Ross didn’t bla them—power always ca with a price, and none of them knew what that price would be.
"I won’t force anyone," he said after a long pause, his tone softening.
"This is your choice. Whether you take one or not, you’re still my family. You’ll still have a place here, in this bunker, under my protection."
He looked around the hall, eting every gaze—one by one.
"But rember this: the world outside isn’t waiting for us to decide. It’s changing every day. If we don’t grow stronger, we’ll be swept aside. These stones... they’re our chance to change that."
Silence followed once more, but it wasn’t the sa kind as before.
Now, it was filled with tension, with the quiet thrum of courage being born in hesitant hearts.
Ross watched them closely.
He knew this mont would decide everything—who was brave enough to step forward, and who would choose the safety of the familiar.
Either way, the future of his people would begin here, in this hall, beneath the glow of the heart stones that pulsed like living hearts in his hand.
"I’ll go first, husband," Althea said, her voice calm but resolute.
The crowd fell silent the mont she spoke.
Even among the hundreds gathered, no one dared to interrupt her.
Ross turned to her with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
He descended from the platform, the faint ripple of his power making the air hum.
In his hand was a heart stone—a bloody crystal so pure that its light seed to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He handed it to her gently, his fingers brushing hers for a brief mont.
Not that she needed it, of course.
Nobody but Ross knew the truth: Althea was the strongest being on the planet, second only to Ross himself.
Her strength was already beyond comprehension, her deeds hidden and waited for the perfect timing to show themselves.
Today would be the day that everything would be revealed.
But this demonstration wasn’t for her.
It was for everyone else—to inspire, to unite, and to show what the heart stones could do.
The strongest woman alive was willing to take the first step.
Althea smiled faintly, understanding the unspoken reason. "Then let’s give them a good show," she said softly.
Without hesitation, she lifted the heart stone to her lips and swallowed it whole.
The reaction was imdiate.
A deep hum vibrated through the air, resonating in the bones of everyone nearby.
The faint glow of the stone spread through her body, veins lighting up like threads of molten gold beneath her skin.
Her breathing grew shallow, her expression tightening as if she were struggling to contain sothing imnse within her.
The audience leaned forward, so clutching their robes, others holding their breath.
Even though the heart stone’s power was imnse, to Althea it was almost nothing—a drop of water falling into an endless ocean of her already boundless energy.
Still, she played her part perfectly.
Her body trembled slightly, sweat glistening on her skin as she released a soft, strained gasp.
"I... I feel strange," she said, her voice deliberately wavering.
Then, she raised her hands.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then...
"Whooosh!" Flas erupted from her palms. The crowd cried out in awe.
The fire was wild at first, licking and snapping at the air like a feral beast.
The heat distorted the space around her, turning the air into waves of gold and crimson.
Yet, under Althea’s control, the chaos slowly gave way to grace.
The fire bent to her will, swirling in perfect harmony around her figure.
Her long hair fluttered in the heat, her violet eyes reflecting the light of her flas.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"She’s controlling fire!"
"Incredible! So that’s the power of the heart stone!"
"Her aura... it’s overwhelming!"
The ground beneath her feet had begun to blacken and lt, yet she remained untouched, poised and calm amid her inferno.
She clenched her fists, and the flas condensed into a single orb that hovered above her palm—then vanished in an instant.
Silence.
Then applause.
Shouts of admiration erupted, and the tension that had gripped the crowd gave way to exhilaration.
Althea gave a graceful nod toward her husband and stepped aside, her expression soft but proud.
Ross t her gaze, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He didn’t need to say a word—she had played her role perfectly.
"I’m next, Ross!" a young man suddenly shouted, unable to contain his excitent.
His voice broke the lingering stillness as dozens of others imdiately followed suit.
" too!"
"Let try!"
"I want to know what kind of power I’ll get!"
They surged forward, faces bright with anticipation.
So of them were trembling, others grinning like children before a festival.
The thought that they could awaken power like Althea’s filled them with wild hope.
Ross’s eyes swept over the crowd. The corner of his lips curved upward in quiet satisfaction.
The demonstration had gone exactly as planned.
High above, the ceiling shimred faintly with the lingering heat of Althea’s flas.
The scent of ozone and smoke hung in the air, mixing with the collective excitent of hundreds of hearts beating in unison.
The age of ordinary n was over.
And the era of the heart stones had just begun.
***
Two hours later, the great hall of Ross’s stronghold had transford into a place of dazzling chaos and wonder.
Nearly every adult had now taken a heart stone, and the air itself shimred with power.
Beams of light streaked through the ceiling as ordinary people tested their newfound abilities.
Laughter, shouts, and bursts of energy filled every corner of the imnse chamber.
Even Ross’s undead guards—stoic and expressionless as ever—had stepped forward to receive theirs.
Brandon too had followed suit, though both he and the guards knew it was rely for show.
Their loyalty and strength were already absolute, gifts that Ross had bestowed long ago.
Still, the symbolism mattered and everyone had to act in a play.
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