The path in the mountain was steep but not too much; at least, it was not a route my seven-year-old self couldn't do.

The one who worried me the most was the new member of our family, Sefie Dibelos, my four-year-old sister. Of course, they were unfounded worries since Vindel thought the same and had carried her on his shoulders the entire journey.

I don't know if it was because Telize thought I would be jealous of the attention my sister was getting, but she hasn't let go of my hand since Vindel lifted Sefie onto her shoulders.

Honestly, I'm a little offended that she thinks I'd be jealous of something like that; rather, I would have offered to carry her myself if I could. However, I imagine it's common for little kids to be jealous of their younger siblings, so I don't blame her.

My sister, like me, inherited Telize's golden eyes and Vindel's silver hair, so it was confirmed which were the strongest genes of each one. And, of course, it wasn't the normal ones...

Okay, maybe what I consider abnormal isn't so in this world, and perhaps I'm exaggerating. But in my defense, only the three of us in our village have silver hair. If that's not strange, then what is?

Be that as it may, even though Sefie's features were as weird as mine, she was a beautiful creature in my eyes; I could never be envious of her. I'm serious; for me, an only child in my previous world, it was a gift from the heavens to have someone with whom I could share the rest of my life.

And speaking of the heavens…, gods were precisely the reason why our family, and a few others, walked through the trees on this small mountain path. Our objective was the temple of the "seven greats" on the top of this mountain near our village.

And no, it was not a coincidence that after having turned seven years (or seven cycles, as they would say in this world), we went to the temple of the seven great ones. All seven-year-old children had to do so on these dates to participate in the consecration ceremony.

*****

After quite a bit of walking, our group of more or less thirty people made up of families from nearby villages, finally reached its destination, a small lake near the top of the mountain.

The lake, for some mysterious reason, was crystal clear and had a mystical air around it, but what caught my attention the most was the gigantic tree located near it or, rather, the structure around its trunk. It looked like a group of tiny houses with pointed roofs piled up, one on top of the other.

The construction, which seemed to be a village carved into the gigantic tree, had only one large double door, the same that soon burst open, generating a roar that alerted everyone.

"Rebellious brats! I see you've finally decided to come!"

"Oracle! The faithful know that it is forbidden to visit sacred places at will! Please stop urging them to break the rules!"

"Pff, my boredom at being confined in this place is more important than the famous rules. I want more excitement in my life!... Ah! They better have brought the candy they promised me!"

"Oracle! Also stop making kids promise to bring you alilas when they come back!"

"Of course, I want them brought to me sooner! But they don't listen! They only show up for ceremonies! Most of them when they already have children of their own!"

"That's not the issue!"

If I remember correctly, alilas are those sweet balls that Telize prepared yesterday; she said they were a kind of offering. I hadn't understood what she meant until now...

Two figures dressed in white robes with gold embroidery had emerged from the opened door. The first was a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old and was advancing towards us with a determined step. She was followed closely by a young woman holding her head in exasperation.

While the pointed ears gave the young woman away as a member of the mythical elven race, the appearance of the girl preceding her caught my attention the most. She had navy blue hair that reached her knees and long floppy ears that reminded me of a lamb's. Also, her golden eyes were very similar to mine and the rest of my mother's family.

From what I could understand from the conversation, the little girl is the oracle, who, according to Vindel's explanation, is the highest-ranking person in a temple and, at the same time, the one in charge of communicating with the gods.

She is not exactly the same as the oracles of my world, but it seemed to me that the word oracle was the most accurate translation.

"I'm not going to bore you with the details, brats... Ah... Of course, I was talking to the little brats; I hope the big brats... I mean, I hope the parents have already explained the fundamentals before coming here," said the little girl once she arrived before us.

"Oracle, please be more respectful of the ceremony. And I'll repeat it: being hundreds of years old is no reason to treat the rest of the world as brats," the elf sighed, bringing one of her hands back to her forehead.

The aforementioned glanced at her accompanying priestess out of the corner of her eye but continued explaining without paying any heed.

"As you know, in the consecration ceremony, the children must dedicate each of the seven years they have already lived to each of the seven great gods. If you manage to attract the attention of one of them, you may receive a blessing."

I previously heard from Vindel that the order of the dedications is up to each one. Still, by tradition, the year you are born is always dedicated to Eferida, the goddess of light and life, who represents the beginning, while the last year should be to Liliefer, the goddess of darkness, the night, and death, that is to say, the end. Among the seven siblings, these two sisters are the most powerful.

The oracle guided us to the edge of the water; from there, a row of stones formed a path to a round platform that stood out in the center of the small lake.

"Very well, the children will form a line with their parents; in each one's turn, I will accept the expressions of affection from the parents to celebrate our reunion after so many years..."

"Oracle! Every year, it's the same with you!"

"Let's finish these formalities quickly; then I want to talk to everyone and learn the recent news from the outside world!"

"…"

"At least recite the prayer so we can start..."

The childlike ancient being, smiling at what seemed to be her assistant's capitulation, approached the water and clasped her hands.

Although the attitude and appearance of the oracle were that of a little girl, the twenty minutes of total calmness in which her melodic voice was reciting some complicated-sounding words made me see her in a better light.

By the time she had finished reciting, the water began to move and stir as if the wind was blowing over it. This scene scared the children, who had to be calmed down by their parents.

