Kade took a slow breath.
He felt the weight of generations pressing into his spine, the legacy of House Caelum, the eyes of the nobles, the whispers of expectation.
He walked forward, the marble floor beneath him cold and echoing. Each step felt like the toll of a bell.
His friends watched from the sidelines, Liora's hands clenched tight, Joren nodding once as if to say you've got this, Mina with her lips pressed in a tense line.
Kade stood before the Crystal of Veritas again.
The same crystal that had sparked and flared for dozens before him.
Now it was his turn.
He swallowed hard and placed his hand on its surface.
It was cold. Solid. Familiar... and yet nothing.
No hum.
No glow.
No warmth.
The crystal dimmed, its usual vibrant aura fading under his palm.
A silence cracked across the hall.
Then came the first whisper.
"…Did it just… die?"
"Is it malfunctioning?"
A woman gasped. "No… no way. That's the Caelum boy."
"Maybe he needs a second maybe he didn't focus."
Another voice, sharper, cold:
"Maybe he has nothing to focus."
Kade's hand trembled on the crystal.
"I... I can try again," he muttered, barely above a whisper.
The teachers hesitated. The announcer blinked rapidly, uncertain.
The Chief Evaluator nodded slowly. "Let him."
Kade drew another breath, this one shaky, uncertain. He planted his feet, squared his shoulders, and pressed his palm firmly against the surface again.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Still.
Nothing.
Not a spark.
Not a flicker.
The Crystal of Veritas, ancient and unerring, sat inert under his hand. A wave of murmurs rippled like fire through dry grass.
"Is the crystal broken?"
"No, it worked for everyone else!"
"I don't believe this… He's... he's unranked?"
"What does that even mean?"
The Chief Evaluator stared at the stone, mouth parted. "No… no, this can't be right," he muttered to himself.
High above, nobles shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
Some whispered.
Some sneered.
A few laughed quietly behind gloved hands.
One noblewoman turned to another with a smirk. "So much for the shining star of House Caelum."
The announcer coughed into his scroll. "Ahem. N-next, please."
He skipped Kade's name. Didn't call a rank. Didn't list him.
Just moved on.
As though he were invisible.
As though he didn't exist.
--------------------
The Awakening Ceremony ended in a blur. Students filtered out in excited clusters, many buzzing about their powers, their futures.
Kade walked slowly, alone, heart pounding in his ears.
He didn't even make it to the stairs before the reporters surged like wolves scenting blood.
"Caelum heir, what happened in there?"
"Are the rumors true? Are you powerless?"
"Is this the end of the Caelum genius line?"
Flashbulbs exploded. Quills scratched on floating scrolls.
"Kade! Is this some kind of late-blooming condition?"
"Did your family know about this?"
He shielded his face with one arm, trying to push through.
Then came the nobles.
Whispers.
Some cruel.
Some mocking.
"Even the poorest noble awakened a D-rank…"
"No one will ever marry into that family now."
"Shame. He was handsome, too."
"Maybe he'll awaken a new power: humiliation."
He clenched his jaw and kept walking.
And then, a voice too familiar. Bitter. From behind him.
"Guess he wasn't that special after all."
He froze.
Turned.
It was Roland, a former classmate, always overshadowed by Kade's excellence, he grinned now with venomous glee.
"He acted like he was better than us. Look at him now. Nothing but a fraud."
Roland kicked at Kade's bag, sending it sprawling.
Books tumbled out, papers fluttering across the polished floor like fallen feathers.
Laughter burst around them.
The other students didn't stop it. Some even joined in.
Kade stood frozen, shame boiling in his chest.
His father's face flashed in his mind, prideful, unbending.
What will he say now?
"Hey!" Liora's voice rang out like a whip.
She stormed over and shoved Roland back. "You think this is funny?"
Joren was already helping gather Kade's books. "Real brave of you to pick on someone when he's down."
Mina appeared beside them silently, a firm hand on Kade's shoulder. "Let's go."
Kade didn't say a word.
He didn't trust his voice.
Didn't trust the tears prickling behind his eyes.
Didn't trust the scream building in his throat.
They walked together in silence, their footsteps echoing hollowly across the marble courtyard.
The cheers of other students still rang faintly in the distance. Some were celebrating. Others were being congratulated by their families. The smell of roses from the ceremonial garden was thick in the air, but to Kade, it felt like smoke, bitter, suffocating.
They reached the edge of the school's main steps. That's when Kade stopped.
His hands were clenched into fists at his sides. He didn't turn to them. He just stood there, still. Tense. Like a cracked statue on the verge of shattering.
"I…" His voice came out rough, barely audible.
"I don't understand," he said, forcing the words out. "It was supposed to be me. I... my father said I would be…"
He trailed off.
Liora moved closer, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Kade, listen to me. You don't need a rank to be you."
