"Can I not go to the Asylum for my ascension? If this is my last chance to touch the Lumina, I would rather it be in a place of familiarity," Elias requested, a hint of panic in his eyes.
"Now, why would you want that? I have gone through your abode," Rhys chuckled, as he ignored the look of anger on Elias' face, "You have some interesting tools inside, but there is nothing there that would increase your chances of touching the Lumina. You may have varied interests, Elias, and I think you may be one of the most talented mortal craftsmen I have ever known, but the Lumina only respects one thing, and it is strength. We take our power from everything, that is why we are Siphons."
Elias looked down, his thoughts unknown from the surface. He was a bit excited to enter the Asylum after years of peering at its grand walls and imagining what kind of ancient wonders it would contain; however, he did not know what secrets might emerge from his body at the moment of Ascension.
He had gathered as much knowledge on Ascension as he could, but the one constant he saw from the thousands of witnesses he had investigated over the years was that the experiences of everyone were similar but also held subtle differences.
Elias folded his hands across his chest in stubbornness, "I still want to make my Ascension inside my place, that is where I want to reach the Lumina, or die trying."
"Shame it's not up to you," Rhys smiles, and points upwards, "Orders from above, and they did not believe me when I said you would reject the offer, wish I had placed a heavier bet. Anyway, time is wasting, and your birth date is thirty minutes from now, not a few hours later."
Elias's eyes widened in surprise; this time, it was not feigned. Countless thoughts bombarded his consciousness, but before he could speak them, he stumbled as intense pain radiated from his neck, and he looked up to see Rhys staring at him with shock, with one of his hands upraised,
"Did you just try to knock me out? Elias growled. He did not hear a reply or see the next blow before he was swallowed by darkness, but he thought he heard Rhys curse and loud pearls of laughter in the distance.
©
Elias' consciousness awoke seven minutes later, but he did not move; he just observed his surroundings. His body was splayed out in an uncomfortable position as if he was just thrown on the floor like a piece of trash... 'Damn you, Rhys, if I become a Siphon, I will create a diabolical set of mental torture for you alone.'
He did not need to open his eyes. Apparently, when he was knocked out, his eyes did not close, and upon waking up, he was able to see he had been moved to a different location.
Perhaps this must have freaked out Rhys even more, but Elias did not feel like laughing; his secrets should stay with him alone, and he hated advertising his uniqueness, not even to the people who had seen him grow from a little child.
Was it shame, fear, the inevitable rejection, or the lust for his power that would arise if they knew he was a special kind of mortal? Elias could not honestly tell his motivation for keeping silent all these years, and had never really bothered to plumb the depths of his psyche.
The area where he was placed was a bit dark, and from the coolness he could feel under his skin, he must be lying on a metallic surface. He should be able to see better if he stood up, and that was what he did.
Elias stood up slowly, not feeling any aches from lying in an uncomfortable position or a headache from being knocked out; his body easily repaired such slight trauma without any issues.
Without many of the constraints of the troubles that a mortal body usually brought, Elias' mind was free to explore his surroundings in more depth than most could ever imagine.
Above him was a single Ember Orb, emiting with a faint red glow, which signified it was nearing the end of its lifespan and would need to be recharged by a Siphon with Lumina, or if it was left in high places or in the depths of the forest, where the flow of Lumina were more prevalent, the Ember Orb would be quickly recharged and it would give light for another four to six years.
This orb was among the biggest he had ever seen, about twenty-five inches in diameter, and was perfectly spherical, which would make it undoubtedly expensive.
Just because these light sources were called orbs did not mean they were all circular; most Ember Orbs had jagged, uneven shapes, and only the best were more like orbs. Most Ember orbs he had seen looked like chunky squares. It took the work of great Forgers to make perfect Ember Orbs, but Elias suspected that it would be difficult to find many Forgers with this set of skills.
Most likely, the orb above was a remnant of the age of the gods; it had lasted for an unfathomable number of years, and if nothing dramatically changed in the future, this Ember Orb would last even longer than this city unless it was deliberately destroyed.
A small part of him almost began to envy the Ember Orb, but Elias quickly realized he was falling into one of his bad habits when he faced issues he had not accounted for, and that was fixating on distractions to suppress his panic.
At his core, Elias did not wish to become a Siphon if it meant his secrets would be revealed, and he was not afraid of death either as a mortal. The only thing he was scared of was living a life without agency. To just become a slave to the powerful, as his gifts were used against his will.
Taken into the Stoneward Asylum, with his Ascension coming at him far more quickly than he had anticipated, Elias had to struggle not just to calm his mind but to focus on what he should do next if everything he had struggled to hide were revealed.
Suddenly, the dim Ember Orb above him brightened, and Elias shaded his eyes, but there was no need for that gesture. The light from the orb was bright, yet paradoxically, it was also soft on the eyes.
Elias had read once that high-level Ember Orbs could adjust the wavelength of the light they cast to suit multiple individuals in their vicinity.
With the light brightening the space around him, Elias quickly noted that he was not alone. Seated above him in a circle were all the inhabitants of the Stoneward Asylum, and for a moment, he was frozen in shock.
"Hey, look who had awakened," Rhys's voice made Elias shudder in anger, "I thought you would sleep through your Ascension." A pause, "You don't want to do that… trust me."
An angered voice replied, and Elias nearly smiled because he could recognize Kaelen's voice anywhere, "And how did knocking him out do anything to help him, you stupid bag of shit. You are lucky he has a strong spine, or I swear I will be pulling yours out from your asshole."
"Hey, no need to be that foul, I was going to wake him up before it began, and you know how stubborn he is. He would have refused to follow me, and there is not much time left." Rhys quickly replied.