"Hmph." The girl pouted, slowly eating her food while taking glances at her father.
"What of mom… why isn't she eating with us?" She muttered, gently tapping her plate with her spoon.
"Ohh… she's… she's busy with something." The man replied, flashing a slight smile at the young girl. "Don't worry, she'll soon be here."
However, despite the smile on his face, he couldn't completely hide the glint of sadness which flashed through them.
Alex's gaze lingered on his father for a few seconds, before turning back to his food, releasing a low sigh.
*
After a few minutes, all of them finally finished up with their food, while the servants of the palace came to clear the table.
Despite his father's words, their mother never joined them at the dining, however, she arrived at the castle a few minutes later.
Alex wasn't sure why she came back so late, but he guessed she had probably been in a meeting with the nobles.
Nonetheless, he wasn't too worried about her, and besides, that wasn't the main thing on his mind currently.
Alex slowly relaxed his back into the sofa, subconsciously releasing a sigh at the feeling of relief brought about by the soft foam of the chair.
"I still can't feel any Zet…" He muttered, staring at his palm in disappointment.
With how bad things were going, he doubted he would be able to awaken his psychic abilities before the royal Zet awakening ceremony which was coming up in a few days.
Contrary to its name, the ceremony wasn't when a royal was supposed to awaken their Zet.
It was just a ceremony meant to flex and showcase the great talents of the noble family to the world, however, it was still greatly honoured by many in the kingdom.
Compared to normal people, royals awakened their Zet before the age of seven, and their talents were leagues above that of an average person.
It was why the ceremony was usually organised after the royal prince or princess clocked the age of seven, like a rite of passage.
However, contrary to most expectations, Alex still hadn't awakened his psychics powers despite reaching the age of seven.
It was something that had never happened in the history of the world before, which was exactly why he was scared.
Unlike him, Quira awakened her Zet at the young age of four, the youngest ever recorded in the history of Zenon.
Despite being two years younger than her, they were both leagues apart when it came down to raw psychic talent.
From what he had heard, being able to feel the energy flowing within oneself was a sign that one had finally awakened.
However, not even once had he ever experienced something like that, leaving him disappointed in himself.
"I'll just… have to be patient." Alex mumbled, repeating the words his mother and sister had said to him relating to this matter.
He stood up from the chair, gently tucking his hands into his pockets, before walking away.
"Alex!" A loud voice suddenly sounded behind him, causing his brows to raise in surprise.
"Dad?" He muttered, pausing his steps as he turned to the person who called him.
"I've been looking for you, where have you been?" The man asked, lightly tapping his back.
"Here… I've been here all this time." Alex replied, his gaze drifting to the face of his father.
"Hmm… so what's up with you? How are you feeling about the coming ceremony?"
"Good… I guess." Alex replied, mentioning that last sentence under his breath.
"I've been watching you, you know?" The man said, his lips curling into a warm smile. "Trying tirelessly to feel your Zet, you don't need to put that much pressure on yourself."
"I-I… still can't feel it though… despite everything." Alex turned his head to the side in embarrassment as he said this, clenching his hands into a tight fist.
"I get how you feel… but you need to take it easy on yourself."
"Take it easy… huh?" Alex mumbled, gnashing his teeth in frustration.
"What about you? Can you see any signs of your powers returning?" He suddenly asked, causing his father's eyes to widen in shock.
"Ohh, that. My life as a psychic is over… my Zet is gone for good." The man said, letting out a light chuckle.
"H-how can you be so calm about all this..?" Alex said, snapping his gaze at the man. "Don't you know what they're saying about you?"
"What? Who's 'they'?" The man's eyes narrowed in confusion at Alex's words.
"Stop… acting like that. People are calling you weak… always talking about how unfit you are to rule the kingdom." Alex muttered, tightly clenching his fists.
"It's a-annoying… why wouldn't you care about that?"
Although Zenon was currently peaceful, it hadn't already been like that.
About nine years ago, the world was invaded by a strange race, who arrived on the planet with the help of strange portals, which suddenly appeared all over the place.
No one knew where exactly they came from, or how they got to be in the first place.
All that was known about them was that they were a race of blood-sucking monsters, with great power and evil.
They were led by a king who was called "Dracula" and together, they enslaved the lives of many, using them as blood bags for their nourishment.
The war against the vampires was filled with nothing but pain and suffering for not just the people of the kingdom, but the world of Zenon as a whole.
It lasted for close to a year, with Zenon being on the losing end despite having the higher population.
The main problem was their King, Dracula, who possessed immense power, and was unrivalled by none.
However, at the end of the day, he was later defeated by the king of Norath, whose name was Earl Ferdi'nand.
But unfortunately, that victory came at a terrible cost and sacrifice, which resulted in the loss of his psychic abilities forever.
With the defeat of their king, the rest of the vampires were easily overwhelmed, and Zenon was able to emerge victorious.
That same man in the story, the one who defeated the great vampire king, was the same person who now stood beside him, except now he was completely powerless.
***
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