"Alright, drink this," Lesley said, handing me one of the silver liquids. "And lie down on the white jade table. We need to check if your energy pathways are mature."
I stared at the vial containing a viscous, silver liquid. 'There's nothing in my memories.'
"What is this?" I asked, shaking the vial.
"It's a special liquid developed by one of the queen's council members. Once you drink it, I'll shine the light from one of those pearls to see the state of your energy pathways," Lesley explained.
Still hesitant, I stared at the vial, but before I could back out, I downed the entire contents. It tasted like rusty iron, and the texture felt like swallowing slime. As soon as the liquid hit my stomach, I felt a part of my body pulsing—a new sensation, as if new veins were transporting blood.
"Take off all your clothes and lie down on the table. The effect won't last forever," Lesley ordered.
Complying, I lay down on the white stone table. I might have felt embarrassed about being naked in front of such a beautiful woman—I think I would have—if it weren't for the six hellish months of shoving my head into a latrine to control my sexual impulses.
Lesley walked over to one of the tubs, picked up a single pearl, and placed it in a holder resembling a lampshade above me. A dull light emitted, illuminating my body lying on the table.
'They've created something like an X-ray, but for observing energy pathways,' I thought.
Lesley focused her eyes on the points of interest, tracking the thousands of tiny blue streaks that began to appear on Glenn's body.
"Unobstructed pathways!" "Good formation in the peripheral limbs." "Goo...," she paused briefly.
'It's because of the size, I know. As my late friend Bern used to say, blessed by the gods,' a small smile of satisfaction appeared on my face. After all, I was still a man.
"Good vascularity in central regions." "Complete cores."
The light shining on my body began to fade slowly, and the scanning process ended.
Eager, I got up and quickly put on my pants, looking at Lesley with curiosity.
"So? What's the verdict?"
A brief silence was enough for my anxiety to explode. But before my mind could spiral into delusions about having to wait years to awaken, Lesley's words brought me back to reality.
"Everything's perfect. Apparently, your energy pathways matured just a few days ago."
'Things seem to be falling into place.'
"Without further delay, let's begin the Awakening process. You don't even need to get dressed—just choose one of the tubs and get in."
Before I could even finish putting on my pants, I had to take them off again. I folded them carefully and placed them on the table where I'd been scanned.
Lesley turned her face away to avoid staring at me completely naked.
I chose the tub on the right and stepped in. The pearls were icy, as if the tub were filled with ice stones.
"Ugh...," I groaned softly at the freezing touch but soon settled in.
Lesley approached with a second vial of the same viscous, silver liquid, offering it to me.
"This one's different. It will enhance your logical reasoning, facilitate the opening of your energy pathways, and increase your pain tolerance," she explained, extending her hand with the vial.
Before I could take it, Lesley brought up another important topic.
"What are the types of methodologies for awakening a demon?" she asked, her gaze inquisitive.
Apparently, this was common knowledge. Piecing together everything the old Glenn knew, I organized my thoughts and answered:
"We can awaken using three distinct methods. The first, banned for over a thousand years, involves sacrifices of mystical animals or beings from other races," I said honestly.
"Do you understand why this is no longer allowed?"
The gears in my mind turned quickly, reading between the lines. An idea emerged, something we'd discussed recently.
"Perhaps it has to do with our unique energy signature. Using that kind of method might somehow contaminate our energy pathways, causing long-term reactions," I responded timidly.
"Exactly. In those sacrificial methodologies, a lot of life energy, resentment, and external factors are involved. The Awakening is powerful, but so are the consequences. None of the races perform such rituals anymore."
I nodded in agreement and continued:
"The second methodology is choosing locations with an excess of natural energy. These environments are ideal for triggering the opening of energy pathways."
"And the third methodology is: more powerful demons trigger a chain reaction using so-called energy catalysts. A pulse of energy is sent to the catalysts, which, in turn, begin penetrating the energy pathways, clearing their paths."
"This is the one we'll use today," Lesley finished. "These pearls are the most advanced energy catalysts created in the demonic kingdom. The price of just one of them could easily buy a good property in the noble district of Chaos, the kingdom's capital."
Frowning, I realized I was immersed in a sea of money.
"This environment is more than enough to bring out your maximum potential, clear any blockages that have formed, and saturate your inner core all at once."
'Incredible. Based on the old memories of this body, I would have awakened and then spent an entire year absorbing energy to saturate my core—just to be considered a beginner-level Awakened.'
"Let's begin," Lesley gestured for me to drink the contents of the vial.
Without hesitation, I swallowed the bitter, silver liquid with its rusty iron taste and slime-like texture.
In the center of my chest, behind my heart, a burning sensation began to intensify. I felt my temperature rise, my vision sharpen, my senses refine, and my breathing stabilize.
"Close your eyes and focus. It's going to hurt, but you have to endure until all your pathways are opened and your core is fully saturated."
I nodded in confirmation and waited.
"Once your energy pathways are opened, everything that enters them will be converted into prana. That's when the show begins."
Lesley placed her hand on the pearls covering the tub and began releasing prana. One of the pearls reacted to the energy, turning red, but soon after, it became completely transparent.
Red represented the energy that demons, orcs, and beastkin manipulated: prana. Blue represented the energy that humans, elves, and dwarves manipulated: mana. And transparent was fundamental energy, neutral, used to open energy pathways.
Soon, a symphony of colors began to glow within the tub. The red pearls spread their influence to others, and a chain reaction accelerated. A few seconds after turning red, the pearls became transparent.
When the entire tub shimmered with energy, a pulse began to emanate from the pearls, like an electromagnetic wave. The pulse invaded my body, and then I felt it.