". Family meeting

The next morning, Alexandre woke up at 7 a.m. Earth time and packed his bags, leaving behind only a clean and tidy room. Next year, his room would be assigned to a new student at the school, who would live there just as he had for over ten years.

He left his room and started heading towards the school's spaceport when his watch vibrated. He saw that his father had replied to his message from the previous day and opened it to read his response.

"Alex, I am currently on a business trip to Venus to inspect the Solarine operation. I won't be back on Mars for several weeks. As for your mother, she is currently traveling to Earth with some friends on a space cruise. Her trip will last another month. You can visit your grandparents, whom you haven't seen since you were 16. They are currently taking care of the house in our absence. You have all my support for your upcoming awakening, we have no doubt that you will make us proud, your mother and I. See you soon, Dad."

Finishing the message, Alex felt extremely disappointed. He rarely saw his parents because of their jobs, sometimes going more than a year without seeing them. The last time he saw them was on his 16th birthday, at a surprise party they had organized for him.

Although he had a very good relationship with his parents, he had been raised with almost no parental love due to the infrequent interactions with them. He had hoped to at least see them before unlocking his spirit land so they could encourage and reassure him.

Quickly shaking off his disappointment, Alex sent a message to his grandparents to inform them of his visit while heading towards the academy's private spaceport. Arriving at one of the spaceports housing the most advanced spacecraft, he felt a surge of pride. He had designed some of these ships himself, and almost all of them were equipped with technologies he had discovered. Passionate about space as he was, he sometimes imagined discovering new solar systems, commanding a fleet of ships he had designed.

After passing the very strict security checks, he headed towards the dock assigned to his family. The ship moored at this dock was the most modern in the port, a testament to his family's power and wealth. Upon reaching the boarding dock of his ship, he completed the entry procedures and met the captain before heading to his private quarters.

An hour later, the ship headed towards the launch pad. Alex sat by the window, seated in one of the luxurious armchairs in his lounge. After another ten minutes to obtain the final flight clearances, they took off from Salvatoris, heading straight for Mars.

As the ship took off, the contours of Phobos, Mars' moon where Salvatoris had decided to settle, could be seen. The former moon had been transformed into an underground complex housing the school's facilities and capable of supporting human life. Phobos had been completely terraformed to accommodate and train the hopefuls they were.

Approaching Mars, the ship began several calibration sequences to land as precisely and delicately as possible in his family's private port. After landing, Alex quickly headed to the car parked next to the landing strip. He quickly got in and drove the car on the roads of his family's private complex. He soon arrived in view of a vast modern building that exuded wealth and modernity.

His family, the Ashborne family, was one of the oldest families in the world. Their earliest traces date back to the Roman Empire. The family gained power very early, being present in the Senate and the army, with several ancestors even having been kings or emperors. The power of the Ashborne family had never waned, increasing with each era, diversifying its activities, and coming to include eminent scientists and prosperous businessmen among its ranks.

The main reason for this longevity was the family's very strict and harsh educational standards. In addition to demonstrating exceptional talent in several areas from a young age, one also needed to have the highest level of character and emotional intelligence. Any trace of weakness or slightly problematic character was enough to be disowned by the family. Due to these high standards, the family numbered only a few hundred members despite its more than two millennia of existence.

Naturally, his parents were elites as well. His father, Arthur Ashborne, was the head of the world's largest Luminite and Solarine operation, while his mother, Charlotte De Brown, was a genius politician, representing the European Union at the GU for several years. Unfortunately, such responsibilities meant that even with all the love they had for their children, they had virtually no contact or memories with them.

Upon arriving at his house's entrance, a domestic robot with advanced AI greeted him before directing him to the dining room. Entering the large room, he was welcomed by his paternal grandparents, Oscar Rudolph and Emilienne Ashborne. Though 90 years old, they looked like they were in their forties thanks to numerous technologies that allowed for a youthful appearance until death.

His grandparents were both genius scientists working in the family's private laboratories specializing in research and development of weapons. Having never met his maternal grandparents, who had died during the 2329 tragedy on the Moon, Oscar and Emilienne were the family members he was closest to and had the most contact with.

"HAHAHA, how's my favorite grandson?" exclaimed Oscar. "It's been six months since your last visit, and I've sorely missed you. Quickly, tell me about your latest experiences at Salvatoris."

"Calm down, old man. I know you're happy to see Alex again, but give him a moment to breathe and sit down. He must be hungry after his journey. How about talking during the meal?" said Emilienne.

"Thank you, Grandma. This old man doesn't think about his poor hungry grandson," Alex responded mockingly towards his grandfather.

"What? No one thinks about you more than I do," cried Oscar indignantly, adding, "And what do you mean, old man? Have you not seen this dream body and this smooth, delicate skin of this handsome man?"

"I'll call you old man if I want, old man," replied Emilienne amusedly before sitting down and opening the steaming dishes spread out on the table.

Alex and Oscar sat down in his suite to start the meal. Alex's stomach rumbled at the thought of finally tasting his family's private chefs' cuisine again. While the academy food wasn't bad, it was leagues away from comparing to what was on the table.

