CHAPTER 27: THE LEGENDARY AWAKENING

In just a few seconds, the yellow flames surrounding Aegon turned pure black. Darker than the night sky itself. It became hard to even see him amidst the flames filling the courtyard like a boundless sea.

Fortunately, Arnold had already sensed the danger of those flames and retreated above the obsidian walls. From there, they all stared at the scene with conflicted looks on their faces.

Xiu crouched down and scooped some of the black flames as if she were scooping up water. As she stood with the flames flickering in her hand, she said, "These aren’t normal flames. I don’t think even I can extinguish them."

"The only reason we can resist it is because of our higher Rank," Arnold said, rubbing his forehead with clear tension. "It’s likely a Unique Skill he awakened, so we should be happy about it."

"The problem is he didn’t wake up," Xiu said, throwing the black flames back into the sea of fire. "Also, not every Unique Skill is good for the body. Sometimes they destroy you from the inside out."

"Grandpa, won’t Little Gon get burned in these flames?" Lunara asked nervously, staring at the courtyard’s center. "What if the skill backfired?"

"He’ll be fine," Arnold said with utmost confidence in his voice.

Just as they thought that this would be the end of the bizarre phenomenon, the sun above began to shine even brighter. At first, they didn’t notice, but when they felt the glaring heat prickling their skin, they finally realized the abnormality.

"What the hell is happening?" Aurelia muttered as she shielded the children from the burning sunlight.

Arnold snapped his fingers, conjuring a massive dome that appeared all around the mansion, with a second dome forming right above the Eastern Courtyard.

He still didn’t relax and simply stared at Aegon. ’What kind of man will you become, Little Sun?’

But things didn’t end there.

The atmosphere within the courtyard began to distort. Sometimes it shone bright as the blazing sun overhead, then it turned so dark that even they couldn’t see an inch in front of them. Plants sprouted rapidly in the corners before wilting away just as fast, as if corroded by some invisible miasma. Winds howled as the temperature swung from bone-piercing cold to scorching hot.

Many bizarre phenomena erupted right before their eyes, happening so rapidly that aside from Arnold, who was focused on maintaining the Rune Formations, none of them could react properly.

Everyone fell silent, unable to hide their growing worry for Aegon. It was the first time any of them had witnessed something like this. The sight made their hearts pound with both nervousness and anticipation.

Slowly, things inside the courtyard began to calm, making them all apprehensive as they waited to see Aegon’s condition. But something unexpected happened.

A cold wind seeped through even the thick barriers of the Rune Formations, and the temperature inside the courtyard plummeted rapidly.

Right before their eyes, ice spread through every corner of the courtyard in mere seconds, sealing everything within a massive ice cubicle that swallowed even the lingering flames.

Arnold’s heart sank as he hurriedly changed hand signs, his face grim. ’This is bad! He can handle the heat, but not this cold! Shit! Shit! What kind of Awakening is this? Dear... is this what you meant when you said Aegon would be legendary?’

The Rune Formations around the courtyard flared desperately as they tried to raise the temperature and melt the ice, but even the top-tier arrays carved by the best Runemasters couldn’t do anything against the cursed frost.

Beside him, Xiu raised her hand as several layers of enormous purple magic circles formed above the mansion, each one rotating violently as they gazed down upon the frozen cubicle.

The world itself seemed to react. The sun dimmed as dark clouds swirled over the capital of Moonrise Kingdom. A suffocating pressure descended, making every single citizen scream in fear.

Many of the higher echelons began to wonder if an invasion was happening, but King Bailish and a few others noticed the enormous magic circles floating above the Mooncrest Mansion and immediately knew the source of the anomaly.

Meanwhile, after Xiu finished preparing one of her strongest spells, she brought her hand down. Her icy, merciless voice reverberated through the entire city.

"Divine Retribution of Seven Hell!"

A massive bolt of purple lightning tore down from the clouds, illuminating the entire kingdom for a brief instant as it struck the ice cubicle dead on.

She knew if even the Rune Formations couldn’t do anything, she had to resort to extreme methods. Even if it meant risking Aegon’s life, she would take that gamble, because saving him was her only priority.

The assault didn’t stop with one strike. Six more bolts followed in succession, each one thick enough to split mountains, shaking the very earth beneath the capital city.

Xiu panted heavily, staring at the frozen block before her, and cursed, "Goddamn it! What the hell is this made of?"

The ice cubicle was cracked in countless places, entire chunks blasted off its surface, but it still wasn’t enough to reach Aegon. Worse, the ice was beginning to regenerate, the cracks sealing faster than they could break them.

The same attack that had incinerated hundreds of demons in an instant couldn’t even destroy this one formation of ice.

Arnold’s expression hardened. He ripped off his robes, revealing a scarred, battle-worn chest and back. His chiseled flesh radiated raw strength as he stepped forward and muttered, "Then I’ll break it myself!"

His fists clenched as a red glow surged through his arm, veins bulging as if fire itself burned beneath his skin. He pulled his arm back, packing every ounce of his might into one single strike.

Then, he punched forward, unleashing a devastating outburst of power that cracked even the obsidian walls of the courtyard.

A massive fissure ran from one end of the ice to the other, but Arnold didn’t rejoice. Because he could already see, the ice was regenerating faster than he could break it.

"Then I’ll just smash you into pieces!" Arnold roared, his eyes turning crimson with rage. "Nobody takes an Augustus away from me!"

Just as he was about to unleash everything in his arsenal, he froze mid-step. His head snapped to the right, eyes widening in surprise and delight.

’You really are a devious one, dear!’

KRRRRRRRR

A loud, inhuman screech echoed across the kingdom, sending shivers down the spines of every living being in the capital.

Xiu’s eyes widened as she stared into the distance, her lips trembling as she whispered, "Mom... you prepared for this?"