After what felt like an eternity, Orion's mother stopped hugging him and looked at his face.
"Don't cry, my son."
She wiped the tears out of his face and looked at him lovingly.
Orion felt like he was the most blessed person in the world right now and he wanted to feel like that forever.
"Look at you; you have become a fine young man."
His mother checked and rubbed his face all over.
Orion just smiled at her in response. However, at that moment, his eye caught sight of a shadow peeking at them from the huge door leading into the palace.
A wide smile appeared on his face, recognising that figure because that figure belonged to none other than his cute little sister.
"Ella, come here."
He shouted, looking at her.
His mother also looked back and saw that her youngest daughter was peeking at them through the gate.
Ella, when she heard Orion call her name, came running to her mother and hid behind her.
"Are you Big Brother Orion?"
She asked, peeking behind their mother's back. Her voice sounded as sweet as Orion could remember.
"Who else could I be?"
Orion smiled, nodding his head at her.
Although he felt a little sad knowing that his sister took some time to remember him, he also couldn't do anything about it. He had changed so much over the years that if he looked at the picture of him from 5 years ago, he probably would also have had a hard time recognising himself.
Even more so for Ella, who was only five years old when he went away from the family. One could say it was even a miracle that she could still remember him.
Ella looked at Orion deeply for a moment when she heard him and as if thinking something, she came to him and hugged him.
"Big Brother Orion!"
Orion lovingly patted her head. For as long as he could remember, before he left the family, she had been like his shadow, always by his side. She never left him and she clung to him wherever he went.
This made him very sad, knowing that his absence of five years must have been very hard for her too.
"Big Brother Orion!.... Why did you leave?.... You made me cry that day.... when I couldn't find you anywhere."
A sweet voice with a tinge of crying sounded in his ears at this moment.
Orion looked at the tearful face of his little sister, feeling a pain akin to needles stabbing at his heart.
"It's alright now. I am here and I won't leave ever again, at least not for years."
Knock!—
He then knocked on the door.
Only a moment later, the door opened, revealing the spectacular king's chamber.
At the centre, furthest from Orion, sat a man on a throne, a golden crown atop his head, his hands resting on the armrests.
Either side of him were old and middle-aged men sitting in rows of chairs and in the middle of them stood seven figures.
Orion recognised these figures very well. They were his cousins brothers and sisters. They were all around the age of 15 to 20 years, making them this generation's candidates who had their memories erased and sent away from Blitz Haven.
"Come in."
At that moment, an authoritative voice echoed through the hall.
Orion, hearing his father's voice, moved into the king's chamber and arrived besides his brothers and sisters.
Barion looked at his son for a moment and then turned his attention to all the other kids.
"Is that all that has passed?" he asked.
Butler Rio nodded by his side.
Seeing the mature look on the kids' faces, Barion nodded in satisfaction.
"Good, very good. You kids have what it needs to reach the pinnacle of the Magus Kingdom."
He praised them, clearly satisfied that out of the 12 kids in this generation, 8 had passed. In previous generations, rarely did half the number pass, and most of the time, the number of failures exceeded those who passed the test.
"I know you all must be very tired so I won't take much of your time. Just remember that the day after tomorrow will be your assessment and the one who wins will become the leader of the younger generation of your time. So, be very prepared for that."
The eight of the kids, including Orion, nodded.
"Alright, everyone but Orion, leave now."
The other kids were taken aback by his words, but knowing Orion was his son, they understood and left after bowing to him.
Seeing them leave, Barion turned his attention to his son.
"Do you resent me?" He asked Orion.
Orion had a feeling his father would ask something like that when he let the other kids go away so he wasn't surprised by his words.
As for the question itself, he wasn't sure.
If he felt anything towards his father, then it would be an absolute and bitter disappointment.
He didn't know whether his father's lack of attention towards him was a result of him not being born with a talent in this magical world or if he simply wasn't destined to be loved by his father.
Either way, he didn't resent him. His mother was always by his side, as were Lisa and a few others, who prevented him from feeling the loneliness he might have expected in the palace.