"She's right," Joren added, stepping forward. "You're still Kade. Still the same guy who beat the professors at strategy games. Who aced spell theory before we even started classes. Who stood up for me in first year when I didn't have a clue what I was doing."
Kade gave a dry laugh that didn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah," he said softly. "But I'm also the guy who couldn't even make the damn crystal flicker."
"Kade…" Mina finally spoke, her voice low, almost a whisper. "That test doesn't define you. It doesn't erase everything you've done, everything you are."
He shook his head slowly. "But it does. Don't you see? All my life… I've been told I'm meant to be something great. That I was destined to shine. House Caelum's next prodigy. A legacy. A name."
He looked up at them then, his eyes glassy, but no tears fell.
"And now… I'm nothing."
Liora stepped forward. "No, you're not."
"I am," he snapped not angry at her, but at himself. "I am. I saw it on everyone's face. The teachers. The nobles. Even the announcer couldn't say my name. They looked at me like I was a mistake."
"You're not a mistake," Joren said firmly. "We believe in you, Kade. Rank or no rank."
There was a beat of silence.
Kade exhaled deeply, then suddenly smiled, a crooked, strained version of the real thing.
"I'm fine," he said. "Really. It's just a stupid test. Just a piece of glowing rock."
Mina blinked. "Kade…"
"Come on," he said with forced cheer. "You saw that guy who awakened the ability to turn teacups invisible? I mean, what the hell is that? At least I don't have to explain that to my parents."
His laugh was too loud. Too hollow. Too fake.
They all looked at him, concern tightening their faces.
"Kade, you don't have to pretend," Liora said gently.
"I'm not pretending," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Seriously. I'm fine. It's been a long day. I just need some time to cool off."
Joren stepped forward. "We can come with you, hang out. Get something to eat. Clear your head."
He shook his head, still wearing that empty smile.
"Nah. You guys go. Celebrate. You earned it. You all awakened, didn't you? No need to waste your time worrying about the guy who failed."
"Don't say that," Mina said softly.
"I'll be okay," he insisted. "Promise."
They didn't believe him. Not really. But he was always the strong one. Always the steady one.
And when he looked at them with that tired, broken smile, they let him go.
Liora squeezed his hand before pulling away. "We're here for you. Don't forget that."
"We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Joren added. "We're not going anywhere."
Mina gave him a quiet nod, her eyes lingering on his for just a moment longer before she turned to walk away with the others.
And just like that, they were gone.
He stood in the empty courtyard.
Alone.
The sun had dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of orange and crimson.
His chest rose and fell, unsteady.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't breathe.
A car rolled up beside the curb.
It was long, sleek, black, the Caelum family insignia etched into the silver handle.
The back door opened slightly.
"Kade."
He looked up slowly.
It was Harven, the family driver. A man in his sixties, face lined with age and loyalty. Dressed sharply in his usual black uniform, cap pulled low over his brow, and eyes always kind.
Harven stepped out and opened the door wider.
"Young master," he said gently, voice warm. "How was school today?"
Kade stared at him for a beat. His lips twitched once. Then again.
"It was… fine," he said flatly.
Harven studied him quietly for a moment. Didn't press. Just gave a nod.
"Very good, sir."
Kade climbed into the back seat, pulling the door shut behind him.
The car started moving, and then the silence wrapped around him like a noose.
His shoulders slumped.
The mask cracked.
Tears slid down his cheeks, soundless and slow.
He pressed a fist to his mouth, biting down hard to keep the sob from escaping.
The weight of it hit him all at once... shame, confusion, fear, grief. The pressure of it curled around his ribs like iron bands.
He turned his face toward the window so Harven wouldn't see.
He didn't want to be seen.
Didn't want to be heard.
He was the Caelum heir. The boy of legend, and right now… He was nothing.
The gates of the Caelum estate creaked open slowly, as if reluctant to let him in.
Kade sat still in the back of the car, barely breathing, his reflection flickering against the window as the mansion rose into view like a monument of condemnation. It stood in its usual towering glory—black-marble columns, silver-trimmed windows, and fountains that whispered secrets in the wind—but tonight, it felt like a tomb.
A tomb for the legacy he'd just shattered.
The car came to a stop.
Two servants waited at the door, but they didn't bow.
Didn't greet him.
Didn't even look him in the eyes.
As if acknowledging him was beneath them now.
He stepped out, legs numb. Every step up the stairs felt like wading through cement. His palms were clammy. His chest too tight to breathe.
Inside, the silence was suffocating.
No music. No clinking of silverware. No soft laughter echoing through the halls.
Just silence.
Dead and cold.
And judgmental.
He caught sight of his mother in the parlor. Elegant as ever, sitting like royalty on her silver-trimmed emerald settee, legs crossed, a book open in her lap. A crystal glass of wine rested beside her untouched.
"Mother," he managed.
