Elias came out from his mother's room hugging her as they both cried. She gave him nothing to take; she had nothing. Anything she ever owned was given to her after she arrived.
But she taught him one thing: how to handle headaches. It was a methodical massage of the temples, head, and face to relieve headache and pain—something that Elias knew how to do from her repeatedly doing it on him when he was little.
Elias entered the car as his mother kept shouting, "Prince Elias, bye. Waiting!" He waved at her as the car sped away.
"My prince, my prince, my prince," she kept saying as she twirled around in a spin until her maid came to make her go back inside the house.
Elias's warning was still vivid in everyone's mind.
***
"Lord, may I ask a question?" Elias said to the patriarch before him in the car. This was the second time he had met the man, the first being after his awakening.
The man only looked at him then went back to his closed-eye meditation.
Elias looked at the so-called uncle beside him, and the man appeared more inviting.
"Why Gravity Hammer?"
"Because that was two talents in one: Hammer and Gravity. The Hammer has symbolic meaning to us, and also each patriarch's main job is not ruling us or protecting us but rather to nurture the Gravity Hammer that will fuse with the ancestral hall during awakening ceremonies."
"I see. The more Gravity Hammers, the stronger the hall, and that means it can support more destructive abilities!" Elias said.
"Yes. Nine Clover Leaf Kingdom has a Hall that could have supported you. But we lack the wealth, and our country is not on the best of terms with them."
'Politics and power control!' Elias thought.
"If I succeed, can I come back?" Elias asked.
"And who will take care of your mother?" the uncle asked.
There was silence for hours before a presidential representative asked, "Are you not afraid?"
"I am, but I have the blessing of my mother. I will succeed!"
"Even if you don't, know that you are a hero who helped save the world!" the man said when they came to a stop.
'Nah. I ain't saving the world and dying. I'm coming back!' Elias didn't comment.
They were at the important base of the country. In the old world, it was where rockets were launched to outer space, but now it was the technological hub of the country.
Elias passed the husk of an ancient rocket with faded SpaceX written on it.
Reaching a facility, Elias underwent a series of activities. First, he was stripped naked and soaked in thick brown liquid, then yellow, then white, then red, and finally black.
By the end of the bath, he felt as if he was high on drugs. What followed, he didn't know, as he was not himself.
He was clothed in a tight suit, then placed in another thicker armored suit, then placed inside a mechanical suit, and finally loaded onto an advanced rocket.
President Ramsey was behind a screen, watching every bit of the proceedings. He leaned forward and touched a speaker.
"Arlon, my boy, follow the rocket and make sure there is no man-made mishap!"
"Yes, Mr. President!"
"If only he had an A rank Talent, we could have contained it!" the President lamented. "I really wished it was an A."
"I thought you would have asked President Roland for help!" the red-haired, pink-skinned secretary said.
"Nah. Gravity is a power that only we have. They would never allow a Black Hole to exist. Especially Roland, who thinks his country is the most powerful."
"With all due respect, aren't they the most powerful? They have Nine Noble Bloodlines and are creating more as we speak!"
"Wrong. They have diversity, which is good in various situations, but their foundation is shaky. In an all-out war, apart from the Peace Alliance, only Four Clover would survive because Serpent Queen has tailored their Noble Bloodlines to have distinct connections and also synergize."
"That also limits her, Mr. President!" The woman was not convinced.
The old man sighed. He might argue, but he wanted to see the end of the boy's departure.
The capsule containing the dazed Elias was launched at four times the speed of former world rockets. He crossed hundreds of kilometers rapidly, and beside the capsule was a man keeping pace.
Master Arlon's vigilant gaze ensured no man-made interference was occurring.
President Ramsey was also not being honest. If he had wanted to, he could have given Elias to President Roland. This way, the boy might have had a 60% chance of true awakening, but Ramsey didn't want that. He would rather have the boy become a black hole attack on hordes of Calamity monsters, with the benefits accruing to Six Leaf Clover Country.
After crossing a certain height, Master Arlon let go and fell back; beyond here, he had no jurisdiction.
Swarms of creatures of different forms rammed against the capsule's forcefield but failed to break through. The capsule reached outer space. If Elias had been awake, he would have seen the true state of the world.
Earth was cracked from the North Pole downward, nearly reaching the South Pole. Along the humongous crack were minor shatters and chasms, painting the dying world in an eerie image of absolute doom with no hope.
The capsule was taken over by Left Hemisphere Guardian 48, and it shot toward a certain minor crack where Elias was supposed to detonate.
Humans now operate in the Left Hemisphere and Right Hemisphere of the Great Guage of Earth.
The Left Hemisphere had four countries and the Numerous United Nation Alliance. The countries were named after the numbers of Noble Bloodlines they possessed, and the highest number was Nine Leaf Clover, whose President was Roland Gunslinger from the Gunslinger family.
Noble Bloodlines were those that had managed to push their awakened talents deep into their genes and psyche, which made them able to pass down said abilities.
The capsule fell along the trajectory of its target location. Its speed doubled from before, but when it was 2,000 meters close to the ground, Elias was ejected, and his suit took over.
There was a slow descent with camouflage of sound and sight. The majority of the flying monsters didn't notice him as he passed them, until he reached a land filled with scarce dried trees and mounds.
Thud!
His body carved itself into the hard stone. A jolt of electric current into his body awoke him back to normal.
[Congratulations: you have arrived at your destination.]
"Oh!"
[You have 10:34:23 before forced awakening. Please proceed to do it yourself.]