Chapter 2: The World Does Not See Him
Viel stood with great passion, as if the world no longer existed, but the moment he took his first steps, he felt whispers; the words echoed across the entire continent.
"Mother, this is the person without a shard, what a disgrace to the village, I feel pity for him, his brother is talent A and he has no shard, what bad luck, hahaha."
Everyone heard the words. Viel thought he was stronger than the world, but what he heard broke his heart. "I… I… I am not pitiful. I possess a Mother Shard. You see nothing, but I will show you everything. Just wait, just wait," Viel spoke to himself, hoping to ease the pressure.
He moved forward, the words never stopped. His steps became harder, his foot almost slipped, but he reached the door, pushed it, and stepped out, only to observe this moment.
He went outside, but even the people outside who had heard the news did not stop whispering.
Viel heard every whisper, even while trying not to. He looked around; his mind seemed ready to explode. Viel walked, head lowered.
At that moment, Viel promised himself, promised himself to be the strongest no matter what happens. "I am immortal, I do not die. I will live longer than all of you. Just wait, until my name echoes from the mouths of your children."
"I only possess a curse. This shard refuses to show itself because you simply do not deserve it."
Viel took faster steps. The despair was clear on his face; only thoughts of the words shone through.
He reached home without realizing when, never thinking about the path or how far he had left, just finding himself in front of the house.
Thoughts overtook him until he forgot himself.
He opened the door. Aunt Chang was sitting; the news had reached her.
She called out loudly, "Viel, Viel." Viel stopped. "Aunt, I want to sleep, I am really tired."
"Do not be sad. Tomorrow, the chosen ones for the Youth Academy will be selected, and as a matriarch of the tribe, I will try to help you enter.
Do not be sad; even if you do not enter, you possess the School of Knowledge—you can become a scholar that everyone wishes to be."
"Aunt Chang, do you feel pity for me?" Viel said coldly.
Aunt Chang was shocked by the reply, becoming tense. "No, I do not feel pity. I only want you to be happy."
"Aunt, Aunt, I possess a Mother Shard. I am someone who possesses a Mother Shard," Viel said. Aunt Chang laughed and replied, "I believe you. Just sit."
Viel was shocked by the response. He thought she might be lying, but so quickly, without thinking, he realized she only wanted to comfort him, though she might have actually believed him.
"Viel, do you know Sheikh Zarail? He has no Mother Shard, yet he became widely famous. He is among the five strongest poison users and the best in the northern continent. You just need to believe in yourself."
Viel thought to himself, "Sheikh Zarail without a Mother Shard, that is impressive. What he does, he even recently joined one of the Ten Factions in the northern continent."
"Aunt Chang, I know Sheikh Zarail's story is impressive, but as long as I dreamed of being the strongest, as long as I dreamed of being the best, as I told you, I possess a Shard, so I am not like Sheikh Zarail."
She was shocked by his words but said calmly, "You will be better. I believe in that."
"Viel, I will remind you again, tomorrow they will announce the chosen ones for the Youth Academy, about 200 names. At this time, I will try my best as a matriarch to help."
Viel replied, "Thank you, Aunt. Even if I am not chosen, I will not be sad." Viel was lying; he would be very sad.
"Go to sleep as I said. I will go to the council meeting."
Viel went to his bed while Aunt Chang entered the meeting.
Aunt Chang entered the meeting and sat on her chair. There were about 13 elders.
The eldest elder spoke: "We have received great talents, and in the tests, we have one talent of grade A, two talents of grade B, and 45 talents of grade C.
But we regret that there was an anomaly among the students: a young man without a Mother Shard. Isn't that right, Sheikh Chang?"
Chang was shocked. The question was directed at her. She was the closest person to Viel; if she admitted he had no shard, it would confirm everything. "I… I do not know yet."
Aunt Chang replied while the elders looked at her with disdain, "You defend someone without a shard. Are you going to say he deserves to enter the academy?"
Aunt Chang replied angrily, "Yes, I will say it. Why would he not deserve it? He will enter no matter what happens."
The elders started discussing, but suddenly the chief elder said: "Stop. In your view, it seems as if you are not elders."
Those who wanted Viel to enter the academy just raised their hands. The chief elder counted how many hands were raised: "One," only Aunt Chang.
Aunt Chang was deeply saddened. "All of you are despicable. Just imagine your grandson or child in Viel's place. I swear you would defend him with your lives. But I am just a girl, a matriarch of treatment; I cannot fight." Aunt Chang cried bitterly while leaving the hall.
She sat beside the hall and continued crying. "Viel, Viel, I am truly sorry. I could not do anything. I hope you will be happy even if you do not enter the academy."
Someone left the hall. It was the second chief elder. "Sheikh Chang, do not be sad. It is fate. Viel may have a better life. We now need you to vote with us, just stand."
Chang stood and entered the hall again.
Some sympathized with her, while others wanted to stand with her but were stopped by fear. The chief elder intervened and broke the silence: "Now, we shall choose."
