The magic circle eventually dissipates. The lavender shade of the color has been engraved into the minds of everyone present. The aptitude test has finished with very fruitful results. The Elder continues on his knees, staring at the ground with absolute bewilderment. His eye continues to twitch and haphazardly shift into many colors. He eventually looks back up and gets off of the ground. The Exordan pair are just as confused and amazed as the Elder. The three of them make eye contact and stand in silence for a few moments. The Elder soon breaks the ice.

  “Young Cratos, young Leana, are you aware of what this predicament means for us and for all of Primo Exorda society?”

  The father, Cratos, and the mother, Leana, both face each other. They have an idea floating in their minds, but coming to such a conclusion might be jumping the gun, even if the situation has escalated to this point. They turn back to the Elder and shake their heads. Cratos speaks first.

  “We deeply apologize, Elder. We do not know what this means, nor do we want to come to any foolish conclusions. Please enlighten us about our current situation with our son. What has happened with the aptitude test?”

  The Elder crosses his arms and motions for Cratos and Leana to continue with their words.

  “No no, continue. It seems that you two already have something in mind. I wish to hear what you think about this situation. Perhaps what you are thinking aligns with my thoughts.”

  Leana then says, “Well, we came to the conclusion that this phenomenon with our son has to do with the legend of the Astral Master, the single Primo Exorda that is said to become the greatest and stand by the Benevolent Judge’s side.”

  The Elder closes his eye and looks at the newborn Primo Exorda. The newborn Exordan looks back at him with a curious glint in his eye. It looks as if he also wishes to know what is happening. The Elder glances at Cratos and Leana and his wings seem to relax, acting like a human sigh.

  “So it seems that we are thinking the same. I, too, believe that your child has to be related to the legend of the Astral Master. The amount of potential they wield, as well as the purity of their Source Essence, exceeds anyone in Primo Exorda society. This might even include the Patriarch himself, as well as Headmaster Infiroa. It’s the only logical conclusion.”

  Cratos seems a bit anxious. Not only does the Elder also think that their son is related to the legend, but this could also mean that the Patriarch and all of the higher ups of society would have to get involved in this. This is also a very clear sign of danger. In recent years, an underground organization was made aware to the Primo Exordan society. This organization had one goal in their mind: To stop the Astral Master’s rise to power. They believe that there shouldn’t be anyone alive that could wield the same power as both the Benevolent and Malevolent Judges. Such a being could bring upon an entire cataclysm to not only the Primo Exorda, but the rest of the Astral Plane. It is not uncommon to hear tales of greed from other far away species in the Astral Plane. Given power, status, and money, these beings that rose the ladder of hierarchy became corrupted by their influence and drove their societies into the ground. This organization does not want the same for the Primo Exorda, a proud, strong society and one of the five Primordial Species. Now that something related to the legend of the Astral Master has descended upon them, the organization would do everything in their power to get their hands and wings on Crato’s son. Cratos cannot let anything happen to his son. Now that he thinks about it again, perhaps it is best to get the Patriarch involved in this and get his protection. The strength of this new organization is completely unknown. Cratos cannot afford to allow any room for error. The life of his son is on the line, after all.

  “Cratos, is something on your mind?”

  Cratos snaps out of his own mind and looks at the Elder. The Elder stares at Cratos with a knowing gaze. It’s almost as if he could hear all of his thoughts. Cratos decides to say it out loud anyway.

  “Yes, Elder. It’s about that new underground organization. I was simply thinking about how they would try to do anything within their power to get their hands and wings on my son. He’s related to the legend of the Astral Master. It’s better to proceed with this almost as if my son were the Astral Master.”

  “Young Cratos, what are you assuming by saying as if your son were the Astral Master? I believe that it is pretty clear what the truth is.”

  “Are you meaning to tell me…?”

  “Yes, it is not a chance or a thought. It is the definitive truth. Your son is indeed the Astral Master. I had assumed that you reached this same conclusion as well.”

