"Kai Voss," the voice tore through the playground.
Kai, a young boy with bright green hair that reached his collarbone, and deep purple eyes that seemed to absorb all light, walked towards the stage, weaving through most of the students there.
As he reached there, he came face to face with his teacher, a man in his twenties, standing calmly in front of a stone that pulsed with a blue energy. In his hand was a book and pen.
"Place your hand on the stone," the teacher said.
Kai nodded, placing his hand on the stone.
A warmth spread through his body, making him close his eyes.
He felt something shift in him, a new organ that was never in his body suddenly appeared, forming as the intense energy gathered in his body. It was his aether core, the foundation for his cultivation.
That was not all. In his face, a screen materialized. Its surface was blue and transparent.
[Name: Kai Starclave]
[Awakened Planet: Caelum]
[Number of planets: 1]
[Number of races: 0]
[Number of stellar bodies: 8 (3 stellar rings, 4 moons, and a gas giant).]
[Move to planet]
The words formed as the energy from the stone stopped flowing out.
The teacher looked at Kai, a smile on his face.
"You successfully awakened as a cultivator," he said, writing his name in the book. "Did you awaken a planet too?" The man asked.
"Yes," Kai replied.
The teacher raised his head from the book. "Really?" He asked, shocked.
Their words did not reach outside due to the barrier that surrounded the stage.
"Hmm," Kai nodded casually.
"Your future is bright, boy," the teacher said, patting Kai's shoulders before letting him descend the altar.
And so, the awakening ceremony continued for another 3 hours before ending.
"For those of you who have awakened as cultivators, you can wait behind to hear the guild offers," the teacher added before leaving the stage, heading straight for his office.
To him, the awakening ceremony was no longer a big deal. After conducting it for over 100 years, it had become second nature.
Kai did not wait behind. As the ceremony was confirmed to have ended, he began to walk out of the academy.
It was the same for the few students who also awakened their planets.
As Kai walked, he began to hear the guild scouts proposing to the ones left behind.
"You will get access to a tier 2 race potion of your choice as a gift if you sign with us," those were the vague words Kai heard as he exited the academy.
He hailed a taxi calmly. He stepped into it, zooming off into the distance.
On his face, a slight smile was visible. 'At least I was able to make everyone proud,' he thought.
He was dropped in front of a grand villa and paid with a transfer before turning towards the house again.
The house was not too big but it was elegantly designed.
The gates were made of strangely colored bars that glittered with a calm light.
The building itself was a 2-storey, with walls elegantly designed with marbles of the same color.
Two diamond pillars in front and a crest at the top of the building.
The crest was round, with a black star on one side, and a planet on the other side.
"Welcome, young master Kai," the voice came from inside the gate.
The man walked out, bowing to Kai.
"Aiden, what's up, why are you outside?" Kai asked, his stoic and composed demeanor softening as he met the butler.
"I came to welcome you home, young master," Aiden bowed again.
"Quit the formalities," Kai waved, walking into the compound as the gates closed behind them.
Aiden smiled at his words. "How good was the planet you awakened?" He asked calmly.
To him, asking the descendant of the Starclave clan whether he awakened a planet was stupid. And Kai was not an ordinary descendant, he was a direct one.
Kai looked at him, turning his head to the sky before looking back at Aiden. "I have not gone into the planet yet, but it has 8 celestial bodies."
Aiden's eyes widened at those words. "8 celestial bodies from the start?" He asked.
Kai nodded calmly.
"Why are you so calm about it?" Aiden asked, his tone slightly higher than usual.
"There's nothing to overreact about," Kai shrugged his shoulders.
They entered through the door that revealed a dazzling living room, not too big. Everything was in gold. Even the three couches.
A silver chandelier hung from the top, further amplifying the beauty.
Kai sat on one couch casually, resting his back against it.
Aiden stood beside him.
"You are too carefree. If you don't change your attitude, the clan master would not grant you the right to use the clan's name," Aiden said, remembering the reason Kai was suspended from the clan's estate.
"Not like I care," Kai sighed.
Aiden opened his mouth, but he closed it again.
Since Kai said he did not care, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Are you ready to eat?" Aiden asked.
"Yes, I am really famished," Kai rubbed his stomach, standing up from the chair and walking to the dining hall, a small part carved out of the living room.
Aiden smiled. If there was one thing he knew Kai was passionate about, it would be food.
He could go to war for food.
He walked into the kitchen, pulling a trolley out after about 5 minutes.
He set it beside the dining table and opened the cover for the first dish.
The sweet aromas wafted out, filling Kai's nose. His eyes widened in delight.
"Don't tell me, you got some veilback meat from the main house," Kai asked with surprise.
Aiden just smiled as he served a portion of the soup for him.
"I also got some glow salt and 10g of voidgrains," Aiden said, serving the rice that glowed with a purple sheen to Kai.
Kai's eyes almost watered as he took a spoon, quickly scooping part of the rice and throwing it into his mouth before Aiden could even finish serving.
The tears dropped as he tasted it.
The taste of the rice was complex. Sweet, savory, spicy, and sour.
He took some soup and spread it on another scoop of the rice.
The taste changed. The soup itself seemed to have altered the entire taste he felt before.
Instead of the complex taste from before, it was now extremely sweet.
"Aiden," Kai stood up, assuming a serious face. "Will you be my dad?"