2025-12-15 20:31:45The day of the Power-Checking Ceremony finally came.
The grand hall of Crimson Academy was packed. Students from every big school in the kingdom sat in neat rows. The air smelled like new uniforms and nervous sweat. A huge crystal ball sat on a golden stand in the middle of the stage, waiting.
One by one, students went up. A boy just finished. The crystal glowed bright gold.
“Class A!”
The teacher shouted.
The boy jumped down the steps, punching the air, laughing with his friends.
Then the teacher looked at her list.
“Lucien Pyre!”
Lucien stood up from the front row. Tall, Blood-red hair, perfect smile. He let out a small, confident chuckle and walked to the stage like he owned the place. Girls in the crowd started whispering.
“Look at him…”
“He’s so handsome…”
He stopped in front of the Empress. Who was seated on a high white throne with two strong mage-warriors standing on each side of her.
The Empress smiled kindly.
“I remember you, Lucien Pyre. Your father brought you to the palace when you were twelve, for early awakening rituals,right?”
Lucien rubbed the back of his head, shy but proud.
“Yes, Empress. You really remember me?”
“Of course. Put your hand on the crystal.”
He placed his palm on the ball.
WHOOSH!
White-gold light exploded out of it. The whole hall lit up like daylight.
The Empress stood up with a wide smile on her face.
“Class S!”
The crowd went crazy. Girls screamed. The boys clapped loudly. Lucien bowed again, grinning big.
Next name.
“Cassian Xavier!”
The hall got quiet fast.
“Xavier…?”
“Isn’t that Asta Xavier’s family?”
“Oh man, we’re doomed now…”
From the back row, Elara suddenly jumped and hugged Asta from behind.
“There you are, hot stuff!”
She whispered, voice playful.
Asta’s face turned pink.
“Hey, Elara…”
She nodded toward the stage.
“That your brother?”
“Yeah, he is my brother.”
Cassian walked up the steps slowly. Black uniform is perfect. Face cold with no smile on his face.
He put his hand on the new crystal ball.
CRACK—BOOM!
The crystal didn’t just glow. It exploded. Golden fire shot everywhere. Pieces flew like fireworks. The light was so bright everyone covered their eyes.
When it faded, the Empress was standing again, this time with a big smirk on her face.
“That’s the Xavier blood for you.”
She raised her voice loud and clear.
“Cassian Xavier — SS Class!”
The hall exploded louder than before, this girls began to whine again:
“He’s so handsome!”
“SS class… he’s basically a god!”
“I’m in love…”
Cassian walked down the steps, face still cold, but his eyes were shining.
Asta smiled small, remembering last night in the kitchen with Butler Grogery.
‘Flashback – Kitchen – Night’
Butler Grogerry sat across from Asta, voice soft.
“Cassian lost his parents when he was four. Lord Ignatius took him in, raised him like his own. But Cassian always knew he was adopted. He trained every single day. He never played like a normal kid. He never laughed a lot. He wanted to prove he was strong enough to belong.”
Asta listened quietly.
“If his flame burns brighter than yours tomorrow… he becomes head of the Xavier clan. That’s the old family rule.”
Asta asked.
“You really think that can happen?”
Grogerry smiled.
“I doubt it. Because you are…”
He stopped suddenly, his eyes wide.
Asta leaned closer.
“Because I am… what, Butler?”
Grogery shook his head fast.
“Because you are the true son of Lord Ignatius… the Fire Lord himself.”
‘Back to now’
Asta whispered to himself.
“But I still don’t think that’s what he really wanted to say…”
The teacher’s voice rang out again.
“Next! Asta Xavier!”
Elara squeezed his hand.
“Babe, you’re up! Go get ’em!”
Asta’s cheeks went red. He walked to the stage while everyone watched.
“Here comes the real son of Fire Lord Ignatius!”
“After today he’ll be a clan head for sure.”
“Lucky guy… strong and has Elara? I hate him.”
Cassian stood on the side, his fists clenched tight.
Asta reached the stage, bowed low to the Empress.
She leaned forward, smiling warmly.
The teacher smiled too.
“Place your hand on the crystal, Asta.”
Asta took a deep breath.
‘Alright… here I go.’
He muttered to himself as he
put his palm on the ball.
…….
Nothing.
No light nor a spark, not even a tiny glow.
The crystal stayed dark and cold.
Asta’s hand started shaking.
His voice came out small and scared.
