Aston’s breath bated at the sound of the attendant’s voice calling out his name. A shiver ran through his spine as the weight of the moment hung on his shoulders.

  He stood up with stiff legs, the murmurs and cheers of Tristan’s awakening muffled beneath the rush of his own thoughts. Every step taken felt like weights tied to a chain by his legs. The platform felt like a kilometer away, as his footsteps echoed in his mind. He tried to disregard every eye focused on him as he walked up onto the platform. He knew what the owners of the eyes were thinking, what they’re waiting for.

  The awakening crystal came close to his vision. A clear, spherical crystal, seemingly ordinary, could dictate his fate that would be coming next.

  Will I be celebrated like Sylvia? Or derided like Froilan?

  His fingers twitched as he reached his hand out towards the crystal. His hand paused around an inch to the crystal.

  This is it.

  He took one final breath and gathered all of his courage, reducing that inch to zero, touching the crystal.

  A flicker.

  A flash so brief that it may as well be an illusion.

  The screen crackled, displaying a distorted text for a second before stabilizing to a readable one.

  [A???ń ???n?? - P????????: ??β????]

  The crowd was silenced. A few officials looked at each other.

  “What was that?”

  “Did the monitor just…?”

  “Was it a bug? Or a malfunction?”

  Cold sweats formed at Aston’s forehead. He was afraid, but gathered the courage to turn his head around to the monitor.

  [Aston Rhyner - Potential: Clear]

  His fingers shook. The previous muffled voice of the crowd began to return to him now.

  “Another clear?”

  “Poor kid. That’s worse than red.”

  “I heard he’s an orphan. How will he take care of himself now?”

  The empire’s representative, Darius’ eyes narrowed to slits. With fingers tapping lightly in his chair, he mused to himself, “That flicker, was it something I have imagined?” He studied the boy standing by the crystal, his hands shaking and head hanging low. Darius released a quiet chuckle and leaned back to his seat. Whatever it was, it did not matter now.

  Aston’s legs felt heavy as he walked down the platform. The moment he left the stage, the murmurs of children around him grew louder, no longer hushed with sympathy, but with tones of amusement, mockery, and schadenfreude.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “At least I got red,” someone whispered behind him.

  “I’d rather remain unawakened than be a clear,” another snickered.

  Aston clenched his fist so tight, his palms almost turned white. His vision blurred from the pressure suffocating his chest. He walked to his seat.

  Then, a smug voice cut through the noise.

  “Hah! And here I thought you might amount to something. See? Guess some of us ARE really built differently.” Tristan sneered, placing his hands behind his head lazily.

  A few surrounding kids chuckled to themselves, voicing their assent to Tristan’s words.

  Aston said nothing, his eyes not glancing at Tristan as he walked on by. Even without looking, he knew of the unhiding smirk within Tristan’s mouth. He sat, gripping his knees. His throat tightened in nervousness.

  Aston wants nothing more than to have the Spirit Awakening Ceremony to end. Each name being called felt like an eternity, each result reminds him of his failure. He wished time to move faster in order to let this humiliation pass.

  “Next, Joshua Clementine,” the attendant called out the next name.

  A nervous boy stood up and approached the platform. As the boy hesitantly placed his hand upon the smooth surface, nothing happened. Then a brilliant, yellow light illuminated the platform in a dazzling glow. Gasps were heard from the crowd but just before they released a cheer…

  Crack!

  A jagged fissure spread across the spherical surface of the crystal.

  Crack! Crack!

  The fractures spread like lightning, scattering in every direction from the mother fissure. The brilliant yellow light emitted by the crystal flickered and turned dim.

  Then with a shattering sound, the awakening crystal atop the platform disintegrated, with pieces scattering across the base. The crowd erupted in chaos.

  “What just happened?!”

  “The awakening crystal shattered?”

  “This is impossible!”

  The officials quickly gathered beside the shattered remains of the crystal. An elder of a sect said with a stern expression, “The awakening crystal has been used for decades. Perhaps it's time has come.”

  Another official assented, “That’s right. It may have shattered due to wear and tear. What do you think, Lord Richard?”

  The city lord, Richard, rubbed his temples before looking at Darius. “Darius?”

  Darius chuckled and leaned back to his seat. “It is as you say. Even the awakening crystal, no matter how hard and durable, cannot withstand time. If it has finally worn out, then there is nothing more to discuss. But that leaves with the remaining unawakened children.”

  He mused for a while and asked for the attendant’s microphone and announced, “Greetings, everyone. I am Darius Rembrandt, a representative of the Red Moon Empire, overseeing this year's Spirit Awakening Ceremony. Due to an unfortunate incident, we will have to postpone today’s ceremony. I will have to travel back to the imperial capital and have the crystal replaced. The remaining participants, including Joshua Clementine, will have to be reassessed on a later date.”

  The nervous boy’s face froze in fear, afraid that he would be blamed for the shattered crystal, but eased as he heard the announcement.

  “To shatter an awakening crystal, even an old one, this boy’s potential must be extraordinary,” an official mentioned. Darius said nothing, noting Joshua's name, and said, “Let’s not jump to conclusions, he will be reassessed and the others properly once we get the replacement.”

  Richard then announced to the crowd, “Very well, with that, I formally close today’s Spirit Awakening Ceremony. Thank you for all of your attendance.”

  The crowd dispersed upon hearing the announcement. The parents are still waiting for their children by the side. The remaining children with unassessed potentials were ushered to the side of the platform, nervously awaiting their fate.

  Aston, while still shaking, sat still in his seat. The echoes of whispers, the scornful glances — they should have faded by now. But in his mind, the word on the screen kept flashing over and over again.

  Potential: Clear.