While everyone chose between "No" and "Yes," Aunt Chang chose "Yes" each time, with a generous heart.
Hours passed until they chose all students for the academy. The chief elder said, "The announcement of names will be tomorrow. Everyone will come to the exhibition square, where the names will be announced."
Aunt Chang left, broken, angry, sad. Overwhelmed by emotions, she could only feel guilt.
She returned home, walked up the stairs, reached the second floor, and opened the door to Viel, who seemed asleep, pretending.
Aunt Chang sat beside the bed. "Viel, I am sorry. I really am. I could not do anything. I tried every way, but you were not chosen. Before leaving, the second chief elder 'Myung' told me he would talk to the chief elder about the matter. Do not lose hope, please Viel, do not lose hope."
Tears fell from Chang's face, reaching her cheeks. Viel heard everything. He felt sad for her, wanting to speak but could not. He thought, "Aunt Chang, do not apologize. I am the one who felt shame and disgrace. I am the reason. If you had someone better than me, you would be proud now. But there is still a chance, I suppose."
After speaking, Aunt Chang got up and closed the door, walking to her room feeling responsible, though she had no connection to the matter.
She slept, hoping sleep would help.
The next morning, Aunt Chang did not say anything to Viel, and Viel did not ask.
She broke the silence: "The announcement will be at the exhibition square."
"I will leave shortly. You come after me in about an hour. By that time, the name presentation will begin. I hope you are one of them," she said with a smile.
Then she said, "Goodbye," and left.
Viel stayed in place, asking himself, "Should I go?" He knew he was not chosen, but there was hope: "The second elder."
Viel stood and decided to leave.
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A large crowd gathered at the exhibition square. Aunt Chang looked around but did not see Viel among the attendees. "He is late. Where is he?" she thought, fearing he would not come.
Suddenly, Viel entered. Everyone looked at him. As usual, they whispered among themselves, while Viel ignored them.
He sat in a chair alone, not caring about people's words this time, deciding to make his aunt proud.
The chief elder began speaking.
"I am pleased with your presence today to announce the students who will serve the tribe, the new children of the tribe. As you have seen, we had many talents, so today will be different."
"We have 189 names."
One of the elders stepped forward and said: "The names will be announced. I hope everyone remains silent so each person hears their name."
The crowd fell silent. "The chief begins announcing the names."
The first chosen name is "Hon Thain."
The second is "Hon Yun."
The third is "Hon Hon."
The fourth is "Hon Kin."
The fifth is "Hon Eyun."
He announced the names one by one, with cheers and joy after each name.
The names continued until the last ones.
Name 187: "Hon Gheir."
Name 188: "Hon Jamaygh."
Viel's name had not been called yet. He was nervous. "This is the last name, this is the last name."
Aunt Chang was even more tense than Viel. They were waiting for the name with bated breath. Their patience was nearly gone.
The name… 189, the last student, is "Hon Jein."
Viel's name was not mentioned. At that moment, something inside him broke. He thought he would not feel anything if his name was not called, but in the moment, he did not know what to do.
He almost turned to leave, but suddenly someone from the crowd spoke. His voice was cold, with long black hair, dressed in black, and red eyes that seemed to see nothing.
He stepped forward and said, the chief elder "Athril."
The chief elder spoke calmly as if speaking to his son, "Hello, what do you need, Thain?"
The person stepping forward was Thain. The crowd was shocked. "What does the future of the tribe need? He has already been tested. What more does he need?"
Thain spoke calmly, "Chief Elder, as the chosen, I want to relinquish my position and give it to my brother Viel," pointing at Viel.
Viel was extremely shocked, thinking to himself, "Does this fool want to give up his position? Has he lost his mind? Does he love me or pity me?" Viel hesitated, thinking.
The chief elder was the most shocked. "Are you serious? You want to leave the academy? Calm down, there are better options."
The chief elder stepped forward and said, "As the chief elder, I announce that 'Hon Viel' is the chosen number 190."
Viel and Aunt Chang were shocked. Aunt Chang almost cried but held herself back. As for Viel, he did not know how to take it. "I have been chosen, and because of whom, because of the person I hate most."
Viel hated Thain intensely. He was the person who did not grieve for their mother when she died. Since then, Viel had hated Thain.
"Is he trying to reconcile with me? I do not understand what this person wants," many questions ran through Viel's mind.
As the crowd and attendees began to leave, Thain was about to go, but a hand behind him grabbed him.
Viel spoke, with a broken tone, "Do you feel pity for him or what? Why did you do this?" This was the first time Viel had spoken to Thain in years.
Thain replied calmly with a smile, "Hello, younger brother Viel. I did not feel pity. You are my brother. I cannot imagine the academy without you. Isn't that right?"
Thain was lying, but Viel was not stupid; he knew he was lying. "Just because he's my brother?" Viel decided not to continue and said, "Anyway, thank you."
Viel thanked him begrudgingly. On the other side, Thain turned and did not speak, he stepped forward and left the exhibition square.
Viel did not understand what happened today. He too left the exhibition square.
End of Chapter.