Solgaret

"It's 99%...." the officer stared at the orb, an expression of pure confusion and bewilderment. He tried to look even deeper yet his face still remained constantly perplexed.

The two nuns, flanking the officer, turned pale.

'What….' A final thought came into Aster's mind as his consciousness drifted away, his eyes and legs slowly giving out, as he fainted into a dark abyss.

...….

......…

A young boy lay still on a pristine, white bed, unconscious. His skin was pale, and his oversized light blue t shirt was wrinkled.

The bed was mounted to a wall, just beneath a window. Above the boy's face, the window framed a slice of sky, its panes etched with delicate patterns of frost.

Soft sunlight spilled in, casting a warm glow over the boy's pale face. His faded blue t-shirt was wrinkled, and the air was quiet, except for the distant chirping of birds.

"Agh….where…..am…..I?" Aster's consciousness partly returned, as his eyes fluttered open and closed once again.

Still dazed, Aster thrashed about in bed, his body sliding perilously close to the edge. The blanket, which was once snug and secure beneath him lost its grip, slowly unraveling and slipping off the bed, dragging Aster with it.

As he felt the blanket slide further, Aster's hands flailed wildly, grasping for something, anything, to hold onto. His fingers brushed against the bedframe, but it was too late. The blanket slipped off the bed, taking Aster with it. He landed on his nose with a soft thud on the floor, the blanket tangled around his legs.

thud!

"Sh*t! Why does this always have to happen to me!" Aster groaned as he lied down on the floor, facing the dark wooden ceiling.

In an instant, he sat upright and looked to and fro.

"The last place I remember being in is….Ah!" Aster retrieved his memories at once. The last thing he had heard was,

"99%..." The thought came out loud.

Were his chances to awaken the seed of awakening inside him really that high? It was impossible right?

Weren't the chances of a Voidborn awakening just about 0.99%? Where did the other 98.01% come from? Was this a prank? Or had the magical orb started to glitch or something?

"It must be a malfunction. It just can't be that I, a cursed child, could have 99% as my result. Yeah." He came to a conclusion.

'But now, I'm stuck'.

This was the worst situation possible.

Since the orb must have given out or lose it's mana or something, he was sure to be in big trouble.

But why? Aster had done nothing.

From a logical person's eyes, Aster was obviously innocent.

The answer is to look at it from the senior nun's perspective.

Due to her discriminate and merciless thinking towards Aster, she would obviously think that he had broken the orb or fiddled with it.

Every single person here was made to believe by the senior nun that if anything unfortunate or anything happened out of place, Aster was the sole being that was responsible for it.

The senior nun's words had woven a subtle spell, convincing everyone that Aster was the harbinger of misfortune. Whenever something awry happened, no matter how small or big, Aster was the sole being responsible for it. This was believed to be one of the core sayings of God, as said by the senior nun.

"Man…I have to deal with something like this again? What a pain.." Aster sighed.

Aster's shoulders slumped in resignation as he slowly got to his feet, the blanket still tangled around his legs. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. What was he going to do now? The senior nun would undoubtedly blame him for the orb's malfunction.

As his thoughts ran wild, the situation had turned even worse.

To the right, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the door.

His head immediately turned towards it as the footsteps grew louder and louder by the second.

Aster gulped, as the noise came to a stop, seemingly right behind the door.

The door swung open, and the senior nun stood in the doorway, her eyes blazing with anger. "Aster, what have you done now?" she spat, her voice dripping with venom. Her wrinkled face looked furious and it seemed Aster was going to get tortured soon as she walked into the room, facing him.

He took a step back, his heart sinking. He knew he was in for it.

"What?! I didn't do anything! I just attempted the test! That's it!" Aster loudly replied at the nun, trying to calm down.

But the senior nun was having none of it.

"Hah? Don't lie to me, you demon! There's no way that YOU, a voidborn, could get 99%!" The senior nun once again fiercely shouted at him!

"I swear! You saw me! I just lined up, waited for my turn and then placed my hand on the mana orb like everybody did! I'm not responsible for anything!"

"You liar!" The senior nun walked towards Aster before brandishing her hand, her fingers splaying wide and...

SLAP!!

giving a loud slap to Aster. His left cheek burned, as he tried to ease the stinging pain with his hands and dropped down to the ground.

What had he done?

What did he do in his past life to deserve this kind of treatment?

From his eyes, he was completely innocent.

Why did these people hate him so much?

Why did his parents leave him in this hell?

Just why…..

"Senior sister, you mustn't!" A feminine voice cried out from the doorway. The senior nun spun around, her eyes narrowing at the young nun who dared to interrupt her. Aster's gaze followed, drawn to the newcomer.

The young nun who had leaned against the doorframe, her right hand grasping the wooden frame for support. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath, her blue eyes wide with concern.

"What happened?!" The senior nun asked the breathless nun.

"Hah…Hah…..It's Sir Redding! He's...calling the Voidborn." The sister looked at the senior nun, her expression laced with urgency.

Hearing this, the senior nun stood quiet for a while, staring at the sister.

Then, she turned to face Aster, with a fierce expression in her grey eyes.

"Looks like you're saved…..for now. Come with me. Don't try anything." The senior nun said with a cold voice.

Who had saved Aster? Who was this 'Sir Redding'?

These questions popped up in his mind, yet he didn't dare to defy the senior nun, and quietly followed her out the doorway.

......….

Aster's footsteps echoed through the hallway as he trailed behind the senior nun. They stopped in front of a large wooden door, adorned with intricate carvings. The senior nun pushed the door open, revealing a spacious room with a surprisingly warm atmosphere.