The Broken Halo

Chapter 53: 53: Coming Of Age Rite

The Coming of Age Rite was one, if not the most important event in the entire demon realm.

It was the day that defined the future of every demon, especially Simon.

The Coming of Age rite was a natural event that occurred whenever a demon turned sixteen, and although it was called a rite, it was not really a rite.

Every demon just loved to call it a rite, a ceremony.

When a demon turned sixteen, they awakened their demon heart and the ranks of their bloodline is known.

There are four bloodline ranks- Lesser Bloodline, Common Bloodline, Noble Bloodline, and Royal Bloodline.

And each of these bloodlines are also divided into minor grade, greater grade, superior grade, and supreme grade.

The rank of a demon’s bloodline 90% of the time determined a demon’s future, and it was also why the Coming of Age Rite was very important.

As Simon sat cross-legged in an empty room that had been given to him to undergo his Coming of Age, he could not help but look at the sky and recall the words a member of the Shadowgrave Clan told him.

The clan member explained to him the Coming of Age rite and what he should expect.

And his words was the reason he was specifically looking at the two moons in the sky.

The demon realm was not like Earth which had just a single orange sun, and neither was it like Earth which had a single silver moon.

The demon realm had two moons, a crimson and black moon, and these two moons play a very crucial role in a demon’s Coming of Age.

In fact, without these two moons, demons would not be able to awaken their demon heart.

When a demon turned sixteen, the crimson moon first shines its light on the demon, and then the process begins.

The crimson moon pours out demonic energy into the demon in the form of a crimson ray of light, then the demonic energy stirs the demon’s heart awake.

According to the demon, this process is usually not life threatening, but it could end the lives of demons who were not prepared or who had exceptionally weak wills.

As usual, the awakening of a demon’s heart came with a lot of pain.

But what was pain to Simon after all he went through?

If countless demon kids were able to withstand the pain, then it was nothing to him.

Simon waited with a calm expression, then he felt it.

His heartbeat was slower but and much quieter than before. He felt nauseous for a moment, but he shook his head and shook off the nausea.

He squinted and turned away as the crimson moon let down its light on him, and although the light was not bright but dim, it was extremely bright to Simon because he stared directly at the crimson moon.

Simon felt a yearning desire erupt in the depths of his heart, and his heartbeat which was beginning to slow down began to rise.

It was faster and it was also louder. Not too loud than outsiders could heart, but loud enough for Simon to notice the difference.

He closed his eyes, then he waited and observed.

The next step was for his bloodline to absorb the demonic energy on its own, and this was what determined the rank of the demon’s bloodline.

The higher the rank of a demon’s bloodline, the more demonic energy it absorbed and needed to fully awaken the demon’s heart.

And how do demon’s measure how much demonic energy has been absorbed?

A few seconds later, a crimson ring slowly formed out of thin air around Simon’s body.

The crimson ring was faint, but with every second and minute that passed, it became clearer and clearer.

After six minutes, it solicited like a real ring and began to rotate slowly around Simon, then in the next minute, another crimson ring was formed above the first crimson ring.

And just like the first crimson ring, the second crimson ring slowly became more solid and began to rotate.

These rings signified the rank of a demon’s bloodline, and the number of rings showed what exact grade the demon’s bloodline was.

A single crimson ring meant that the demon had a Lesser Bloodline at the Minor Grade.

Two crimson rings meant that the demon had a Lesser Bloodline at the Greater Grade.

Three crimson rings meant that the demon had a Lesser Bloodline at the Superior Grade.

Four crimson rings meant that the demon had a Lesser Bloodline at the Supreme Grade.

Five crimson rings meant that the demon had a Common Bloodline at the Minor Grade.

And this was the trend up until the ninth ring.

The first crimson ring to the eighth crimson ring signified that the demon had either a Lesser Bloodline or a Common Bloodline, and the number of rings the demon produced specified the exact grade of the bloodline.

But from the ninth ring, it began to change.

The first change would be that the demon would no longer be bathed by the demonic energy of the Crimson Moon but by the demonic energy of the Black Moon.

This would cause the Black Moon and the Crimson Moon to shift, and the changes it would cause to the entire demon realm would be immense.

Whenever this occurred, every knowledgeable demon knew just what it signified and powerful clans and kingdoms usually sent out their members to search for the demon who was the cause behind this change.

Unlike the first to eighth rings, the ninth ring would be black.

And the ninth black ring signified that the demon possessed a Noble Bloodline at the Minor Grade.

The tenth black ring signified that the demon possessed a Noble bloodline at the Greater Grade.

This was the trend up until the sixteenth black ring which meant that the demon possessed a Royal Bloodline at the Supreme Grade.

A demon possessing sixteen black rings would send waves throughout the entire demon realm and even the gods would notice, but such an event had not occured for a long time.

Even the Demon King of Death Simon killed did not possess a Royal Bloodline at the Supreme Grade.