“Another way we see souls awaken these days is simply through being born to Weaver.”

Aleister took a scant breath. "It's not that simply though, is it?"

“No, it's not. There is a reason every territory still has multiple temples and churches built to venerate all sorts of gods,” she said.

Being a Vallonian, he knew the official religion they practiced was one that worshipped was Viviane. And in Lillium, they actually named their entire empire after Lilith. Of course, these two were just the primary gods that the empires were in the name of. As a byproduct of being a citizen of that empire, you in turn naturally became a worshiper of them. This, of course, didn’t stop the citizens or even the nobility from worshiping whatever other gods they pleased.

“I feel like I should have been born a Weaver,” Aleister said. “If so, then what is the need for this white onyx?”

“Like you said, it's not that simple. Just because you are born to parents who were both Weavers, it doesn’t automatically make you one. After all, it depends on the strength of the bloodline. The stronger, your parents were when they gave birth to you, the stronger your bloodline becomes. However, it also matters if you were the first, second, or even last child born to your parents, as, being born first actually matters more than being to stronger parents,” Syn explained.

Aleister nodded. “I don’t know exactly remember how strong my parents were when they gave birth to me, but I do remember that I’m technically a middle child. Although the gap between my older brother and sister is about a decade, between me and her it was about four years, and between my twin younger brother and sister, it was about two years.”

Syn looked surprised as she said, “Your parents gave birth to twins? Then I’m afraid that out of your immediate family, your blood is the weakest.”

“Great.” Aleister sighed as he felt a tinge of disappointment wash over him, but he didn't let it get him down. “And I’m assuming from the way the information surprised you about my younger twin brother and sister, their blood is the strongest?”

“Extremely,” she answered. “Being born as a twin, there is a high chance that their bloodline is even stronger than your parents.”

“That’s good,” Aleister said, remembering the fond memories he had of little Vyn and Lyn.

“Don’t feel too down about it. After all, how strong your bloodline is, doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things besides how likely you are to become a Weaver and maybe some additional powers.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t, especially since I happen to have this white onyx crystal,” Aleister noted.

“Exactly,” Syn said with an approving smile. “How does it feel knowing that you have a small fortune in your hands?”

“Well, truthfully, I’m, quite nervous, but, it also makes me wonder what I’m supposed to do with this?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s simple,” Syn shrugged her shoulders. “Just eat it.”

Aleister blinked and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard that quite right.”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Alright, then please explain what you meant by—eat it.”

“Step one, open your mouth, step two, put the white onyx crystal in your mouth, step three, consume,” she said with a deadpan face. “There, are you happy now?”

Aleister gave her a worried look and asked, “Okay. Alright. I didn’t literally mean how to eat it. I’m not a baby, I know how to eat stuff. I’m specifically referring to the fact that I can’t just bite down and chew it up.”

“Yes, you can,” Syn answered. “It’s much more fragile and brittle than what you expect.”

“Then, what do I do after I eat it?” Aleister asked.

“Immediately after, enter the meditation phase from earlier. The energy from the crystal will activate your bloodline and your soul. Of course, this double activation will overload your senses, so I will be here to make sure you don’t die,” Syn said in a more cheerful voice than what he wanted to hear right now.

After he sighed, he took in a deep breath and with a hopeful look, said, “Well then, here goes—something.”

He entered the crystal into his mouth and after a couple seconds of hesitation; he bit down into it. The crystal shard shattered inside his mouth, and to his surprise, it transformed into a warm and viscous liquid. He took another bite and swallowed it down, consuming the entire crystal in one go. The liquid burned his throat as it traveled down.

It was no longer than calm and soothing warm feeling, but instead felt like he drank boiling water. No, that wasn’t hot enough to describe the heat, perhaps something even hotter, such as lava. That’s what it felt like as the liquid permeated throughout his entire body.

The intense heat distracted him for a few seconds but he remembered that he couldn’t just sit there like an idiot and waste such a precious resource, and managed to regain his calm and suffer in silence as he closed his eyes and started counting his breathes. He felt each breath bellow out of his mouth, carrying a bit of that heat within him, warming the air surrounding him, but he continued to count, over and over again. As he felt a cool touch upon his back, the heat didn’t seem to burn as much and instead returned to that comforting warm liquid, which helped his consciousness to fade away.