After a hearty dragon meal with his parents, the dining room where the three sat fell silent.
Amon could sense the subtle change in the air, which gradually became tense.
During the meal, Seth had already told his wife all about Amon's abilities, and just like him, she had at first been filled with shock. Then she understood why Seth had thought of Amon as a potential hero.
The silence stretched between the three before Amon finally cleared his throat and said in his light, childish voice,
"Since I can now officially absorb Divine Energy, how about I begin my training in Sword Art in preparation for the Academy?"
According to what Amon had read in the books in his room, children bonded with their Celestial Dragons at the age of five and awakened their abilities.
After that, it was said that the next ten years of training were excruciatingly slow, as the Celestial Dragon was integrating and getting used to one's Soul Space, the space within one's Core, where they reside.
After strengthening themselves for ten years, one could then enter an Academy to improve their strength further, learn about clearing Star Gates, and get involved in the politics and mysteries of the world.
Amon's case was slightly special.
He had already formed his Core, so there was no need for him to struggle to form it and absorb Primordial Energy for the next ten years.
Rather, he could focus on improving his combat ability. If his guess wasn't wrong, getting a high score in the Entrance Examination would grant one greater privileges than others.
This was what he was aiming for.
Seth glanced at Vela for a moment, considering the thought.
"You've chosen the sword? The spear is a truly good weapon, you know?"
Vela rolled her eyes playfully.
"Don't give me that, love. Although the spear is good, the sword isn't any less. Look at me, I use no weapon. Am I complaining?"
Seth scratched his head awkwardly.
"I… you know… he should take after his old man! With the spear, he'd be able to fight a larger number of people."
"I've already thought it through, Father," Amon gently interrupted with a calm smile.
"I can create a few weapons to help me during long-distance fights. Meanwhile, I feel the sword best suits me. There's something special about swords that I've always liked."
Amon just stated it that way; after all, he couldn't tell his father that in his past life he had always fantasized about being a sword wielder.
'With a sword in my hand, no one will be my match!' Amon thought confidently.
Seeing the resolve in Amon's eyes, Seth let out a resigned sigh.
Vela took the chance to mock him playfully.
Shrugging, Seth stated bluntly, "I have a friend in the Capital who has managed to learn quite a bit of Sword Art. However, I doubt it'll be easy to have him teach Amon all of them. I'll have to negotiate with him on that."
Amon nodded internally.
'Battle Arts are very rare treasures, so it's understandable why he'd be unwilling to reveal all his secrets to a stranger, no matter how close.'
"However, Amon," Vela cooed warmly, "don't forget to absorb Divine Energy in the meantime. Remember, the higher the grade of your Celestial Core during the Entrance Examination, the more benefits you'll get. So strive to improve your strength."
Amon nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Mom."
"How sensible." Vela stretched her hand and warmly ruffled Amon's hair.
Meanwhile, Amon was strangely unsettled.
'I still can't evolve my Celestial Core to a higher grade, it feels wrong… What should I do then?'
Amon decided to wait and see how the Sword Arts paired with his Dual Cores would go. If it restricted him greatly, he'd have no choice but to taint his Core and begin its evolution.
'That should be my last resort.'
With everything said and done, Vela gently led Amon to his room, while Seth remained in the dining room, his eyes flickering with thought and a calculative light.
After ensuring that Amon had fallen asleep, Vela returned to the dining room.
"It's strange, right?" Her previous motherly warmth was gone.
Now she looked like a cold empress studying everyone like chess pieces, knowing the best moves to make at the right time.
Seth's fatherly expression had also vanished, replaced with a cold, murderous look in his eyes.
"Although I've encountered gifts that can bring one from the dead and even go back in time a little, this is the first time I'm hearing of a gift that can birth everything."
"Are you certain he's our son?"
Vela's brows furrowed into a deep frown, her eyes filled with slight anger.
"What do you mean by that? I'm certain I carried him for nine months before birthing him. Of course he's our son. Perhaps the world is truly coming to an end, as the Prophet said, and he's the only one who can redeem us."
"But I don't want to place such a burden on our son. He shouldn't be the one to bear it. It should be us, as his parents, holding up the sky for him, not the other way around."
"You should have noticed his uniqueness right from birth. He never cried unnecessarily, he never complained, and he's always been a battle maniac. There's also that time the Assassin tried to eliminate him. An Assassin wouldn't make such a rookie mistake as alerting the others."
"I didn't want to think too much about it back then, but recalling the events that have happened over the past four years, coupled with his unnatural strength, it's an undeniable fact."
"Amon is the Child of Prophecy!"
"No!" Vela collapsed weakly into her chair.
"If we never reveal this to anyone, our son will never be faced with such a burden. That's the only way…"
"Vela…" Seth tried to speak but was cut short by a glare from his wife.
…
Meanwhile, the moment his mother left, Amon's eyes sprang open.
After reaching the peak of the Mortal Vein Realm, sleeping for just four hours was satisfactory to his body, so he could use the remaining time to absorb Primordial Energy.
Instead of absorbing Primordial Energy to try to cultivate his second Core, Amon shifted his attention inward toward his Core.
It looked like an orb of ethereal light, centered at his midsection.
Beneath the surface of the first Core was another layer.
His second Core.
It looked like an onion; however, having only two Cores, it had two layers.
Despite that, the Mana in the first Core layer was three times that of the second layer.
Of course, this was because the first Core had reached its peak, while the second was only beginning its journey.
'What if, just like an onion, I can continuously condense multiple Cores within one Core?' Suddenly, Amon had an absurd thought.
He chuckled at his overbearing idea and then shifted his attention to the second Core, where a little furry creature with wide, curious eyes was staring around.
As though it had sensed Amon's presence, the little creature raised its head curiously toward a particular location.
It was time for Amon to have his first talk with his Primordial Dragon.