The crowd cried out in alarm as the face of Elder Aires became increasingly pale. The Royal Physician extended his hand with hesitation but then pulled it back, shaking his head.
Although he could see that something was wrong, he knew better than to interrupt the process and incur any unfavorable consequences and make the situation worse.
Everyone could only observe the situation closely, holding their breaths in anxiety and concern.
As Ethan observed the artifact and the old man keenly, the sound of cracking resounded in the hall, and Elder Aries's eyes twitched beneath his closed eyelids. The faint starry radiance around the old man flickered as if it would disappear any time as the nerves of his hands bulged.
The dune inside the container got more and more violent as the yellowish dust haze gained a thick color of red as more crunching sounds rang out.
Elder Aries abruptly removed his hands from over the artifact as his eyes opened wide, showing the lifeless and desolate gray pupils sunken deep in his sockets.
Without his control, the artifact jumped up and down shaking excessively and on the verge of exploding. Predicting the imminent calamity, everyone immediately backed off with alarmed expressions.
"Crack!"
Visible cracks began appearing on the artifact leaking out the yellowish-red gaze slightly. Elder Aries's complexion turned even paler. He looked like a man on the verge of departing to the yellow springs.
Suddenly, like a pressure cooker unable to endure any longer—the artifact cracked open and then blasted into pieces.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ Miraculously, the sand that was inside it immediately disappeared upon coming in contact with the outside world. This made Ethan doubt if the sand was even real or not.
An awkward expression flashed over Ethan's face. Although he had expected the divination to fail, however, such a disastrous failure was out of his imagination.
The Royal Physician hastily stepped forward as Elder Aries vomited a mouthful of blood, his condition worsening.
The Royal Physician checked Elder Aries's nerves inspecting his condition closely, he then chanted the incantation of healing using his precious essence of Healing.
Elder Aries's face gained some color as his body stopped shaking. The dark green particles faded away from the royal physician's palm and he took his hand back, sighing with relief.
Everyone else also released the breath that they were holding in and sighed with relief as they looked at Elder Aries for an explanation. Albaer heaved a mouthful of air looking at the remnant parts of the broken artifact, wondering what had gone wrong.
"Elder Aries, What just happened?"
Amidst the awkward silence, Alier's voice garnered everyone's attention as he asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
The old man once again closed his eyes and got on his feet with great hardship. Wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, he smiled bitterly, facing everyone he said, "I am fine."
"Elder, forgive me…" Ethan said apologetically in a sincere tone with an anxious expression as if he was frightened that what had occurred was his fault.
"Worry not, Child." Elder Aries said with a reassuring smile.
He looked at the broken pieces of the artifact and sighed with lamentation.
"Elder… Why did this happen?" Albaer asked worriedly.
Albaer feared that Ethan's fate had something terrible written in it. The banquet would turn into a sad affair in just a second if that indeed were to be the case.
"The Dune of Destiny has the Sand of Fate inside it. This sand is not material but a manifestation of the will of The God of Divination. I have performed divination with it countless times but something like this has never happened."
"Usually, after the blood of the subject is provided to the artifact, the essence of the God of Divination which lies in the Sand of Fate blends with the blood. Then using the blood, it connects with the Threads of Fate of the subject and finally provides us with a glimpse of the subject's destiny. Normally we would have been able to see the results of the divination as one symbol and one sentence would appear in the sand pointing towards Master Ethan's destiny."
Elder Aries explained calmly. His voice was a bit muddled and sounded fatigued.
"What kind of Symbols?" Ethan asked curiously. He already knew why the divination had failed but the artifact very much intrigued him.
"In the Raging Heavens Era, The Master of The Tower at that time had read the destiny of a child that was ten years old. The Child was Sieghart Allkine." Elder Aries recalled a familiar name.
Everyone knew of this name. Ethan had also read it in the library books and from Earlene. Sieghart Allkine was a peerless master who was one of the forefathers who helped to form the Atrana Kingdom. It was said that he was a right-hand man to the First King and one of his marshals.
"The symbol that had appeared for his divination was a Crown on which the image of the Sun and the Moon were etched. Below the crown was the flower of the Chrysanthemum. The image looked as if the crown lay upon the flower. Can you tell me what this symbol means?" Elder Aries asked as he looked at Ethan.
Ethan pretended to be thinking for a moment as his eyes shortly after flashed with realization.
"Could it be that the flower of Chrysanthemums signifies the symbol of friendship and loyalty on which the Crown lay—meaning that the Kingdom of Atrana lies on the foundation of a friendship?" Ethan muttered.
Elder Aries nodded with approval and continued, "The Dune of Destiny had already predicted the path that Noble Allkine took later on. This kind of sign should have appeared in your case as well… But Alas…"
Elder Aries spoke with a sense of regret and apprehension as he sighed once again looking at Ethan with a half-enigmatic and half-unsure gaze.
"Then why did it fail?" Albaer asked once again, this time with slight impatience in his tone.
Just as Elder Aries was about to answer, he broke into a coughing fit making everyone tense up again.
The Royal Physician once again tended to him and after a few minutes, he stabilized.
"This old man has suffered the backlash of the failure of divination. I have incurred Your Grace's ridicule."
"Please have some rest, Elder." Albaer finally realized his mistake as he said somewhat guiltily.
"It is fine, Your Grace. And as for the Young Master… There could be two reasons for this failure. One could be that my skills are not enough to read his destiny or perhaps his destiny is bigger than what we can imagine. And the second reason could be that a higher existence or power is prohibiting the divination forces from prying on his Threads of Fate." Elder Aires said, his voice very tired and vexed.
The entire banquet Hall became dumbfounded as all gazes turned toward Ethan. Some looked at him with suspicion and doubt while some looked at him with a new light.
Any of the two reasons that Elder Aries had mentioned meant that Ethan was not a simple character, and everyone understood it well. The great artifact and an Elder from the Tower combined couldn't read his destiny and that was a big deal.
However, his future was still hidden in a haze of obscurity as everyone was still somewhat unsure. This was exactly what Ethan wanted.
Naenna looked at Ethan with twinkling stars in her eyes as if saying, 'See? I knew my little brother was extraordinary!'
While everyone was surprised, probably Earlene was the only person in the hall who was unflinching. She already knew what kind of talent Ethan was so it didn't come off as a big surprise to her. Although it ignited her competitive spirit even more.
At this moment, Ethan sensed a faint killing intent directed at him. From the corner of his eye, he saw the menacing glint momentarily flashing by Alier's eyes.
Ethan knew that Alier had found his resolve and now there was no going back. He sighed inwardly with resignation and pity, averting his gaze.
"Alright, let's discuss this later. Please have some rest now, Elder Aries." Albaer heaved a sigh that was mixed with complicated feelings and urged.
"Very well, Duke White. This old man will now head back to recuperate." Elder Aries said and coughed lightly.
The Royal Physician shot Albaer a glance and both of them nodded in understanding.
Albert also came forward and with the support of both Albert and the physician, Elder Aries left the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was immediately filled with lively conversations mainly related to what had happened just moments before. Excitement and bewilderment were in the air as people occasionally glanced at Ethan, they all took him a lot more seriously now.
Albaer had complicated feelings in his heart as he thought of everything. His son had suddenly become a genius after the Ancestral Awakening, his entire demeanor had changed and he seemed a completely different person.
Albaer looked at Alier momentarily, a strange light flickering in his eyes, but then he averted his gaze again casually as if it was nothing, although a hint of sorrow flashed through his face.
Albert returned quickly after escorting Elder Aries. However, he wore a solemn expression entering the banquet hall. This did not go unnoticed by Albaer and Ethan.
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