Hao. The Awakening of the Chosen (Finish)

Chapter 5.1

Viktor didn't know what to say, he was amazed, he had loved the play; it was simple but emotive with a technological touch.

I glanced at my friends to see their reactions.

"How was it? Did you like it? I have to admit, even though I like to criticize Dad, it was spectacular," I said. "It was good," Pedro replied, trying to hide his excitement. "I loved it," Lua responded. "Wow," Álvaro replied. "It portrayed Christmas well, I liked it," Santiago said.

As we left the amphitheater, I felt as if I were one of Santa's reindeer, jumping as if I might take off into the air at any moment. My friends seemed to feel the same. We decided to go to a restaurant for a drink before heading home.

Upon arrival, I ordered my usual, a cappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate, a delight. My friends had honeyed nectar. The waiter promptly attended to us, and for starters, we had a serving of chili prawns in a glass, several prawns positioned vertically within the glass, soaked in liquid chili—absolutely delicious.

After finishing the appetizer, we accompanied Santiago to his house, the farthest from all of us. The rest of us lived relatively close to each other. After dropping everyone off, Lua walked with me toward my house. She bid me goodbye with a hug, and I closed the door behind me. Mother was in the living room, teaching one of the household robots how to prepare a cheesecake, my favorite dessert. Upon seeing me, she pushed the robot aside and came to kiss me.

"How was the play? Did it meet your expectations?" Mother asked. "It was amazing. It was about a hungry herd that no one wants to help except Santa, who feeds them and turns them into Santa's nine reindeer, with special effects and all. This year Dad has outdone himself, it was fantastic. How about you?" I asked. "Here, teaching the domestic bot how to make your favorite dessert, the cheesecake, but it doesn't learn. It always makes the same mistakes—can't put the cake in the oven without yeast and flour. But it insists on doing it repeatedly, and I don't know how to explain it," Mother replied. "Wait, let me handle it."

Addressing the bot, I said, "The cake doesn't go in the oven first. First, the flour, then the yeast. Mix them, and only then do you put it in the oven." The bot repeated what I said in a metallic voice, "First yeast, oven, and then flour." "No, follow the order I told you: flour, yeast, and then the oven. Do you understand?" I said to the robot. "Flour, yeast, and oven." "Good, that's it." "Well, Mother, I'm going up to my room. I'm a bit sleepy." "Goodnight, I love you."

I went up to my room, lay down on the bed, wishing to be like Orca, living peacefully, without problems or obligations. But before I could linger on that thought, the mirror started ringing again. I hurried to it, pulled aside the sheet, and Lukotico spoke to me excitedly.

"Brother, I have something to tell you. I found the first Luminic; his name is Gonzalo. He's a very generous poor boy who dedicates himself to feeding hungry children at an inn. I'm trying to get close to him so we can go together to another realm to find the next Luminic. By the way, I have to tell you another secret. Do you know who Giorgi is? Well, somehow, he got into the bag I carried and I have him in this world. Thanks to him, I've located it. If you remember from school, you would have studied that astral animals have another sense, the ability to locate Luminics. They have a distinctive aura that we can't detect, but they can." "That's fantastic news. How many Luminics do you need to find?" I asked. "Let me see. The prophecy said the following:

Six chosen ones you must find And a wise leader must show his mind To uncover the great resolution For the terrible and mighty commotion

"So, are there six or seven Luminics?" "I interpret the prophecy as referring to six Luminics and then a wise leader who isn't a Luminic. Together, they must save the Samiz from the bad and dictatorial influence of the Whisperers of the Night." "That might be it. When the time comes, I hope you know who the leader is because I think it'll be harder to locate. Thanks to Giorgi, you'll be able to find the six, but the leader is a different story; mark my words," I affirmed. "Perhaps. Let's focus on the present first. I must get closer to Gonzalo so that we can go together to the next realm to find the next Luminic. And I must think about what to do with his brother Berto; I have to assign him a role to help his brother but not hinder his task, as if he were his vassal. We'll see. By the way, how's everything there?" Lukotico asked. "Good. Today, I went with Lua and the rest of the gang to see Dad's new play called 'Santa Is Not Available.' I loved it, but I won't tell Dad so that it doesn't get to his head. Well, I'll leave you; I'm very sleepy. We can talk tomorrow if you want. Goodbye," I bid farewell. "Goodbye."

I covered the mirror again, took off all my clothes and boots, and lay back on the bed, feeling exhausted from the play but unable to fall asleep. After several minutes that felt endless, I finally fell asleep on the bed because it was so hot that I didn't want to even cover myself with sheets.