/CRACKLE/
In a place where no light existed.
Where nothing could be seen.
Everything was black.
No source of light could be seen aside from that sudden lightning particle appearing around everywhere.
/CIZZT/
From time to time, there were lightning strikes popping out of nowhere, reaching towards a silhouette in the midst of that place.
In the beginning, those lightning strikes were not that strong.
However, as time went on, those strikes which were weak at first started getting stronger and stronger.
And as the lightning strikes got stronger, the light that was spread by them also got stronger.
Which revealed the identity of the silhouette.
It was a girl with red hair, which was slightly turned white.
A girl whose eyes were closed with her body in the lotus position.
However, that girl suddenly moved….
With her body shivering from the lightning strikes that were attacking her from all around.
And then lightning suddenly appeared from the hand of the red-haired girl who was standing in the middle of there.
And then her eyes opened.
Revealing bright yellow in one eye and bright blue in another one.
It was a pair of eyes whose colors were different from each other, making it look different.
However, those eyes soon turned to their normal state, where a pair of yellow eyes could be seen.
"huff…. Huff…."
And that red-haired girl was breathing heavily while trying to get a hold of herself.
/THUD/
At that moment, suddenly, a light entered that room.
With a door being opened.
With her attention drawn by that, the red-haired girl looked at the newcomer who was standing there.
A man with slight wrinkles all over his face.
A beard that was white.
A hair that was white.
Eyes blue deep like an ocean that was spreading a ferocious aura.
It was a man with a slender body.
If one looked from the outside, one would think that man was at most 40 years old, which was an age of middle for the people on Earth.
Though, in this world, how a person looks would be deceptive.
"Congratulations, my granddaughter. You successfully finished your second awakening."
The man with the beard said while looking at the red-haired girl with lovely eyes.
"Thank you, grandfather. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to do it."
The girl bowed her head in response.
"Being humble, huh? I see. But, know that not every member of our family was able to awaken the lighting element even in their lives. That was why your father was valued that high."
However, the man was smiling ear to ear, seeing her granddaughter was able to awaken her lightning talent.
"I know. Father was one of the most talented lightning users, even amongst our family."
"He was….."
"Sorry."
"It is fine. Now that we have finished your second awakening, now you need to get used to that feeling on your own. I won't be able to help you much."
"I see."
"Then, let's go."
The man signaled while looking at her.
'Finally, someone who can use lightning element.'
The man thought in his mind.
Augustride Family.
A family who was one of the pillars of the Wraslugia Kingdom whom they belonged to.
A family of lightning users who are said to have the blood of Zeus.
It was such a family with a very deep history.
However, there was one thing that was not going well with that family.
It was the lack of talented people.
No, saying the lack of talent would be wrong.
It was the lack of talents related to the Lightning element.
Because, aside from Austin, the heirs who were born with the lightning affinity with their main blessing were almost nonexistent.
Thanks to the arranged marriages from different duke families.
Because of that, the pureblood Augustride family members slowly lost the value of their blood.
If Callius were there, he would say it was related to the genes; sadly, he wasn't.
Because of that, Augustride Family needed a method.
A method to secure the lightning affinity for their heirs.
Because without the lightning affinity they had, they were nothing but a simple duke family who had political strength.
To protect their roots, they needed a method.
And, of course, they have developed.
A method to grant the members lightning affinity, even if they hadn't had that at the beginning.
Second awakening.
It was a legend for many others.
But, there were traces of such a term existing.
Like some people suddenly start to use blood magic without having their affinity for it, and some people use bestiality or many others.
Second awakening was a term used for those who awakened their talents on their own without relying on the blessing of the gods.
And the Augustride Family used that.
Thundercore Citadel.
It was a room built by one of the ancestors of the Augustride Family, who used a lot of materials and blood to build it.
It was a room located in the Augustride Family mansion.
Different from the mansion where the Dukedom was ruled.
No, it was the mansion that belonged to the Family which even the King had no control over.
A room that had close to infinite voltage.
A room that had a connection to the Realm of Thunder.
The real realm of Thunder.
It was such a room.
And because of that connection, this place was one of the most secret places in the world.
Because if it was discovered, it could lead to many dangerous things.
However, using this room had a disadvantage.
Because to connect the realm of Thunder, the blood of Zeus or the blood of the Augustride Family was necessary.
However, even that was not enough.
Because you would also need to be able to overcome the lightning strikes that were aimed at your body.
This was basically what differed the other members of the Augustride Family who were lost between the lines of history.
The reason why the Augustride Family was also a knight family was also related to this.
Because they needed to have a strong body to resist the lightning attacks that came their way.
In the end, all those reasons were why there were not a lot of lightning mages in every generation.
Though, of course, in the end, someone would emerge from the ground….
That was why the man was smiling happily while looking at his granddaughter.
"After the fiasco with that failure, now we can rise again. I guess I don't need to go that extreme."
Mumbling like that, he left while looking at the people and the knights of the household.
'It seems the future is not that blank.'
While also observing the young girl who was trying to control the lightning magic she had just acquired.
'Though, she needs a lot of time….'
