It was like any other day in the Roselle Empire.
Under the luminous rays of the sun,
A young kid with hazel eyes and light brown hair, stood.
And just like any other day, he trained hard like it were his last day.
Clang! Clang!
He clashed with the dummies- inanimate constructs, and just like always.
"Ugh." he groaned as he was pushed back.
"Again!" he roared, lunging towards the two constructs once again.
He slashed with his sword, side-stepping when needed, and weaving effortlessly through the three dummies. Despite being a mere mortal, he was able to hold his own ground against three constructs, supposedly at the peak of attainable- mortal state.
But,
~ Clang!
He clashed with one of the dummies, ducking under a howling punch thrown out by it. A glint flickered in his bright hazel eyes as he struck with his sword. The sword effortlessly ripped through the construct, but before he could end it.
A terrifying premonition gripped him, his breath hitched, his back stiffening.
'Behind me!'
The two other constructs were already upon him, and he was left with no other choice but to retreat.
Step~ Step~
Distancing himself from the constructs who effortlessly worked hand-in-hand with each other. An aspect that made it very difficult to defeat them. Since he'd had to defeat the three of them to actually defeat one of them.
"Hu…. uh."
Sweet drops beaded on his forehead as he stared at the constructs.
His mind raced with various thoughts in an attempt to find something,
Anything.
Something that could end this once and for all.
But then, before he could do so much as to blink, one of the constructs was already before him, the two others converging from the other sides, leaving him no room for resistance.
Tak! Tak!
Moving with graceful fluidity, he was able to duck, side-step and avoid the attacks. Throwing out attacks of his own and, being pushed back and forced to retreat, impromptu.
Yet, over and over again, he'd continue.
His face paled, blood draining from his face as pain tore through every fiber of his being.
Yet,
Claaaang!!! Claaassh!!!
The furious blaze igniting within him never for once, faltered.
'...It never for once wavered.'
He knew he'd do it. He could do it.
Clench!
'...He'd to.'
~ Clench!
Clenching his hands even tighter.
He had no other choice.
"Huff… Huff…"
He stood there, bloodied and exhausted, his heavy gasps echoing through the suffocating silence.
Bruises- from subtle to harrowing ones ran through his body, blood dripping from the wounds yet,
"Again!!"
He bolted towards the constructs once again.
He never for once lost hope.
Tok! Tok!
….He had to defeat "him."
He clenched his hands even tighter, his grip on the sword hardening.
As he fought, got defeated and yet, still refused to give up, over and over again.
The thoughts.
The mind-consuming thoughts continued to gnaw at him.
They were unrelenting. They wouldn't stop.
'Why?!... Why can't I defeat him?!'
His eyes were now red, tears welling in his eyes as he questioned himself over and over again.
Crash! Thud!
Each time he was sent crashing against the ground. Each time he was defeated, every single time he lost.
Each loss.
~Thud!
Every single one of them sent a piercing pain through his heart.
I-...It was eating him from the inside.
Slowly consuming him bit by bit.
H-he was always just one step short of defeating him.
Yet he just… couldn't.
'But why?!'
Slasssh!!!
He slashed at a construct with the blue sword, its cold edge slicing through the construct, and with a short outburst of pent up emotions.
Katcha!!
'Why can't I?!'
The last of the constructs exploded into a shower of hurainium and steel.
***
"Roselle," he stood there under the rays of the sun, his face pale, and his hands subconsciously clenched together.
The mere mention of the name sickened him.
The mere mention of it reminded him of his father's unjust death.
…His father had died saving the current emperor- Roselle's father. And what did they accuse his father of?
"Haha." A bitter laugh escaped the young boy's lips.
~Clench!
Tears welled in his eyes.
'...They called him a traitor. A treacherous bastard!'
~Trembling.
After all he had done for the Empire. Those fucking nobles dared to accuse his father of treason. And the fucking Emperor never did anything to stop them.
'…He never did.'
And the prince, Roselle, he'd sworn to surpass.
But,
"Hahaha." A hollow laugh escaped his lips, the sound raw and hoarse in the silence.
Unfortunately, the prince proved he wasn't a bastard.
~ Gritting his teeth.
From a young age, the prince displayed astonishing potential and everyone expected so much from him.
He was the prince. So… It was alright.
Even if it sickened his stomach and sent a piercing ache through his heart. He'd no choice but to stomach it.
And for years, that was exactly what he'd been doing.
Yet, no matter how much he convinced himself.
~Clench!
No amount of self-conviction could stop nor suppress the indescribable furious flame swiftly rising within him.
Day by day, it accumulated.
Day by day, it swiftly clawed at the edges of his sanity.
…Day by day, it slowly ate away his sense of reasoning.
Until all that was left was…
~Drip!
An All-consuming anger and despair.
His hands were now bleeding, yet he didn't seem to notice or it could be said that he wasn't feeling it.
And indeed, compared to this burning flame.
Compared to this overwhelming sense of despair and anger.
…This pain was nothing.