"Don't worry, precious," said Telize, caressing Sefie's cheek, who almost began to cry on Vindel's shoulders. "You still have another three years before walking on the stones of truth."

"Are you okay, Rendal?" Vindel asked, looking in my direction.

"Well, I'm going to believe it's not boiling water like you promised me yesterday. If that is the case, there is no problem."

Vindel and Telize looked at me smiling; they were already used to my attitude, which did not represent my current age. What can I say? I'm a terrible actor. I should have tried to fake fear a little more.

To tell the truth, it's not that I'm calm, knowing that I'm going to walk on magical water that moves by itself; I'm just bad at expressing it.

The children began to advance in turns along the stone path amid the sounds of joy that the little blue-haired creature emitted when receiving the sweets their respective parents gave her.

At first, I was a little worried that one of the children might fall into the water, which moved as if it were a river instead of a lake. But the stones were flat enough, and despite the movement of the water, they were not getting wet.

Also, for my peace of mind and that of the parents, the elf always had her attention on the children. Even the oracle glanced at them from time to time as she chewed sweets and talked to the parents.

When a child reached the center of the lake, they would kneel, and sometimes, the water would illuminate green. A few lights resembling fireflies would emerge from the illuminated water to flutter around the surprised boy or girl.

When this happened, everyone present applauded. But most of the time, after a child kneeled, there was no change in the turbulent lake. In these cases, the oracle would give the depressed child a reassuring smile and give them one of the sweets that she had accumulated during the ceremony. It looked like a slightly older sister was sharing her candy with her little siblings.

The ceremony itself went on without any significant surprises. Speaking of them, the biggest one was the one I received a couple of days ago when I found out that there were people who could use magic or receive blessings from the gods. But, considering my current situation and the existence of fantasy beings in this world, it didn't take long for me to accept it.

Of course, very few people could use magic, and if anyone received a blessing in our village or in one of the neighboring ones, it was usually a minor blessing and came from the goddess Amitera, who reigned over the earth and nature.

This goddess was the patron saint of peasants, so all the nearby villages revered her, and she reciprocated this veneration by blessing several of their villagers. Precisely, the green glow of the water and the firefly-like lights corresponded to her powers.

The blessing itself was called "green touch" and consisted of giving more vitality to the vegetables planted by the person who received it. It wouldn't help you be the hero in some adventure, but if your livelihood depended on your work on the land, receiving it or not could change your life.

It took a while, but I finally saw my turn approaching. We had positioned ourselves well at the back of the line, along with the other members of our village. These included a family with red-haired twins, a brother, and his sister, as well as another family with a girl with light brown hair and green eyes.

The girl in question was called Liselotte, and for some time, she had been looking at me with admiration, firstly because of the story that circulated in the village about my battle against the batenka when I was barely two years old and also because I usually explain things to the children in her group, like that the water was not blue but only reflected the color of the sky, pretty basic stuff.

I much preferred talking to them than being forced to play in the mud.

In short, my savant status to Liselotte was the result of my failed attempt to blend in with my peers to appear normal and not worry my current parents. I had forgotten how easily impressionable the slippery-nosed little creatures were.

On the other hand, I haven't talked much with the twins yet. Their family had arrived earlier this year after their previous village was burned down in a skirmish with the neighboring country. Fortunately, the villagers had been warned in time and were able to escape before the enemy arrived.

Vindel was one of the people helping them build their cottage, so I had a few opportunities to meet them. But they limited themselves to giving me an aggressive look with their blue eyes and kept playing on their own. Maybe they had been the popular kids in their village, and they didn't like someone to have a superior status among the children of their new one...

I don't know what I did to deserve to be thrown into the world of children's drama again, but I must do my best to escape as soon as possible. Children can be terrible when they set out to be.

But my worries about future bullying for standing out too much may have been in vain. Liselotte not only obtained a blessing from Amitera, but it was so great that the sky over the lake was filled with so many little green lights that the girl could barely be seen among the swarm of fake fireflies.

Even the oracle stopped chewing her candy for a few seconds while observing Liselotte. When the newly blessed child returned to the lake's shore, the small creature with long blue hair and bright golden eyes rushed to congratulate her.

"Liselotte has obtained a greater blessing," declared the woman with the figure of a girl of twelve or thirteen years old. She then put her arms together and puffed out her cheeks, forming a defiant expression on her face (I guess that was her intention, but she looked more like a pouting child). Also, her ears were now lifted and looked more like a rabbit's than a lamb's. "But I don't want you to pester her with questions! The true nature of her blessing will be known in time as she herself grows and develops as a person."

Although I was happy at the prospect of no longer being the nail that sticks out to just be hammered, I had mixed feelings about leaving that position to little Liselotte.

She, for her part, radiating happiness, approached me even before her parents to be congratulated. I must remember to stop talking to her starting tomorrow, or someone might accuse me of being a criminal...

But, while the whole Liselotte affair generated uproar among the parents of our village, it wasn't until the twins' turn that everyone, including the oracle and her assistant, was left with their mouths open.

To think I was afraid of standing out too much by defeating poultry or knowing a little more than the rest in a medieval society... It seemed ridiculous now compared to the sea of flames that I witnessed at that moment.