The Ultimate Awakener

Awakener Stone

After shaking hands with Elion, she gestured for him to follow.

“Come, let me take you to the Awakening Chamber where the Awakening Stone is, before time runs out.”

The Awakening Chamber, located inside the castle, was a vast space where awakeners gathered to have their cores awakened. All they had to do was touch a diamond, and there their core would be awakened. With a sign of a bright light from their chest.

Elion and Jessica, the elf lady, made their way inside the castle. There were many awakeners—teenagers who had just awakened their cores, each with a chest glowing a bright, almost blinding light, which meant their awakening had been successful.

They would all gather to be sent back to their bodies in the real world.

After the awakening was completed, each person had to choose: serve the city by becoming a hunter to protect it, or live a normal life. Most people decided to become hunters. Thereafter, they would process through an academy for a few years before becoming fully fledged hunters. By that age, they were expected to master their awakening attributes.

A lady stood at the front of the crowd of teenagers gathered in the chamber, where a giant stone rested in the middle.

The lady was a fairy—small in size, but when she spoke, her voice carried to the last person in line.

“Congratulations to all of you… I—” Her words were interrupted as Jessica waved her hand from the crowd and approached with Elion.

“He's also an awakener. He needs to have his core awakened,” Jessica said quietly, keeping her voice low as she led Elion closer to the fairy.

Her name was Aurora. She had long red hair, elegant features, and a body no larger than a human hand.

“We’ve passed the stage of core awakening already…” Aurora whispered back, leaning closer to Jessica’s ear.

Jessica sighed. “If we don’t give the child a chance, he’ll end up dead in the real world.”

“And if we let him touch the stone now, there’s a high chance it will shatter, just like last time. You know what that means.”

What it meant was chaos. The stone didn’t only act as an awakener—it was the heart of the castle. Its presence was the reason monsters couldn’t come any closer.

Additionally, the day the stone was supposed to be interacted with had already passed three days ago. Today was the fifth day. Reactivating the stone now might cause more problems, because everything about the awakening was carefully strategized. The fifth day was meant to be a resting day, and at this stage, the stone was weak.

But the question that kept rumbling in their hearts was how Elion had survived for over three days outside the castle and still returned without a single injury.

Aurora had many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew if she waited too long, the five-day duration would elapse. All the awakeners would return to their bodies, and if Elion wasn’t awakened by then, his consciousness would be trapped in the Shadow Realm—which meant sudden death.

Jessica took a deep breath and gasped before speaking. “Please help the kid… you don’t expect him to die, do you?”

Aurora had no choice but to accept what Jessica said. She shifted her gaze to the group of teenagers who were staring silently and spoke softly:

“Hey kids, give me a few minutes. I’ll be back…”

She led Elion to the platform where the stone stood. There, the ground below it rolled open, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

Elion had thought he was going to touch the giant stone before him, but unknown to him, the main stone lay below the ground.

The stone above was just a common replica. The real Awakening Stone wasn’t as large as it appeared, and only one person could touch it at a time. That was how it had been for all the teenagers who awakened their cores.

Awakening came in different forms. Some could only cure illnesses and free themselves from torment; others unlocked powers known as attributes.

Elion walked down the stairs, with the fairy flying ahead as she led the way. Meanwhile, Jessica waited outside. Their task was to ensure that all the teenagers in custody would awaken their cores.

Soon, Elion descended the final steps and stood close to the Awakening Stone.

The stone wasn’t as large as it was rumored to be. It was small—no larger than Elion’s hands—glowing brightly and radiating an aura he felt inexplicably drawn to.

“Be fast. Touch the stone so you can be freed from the spell of illness. And if you’re lucky, you can unlock your core and attributes,” Aurora urged.

Elion nodded and pushed his hand forward to touch the stone.

His hand stayed there for almost twenty seconds, but nothing happened. His chest didn’t glow.

“When should I pull my hand away?” he asked.

It had already been nearly two minutes, and his hand was still on the stone.

“Wait until your chest glows brightly—that signifies your core is awakened,” Aurora replied, though she was clearly curious.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. Normally, touching the stone triggered an awakening within seconds—but nothing happened for Elion.

In the next second, the stone began to fade, and Elion felt his hand stick to it.

“What’s going on?” Aurora whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

She urged Elion to remove his hand, but he tried—and couldn’t.

The stone, which had been glowing brightly, suddenly turned back to darkness, looking like a normal, casual stone.

Aurora’s eyes widened in disbelief, her wings flapping frantically as panic rose in her chest.