Her eyes didn't lift from the page. Not even a twitch of acknowledgment. The fireplace behind her crackled quietly, casting long shadows across her expressionless face.
He swallowed hard and turned away only to find Lucien, his younger brother, descending the stairs in a slow, unhurried strut, holding a goblet he had no business drinking from.
Lucien stopped midway and smirked, swirling the red liquid like it was blood.
"Well, well," he said, voice smooth as venom. "The unranked prodigy finally returns."
Kade tried to walk past him without a word, but Lucien stepped down, blocking his path.
"What happened?" Lucien whispered mockingly. "Did the gods run out of blessings when they got to you?"
Kade turned away and kept walking.
But as he passed the long corridor, a servant standing beside a marble pillar muttered without a trace of respect, "Your father is in the study."
No honorific.
No "Young Master."
Just venom in a sentence.
Kade's legs moved on their own. Past the endless line of portraits all those who came before him. Warriors. Mages. Legends.
Men and women who glowed with power even in oil paint.
He stopped in front of the double doors to his father's study.
His breath caught.
His fingers curled into fists, knuckles white.
He knocked once.
"Enter."
His father's voice was sharp. Cold as ever.
Kade stepped inside.
The room smelled of ink, firewood, and smoke. A tall hearth blazed behind a wall of books. The desk was carved from obsidian-black stone, stacked with scrolls and crystal-tipped pens. Papers littered the floor like discarded dreams.
Behind the desk stood Darnell Caelum, tall, commanding, his broad frame wrapped in layers of midnight robes. His hair was silver, eyes glacial. A man who had conquered nations, shattered enemies, and raised his family name into legend.
And now, he wouldn't even rise to face his son.
"What was the meaning," Darnell said, voice thunderous despite its control, "of what happened at your school today?"
Kade's lips trembled. "I…"
His father's hand slammed down on the desk. Scrolls scattered.
"What is this nonsense I'm hearing across the city? Your name on every headline? Caelum Heir Awakens to Nothing? The Crumbled Legacy? The Prodigy Who Fizzled Out?" he snarled, spitting the words like poison.
"I can still bring pride," Kade whispered. "Maybe not as a warrior, but… I'll study. I'll be a scholar. A historian, maybe. I can contribute in other ways—"
Crack~~
The slap came before the sentence ended.
A flash of white.
A ringing in his ears.
Kade's body crumpled to the floor, cheek burning, head spinning.
He didn't cry, hw just stared at the floor. Eyes wide. Blank.
"What use is a scholar," Alaric said, voice trembling with rage, "in a world ruled by power?"
Kade could taste blood on his tongue, Lucien entered with a smug expression on his face.
"Move," Kade said hoarsely.
Lucien scoffed and tilted his head. "Or what? You'll blink me into oblivion with that pitiful power you don't have?"
"Lucien," came a small, sharp voice.
It was Arielle, their youngest sibling. Barely six, standing behind the staircase with her arms crossed and a fire in her eyes that mirrored their late grandmother's.
"Don't talk to him like that."
Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You taking sides now, baby sister?"
"I'm taking the side of decency," she snapped, stepping into the light. "He's still our brother."
Lucien laughed and took a slow sip. "He was our brother. Now? He's a stain."
Kade winced. But before he could even thank Arielle, another voice cut in.
"Stop it," said Alden, the eldest, stepping in from the east wing.
He was taller than all of them. Strong. Stoic. Respected. The one Kade used to idolize as a boy.
"Lucien, shut your damn mouth."
Lucien turned, startled. "What?"
"I said shut up," Alden barked.
For a moment, the air in the hall thickened like a gathering storm.
"Don't tell him to keep quiet," their father said.
"He's saying the truth."
Kade froze.
Darnell's cold eyes settled on him. "Study? Scholar? Historian? What use are any of those things when the world bows only to strength?"
"I can still—"
"Bring pride?" Alaric repeated mockingly. "You've brought disgrace!"
"I never asked to be powerless!" Kade shouted suddenly, voice cracking. "Do you think I wanted this? To be born without fire, without shadow, without magic? Do you think I wanted to be the only failure in a family of legends?"
"You are a failure," Darnell said without pause. "And I wish I had seen it earlier."
"I tried," Kade whispered, eyes glassy. "I trained. I bled. I wanted to be worthy."
"And you weren't," Lucien said.
A choked sound escaped Arielle's throat.
"Stop it, stop it, all of you!" she shouted. "He's still our family! He's still—"
"Enough, Arielle," their mother said, stepping in now. Her voice was calm, like snow falling on a grave. "Don't waste your breath on a lost cause, he should have died in the womb."
Kade turned to her.
"Mother—"
"I should've smothered you in the crib," she said flatly, brushing past him like he was dust. "At least then, we would've been spared this embarrassment."
Kade's knees buckled.
