The capital felt like a dream carved in gold and order.
Floating roads. Towering spires. Streets lined with mana-forged trees that glowed at night. The Empire's pride.
But I didn't stop to admire it.
I kept walking, Rena beside me, toward the Hall of Core Awakening.
All first-years were required to pass through the Elemental Crystal on their first day. It judged them. Chose them. Named them.
Rena's turn came before mine. Her flame leapt the moment she touched the crystal. Crimson light filled the hall. A perfect fire core. No surprise.
The crowd murmured.
Then a noble stepped up. Dual elements: wind and lightning. Another had water and light. The royals applauded.
Then came my name.
"Ronin Kael."
I stepped forward.
The room grew still. I could feel it—eyes filled with doubt, curiosity, and silent laughter.
They remembered my last name.
I raised my hand to touch the crystal—
"That won't be necessary."
A voice like iron.
I froze.
Three cloaked Reclaimers stepped from the shadows, bearing the sigil of the Ninth Pillar.
My father's crest.
The room gasped as they seized my arms, forcing me back.
"By order of Archlord Kael, the boy is to be detained for unauthorized artifact possession and forbidden blueprint reconstruction."
No one stopped them.
Not the instructors.
Not the nobles.
Not even Rena.
I didn't fight. I just looked at the crystal one last time as they dragged me down the polished marble halls.
---
The office hadn't changed.
Still cold. Still spotless.
Like him.
He stood behind a desk made of hollowglass and polished mythril. Regal robes. Eyes that saw mistakes in everything they looked at—including me.
"You really thought you could come here without my approval?"
I didn't speak.
I was already slipping into the past.
---
Flashback I
I was eight when I built my first tower using chalk and stone. I showed it to him, excited, trembling.
He looked at it once and said:
"That's not a tower. That's a waste of symmetry."
---
Flashback II
I was ten when my mother left.
No goodbye. Just a quiet morning and a cracked teacup left on the table.
He never spoke of her again.
Just locked her workshop and told me to stop asking.
---
Flashback III
I was twelve when I first felt the stone move under my hand.
He saw it. His face changed.
Not with pride.
With fear.
"You'll stop that. Immediately."
But I didn't.
---
Back in the present, I met his gaze.
"You dragged me out in front of everyone. You want to kill my chances?"
"I'm trying to save your life."
He turned away, voice quieter.
"The path you're on—the whispers, the runes, the shadows—you don't know what that power does to people."
"I do," I said.
"It destroys them."
"Then let me burn."
He paused.
For just a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes. Regret? Guilt?
Then it was gone.
"You're not my son while you walk this path."
I stood. My wrists were still bruised from the Reclaimers.
"Then I guess I'm finally free to build."
I walked out without looking back.