Lucas' body floated up in the air.
Every single royal family member looked at the scene in awe.
"Spac — no, that is the power of the cosmos!" An old man said on the ground, his red eyes glowing.
Many would have confused it with space affinity, but these old monsters couldn't be fooled.
More and more voices filled the hall.
"How can a mere boy awaken the power of the cosmos, an affinity that no one in history has ever held?!" someone exclaimed.
In the history of this world, many could awaken different affinities, but there were those that differentiated from normal ones — the rarer kind, those that only a handful of people throughout history had ever awakened. These were called anomalous affinities. They were affinities beyond mortal comprehension; some of them were soul, mind, life, and death.
Those had been awakened by a few people in the past. However, cosmos had never been awakened by anyone in history. You could search through every record of every empire and find not a single thing about the cosmos, nor about the god that wielded it.
That alone spoke volumes about the reaction of the entire royal family and the empress. Such a terrifying and unknown power was in the hands of a child — who knew what he might achieve if nurtured properly.
Different yet similar thoughts crossed their minds.
These children now belong to our family. They thought in unison.
With Lucas now part of their family, they could raise their empire to new heights.
Meanwhile, in the empress's head: I wonder if he can put a baby in me…
Everyone would have been shocked had they heard her thoughts.
As if the strings holding Lucas' body had been cut, he fell as the cosmic energy dissipated.
Arthur, smooth as ever, was already there to catch him. Arthur looked down at the boy sleeping in his arms — he was still unconscious.
He chuckled. He deserves the rest, after a performance like that. It has been a while since I've seen the royal family this excited. Congratulations, kid.
A huge white towel materialized around Lucas.
Meanwhile, in the murmuring crowd:
"Ahhh, I think he should marry me — our babies would inherit both of his powers." The lady who had been licking her lips earlier spoke in a seductive voice.
"Stop being a pedophile, will you, Lara?" A man with black hair and pupil-less red eyes said with disgust.
"Can you blame me, Arnold? The boy has a promising future ahead of him." Lara said with a smile. "Besides, I doubt he'd resist this beauty."
Arnold clicked his tongue and ignored his cousin's shenanigans. Why does everyone in our family have to be so weird?
Alexandra heard everything and thought, He is already mine.
She then raised her hand, making the hall fall into silence. She looked at Andromeda, Londres, and the unconscious Lucas cradled in Arthur's arms.
"I congratulate all three of you on awakening remarkable abilities — especially you, Lucas. You have now taken your first step into a new journey. This is only the beginning. No matter what challenges you face or what defeats come your way, you must take each as a lesson and grow further. Understood?"
"Yes, thank you, Aunt!" The princesses said in unison, though Andromeda said it lazily.
"Now," Alexandra said, turning to the family members, "I'm quite sure that after this performance, Lucas can be welcomed into the family. Any objections?"
"None from me. The boy proved himself." Arnold spoke.
"Me neither," Lara agreed.
"How could we reject him when he could step on those cocky bastards from the other empire?" A young man called out.
Everyone agreed that Lucas was now one of them — there were no objections.
Alexandra nodded. "Good. You are all dismissed, but remember: anything regarding Lucas's cosmos affinity must not leave this room. Reveal only the lightning affinity."
"Understood, Your Majesty." They said in unison.
A red-golden aura wrapped around Lucas, lifting him from Arthur's arms and floating him toward Alexandra. She studied his unconscious face and felt the steadiness of his breathing. He's sleeping.
With that, the two of them teleported away from the hall. But before she vanished, she glanced up at one of the chandeliers.
The moment they left, a figure draped lazily across one of the chandeliers came into view. She lay with her head on a pillow, a blanket pulled over her.
It was Sephira. She had been up there the entire time, watching from above.
She yawned and scratched her tousled white hair. "Congrats, Lucas. I knew you'd do well." She thought of her older brother, the prince. "I wonder what face he'll make when he hears about this. Knowing him, he'd probably rush straight from the academy just to congratulate you and shower you with gifts."
With that final thought, she pulled the blanket over her head and fell asleep as everyone else filtered out of the hall.