  Cratos’ wings seem to droop down as if he is ashamed by his ignorance. Using up a lot of his source essence earlier must have somehow had lingering effects. He takes in this information and simply laughs to himself.

  “Right, how could I have been so ignorant? I thank you, Elder.”

  “There is no need to thank me. Reasons like this are why I am the Elder.”

  The newborn Exordan walks over to the three of them and looks up. They look down at him and happily glint their eyes at him. Leana crouches down and puts her wings around her child, lifting him up to her shoulder.

  “We still haven’t given you a proper name yet. Forgive us, dear. You’ve been causing quite the ruckus for us.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The Elder nods in agreement.

  “Yes, it seems so. Now, what will you name your child? If he is to be recognized as the Astral Master for all of eternity, he should have a proper name. I will personally record the name for later uses.”

  Cratos and Leana make eye contact with each other. They have already come up with many names for their child whether they are a male or a female. They glance at their son, and their son looks at them curiously. Perhaps he is awaiting his name as well. There was an air of suspense around him, after all. Leana puts a wing on her child’s head, caressing him softly.

  “We have come to a consensus. Your name from now on shall be Eternus, Imo Eternus. Your name shall reign for eternity as a symbol of hope to all denizens of the Astral Plane.”

  The newborn Exordan, who is now named Eternus, puts his arms up with happiness. It seems that he likes his name quite a lot. The Elder chuckles to himself.

  “Yes, that is indeed a very suitable name. It seems that the boy is also fond of the name. Now then, everything has been taken care of. I shall record the name of the new child and speak with the Patriarch about this. Seeing as how the Astral Master has finally descended upon us, this is the largest event that has occurred since the Benevolent Judge came to our world. I will also notify the elite warrior units to be on the lookout for that underground organization. It is as you say, they will not rest until they get their hands and wings on your son.”

  Leana and Cratos get on one knee and make a gesture of respect towards the Elder. Eternus also does the same gesture. Leana looks back up at the Elder.

  “We thank you for your time, Elder. If there is nothing else, we shall take our leave.”

  “Yes, you should be on your way. I bid you all a fantastic time. I believe I shall see you all again at the next application exam for Prime Academia. I look forward to seeing young Eternus’ skills in the flesh.”

  The new Primo Exorda family walks out of the room of the chamber. They walk down the large hallway towards the exit. The blinding gateway to the outside is almost calling out to them. Eternus runs in front of his parents, and they happily watch him jump around and look at the walls of the chamber. He gets close to the gateway and stares at it. He turns around and waits for his parents to get closer. Once Cratos and Leana walk up to the gateway, the three of them enter it at the same time. The dimensions warp around them once again as they fly through the tangent lines of space. Eternus seems to be having some difficulty adjusting to the warp of dimensions. This isn’t uncommon, as a newborn Exordan’s source essence would need time to stabilize and consolidate. However, the sheer purity of Eternus’ source essence is currently helping him a bit as well. He’s taking this in much better than an ordinary newborn would. After flying through the war in dimensions for a couple of more minutes, the family exit the Celestial Temple. Eternus is met with a view of the grand and shining capital. Seeing the capital with his own eye is a far more different experience than seeing every detail in his inherited memories. Cratos notices this and crouches down to speak with Eternus.

  “This place is quite glorious, isn’t it? That is the beauty of Prime Empire. It has been created with the very best visions in mind for our people. It’s the heart of our entire society. You will soon come to learn just how important this capital is to all of us. After all, it’s highly likely that you will end up protecting this place one day as the Astral Master, Eternus.”

  Eternus listens to his father’s words very carefully. He knows about the legend of the Astral Master because of his inherited memories. It’s such a big deal to his people and everyone else in the Astral Plane. He has a very large responsibility of meeting the expectations of everyone. He turns back to look at Prime Empire in its entirety. Primo Exorda roam the streets as far as the eye can see and children play with their comrades and partners. Cratos lightly taps Eternus’ head with one of his wings.

