The Royal Plaza was suffocating.
It wasn't the heat; it was the weight of expectations. Today was the Awakening Ceremony for the ten-year-olds of the Noble Houses.
Kael Raven stood in the centre of the waiting area. He wore the pitch-black formal coat of his House, high-collared and stiff.
Next to him, his sister Aurelia, fixed his collar with aggressive precision.
"Stop fidgeting," she hissed, though her eyes were scanning the VIP box above them. "They are watching."
"I'm not fidgeting," Kael replied calmly. "I'm breathing."
"You're breathing like a human," Klaus grumbled in his mind. "It's insulting. Breathe like a disaster."
'Not here,' Kael projected back. 'If I slip up, the crystal explodes, and we get executed for having a Calamity soul.'
High above in the golden-draped box of House Valerius, the "Golden Child" sat.
Leonardo Aurelion Valerius.
He was twelve years old now, two years older than Kael. He had awakened two years ago with a Supreme Light Affinity and was already rumoured to be approaching C-Rank, a feat that usually took adults a decade.
He looked down at Kael with the bored, heavy-lidded expression of a god watching an ant. He wasn't Kael's rival. In his mind, Kael was beneath his notice.
"Candidate Kaelen Raven!" the Royal Herald bellowed.
The chatter in the plaza died instantly.
Duke Aleric Raven stood in the Raven box, his face unreadable. Beside him, Grandfather Arthur and Grandmother Helena watched with hawk-like intensity. They knew the truth. They knew that if Kael didn't perfectly execute the Star-Breathing Sutra to suppress his mana, the Awakening Crystal wouldn't just glow, it would scream.
Kael walked up the marble steps.
He could feel Leonardo's gaze. It felt like a spotlight burning the back of his neck.
"Show them," Klaus whispered, his voice dripping with malice. "Let me out. Just a little. Let me eat the sun."
'No,' Kael thought, visualising the iron gates of his mind clamping down. 'We play the fool.'
He reached out and placed his hand on the massive diamond.
Contact.
A normal child's mana would flow into the crystal naturally. Kael had to fight his own body. He had to use every ounce of his willpower to hold back the ocean of violet, entropic mana raging inside him.
He allowed only the tiniest, filthiest trickle of mana to escape his fingertips.
The crystal flickered.
It didn't shine. It didn't sparkle.
A dull, sickly grey fog swirled inside the diamond. It looked like smoke trapped in a bottle.
The Herald frowned, leaning in closer. He tapped the crystal, thinking it was broken.
"Affinity: ...Corrosion?" the Herald announced, his voice uncertain. "Grade: Low."
The crowd murmured. Corrosion (Entropy) was a rare affinity, but usually associated with rot, decay, and garbage. It was the opposite of the Valerius family's Light.
"Mana Capacity:" The Herald squinted. "Low F-Rank."
Silence.
Then, a ripple of polite, cruel laughter spread through the crowd.
"F-Rank? The Raven Son?""Aleric must be mortified.""Look at the Crown Prince. He isn't even looking anymore."
Kael pulled his hand back. He feigned a stumble, looking down at his feet as if ashamed.
"Pathetic," he heard a noble whisper in the front row.
Kael walked back to his family.
Aurelia met him at the edge of the platform. She grabbed his arm, her grip iron-tight. To the crowd, it looked like she was scolding him.
"You suppressed it too much," she whispered, her lips barely moving. "F-Rank? Seriously? You could have at least gone for E."
"Safe is better than sorry," Kael murmured, keeping his head down. "Did he buy it?"
"Leonardo?" Aurelia glanced up. "He's leaving. You bored him to death. Mission accomplished."
Duke Aleric stepped down from the box. He didn't offer a hug. He didn't offer comfort. He simply looked at Kael with cold, calculated pride.
"The carriage is waiting," Aleric said loudly, for the benefit of the spies nearby. "We will discuss your... future... at home."
As they walked toward the exit, the crowd parted for them—not out of respect, but out of awkward pity.
Just before they reached the carriage, a voice cut through the noise.
"Lord Aleric."
It was the Emperor, and beside him stood Leonardo.
"Lord Emperor and his highness," Aleric replied, his voice cold steel.
Only then did Leonardo glance down at Kael.
The height difference was significant. Leonardo looked at Kael like an adult looks at a toddler.
"And... Kael, was it?" Leonardo asked.
Kael looked up. "Yes, Lord Leonardo."
"Corrosion is a difficult path," Leonardo said, his tone dripping with unintentional condescension. "It eats away at the vessel. When you come to the Academy in three years... do not feel ashamed if you struggle. Not everyone is meant for the battlefield."
He smiled, a bright, blinding thing.
"Some are meant to stay home and manage the estates. There is honour in that, too."
It was a devastating insult wrapped in kindness. You are weak. Go home. Let the big kids play.
Kael forced a wobble into his voice. "Thank you... for the advice."
Leonardo nodded, satisfied, and walked away, his golden cape billowing.
Kael watched him go.
The moment he was gone, Kael's face went blank.
"He thinks I'm a clerk," Kael said flatly.
"He thinks you're irrelevant," Aurelia corrected, steering him toward their carriage. "He will enter the Academy next year. By the time you arrive in three years, he will be a third-year senior. The King of the School."
Inside the safety of the Raven carriage, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Duchess Serephina was pouring wine. Grandfather Arthur was grinning like a maniac.
"Did you see his face?" Arthur cackled. "The little Golden Brat didn't even flare his aura! He totally dismissed you!"
"F-Rank," Grandmother Helena sighed contentedly. "Perfect. The Assassins Guild won't even put a bounty on you."
Kael sat back, closing his eyes.
"I still want to eat him," Klaus grumbled. "He looked at you like you were a pet."
"Three years," Kael whispered, watching the Capital pass by the window.
Aleric handed a glass of juice to Kael.
"What will be the next plan? Will you join the Academy?" Aleric said. "Because when you arrive, Leonardo will likely be the strongest student in history. You will be entering the lion's den as a mouse."
Kael took the glass. His Silver eyes flashed with a hint of the Dragon's vertical pupil.