked upward, marveling at the open-top architecture of the hall and the churning, majestic chaos of the cocoon sky.
He turned his head, his new eyes scanning the grand hall. He easily picked out his mother, whose face was streaked with silent tears of relief. Finally, his gaze drifted upward to the high throne, settling on the imposing figure of his father.
The silence stretched on for too long.
"Why the pause, Speaker?" the Black Sovereign bound's voice boomed, cutting through the stillness. "Read out his mandate."
The Speaker fell to his knees, staring at the artifact's shifting, chaotic runes in absolute bewilderment. He wiped sweat from his brow, his voice cracking. "Forgive me, Lord Sovereign. My mind... my mind was utterly blown away by the First Child's revelation. I am unworthy, yet deeply honored to be the one to read this destiny."
The Speaker stood up, swallowing hard as he looked out at the assembly.
"Kael Eidolon... he possesses twenty-six distinct powers. One for each letter of the alphabet."
~~
A/N: Ether is the power source of this world. And Kael got his own bound... and could finally see, hear and touch.