The night of the same day, on the sea:

Right now, as he laid down on the bed in his cabin, he couldn't but think of everything that has happened today.

Once again, he really wondered if he should have just refused his sister's request. Still, this mood didn't last.

Closing his eyes, he thought about everything that happened today. Before entering the building he was pretty sure that he would win easily. But right now he wasn't so sure. Still, the many issues that plagued his mind were things he had no control over. So he decided to do the only thing he could do, training.

Since that day, Sol never really trained. Sure, he did some meditation and regularly went out to run and other such exercises, but it was more to maintain the level he already reached. His current level was more thanks to his overwhelming high natural talent than any real effort from his part. Now though, he could and he will once again truly come in contact with parts of his power. After all, he wouldn't play around with his own life.

'I promised to go all out.'

It didn't matter if he hated training. What he hated, even more, was not respecting the promise he made. Even if he never trained afterward, he wouldn't hesitate to do it during the period of the test.

'Sigh. Let’s review all those old informations.'

In this world, four sources of energy existed.

The power of the stars: Aether.

The powers of faith: Ambrosia for the gods and Miasma for the devils.

The power of the world: Prana.

Those four forms of energy were the ones allowing normal people to surpass the realm of humanity.

They existed in the state of restriction and fueling.

As a constellationist. The form of energy Sol used was of course the power of the stars. Aether. Also known as the air breathed by the gods.

Constellationists, could in theory only awaken to one constellation in their whole life, and the same rule applied to the twelve Zodiac.

This rule, on the other hands, didn't apply to those of the Perseus and Heracles family. Since aside from the Hercules or Perseus constellation, they could always awaken at least one other constellation.

This was why they are so respected and so feared. You could never know what abilities they obtained nor how many abilities they awakened.

In the Heracles family. Sol was a monster between monsters. Someone who awakened a very large number of constellations at his birth.

Sadly, the accident from ten years ago severely stunted his growth and nearly made him a cripple. Right now he could only barely connect to the [Hercules], [Lupus] if he tried. Even his synchro rate with them wasn't as high as it used to be.

'Still. I am not in such a bad situation.'

In a world where most could only have one constellation, he had no right to complain about having two.

Many blamed his father for what happened, but he didn't, he hated his father for many, many reasons, but this was not one of them.

Back then, his father gave him a choice and out of greed for more power, as well as the desire to appear better in front of his father, he made the worst choice possible.

One could argue that an eight-year-old child couldn't know better, that Minos, for manipulating his own child, was a true bastard, but Sol was sure even if the proposition was done some years later he would have still made the same choice.

The attraction of the power that he could have obtained was simply too much. He made a bet, and sadly, he lost nearly everything.

It's on those last thoughts that Sol, for the first time in ten years, really began his training…

------

*Inhale* *Exhale*

Sol closed his eyes.

He thought about the few constellations he still had.

As he thought of his constellations, he began to try to connect with them. Heat coursed through his body. Red marks appeared and slowly covered his whole body.

His breath became rough, his heartbeat increased. And then… Everything stopped.

*Inhale* *Exhale*

When he opened his eyes. He wasn't in his cabin anymore but in a dark space full of stars. All of them seemed completely dead.

As he looked at them, he could feel sadness growing in his heart. Being in his mind space was always a bitter experience. Seeing the previously beautiful space being so bleak, broke his heart like nothing else.

But those constellations weren't the only one present in his mindscape.

There, somewhat farther, in a part of his dark sky, was a star, an incredibly bright star, larger and hotter than all those he had.

This star was surrounded by countless chains as if it was a beast sealed in a cage.

'Sigh. I should forget that one. It's better for it to stay sealed.'

*Inhale* *Exhale*

When he opened his eyes, he was back in his cabin.

Around him, the air begins to shimmer, his eyes become completely crimson. Looking at them gave the illusion that one was submerged by a sea of blood.

He began the circulation of the aether in his body. It should have been a smooth process but.

'So slow.'

His body was like a badly oiled machine full of cobwebs. His heart was like an engine that hadn't been heated in years and his aether was the fuel. He let out a bitter smile,

'I really fucked up my own body.'

He stopped thinking about this and began to circulate his energy.

In the beginning, it was hard. He nearly failed one or two times. But after some time, the circulation of aether becomes smoother. He was still a little far from a truly oiled machine but by the times he reached the island, he would be more than ready.

As the energy circulated in all his body. He began to feel stronger, faster. He felt like he could easily bend steel. He stood up and began to move.

Finally,

[CONNECTION TO THE CONSTELLATION SUCCESSFUL]

[HERCULES]

[LUPUS]