Origin Mark

A few weeks later, Orion and his parents stood on Vilgax's back as they soared through the Heavens, heading toward the Seer realm.

Orion couldn't help but lose himself in the beautiful scenery around him as they weaved in and out of the void separating the Heavens.

"You ready?" Asked Eros.

"Yeah." Answered Orion as he woke up from his daze.

Immediately, in front of them, a massive portal opened up. Speeding into it, Vilgax led them to the realm.

When Orion reopened his eyes, the word around him amazed him even more.

All around, massive floating pieces of land that connected the endlessly flowing rivers of golden essence all linked by gigantic diamond bridges could be seen as an aura of unbridled majesty lingered around.

The golden skies were inhabited by gryphons and sovereign dragons as their roars echoed all around the realm.

On one of the floating land masses, a grand building reminiscent of the renaissance era proudly stood as a group of beings conversed in front of it.

Vilgax accelerated until he arrived in front of the building then vanished, leaving the three to calmly float down.

"Seems we're the last ones, our apologies." Calmly said Eros as he looked at the various leaders, all accompanied by their Heirs.

Instantly, the familiar figure of Menahaos appeared, not giving time for anyone to speak.

"Oh do not worry, you're right on time. They just came early." He said.

Eros' pupils slightly contracted when he heard this but no one noticed this as he happily smiled.

No one except Orion, of course.

"Come, let's start." Added Menahaos as he opened the grand gates of the building and walked them in.

"There are thirteen Heirs so naturally, we have brought thirteen Marks of Origin. They'll need to pass trials though. Why? Well, the marks carry the will of Origin meaning they'll only choose those they deem worthy. The trials you'll go through will be fabricated by the mark and I'll let you know that there is a very real chance of death."

Looking around, Menahaos' smile deepened as he noticed the unbothered expressions of the Heirs, as if his words held no meaning.

'We'll see…'

Having fully entered the building, the leaders were faced with a grand table, surrounded by comfortable chairs as a holographic projection lay in the middle of it all.

"Follow the Holy sisters, they'll help you prepare." Said Menahaos to the Heirs.

Instantly, three veiled ladies wearing long religious robes appeared as they led the heirs to an open space, filled with racks of weapons, pills, armors and anything one could ask for.

"You can choose anything you deem useful here. Let us know if you need any help before the trial. If you manage to survive, upon your return, we will be here, ready to heal you so don't give up! Good luck dear Heirs!" Happily said one of the Holy sisters as she teleported away.

Fully focused, Orion didn't notice their disappearance as he took off his robes, leaving him only wearing a tight compression shirt and loose pants.

With a flick of his hand, his heart of war activated as a white armour reminiscent of an ancient changpao tightly wrapped around his small body.

Embroiled in dark golden designs and obsidian runes, he looked majestic. If it was anyone else wearing this armour, they would've looked imposing and tyrannical but due to his young age and still immature face, Orion looked like a divine childe descending upon the mortal world to grace it with his presence.

'I forgot to ask mother for a spatial ring…' he thought as he looked at his robes.

Without him having to do anything, his heart activated as it sucked it in and stored it.

'You have a storage function?'

His heart lightly trembled, as if responding to his queries.

"H-Hey!"

Surprised by the childish feminine voice that had interrupted his thoughts, Orion turned around.

In front of him stood a young girl with long dark hair and deep golden eyes. Her slightly tanned skin was graced by the etching of mystical crimson and azure runes that gave off an archaic impression of power and vastness.

She was easily a head and a half taller than Orion as she happily looked at him.

Slightly taken off guard at first by the purity of her smile Orion lightly smiled as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm Orion Erebus, nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah Virvios! From the Virvios clan!" She exclaimed.

"Who would've thought?" Orion said with a chuckle.

Embarrassed, Sarah became completely red as she began fidgeting around, not sure what to say.

'Hmph! Already bullying kids! She's clearly nervous.' Annoyingly spoke Vulkron.

'Oh common, that was kinda funny, admit it! Obviously I'd know she's from the Virvios clan if she had their name.'

'Orion.'

'Alright, alright.'

Orion's smile softened as he spoke.

"Are you ready for the trial? My father said it's gonna be really intense."

As he spoke, strangely, Sarah felt her anxiety and embarrassment vanish.

As a man that had led trillions of people and navigated the murky political world of the Eldritch, how hard would it be to ease the heart of a young, anxious girl?

"Yeah! My mother said the same thing but it wouldn't be fun it wasn't, right?" She answered as her aura involuntarily spiked.

Orion's pupils sparkled as he saw the lust for battle within her eyes and his devilish smile returned.

"Exactly! What weapon do you use?" He curiously asked.

A bit surprised, Sarah smiled before she pulled three massive weapons from thin air.

The first was a gigantic axe with a beautiful white handle etched with blue runes and a razor sharp ice blade. The axe was so large it easily stood at three times her height.

Next was a pair of twin obsidian rapiers that seemed to contain the aura of an endless amount of supreme Dragons and Phoenixes.

Lastly was a thorny crimson whip that made the air crackle and ignite with its mere presence.

Orion could only helplessly smile as she immediately went onto a long ramble about her weapons and their origins though he didn't mind it.

'Vulk, are there grades for weapons? I didn't really find anything on that within the archives.'

'Hm, I don't actually know. I never really used weapons, you should ask father when we go back.'

'Now that you mention it, are you ever gonna have a humanoid form? According to a lot of scholars, all beasts eventually gain one. It's the prime cultivation form.'

'I can already become a human, I've been a god for a while kiddo. I just prefer my magnificent, beautiful, handsome, majestic, pristine, royal, gorgeous, charming, alluring, exquisite-'

'Alright, I get it.' Thought Orion in annoyance.

"Oh? So you can dual wield spears? I've never seen anyone do that before!" Exclaimed Sarah.

"We'll, it's a lost art and honestly it should stay lost. Unless you have the Perfect Harmonic fusion constitution, there's no point. You're just wasting potential power."

Whether his soul was sealed or not, it was beyond easy for Orion to momentarily split his mind in two or more, allowing him to have multiple discussions or trains of thought at once.