Wielder Of The Dragon Flame

Chapter 13

The smile stayed on Asta's face even as heat crept up his neck. He wasn't embarrassed exactly,more resigned. Of course Kael would single him out, even without naming him directly.

 The old man had spent countless hours trying to coax the dragon flame out of Asta's stubborn body, and they both knew how spectacularly those attempts had failed. But Asta had excelled at everything else,the sword work, the hand-to-hand combat, the tactical drills. That had to count for something, didn't it?

Old man Kael's gaze moved on, and Asta released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The old man's expression softened slightly as he continued addressing the crowd.

"But I want you all to understand something important." 

Kael said, his voice growing stronger, more passionate.

 "Difficulty is not the same as defeat. Struggle is not the same as failure. Every single person in this room has faced challenges,that's why you're here in the labor section instead of in some prestigious squad, right?"

A few bitter laughs echoed through the crowd, but Kael pressed on, undeterred.

"But you know what? I've trained soldiers, elite guards, royal flame wielders, and I can tell you with absolute certainty,some of the strongest people I've ever met started exactly where you are now. At the bottom. Struggling. Doubting themselves." 

He paused, letting that sink in. 

"The difference between those who rise and those who don't isn't talent. It isn't a natural ability. It's not even how powerful your flame is or what prestigious clan you come from."

Kael's hand came up, forming a fist that he held high in the air.

"It's this! It's determination! It's the refusal to give up even when everything and everyone tells you that you should! It's waking up every single morning and choosing to try again, even after you've failed a hundred times before!"

His words hit Asta right in the chest, resonating with something deep inside him. Around him, he could see others straightening, lifting their heads, expressions shifting from resigned to something more hopeful.

"You think the elite squads have it easy?" 

Kael continued, his voice rising. 

"You think Cassian Xavier and his people never struggle, never doubt, never fail? They do! Everyone does! The only difference is they've learned to push through it, to use their failures as fuel instead of letting them become chains!"

"Yeah!" 

Someone shouted from the back of the crowd, and suddenly more voices joined in.

"That's right!"

"Tell them, Old Man Kael!”

The energy in the room was shifting, becoming electric. Asta felt it washing over him, felt his own spirits lifting despite the weight of his repeated failures with the dragon flame.

"So when you face your next challenge."

 Kael said, his voice dropping slightly but losing none of its intensity, 

“When you hit that wall that seems impossible to climb, when you fail at something you've tried a thousand times,I want you to remember that every failure is a lesson. Every setback is preparation for your comeback. Every moment of struggle is forging you into someone stronger than you were before!"

"Yes!" 

The crowd was responding now, feeding off Kael's energy, voices rising in agreement and encouragement.

"Can I count on you all to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep believing in yourselves?"

"Yes!" 

The response was thunderous now, hundreds of voices united in affirmation.

"Can I count on you to support each other, to lift each other up when someone falls?"

"Yes!" 

Even louder this time. Asta found himself shouting along with everyone else, his fist raised in the air, his heart pounding with renewed determination.

"Then show me! Show the entire academy! Show everyone who's ever dismissed you or underestimated you what the labor section is really made of!"

The crowd erupted, cheering, shouting, whistling. The noise was deafening, filling the quarters and probably echoing throughout the entire complex. Asta was grinning now, genuinely grinning, the smile reaching his eyes for the first time in weeks. 

Around him, people were clapping each other on the back, exchanging excited looks, feeding off the collective energy that Kael had sparked.

Old Man Kael stood on the platform, letting the moment build, a satisfied smile on his weathered face. 

He raised his hands gradually, calling for quiet, and slowly the noise began to die down, though the energy remained, crackling in the air like lightning waiting to strike.

"Now." 

Kael said once he could be heard again, his tone shifting to something more serious.

 "I have an announcement to make. And I'm sorry to say, it's not entirely good news."

The mood shifted immediately, excitement giving way to tension. Murmurs rippled through the crowd 

“What now? What could possibly dampen the moment they'd just shared?”

"The tournament." 

Kael said, and groans erupted before he could even finish. He held up a hand, waiting for silence.

 "The tournament has been postponed again."

"Not again!" 

Someone shouted

from the left side of the crowd.

The murmuring grew louder, voices overlapping in frustration and disbelief.

"This is ridiculous!"