***
Years clocked by, and the same pattern repeated itself over and over again.
The young kid had repeat the same pattern over and over again, every single day without any exception.
He trained like it were his last day.
And it finally arrived.
• The day of awakening.
A day that would differentiate the rich from the poor, the noble from the wretches, and the talented from the... trash.
It was a day every single kid of age fifteen, looked forward to.
Trained every single day for.
Hah.
Why wouldn't they?
~ It was a day that would determine their future.
The day came just as expected.
And of course, just like any other day, all eyes were on him.
All eyes were on the prince- Roselle.
Hundreds of other children flooded the awakening hall. But,
"Haha!" The rest of them were not worth mentioning.
…The rest of them were just mere extras in Roselle's grand story.
"Ah!" A faint, weak smile tugged at the corner of his lips, his hands tightly clenched together.
'Today, he was going to prove them wrong.'
~ The awakening began, and it was unlike what anyone would've ever expected.
"You have awakened a C-grade esper talent!" the elderly man announced.
"You have awakened a B-grade talent!"
One by one, various high talents were scouted out amongst the youths of the Empire.
And the elderly men and women of the Empire were filled with thrill, excitement and most importantly,
• Curiosity.
If the youths they hadn't paid much attention to could awaken such talents, then what of the prince himself.
They beamed, wide smiles on their faces
And finally, it was his turn.
Roselle stepped up to the podium and contrary to every one's expectation.
There was no brilliant glow, no bright lustre, no dim color, even.
• The awakening had... failed due to some unknown reason.
The high and mighty prince had failed in his awakening ceremony.
And he...he'd awakened an S-grade esper talent!
From that moment henceforth, with a wide smile beaming on his face.
He thought everything would change.
No. He knew everything would change.
• His smile widened.
Everyone would finally look up to him.
He was going to be surrounded by everyone.
~ H-he was going to be loved and respected by everyone.
…Including his aunt.
She would finally spare him a glance.
Yet the crowd, the people, the citizens of the Roselle Empire never did that, instead, they all crowded around the young prince.
In that very moment, he felt something within him shatter.
"You can do it prince!"
H-he felt something within him break into pieces.
'Why!!! I have the highest talent!
I awakened the best exper talent!!!....
So why is it still him!? Why is everyone still paying attention to him?!'
'…Why!?'
Finally, he could take it no longer as a quiet sob broke out from his chest.
A piercing pain ripped through his heart as tears welled in his eyes.
But the world paid no heed to him.
• The words didn't stop because of him.
The words still continued...
"Esper talent doesn't determine one's future prospects, young prince."
"We believe in you, your highness."
"Haha!" As he watched on, he didn't know how to describe this feeling he had right now.
~ Trembling.
He fell to his knees, tears streaming down the corner of his eyes.
H-...he felt his world crumble before him.
Katcha!
H-he felt something shatter within him.
Soft but audible, it rang through every fiber of his being.
Drip! Drip!
He'd thought it would be enough.
Tears fell to the floor beneath him.
Drip!
Drip!
He thought he had worked hard enough.
Yet, the truth was anything but.
The truth… was heart-wreching.
"But why?!..." his voice cracked, now hoarse and barely audible. "...I have the highest talent.
…. It's me! Me. Me."
He broke off, a heavy feeling pressing down on his chest. "…Not him."
"It's me..."
Even with his weak talent, they never lost faith in him.
'…But why?'
At that moment, he made a decision.
He had to find out.
Clench.
He would find the reason behind it.
'…He was hell-bent on finding out.'
***
Time went by,
And so, although it was just as hard as he expected it to be.
But still, he did the best he could, to whole-heartedly follow the prince.
And he finally understood why…
"Hah."
He finally understood the reason behind their unshakable faith in him.
'It all now made sense.'
Not only was Roselle's cunning on treacherous levels. His intelligence was, if it could be described in one… two words.
"Simply monstrous."
It was beyond what one would expect from a kid. Not to talk of someone who had failed his awakening.
Despite his failed awakening, Roselle never lost hope. Or rather, he never saw that as something significant.
That confidence.
That control he had on everything around him. It bordered on… bone-chilling.
Roselle trained hard as a transcender- swiftly ascending through the ranks of the hunter sequence pathway. And eventually,
"May the king live long!"
~May the Empire prosper under your reign.
Roselle ascended the throne.
And he,
"Hah!"
He became Roselle's right hand man.
H-he became Roselle's brother-in-arm.
Through thick and thin, they always had each other's back.
Roselle would be willing to take a killing-blow in his steed and he would also be willing to do the same.
However, all this came to an end on one faithful day.
His expression contorted from one of pain and agony to unwillingness and finally, one of hardened resolve.
The day the news of his wife and daughter's death reached him on the battlefield.
On that day, he could remember with abysmal clarity.
"Aaaaaarggghhh!!!!!" he screamed to the heavens, his voice raw and hoarse.
On that day,
Drip! Drip!
He felt it.
I-It felt as though his entire world had come crumbling down on him.