“What… it can’t be… nothing… nothing is happening…”
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Chapter 45
Flora reached out and squeezed Asta's shoulder, then did the same to Jabber. "...whoever gets called first, remember we've got your back. You're not alone out there. You're representing Ember Watch, and we believe in you.""Hell yeah." Mira added with a fierce grin. "Go out there and kick ass."With that, they split up. Flora and Mira heading down one corridor, Asta and Jabber heading down another. The walk back to their room was quiet, both of them lost in their own thoughts, the earlier excitement giving way to a more contemplative mood.When they reached their door, Asta pushed it open and stepped inside. The room looked exactly as they'd left it this morning,unmade bunks, his practice sword leaning against the wall, the small window letting in weak afternoon light. Nothing special, nothing fancy, but it was theirs.He'd barely had time to sit down on the edge of Jabber's lower bunk when there was a sharp knock at the door."Come in." Asta called.The door opened and a higher o
Chapter 44
Old Man Kael stood on the platform, his weathered hands still resting on his walking stick, waiting for the excited chatter to die down enough that he could continue. The crowd was buzzing with energy, a tournament meant action, meant proving themselves, meant finally having something concrete to strive for instead of endless days of repetitive labor and training.When the noise level dropped to something manageable, Kael spoke again, his voice cutting through the remaining murmurs with that authoritative calm that demanded attention."Now, let me explain how this tournament will work." He said, his cloudy eyes sweeping across the assembled laborers. "You all will have the chance to see how strong your squad members truly are. How well you work together when pressure is applied. How you adapt when plans fall apart. And perhaps most importantly, you'll see how strong your opponents are,what strategies they use, what flames they wield, what weaknesses they possess."He paused, letting
Chapter 43
The gathering quarters continued to fill. More and more laborers streaming in, the noise level rising as hundreds of conversations overlapped. Asta recognized some faces from training sessions or work details. Others were complete strangers,the labor section was large enough that you couldn't possibly know everyone.Finally, when the space was packed nearly to capacity, Old Man Kael raised one hand. The gesture was small, but somehow it cut through the noise like a blade. Conversations died down in ripples, starting near the front and spreading backward until the entire room had fallen into expectant silence.Kael let the silence hold for a moment longer, his cloudy eyes seeming to see through and past the assembled laborers to something beyond. Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly despite not being particularly loud. There was something about his tone,the weight of experience, the authority of someone who'd earned respect rather than demanded it,that made people want to listen
Chapter 42
Flora asked once the laughter had died down a bit. "You said you got letters from your butler? That's nice that they wrote.""Yeah." Asta said, touching the pocket where he'd stored the letters, feeling their slight weight against his chest. "Gregor was my family's butler for decades," he wrote about what's happening at the mansion. My half-brother Cassian officially became clan leader a few nights ago. There was this whole ceremony with all the major clans."He tried to keep his voice neutral, but some bitterness must have leaked through because Flora's expression softened with sympathy."They also wrote about how they're doing." Asta continued quickly, not wanting to dwell on Cassian. "They got dismissed from the mansion after I was sent here,Cassian didn't want anyone loyal to me staying around, I guess. So now they're working as day laborers. Gregor , Helena, and Marcus,they're all doing hard physical work despite being older, despite having given decades of service to my fam
Chapter 41
“P.P.S. Marcus, I'm holding you to that promise about the sword techniques. Start preparing your best teaching voice.”“P.P.P.S. Gregor , please tell me honestly how bad your back is. If you need money for a healer, I'll find a way to send some. The labor section pays a pittance, but I've been saving every copper.”He read through what he'd written one more time, checking for anything he'd forgotten or wanted to add. Then he carefully folded the letter, sealed it with the basic wax provided at the portal station, and addressed it with their names and the return address they'd included in their letters.Asta placed his reply into the outgoing section of his portal,a separate small compartment meant for letters to be sent out,then locked everything back up. His hands were steadier now, the act of writing having helped him process some of the overwhelming emotions.He gathered Gregor 's, Helena's, and Marcus's letters carefully, tucking them into the inner pocket of his tunic where they
Chapter 40
“Also, I'm enclosing a recipe in case you ever get access to cooking facilities. It's your favorite,the honey cakes I used to make for your birthday. The ingredients are simple enough that you might be able to acquire them, and the process isn't too complicated. Something sweet to remind you of better days.”Asta looked at the bottom of the letter where Helena had indeed written out the recipe in careful detail, each step numbered and explained as if she were standing beside him in a kitchen, guiding his hands. His vision blurred again.“Write back to us, dear boy. Even a short note would mean the world.”“With love,Helena”“P.S Marcus says to tell you he's been practicing some new knife techniques and when you visit “notice I said 'when,' not 'if',I'm an optimist”, he'll teach them to you. They're quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”The third letter was from Marcus, and it was much shorter.Marcus had never been much for writing, preferring to express himself through his cookin
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