Chapter 5: Day of Awakening
The sun had come out of its hiding and was illuminating Nightshade City in all of its glory.
Jaden stood in front of the wide mirror as he made sure that he was looking superb for his fated awakening at the Church of Knowledge.
He wore the same attire he had worn last night for dinner; he considered it a lucky charm after all. It was a gift from his fiancée, and at the same time, he had his long-awaited dinner in the same outfit.
He had worn a necklace with a round dark gemstone, which appeared to be held by a golden butterfly. The golden chain wrapped around his neck as the butterfly and the gemstone rested on his chest. It was another gift he had obtained from his regal yet loving fiancée.
He looked at the necklace with a loving smile as he fell into thoughts of her, again.
A few moments later, Shelly knocked at the door of his room and spoke in the same flat and indifferent tone.
"Young Master, the carriage is ready."
Jaden’s smile became faint as he turned towards the door and replied.
"I’ll be there soon."
Hearing that, Shelly turned and left. Jaden shook his head as he heard the echo of her steps.
"Why is she always so... emotionless and indifferent?" he questioned as he began thinking about it. A frown appeared on his face as he had no answer he could recall.
He once again looked into the mirror and stared into his own bright blue eyes as he clenched his fists and got ready for whatever was going to come his way.
After heaving a sigh, he left the room and descended the stairs with the same gracefulness one would expect from someone of his stature. He exited the mansion and walked towards the gates with his signature smile. After reaching the gates, he nodded at the guard and looked at the carriage before him.
It was a carriage which had all the aristocratic accents it needed, and at the door of the carriage, the emblem of a moon covered by the wings of a butterfly was carved; it was the emblem of Nightshade City.
Jaden looked at the driver of the carriage, who was a person he hadn’t seen before or someone he probably didn’t quite remember. He smiled widely as he placed a hand on his chest and added.
"Please take care of me."
The driver looked at him with a warm smile and replied.
"Of course, Young Master."
Jaden nodded slightly and stepped inside the carriage. As he did so, he felt something in his pocket. He moved his hand in his pocket and was confused after seeing the strange box-like object again...
He looked at the object with confusion as he muttered unknowingly.
"How did this- Ah!"
Just as he spoke, he remembered how his body had moved on its own to grab the strange object; it was like an instinct for some reason. Jaden didn’t know why his body acted like that and what the object was, but he didn’t feel that the object was harmful to him in any way, so he just kept it with him.
Right then, the driver pulled at the reins, and the carriage started to move.
The Church of Knowledge was located at the centre of the city, while the mansion existed at the western end of the city.
A huge crowd stood at the gates of the Church of Knowledge. It was the day of awakening after all, Many youths had lined up at the gates to awaken their grimoires and pursue the way of the arcane.
Many of them had nervousness plastered all over their faces, some acted indifferent, and a few showed confidence as if they knew what they would obtain from the awakening, and that would be a lie, as no one can know what one would obtain from the awakening.
However, the centre of everyone’s attention was the son of the guard’s captain; he too had just reached the age of ceremony, which was eighteen years.
He stood with his muscular hands clasped behind his wide back, his green eyes displayed undeniable confidence as he looked at the statue of a lean man with a grimoire in his left hand, wearing a flowing cloak and coat. It was the statue of the founder of Nightshade City.
The crowd chattered and made speculations about his awakening.
"Do you think there’s going to be any silver ones this year?"
"Well, of course. We have three young stars taking part in this ceremony, don’t we?"
"That is true too... but don’t you think lord Jaden is too gentle compared to the others?"
"I think so too."
The crowd continued their chatter as the sun was about to reach its peak.
Right then, an elegant and aristocratic carriage stopped before the gates, and Jaden stepped out from the carriage.
He scanned the crowd with his gem-like eyes and smiled a little as his gaze landed on Navin. He stepped towards Navin as the crowd parted for him. Many looked at him with warm smiles, but most looked at him with envy.
Even if all of this was just an illusion, Humans envied what they couldn’t have the most, after all.
Jaden stopped before Navin and offered his hand for a handshake. Navin looked at his hand for a moment and lifted his head to look into Jaden’s eyes as his lips arched up. Stepping forward, he gave a tight hug to him.
"N-Navin... Stop!"
Jaden lightly tapped at Navin’s shoulder as breathing was getting hard for him under the hold of that gorilla-like man.
"Haha!" Navin laughed loudly as he let go of Jaden.
"You should work harder, Jaden... still so weak," he added with a wide grin.
Jaden fixed his attire as he spoke with a wronged expression.
"Weak? It’s you who is built like a damn gorilla."
Hearing that, Navin laughed loudly as he patted Jaden’s back with a bit of extra force. Jaden nearly fell from those light pats, though.
Right at that moment, another elegant and aristocratic carriage stopped in front of the crowd. It was in no way less than Jaden’s. This carriage, however, didn’t have the emblem of Nightshade City; instead, it had a golden butterfly within a mirror.
It was the carriage of the Miravale family, the family of Jaden’s fiancée.
The carriage door parted open.