"Son, you know the consequences of an uncut awakening gem? You could be gifted or you could be cursed, or both. It's better to just save up more for a genuine gem from the Mages Guild." Father Orkan said, his robes brown from the constant washing it had endured. His church was even worse than his garb, for it was rundown and should a breeze flow through it, collapse of the structure would be imminent.

 

"Father, you know that I have no choice. My dad has passed and my mother's illness requires ever more coin to abate, this gem is the only thing left by my father and the only chance I have of bringing in sufficient money." Alex said, his sick mother had recently consumed the last vestiges of medicine left by his father. His only chance of saving his mother now was to become awakened.

 

"I know, son, I know. It's just....you have a full life ahead of you, maybe it's time for your mother to rest." Father Orkan said, his eyes gentle and his voice light.

 

"...No." Alex said as he closed the fist of the priest over the uncut gem. "I will not abandon my mother as long as she has a chance to recover."

 

"It has been years, what chances are there left for her." The old man turned his back to Alex, heading towards a basin filled with water of Mercy. "Your father tried for over a decade, and he is wiser and stronger, and still he has not found a cure."

 

Alex stayed silent and observed as the priest shattered the gem into pieces, He sprayed them over the basin and watched as the water began to glow a blinding white.

 

The teen blinked his eyes, surprised to see the old man holding a cup and the basin empty.

 

"Drink, and you shall experience the gift of Mercy." Then the priest hesitated. "Or the curse of Skorn."

 

Alex took the goblet from the hands of Father Orkon, and gazed into the eyes of the man. He had an answer to all his troubles, and the awakening was the first letter of the response.

 

"The Empress's own alchemist is rumoured to have developed a recipe for a Panacea. I will need every resource I can muster to gather the ingredients required." Alex said, and with a long heavy sigh he gulped down the water. Then…

 

He knew no more.

 

~~~~~

 

His eyes fluttered open to a normal sight, his bedroom ceiling that was littered with patchwork coverings over the holes that had accumulated over the years. Turning his head, Alex saw that the room where his mother resided was lit.

 

...Hold on, what did he do yesterday? He can't remember going to bed.

 

Shaking off the weird void in his memory, Alex strode to the room, ready to uncover whoever let the candles to be lit for the entire fucking night. He only had a few silver coins saved up, every copper would need to be spent strategically, not on candles that barely had any function for a woman in a coma.

 

Though, when it turned out to be Father Orkon standing vigil over his mother's resting place, maybe it wasn't all that bad. Alex gulped as he saw the old man's back through the worn priest garb he wore.

 

It was rumour that Father Orkon was a paladin back in the day, fighting right alongside his father agaisn't Skorn's horde outside the tall city walls. And the scars that spanned across his back like valleys? They confirmed them and more.

 

Alex gathered up his courage and spoke up. It would not do if a man was left alone with his unaware mother, regardless of their occupation.

 

"Greetings Father, it's good to see you here." Alex said, scratching at his stubble. "But I'm rather curious, why are you here?" 

 

The old man turned swiftly, knocking over the wooden stool he sat on. The man gave Alex a scrutinising eye and when he had his fill, he sighed in relief before capturing Alex's eyes into his.

 

"I've been taking care of your mother for half a day, son. And you've been unconscious for the whole duration, do you remember why?" The priest came over and checked him over. Alex avoided with futility as the experienced hands of the priest probed his body in search of damage.

 

And what's this about him being knocked out for half a day? He was plenty sure the last thing he did was….he really didn't know. Maybe he had fought some of the kids down the street and hit his head? No, that's implausible considering he had already fucked them up just a day prior for disrespecting his parents.

 

The priest does have a point, there is something fishy going on with his head.

 

"Nah, I don't remember anything. Did someone jump on me, Father Orkon? If they did, I must thank you, and give me their names so I can have some revenge." Alex cracked his knuckles.

 

"I'm afraid you have done it to yourself. You came to me earlier today for an awakening ritual with an uncut gem." The priest grabbed the fallen stool and sat on it. He motioned for him to sit on the one opposite of him.

 

"And?" Alex said, not surprised that he had finally made the decision to awaken with that shoddy gem. If he remembered correctly, his father found it after a simultaneous Dungeon Fall and Gifting. He had it hidden away until he could get it cut, most likely wanting to give it to him so he could awaken normally.

 

His plans were cut short when he was found dead with a sabretooth tusk stuck in his face. Alex shook his head and refocused on the now.

 

"And when you drank from the goblet, you started spasming uncontrollably. I had thought at that moment that you were a dead boy, but you returned to normal a few minutes later. Still as unconscious as a sleeping man though." Father Orkon scratched his beard, his eyes firmly studying Alex's.

 

"Does that mean...that I'm awakened now?" Alex tried hard to stop himself from sounding too hopeful, hope had a way of hurting him.

 

"Perhaps, but we can check." The priest said. "Close your eyes and listen to my voice, son."

 

Alex complied and breathed in deeply.

 

"Every awakened has an intrinsic knowledge of their Gift or Curse, they only have to spend a thought to bring it up to the forefront of their mind." The priest said. "For you, it will take considerable effort since it is your first time."

 

"This knowledge is like an extra limb grafted into your soul, and I want you to feel it like you feel where your hands are. I want you to know this knowledge like you know that your legs are crossed without even seeing them." Father Orkon said.

 

Alex focused on his body, how he knew with exact precision where his arms were, how his legs were crossed, how he felt his lungs constricted against his ribcage.

 

And just at the tip of his mental tongue, he could feel another limb, a very very numb and sleepy limb. But it was there, and with every drop of will he had, made it twitch.

 

[Name: Alex Hunter / Age: 16 / Species: Human]

 

[Class: Unformed / Physical Status: Healthy / Magical Status: Null.]

 

[General Skills: (0/15)]

 

[Gifts and Curses: 

{Cloner}

{Mana Null}

(2/2)]

 

"I got it! I got it….I..got it?" Alex looked down at the bottom of the page that had appeared in hand. There, with the glaring red of Skorn was the curse {Mana Null}. 

 

Of course, hope always had a way to hurt him even more.

 

At least he got the Gift.

---

 

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