2025-12-15 20:32:19The whole hall went dead quiet.
Every eye wide in surprise.
Cassian’s cold face slowly turned into a dark smile as unclenched his fist and folded his arm.
‘What is happening…I…don't understand,why isn't the crystal ball glowing, what does it mean?’
Asta Xavier muttered to himself, his face building up sweats as his hands began to tremble.
The students began to murmur.
“What is happening?”
One female student asked.
“I don't actually know, but I think the crystal ball might be broken or something, right?”
Another female student asked.
“Asta, are you sure you laid your hands as I instructed you to do?”
The teacher asked, her tone thick with curiosity as she stepped closer to Asta.
“Uhmm, yes ma'am, I placed my palms on the crystal ball as you instructed and…”
“Teacher!”
The Empress voice cut in, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall, Asta stood frozen and trembling as his sweats began to drip down to his clothes and hands.
The Empress got up from his seat and then walked towards Asta and the teacher. She then stood right in front of the teacher and gazed at her, giving her sign to step away.
“Okay, Xavier, right?”
“Yes, Empress.”
Asta responded with a gathered courage.
“Place your palm again on the crystal ball.”
She spoke, her tone thick with order.
“O-okay ma'am Empress.”
He then turned and swallowed hard.
‘Please glow! Please glow, please glow!! You stupid crystal ball!’
He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and placed his palm, but the result was still the same, the crystal didn't glow nor did it spark a light.
‘What…does this mean?’
He muttered to himself.
“What does this actually mean?”
A male student from another school asked.
“It seems that Asta Xavier isn't feeling the family heat.”
Lucien Pyre spoke out, his tone thick with sarcasm as everyone in the hall burst out in laughter.
The Empress then raised her staff and everyone kept calm. She then gazed at Asta, whose gaze was now gazing at the floor.
“It seems that you didn't inherit any flame from your family, not your clan, you disgusting little worm.”
She spat, her voice dripping venom.
A girl from the crowd then spoke, breaking the silence.
“Look at him. Completely useless.”
The whispers slithered around the hall as dozens of students crowded behind Asta. He stood alone in front of the sacred crystal ball, his palms open, waiting for even the tiniest spark of his family’s flame, but nothing came.
“He didn’t inherit a single ember.”
Someone sneered.
“Not even rookie-level fire. What a joke.”
Another laughed, loud and cruel.
“I heard he killed his own mother. Ate his way out of her stomach like some monster.”
“Yeah, who even is this freak?”
Asta’s shoulders shook. His voice barely escaped his throat, cracked and trembling.
‘It’s not true… none of it. I saw him. That man in the black cloak… he was at the hospital that night. He cut her open himself. I remember the knife. I remember the smell of the blood.’
He muttered to himself.
“No flame, no worth, Get out of my sight before you taint the air I breathe.”
Head bowed, fists clenched so hard his nails drew blood, Asta turned and walked. Past the laughing students in their sleek crimson-and-gold uniforms. Past the crystal ball that had rejected him. All the way to the back of the academy.
He slowly gazed up in search of Elara, his eyes widened as he fell on her as she was now with Lucien Pyre.
‘What is she doing with him?’
He asked as he walked over to her.
“Hey, Elara,what is going on here?”
Asta asked, his tone low and laced with curiosity.
“Ohh, it is the flameless Asta Xavier, Elara babe, please I think you should tell him the truth.”
Lucien Pyre spoke as he held Elara’s hands and kissed it right in front of Asta, whose fist immediately clenched on his side.
“Tell me what, Elara, what is he talking about?”
Asta asked.
“Are you blind, Asta, can't you see I have moved on, you don't have any flame meaning that you are not going to be the head of the Xavier clan, I can't stay with a dead weight like you, If I do, you will be a stai
n on my beautiful future.”
Her words hit so hard that Asta stood frozen z his eyes now dripping with tears as the moment that he shared with her flash past his memory…
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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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