His hands were trembling now, violently.
A single sob fought its way up his throat but he swallowed it down.
Lucien snickered behind him. "Go cry about it in the garden, maybe the roses will grow from your tears."
"Lucien—" Alden tried again, but Darnell cut him off with a raised hand.
"He's not wrong," their father said. "This boy is a disgrace, no more mine than a beggar on the street."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
And then Kade broke.
"I loved this family," he whispered, his voice a trembling whisper. "I worshipped all of you. I tried to be like you. I wanted to belong here. But you... you only ever loved what I could be, not who I was."
He looked at each of them, his mother, cold as glass. Lucien, grinning like a devil. Alaric, seething. Alden, silent. Arielle, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
And then his gaze landed on Elira, his elder sister.
She hadn't spoken.
She stood by the fireplace, arms folded, face unreadable.
But her eyes, they were red.
Wet.
Trembling.
She looked at him like she wanted to speak. Like something inside her was breaking too.
But she said nothing.
Her silence hurt more than the slap.
More than the betrayal.
"I have no place here," Kade said, his voice hollow now. "I see that clearly."
He turned away.
Walked toward the stairs on legs that barely held him up.
Past Lucien's mocking bow.
Past Alden's clenched jaw.
Past Arielle, who reached out for him, tears falling now but he couldn't stop.
Couldn't bear to stop.
He made it to his room.
Locked the door.
Collapsed to his knees.
And then the sobs came.
Raw.
Ugly.
Unstoppable.
Not the quiet, tear-streaked kind. These were the kinds that stole your breath. That clawed at your chest. That made you curl into yourself like a dying animal.
He wept until his throat was raw.
Until his eyes swelled shut.
Until his fingers dug crescent moons into the floor.
And all the while, the words rang in his mind like a curse:
"You are no son of mine."
A knock came on his door, sharp. Brutal.
Before Kade could lift his head, the doors burst open and two armored guards stepped in.
"By Lord Darnell's command," one of them said, voice emotionless, "you are to be removed from the estate immediately."
Kade blinked slowly, confusion swimming through his fogged mind. "What…?"
From the hall behind them, the cold baritone of his father rang out like a final judgment.
"You no longer deserve to live under my roof."
Kade rose shakily to his feet, his breath catching. "Wait—"
"You no longer deserve the protection of this city," Alaric continued, appearing behind the guards, his eyes like steel. "You will be escorted beyond the gates. You will walk the wasteland like the failure you are."
A sudden gasp echoed from the stairs.
His older brother, Alden, appeared, his face twisted in disbelief. "Father, no—! That's a death sentence! That wasteland is crawling with mutated beasts, black fog, and things not even the Watch patrols dare face... You're practically sending him to die!"
Lucien leaned against the railing, wineglass swirling lazily. "Which is the point," he murmured.
Kade looked up at Alden, the only one who had dared raise a voice in his defense.
Alden's voice broke. "He's still your son."
"No," Lord Alaric snapped, eyes never leaving Kade. "He was my son. Now, he's nothing but a stain. I will not let his weakness taint this house another second."
"Don't talk to him like that!" a new voice rang out.
Everyone turned, it was Arielle,tears were streaking down her cheeks as she stepped in front of him, arms out like a shield. "You're all being cruel! He's still our family!"
Lucien rolled his eyes. "He's not our brother," he muttered.
"Shut up, Lucien!" Arielle snapped, voice shrill and brave.
For a moment, silence fell again.
Kade turned to their father, eyes glassy. "Even if I disappointed you… am I worth nothing?"
Darnell said nothing. His silence was colder than any blade.
He nodded at the guards.
"Take him outside the city gates. Leave him there."
A servant marched up and threw a small, worn leather pouch at Kade's feet. It landed with a dull clink.
"That's more than you deserve," the servant said.
Another stepped forward and grabbed Kade by the arm.
He didn't resist.
He was too tired.
Too broken.
They marched him out, past the ancestral halls, past the pillars and portraits, past every moment of memory he had ever clung to.
No one followed.
No one stopped them.
They walked him out through the gates of the Caelum estate, through the city's looming outer walls, past the flickering lanterns and the edge of civilization.
The great iron gates at the city border opened with a groan of rust and old magic.
Rain began to pour. Hard. Icy.
Kade stood in the mud as lightning split the sky.
The guards shoved the pouch of coins into his chest then dropped it in the dirt when he didn't take it.
He bent down slowly, fingers trembling as he picked up the bag.
So light.
So worthless.
The guards turned away without another word.
The gates slammed behind him with a sound like a tomb sealing shut.
Kade turned one last time, staring at the walls that had once been home..
All he had was soaked clothes, shattered pride and empty hands. Thunder cracked again as he took a step into the wasteland.
Then another.
And another.
Until the only thing behind him... was a city that had decided he no longer deserved to exist.