'I failed?'
The silence was deafening to Noctis, his heart pounding louder and louder in his ears, until even that frantic rhythm was drowned out by what came next from all around him.
Instead of clapping, or even the tense silence from before, there was mocking laughter, low, toned-down giggles that quickly grew louder, erupting wildly into the air.
He turned before him, noticing the Elder's murmurs.
Some wore expressions of disbelief, others stared blankly, but all shared the same disappointment in their eyes.
A Failed Awakening wasn't impossible in this world.
They were indeed people who just had no elemental attunement at all, doomed to be nothing but weak mortals until their death.
But they were a clan of Awakeners, with Awakening blood flowing through them.
A Failed Awakening ought to be an impossibility, but when it does occur, it wasn't just a failure; it was a stain to their clan's Image.
But even with a failed awakening, Noctis did not waste a second more.