During the meal, Alex took the opportunity to discuss his grandparents' latest research and shared his recent experiences at the academy and his life there.

"You're growing up so fast," Emilienne sighed. "Every time you come home, you're more mature and determined. You surpassed us long ago in the field of research when, in our youth, we were hailed as Mars's greatest geniuses."

"Well, nevertheless, we couldn't be happier to have you as our grandson. You should see the faces of those fools in the lab every time I boast about you," Oscar added.

"In six days, you'll awaken your spiritual land; it's a great event for you, and know that your grandfather and I will always support you," Emilienne said warmly.

"And I'm sure my idiot son and my daughter-in-law will do the same," Oscar concluded more seriously, looking at Alex.

Moved by this emotional moment with his grandparents, Alex thanked them before starting to discuss lighter topics with them. He spent his 'vacation' with his grandparents, occasionally assisting them in their research and engaging in various leisure activities such as golf or chess.

A few days later, Alex bid them farewell before heading to the family's spaceport. Yesterday, he had received more details about what would happen before his awakening. First, he wouldn't return to Phobos but would travel to Deimos, Mars's second moon, which housed the largest research laboratory on Mars's soul.

Once there, numerous tests would be conducted, ranging from his soul's power to mental and physical tests. On the day of awakening, he would be placed in a laboratory for scientists to analyze if there were any differences compared to previous tests on animals.

Finally, he was required to return within 24 hours after awakening to inform the scientists of any changes from the data already acquired.

After docking his ship, Alex met several classmates born on the same day as him, and they discussed their futures and the imminent awakening of their powers together. While waiting for the last arrivals expected in the evening, he explored the facilities with several other students where they would live for an indefinite period.

In the laboratories, they saw all kinds of animals one could imagine, from elephants to dogs to sardines. Scientists had tried to awaken the soul of every possible species, hoping to detect differences from previous experiments, but they were disappointed to find that regardless of the species, except for soul strength, everything else remained identical.

The only notable difference was with the monkeys, who, after humans, had the greatest soul strength. They showed an evolution that led scientists to believe that one day they would catch up to humans and finally not be the only race capable of creating an advanced society capable of creating and inventing.

At 7 PM, everyone had finally arrived and settled in. All the students then received a notification to come to the laboratory conference room, along with a small map projected by their watches showing them the way.

Upon entering the conference room, Alex and the others sat on rather uncomfortable wooden chairs and waited for the person who had summoned them. An hour later, the research director of the institution, a grumpy-looking old man, stepped onto the stage. After a long and boring speech about their responsibilities and a lengthy list of rules, they were finally dismissed.

The next morning, they attended conferences reminding them of what they needed to do after opening their dimensional lands, and a recap of the data they needed to collect.

In the afternoon, several physical tests took place during which Alex broke all the records. Several times, the machine couldn't even test his true capacity, giving up before he could use all his strength. After the physical tests, psychological tests were conducted to ensure their mental state.

Finally, in the evening, the soul power of each student was tested. Alex achieved a monstrous score of 5132, an increase of more than 100 times his capacity as a child and a lead of over 2800 points ahead of the second place. He had twice the soul power of the runner-up, crushing the competition and reaffirming his dominance with the strongest soul power. Such an impressive soul score would have been impossible to measure without the technological advances in soul measuring devices.

Alex ended the day on this good note and went to bed with a smile on his face.

The next day, he woke up at 4 AM and headed to the cafeteria. He was born at 6 AM, and in two hours, he would consume Solarine and awaken his soul. After a frugal breakfast, he headed to his assigned laboratory.

While others would be grouped together in one laboratory, due to his unusual case, a laboratory was dedicated solely to him. Inside the laboratory, analysis machines capable of understanding everything at the molecular or soul level were installed. A bed was in the middle of the room, where he would spend the next week asleep while his soul transformed.

After several procedures, a device was connected to him to monitor when his soul growth would stop. Exactly at 6 AM, his soul ceased its growth, reaching a final figure of 5140. Immediately after, he was given a Solarine seed to ingest while researchers focused on their measuring devices, attempting to detect any anomalies.

Alex felt the urge to rest immediately after consuming the seed. As he gradually succumbed to sleep, he could feel a strange warmth and many other sensations coursing through his body. His senses became heightened, able to hear noises coming from other laboratories. He tried to focus on these changes but fell into a deep sleep before discovering anything further.

For a week, Alex's soul underwent significant changes. His soul bonded closely with his body and mind, granting him powers he couldn't have imagined. His soul land was forming and it would be nothing like what scientists had observed before.

After a week in a deep sleep, Alex woke up. Still groggy, he suddenly heard a voice in his mind.

*System initialization in progress... Analyzing host's skills. Host meets soul requirements. Searching for suitable inheritance for the host. Inheritance suitable for the host found. Successful connection with the inheritance of the immortal world.*

*Congratulations, host.*

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Tell me in the comments your predictions on how the story will evolve