It was 12:01 in the morning, Ramon could not sleep.
He already entered a new day.
He already did it, he was now 10 years old.
His body was finally fully nourished by the natural energy of this world enough to try his luck at awakening the astral energy potential of his body.
He stayed in the same room as his mom.
Despite how rich the Brenden family was, due to Enoch's unstoppable vigor, birthing new children like the spawns of an ant queen, Ramon did not have the luxury of having his own room to himself.
During the past 10 years of his life, Ramon already developed a deep bond with his mother, a bond far thicker than the nonexistent one he had with his father.
And just being one of the many wives of the patriarch, Emiliana Brenden, his mom didn't receive any special attention from the patriarch.
Ramon and her 3 other sons were the only true people in her life.
Yes, Ramon had 3 older brothers from his mom but he rarely related with them. They were all so obsessed with being upright and pleasing the patriarch, it was as if their whole existence was to please the patriarch and Ramon hated it.
He rarely interacted with them due to this, preferring to play solo.
5 years ago, his eldest brother from his mom, John awakened astral energy and was enrolled into Hope Town's astral academy.
His other 2 brothers, Hector and Amak were not as lucky though. On the most important day of their lives, on their 10th birthday, fate stood against them.
Both of them were unable to awaken astral energy.
Now, it was Ramon's turn.
'Will I be able to awaken it?' He thought as he looked at the ceiling.
Sitting cross-legged in his mom's room, Ramon could not help but drown into his thoughts as he remembered a few hours ago with his teacher.
"You'll be 10 in a few hours".
"You're no longer a kid, you're a big boy now, a man".
"In some cultures, you'll be able to get a wife already".
Guendouzi no longer had that strict teacher look on his face, he just had a casual expression on his face. "It's time for the heavens to decide your fate".
"Do not worry, just take it casually".
"I believe you're talented enough to be a blessed one of the heavens but let's let the heavens decide, Goodluck".
"Perhaps, today is my last lecture with you as you'll be easily accepted into the Hope Town astral academy with your talent if you awaken astral energy".
"1 last lecture for you though, awakening astral energy will open up your sea of consciousness".
"The traits of your sea of consciousness determines your affinity".
"If it's hot like a volcano, you have an affinity for fire".
"If it's a cold blizzard in there, you have an affinity for ice".
"That's how you differentiate it".
"I wonder the kind of man the heavens decided for you to become".
With that, Guendouzi finally brought his lectures to an end and left.
'I wonder what the heavens have decided for me'. Ramon thought even as he stole a glance at his mother before finally deciding to lie on the cold floor.
He tried to sleep but sleep just wouldn't come.
Normally, sleep was never his problem, already building a reputation for randomly falling asleep in the weirdest of situations but today was different.
Restless, with his eyes tightly closed, he decided to start counting numbers in his head. '1,2,3…!'
Creak!
Ramon's eyes snapped open and they widened in shock.
Everything happened so fast.
One moment, Ramon was still counting numbers in his head and the next, 3 young men in black clothes and black masks jumped into the room through the wooden window, with all 3 of them wielding daggers.
Bam!
Ramon could not react, his nerve impulses only responded after the dagger already dug into his chest even as he gasped for breath.
He looked at the mask before him in shock.
"Argh…!" He groaned in pain.
2 of the masked men went after him and ruthlessly stabbed him, one in his stomach and the other through his rib from the side.
Raising his head even as blood flowed from his mouth, he looked at the mask as realization came across his eyes, this was an assassination!
'Where is the last assassin?' He thought then his eyes widened.
'Mother…!'
Ramon looked behind him and instantly, he felt like lightning just struck through his entire being, its shock jolting his soul out of his body.
"Ugh…!" Emiliana clutched her stomach, gasping for breath.
She looked at her son, then tears flowed. "Please spare my son…!"
Bam! Bam!
From this distance, Ramon could sense the grin on the assassin's face as he stabbed his mother repeatedly with the dagger even as she jerked.
Life slowly left her eyes.
Throughout, Ramon could not move, he was petrified in shock.
Afterall, he was just a 10-year-old boy.
But rage filled his eyes, immense rage clouded his senses and mind even as Ramon started having hallucinations of a world inside his mind.
His extreme emotional state triggered it at this moment.
Originally, the official process to awaken astral energy was through a treasure provided by the Lightning Manor that could stimulate the dormant energy in a 10-year-old child but at this moment, something else stimulated Ramon.
Outside, the skies became even darker, almost pitch-black.
CRACK!
Lightning and thunder crackled fiercely.
On this night, the hunters that stayed out at night saw it again, the silhouette of a giant golden sword appeared on the night sky as bright as day.
In Ramon's hallucination, he saw himself in a massive world.
This absolutely gigantic world was filled to the end by an endless sea, there was no blizzard or volcano like a certain man suggested. Instead, at the top right corner of this world hovered a giant golden sword.
Ramon looked up at the giant golden sword and he resonated with it.
BZZZ!
He was jolted back awake but Ramon already lost himself.
He was now another existence entirely, the newest carrier of one of the world's greatest mysteries, a heavenly restriction.
But most worrying was the fact that clouded by rage, he was now a mindless beast.
Ramon grabbed one of the assassin's hand holding the dagger that stabbed into his stomach and looked into his eyes, instantly this man was petrified in fear.
The 10-year-old boy's eyes glowed a menacing red.
Holding the dagger that was used to stab him, this dagger vibrated intensely, letting out a loud humming sound like it was deeply scared of being held by him even as Ramon pulled it out of his stomach the next moment.
Ramon looked at the assassin, he looked at the dagger then he slashed.
BOOM!
The sound reverberated throughout the night.
A golden light was briefly let out from the dagger and even as the assassin aroused his astral energy to defend, it meant nothing before the overwhelming power as the golden light cleanly sliced him in twain.
The 2nd assassin who stabbed Ramon through his ribs pulled his dagger out as he tried to escape instantly but the red-eyed Ramon threw the dagger at him.
The dagger having been vibrating since was already at its limit and as soon as it was thrown, it shattered in the air, its shrapnel digging into the 2nd assassin's brain, lacerating his head into a bloody mess.
As for the last assassin, he was petrified in fear.
One moment, Ramon was a few meters away from him and the next moment, Ramon stood before him.
He was just a 10-year-old boy but this assassin felt fear.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He had no clue when his dagger left his own hand and entered the boy's hand even as Ramon started stabbing him non-stop the way his mom was stabbed.
The loud sound caused by the golden light that left the first dagger already attracted attention and, in an instant, the strongest individual of the Brenden family, the patriarch arrived wielding his long spear.
He arrived to witness the brutal scene.
His eyes narrowed. "Ramon?"
Ramon looked back and what appeared were blood-red eyes.
"…!" The patriarch shuddered.
On this night of awakening, a monster was born.