Basking in the morning sunlight, Jasmine gazed through the open window at the rift in the sky—a wound that had split open 150 years ago, resembling shattered glass never meant to be whole again.
It was 6:20 a.m., and the cheerful chirping of birds filled the air.
Her obsidian-black hair, inherited from her father, was tied back in a loose ponytail, swaying gently in the breeze.
Her eyes, crimson-red like polished rubies passed down from her mother, gleamed brightly beneath the rising sun.
Jasmine stood in a simple white tunic dress, freshly awakened, her flawless porcelain skin softly aglow in the morning light. Her expression remained impassive, gaze distant as she stared at the fractured sky.
"Haa…"
A sigh slipped past her lips as she closed the window.
"The weather's beautiful today."
Murmuring to herself, she turned away and began changing.
She slipped into black leather pants that hugged her legs, paired them with a plain white t-shirt, and topped it off with a black cap.
"Good."
With a nod to her reflection, she left the room.
It had been a while since Jasmine last wandered the capital.
The mansion was quiet. The corridors stood still, the servants yet to rise, her parents still lost in their dreams. As she walked, her footsteps slowed.
She had stopped before a familiar door.
Azriel's room.
Her little brother's room...
"Azriel…"
Her heart tightened as she stared at the door that once belonged to him.
He was gone. All their memories together—bickering, playing, laughing, eating—were now just that: memories.
Since his death, nothing had been the same.
The mansion had turned silent, grave-like. Her father buried himself in work. Her mother refused to leave her room.
The air had become suffocating. Jasmine hadn't returned since—until yesterday.
His birthday.
"…Even though I trained so hard, tried to become strong, it wasn't enough to protect you."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
Becoming a hero had always been Jasmine's dream—not for humanity.
For her brother.
She trained relentlessly to grow stronger. Took every lesson seriously, striving to be flawless in knowledge, ability, and conduct.
Praised by all, admired even by her parents, she had always been the center of attention.
The heiress of the Crimson Clan.
The brightest star.
She shone so brightly that even her little brother was left behind, cast in shadow.
When people began comparing them, the whispers came.
Even at banquets, she overheard the voices—thoughtless, cruel.
———"If only your brother were more like you…"
———"Does he even train?"
———"He must've given up. So talentless compared to Princess Jasmine."
———"He's not even worthy of being a prince, not with the other clans' standards."
———"Still a grade 3 dormant? While the others are already an awakened?"
Lies.
How she regretted staying silent back then. How she hated the fake smile she wore.
She hadn't wanted to cause a scene or bring trouble to her parents—or to Azriel.
She wanted to defend him. Wanted to shout how wrong they all were. Because unlike them, she was his sister.
And there was no way she didn't know what Azriel was capable of.
More than anyone, perhaps...
She had seen it herself.
Jasmine had caught her idiot brother training his affinities secretly late at night, the affinities one only got once they became a grade 3 awakened, not a grade 3 dormant, not a normal human.
She had watched in silence from the shadows, stunned.
Watched him train for hours until the sky bled with dawn.
She didn't even know he had dual affinities like her until that night.
Maybe he'd ventured into a death zone alone, fought void creatures without alerting anyone.
She had no idea how he managed it.
Maybe her father knew.
Still, that night, she had smiled.
Seeing his talent, his resolve—it had made her proud.
She never said a word, because she understood. She knew why he stayed hidden.
Until one time she really got fed up and confronted her father about it.
She just couldn't take it anymore, seeing how much people looked down upon her little brother.
But when Jasmine did confront her father about it, all he said was...
———"Azriel made his own choices. Now he has to live with the consequences. If mere rumors are enough to break him, then perhaps he really is unworthy."
Just hearing those cold words from her father made her break into a fight with him and not talk to him for 2 entire weeks until Azriel himself stepped in when he noticed it was because of him that the fight started.
Her own little brother comforted her for something she actually started,
"I truly was a pathetic big sister to you, Azriel… I could never do anything for you…"
Jasmine bit her lip and wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes.
It was ironic, in a cruel way, how her parents now mourned him with every breath—as if they hadn't been just as disappointed in him for not choosing to be a hero.
"As if they didn't once treat him like a burden…"
"Why did you even choose to go to a military base in the first place…"
Shaking her head, the grief on her face vanished.
It was replaced by the cold mask she'd worn ever since his death.
She turned her gaze away from the untouched room, now blanketed in dust, abandoned by all.
'I want ice cream...'