Stigmata Rank

[After 1 Day]

When the storm subsided, Arthur had fainted as soon as the mana stone had been completely used which resulted in the complete formation of his stigmata. As soon as Arthur lost his consciousness, Nolan and Alice dashed to his position in an instant and personally carried him to his room using stealth after disposing of the impurities, so that no servant could see him. Although they trusted their servants and butlers, they didn't want to take a single chance that could threaten his life and if someone saw him unconscious and being carried by his parents, one might connect the dots of the storm and Arthur by putting two and two together.

As they placed him in his bed, they immediately covered his hands with an artifact that concealed one's stigmata and mana fluctuations since one cannot control his mana fluctuations when they first awaken their stigmata. Afterwards, they stood by his side for 1-2 hours before they had to finally leave to avoid anyone getting suspicion and placed guards outside his room so that none may enter.

The next day, Arthur woke up and found himself in his bed. He quickly took note of the gloves that he was wearing and - not remembering what had happened yesterday - tried to remove them before Hades quickly interrupted in his head,

[If you want to avoid 80% of the assassination threats, you should avoid removing those gloves kid. Yesterday, you fainted just after you formed your stigmata, don't you remember? Seriously, those gloves conceal your mana fluctuations and stigmata from a foreign person so don't remove them.]

Then the memories of the previous day rushed through his mind and he remembered what had happened, after forming his stigmata he felt exhaustion taking over his body because of the immense focus he had put in for 4 hours and 23 minutes so his body shut down immediately without his consent.

And then he also remembered after rushing past the memories that if not for Hades yesterday, he surely would have died. More than once, the pain intensified so much that even with Arthur's pain tolerance he would have fainted right there destroying his body and brain but Hades was there, fully concentrating on alleviating the pain his body was facing. He felt a surge of gratitude towards the god who he was starting to trust more now. So he quickly relayed his thanks with a tone of gratitude,

'Thank you. If not for you, I would have died there.'

For a minute, Hades fell silent but then his replay came, short but filled with trust,

[No problem kid.]

But then, feeling as if he was previously forgetting something, he suddenly remembered about his stigmata but just as he was about to check it out, the door of the room opened and his two parents came in. Upon seeing him, Alice dashed as she arrived in front of him in an instant, quickly embracing him in a bear tight hug,

"You idiot, you had your father and me worried so much. You should have told us honey."

His father also came by his side and sat down on the bed. Although not as worried as Alice, Nolan was also worried about his son but along with his worry there was also astonishment and pride at what his son had achieved. The father understood why his son had done it much earlier and was filled with pride at his son's determination.

Arthur - upon hearing her mother's worry - felt a sting of regret and knew he should have told them but he knew that, if he did, maybe Nolan would have agreed but Alice would have never agreed, never if she knew the pain her son had to bear. But Arthur felt a surge of warmth rushing in his chest after seeing his parents worry about his like this. Never had he experienced someone worry about him in his previous life, and so with a warm smile, Arthur also embraced his mother in a hug and started patting her back,

"I know but if I had ever told you, would you have agreed? Though, I promise to inform you guys the next time I'll do something like this."

But Alice didn't stop her hugging and after a few more assurances from her son, she finally calmed down at last. Then, his parents turned towards more serious topic, more specifically Nolan, who gave his son the straight truth of what would happen now,

"We won't ask you how you did it, since we know that method was only applicable for you one way or another. The appearance of the wolf was even more of a proof for that. But son, now that you have awakened your stigmata, you must never, never take off these gloves otherwise the bounties on your head would be countless if the news got out about your awakening. We have a mana-proof room where you can go and safely check your stigmata but never take off these gloves outside of those rooms."

Nolan put it straight since he wanted his son to know the cruelty of this world, the cruelty which he he would have to undoubtedly face when he would become the Patriarch. He wanted his son to realize it better early than later and was a little astonished when Arthur quickly nodded to his words as if he understood the implications of his actions. Nolan wasn't expecting him to come to acceptance of the consequences that fast but it was still much better.

Actually, even without the explanation of Nolan, Arthur knew the consequences of his actions. He knew it before he had even requested his parents for the mana core even. Even though the worlds had changed, it wasn't as if humanly emotions or their psychology had changed and so Arthur knew that the cruelty of this world was no different that Earth. So he only nodded when his expectations were right on the spot. But what he was shocked about was the wolf appearance, he didn't know when that had happened because after all how would he know, he was too focused on his stigmata at the time. If he knew what Hades had done back then, his trust for him would increase even more but he didn't know and he also didn't ask his father since there were more pressing matters at their hands right now.

Afterwards, Nolan explained a few more matters to keep in mind and take care of before he finally asked Arthur along with Alice to go to the mana-proof room to check his stigmata and its rank. Arthur eagerly nodded and together with his parents he went off to the mana-proof rooms to check what he had achieved.

*****

As Arthur arrived with his parents in the mana-proof chambers he was shocked at their size and structure. The mana-proof chambers were expansive, entirely white spaces constructed of resilient Gloa crystals. Their wide expanse and high ceilings evoked grandeur, providing ample room for training and meditation.

The crystalline walls emitted an ethereal glow, while their innate properties allowed them to contain mana fluctuations, preventing disruptive surges from escaping. Reinforced with enchantments and protective runes, these chambers could withstand even Grandmaster level attacks, offering a serene haven with unparalleled defensive capabilities for practitioners of magic and combat. Nolan's voice came out from behind breaking him out of his stupor,

"Surprised right? These chambers can block every bit of mana fluctuation or leak but we can still study this whole day after. But first, why don't we see what you have achieved son?"

His voice betrayed his emotions. In truth Nolan was just as excited to see what his son had achieved yesterday, because which proud father wouldn't be when their son had not only awakened their stigmata at the age of three but released a mass of impurities never seen before!

Eagerly nodding at his father and mother, Arthur quickly took off the glove of his right hand and saw his stigmata again which was still a beautiful symbol even though he had seen it in books in the library.

Arthur quickly showed his stigmata to his parents whos eyes widened so much as if they could drop out of their sockets and their mouth left agape. Nolan was the first to recover from the shock a little and pointing at his son's stigmata, he stutteringly asked,

"S-Son c-can you see y-your [Status] and t-tell us y-your rank?"

They couldn't believe their eyes because a stigmata's size was proportional to its rank and their son's stigmata was the size of a mole!

It was only a guess, but if they were correct then they won't know what their son had just done.

Not understanding his father's stuttering but still obeying him, Arthur opened his [Status] screen,

'Status'

Instantly a blue holographic screen materialized in front of his eye's retina and he looked at his stigmata,

_____________________

Name: Arthur Blade

Age: 3 years

Stigmata: Darkness, Death (unmanifested)

Stigmata Affinities: Darkness(Deity) Death(Deity)

Stigmata Talent: Empyreal

Stigmata Rank: Initiate++ (I++)

Guardianus: Hades

Stigmatical Skills: [Abyssal Shroud] [Umbral Veil] [Spectral Steps] [Obsidian Screen] [Nightfall Blind]

Skills: -

Pandemonium of the Olympians: [9 Years]

_____________________

Although a lot of questions ran through Arthur's mind like what was this death element? or what is this empyreal talent?, he knew his parents were waiting for his answer first and moreover, he suspected that the answers to these questions could only be obtained from a certain god as not even his parents might know the answer to this. So he closed his status screen and replied,

"Initiate++."

For some seconds, complete silence engulfed the white pristine room before his parents simultaneously asked with agape mouths,

"WHAT!!??"