  “It seems like quite the demanding task, but do not worry about it, my son. The two of us will always be by your side to help you with whatever troubles come in your way. No one has risen to greatness with just their power alone. You will surely make many friends and comrades that will aid you in your path. Remember, you also have us to assist you. Now, let’s leave the capital and return home. There are some things that we wish to show you.”

  Eternus looks at his father with an agreeing glint in his eye. Leana comes from behind them and lifts up Eternus. She allows him to rest on her shoulder and Eternus now checks everything out from his elevated height. Cratos and Leana begin to walk away from the Celestial Temple. Eternus turns his head around to glance at the temple. The magnificent structure radiates such a proud light that he can feel the will of the entire species from it. Eternus can’t help but marvel at the sight of such a structure. He looks ahead once more and looks at the rest of the winding streets of the capital. He watches other Primo Exorda do business at several market stands and trade with various items and tools. An old Exordan can be seen from the corner of his eye fashioning a brand-new weapon for a strong looking warrior. Eternus doesn’t see anyone from another species inside of the capital walls. This is because the Primo Exorda are mostly cut off from the rest of the Astral Plane. They do not normally involve themselves in the matters of other species. In turn, other species in the Astral Plane hardly visit the land of the Primo Exorda. When a wandering adventurer does end up showing up, one of two things happen. The first being that they are driven out of the land by the Primo Exorda themselves in order to avoid any conflicts. The second being that the adventurer becomes intimidated by the power and status of the Primo Exorda that they flee the land out of their own free will. The second instance is much more common than the first one. The Primo Exorda don’t kick out any wandering adventurers unless they reek of suspicion. A lot of recent species have shown more violent tendencies and the urge to conquer other worlds. Of course, it wouldn’t be possible for them to be able to conquer the land of the Primo Exorda, but the Primo Exorda wouldn’t want to have to deal with such a hassle in the first place.

  Eventually, the family of three leave Prime Empire through the main gate. Eternus looks out ahead at the lush and vibrant fields and plains, the steep and mighty mountain ranges, and the endless clear seas that stretch out into the horizon. Suddenly, Eternus develops in a flash.

  “What a wondrous world.”

  Cratos and Leana come to a halt and look at Eternus. They are surprised that he suddenly spoke his first words mere minutes after his birth. That’s not something that happens. It’s almost as if he just defied the natural order of development for the Primo Exorda. They’re supposed to learn how to communicate with words about a day or two after their birth. Witnessing a child learn how to speak in just a few minutes is extraordinary. Well, this really shouldn’t come off as much of a surprise. This boy is the soon to be Astral Master after all. Cratos and Leana make eye contact with the same exact thought in their minds. They simply laugh out loud and look out at the world with their son.

  "Indeed, it is my son. Now, it won’t be long now. Our abode is not far from Prime Empire. Once we arrive, we can begin by teaching you a few practical fighting skills. When the day of the application exam for Prime Academia arrives at our doorstep, you must dazzle everyone with your display of power. Seeing as how you managed to surprise even the Elder with your potential, I’m sure that you will be able to manifest something great.”

  Eternus listens to his father's words and nods. He has two guardians who believe in his success. It’s the least he can do to listen to their advice and make them proud. Cratos and Leana continue to walk towards their abode. Eternus relaxes and allows himself to view the world from a great height. All of a sudden, everything in his vision turns blank. His parents have disappeared along with everything behind him, in front of him, on his sides, everywhere. He turns around sporadically, trying to figure out what is happening. This is not something that has happened in his inherited memories. This is a completely new experience unique to him. In the middle of this blank canvas, a shining golden light appears and seeps through. Eternus turns around and stares at it. Something about it urges him to step closer, almost as if this is something that he has been waiting for. Eternus steps closer to the golden light and tries to peer into it. However, the golden light starts to move around and change its shape. Eternus jumps back out of surprise. The golden light shifts and churns as it becomes clearer to Eternus’ vision. In the span of a few moments, the golden light has turned into a humanoid shape. The golden color of the light begins to dissipate, revealing a figure coming out from within like a shell. Eternus can only think of one being that has the power to do something like this.

  “The Benevolent Judge… is that you?”