I wake up and stretch quickly. It feels rather nice to be awake, though I can’t help but notice something strange with my body the moment I try to straighten my back.

“Gasp. Lavenna!”

Before I can do anything about the uncomfortable feeling I have on my back I’m pulled into a very tight hug that was applied with enough force to snap a metal chain. It’s a good thing my body is sturdy or this rather sweet moment would become tragic.

“Wa-wa, woht ash ooohhn onnn?”

Hm? Somehow my speech is broken. Oh, I get it now! Mother did tell me that we were supposed to have fangs and wings and all.

“Hehehe”

It’s nice to be alive indeed. I return the hug and rub my face against mother’s hair slightly. Somehow it feels like I haven’t seen her for an eternity.

She seems really upset too, as I can hear her sobbing softly and judging by the state of the hut that looks no different from a big garbage dump, I was asleep for some time now. Exhaustion from the awakening? Was that the reason I slept for so long? Seems I worried my poor mother.

I give her a few pats on the back and surprisingly, my jet black wings that look quite soft to the touch follow the gesture to which she replies with additional sobs… I really did trouble her didn’t I?

As much as I would like to stay immersed in this quiet atmosphere, I still have to get the hang of the latest additions to my body. Using my advantage of having overwhelming processing abilities I speed up my perception of time by a hundred times and do the necessary checks.

A quick scan with my soul’s aura is telling me that somehow the structure of my body isn’t that different from before. The large canines in my mouth seem to be quite complex in their functions, while the wings are really magical constructs that are generated with the weird temerian energy abundant in my body.

I mean, yeah, why in the endless planes would my wings need to be here if they couldn’t carry me up to the skies, right? And for them to do so they would have to be huge, much much larger than they are now.

Good thing, I can probably alter their shape and properties to an extent, though I would have to understand where the anchoring points for the constructs are and how they work.

Now, back to real time. Mother is still sobbing in my arms, causing her back to tremble slightly. I give her a light kiss on the forehead and pet her back a few more times.

I put a bit of concentration on some of the facial muscles that humans don’t have and my fangs retract into my gums. It’s a bit itchy.

“It’s alright now, mom. I’m fine, everything is over. I’m very sorry to worry you so much…” I whisper softly as I look into her blue eyes with red capillaries being easily seen because of how much she has cried. It’s both joyful and painful to be loved so much.

“Don’t worry, mom. Everything is all right now, calm down” I continue to pat her and whisper to calm her down. It seems to be working as her trembling is subsiding slowly.

“Hic, N-no, Lavenna, I-it’s me who’s sorry… Hic”

She told me how I slept for two weeks and how she worried that she lost me.

Then mother began to tell me in between her sobs about the process of awakening and how often those who try to awaken their bloodline fail and get swallowed by their inner demons.

That’s why she wanted me to awaken young. Indeed, if it were a normal child, with their innocence they would have better chances of pulling through.

She also apologized many times for not telling me everything, though I have told her many times that I don’t blame her and understand. In fact, I’m feeling very guilty now. I too have withheld my own big secrets from her even though she so obviously loves me so dearly and treasures me so. It’s like repaying kindness with evil. Worrying about her not accepting me and being afraid of me, how silly.

That’s why,

“Mom, there’s something I want to tell you as well”

She immediately straightens her posture, feeling the seriousness in my voice.

“I’m very sorry that I haven’t told you already, even though I should’ve done that long ago…”

******

In the Celestial palace.

Two archangels in their traditional white tunics with their impeccably white wings trailing behind them were walking down a scarcely decorated hall with many windows that were directed towards the clouds outside.

The two archangels’ names were Sam-Yigh and Qu-Daoli. Both were considered to be the most effective scouts in the whole Celestial city.

Sam-Yigh was a tall and lean young-looking man who had strong effeminate features. The color of his hair and eyes were black, which was very rare among his kin who usually had either silver hair and red eyes or yellow hair and yellow eyes.

Qu-Daoli, on the other hand, was a plump old man with silver hair that seemed appropriate for his age and his eyes were a dark shade of red that looked close to dark brown.

Both archangels were chatting as they were nearing their destination:

“Lord Qu, do you happen to know the reason His Highness called for us? The matter seemed very urgent”

“No need to be so formal, Yigh. I’ve known you since you were but a simple angel, just call me Qu, or Daoli if you want. And as for your question, I indeed have heard some things. Someone registered some kind of suspicious activity around the Extererr mountain. It may have something to do with the Temerians, though I hope I’m wrong.”

“Temerians? I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of them.”

“It’s not surprising, Temerians are very secretive. They are a very unique race of Immortals. They have rather high abilities in pretty much every aspect worth measuring and their potential is very scary. The older ones can control space on the same level as a low-born Deity. For some reason they prefer hiding and they never show much care for the matters involving the development of the world, though they have claims for the human race and all their countries, so it gets really inconvenient when there’s something needed to be done concerning humans. They never negotiate, you either agree with them or you die. Good thing they don’t care about pretty much anything except their own brethren.”

“They seem scary. Could it be they are planning an attack or something?”

“No, the Extererr mountain is the place where they awaken their young. You see, their birth rate is very low and they also have the very nasty need to awaken their own bloodline in order to become full-fledged Temerians. The scary thing is, almost everybody who goes through the procedure fails and when they do, they become extremely ferocious with wild and violent tendencies, most go insane and wreak havoc everywhere they go.

“As you would expect from a race as powerful as they are, each time that happens is a calamity for the world. That’s why it wouldn’t be strange for His Highness to be so cautious.”

“I see. Such a scary race existed, huh. I hope nothing bad happens.”

“I hope so too.”

And so, the two archangels continued to walk down the hall.

Soon they reached the throne room’s entrance. The angel knights recognized the two archangels, saluted and let them in.

The throne room was very dark and gloomy. There were no windows and the lighting was sparse, with only a few magic lanterns in the corners letting out dim lights.

There weren’t any decorations; it was a bland stone room with smooth white walls and ceiling. A red carpet was making a path towards a huge white boulder with a human-sized dent that served as the throne.

While the room didn’t possess even a shred of majesty it should have nobody really minded it as the people of the Celestial city never put much thought to things like appearances and physical beauty.

The two archangels took three steps into the room and got into a kneeling position, their wings falling gently behind them.

“Rise” A strong and deep voice was heard and the two stood up.

“Archangel Sam-Yigh greets His Highness!”

“Archangel Qu-Daoli greets His Highness!”

“You probably have already heard about it, but there have been some strange movements near the Extererr mountain. Investigate, do not act before reporting all you have found back.”

“”As His Highness wills!””

“Dismissed”

The two bowed respectfully and left while facing the throne with their heads lowered.