The carriage rolled steadily toward the capital of Onix—Reqlium.
Its dark wooden frame bore the crest of the Brome Residence, causing travelers along the road to move aside without complaint.
Inside the carriage, silence filled the cabin.
A boy with crimson eyes and bright red hair sat rigidly in his seat, his back straight as a spear. His hands rested on his knees, but they trembled slightly.
Across from him sat Brome, who watched with quiet amusement.
He knew that expression well.
Long ago, before titles and legends, he had worn it himself.
Brome leaned forward and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Are you nervous?"
Flare immediately shook his head.
His body remained stiff.
Brome raised an eyebrow.
Flare opened his mouth to reply.
"D-Do... d-do I l-look l-like I'm n-nervous?"
For a moment, Brome said nothing.
Then the corner of his lips rose slightly.
Flare's face turned red.
Brome gave his shoulder a light pat.
"Relax."
His voice remained calm.
"You want to become a Drifter one day, don't you?"
Flare looked up.
"This is nothing compared to that."
The words settled into him.
His shoulders loosened.
"...Thanks, Dad."
He inhaled deeply.
"Yeah. This is nothing compared to that."
Some time later, the carriage slowed.
Brome glanced outside.
"We've arrived."
No answer.
He turned and found Flare asleep against the window, his breathing steady.
A faint smile appeared on Brome's face.
"So nervous that he exhausted himself..."
He reached forward and gently shook him awake.
Flare slowly opened his eyes.
Then froze.
Massive stone walls surrounded Reqlium like a fortress built for giants, towering so high they seemed to block the sky itself.
But what caught his attention was the center of the wall.
A colossal vertical split carved through the stone from top to bottom.
Water roared downward through the enormous scar, vanishing into unseen depths below.
The sight was overwhelming.
Flare pressed closer to the window.
Then his expression changed.
There was no gate.
No visible entrance.
No opening for people or carriages.
Yet they were still moving forward.
Straight toward the wall.
He slowly turned toward Brome.
His father sat calmly reading a book.
Flare looked back outside.
Then at Brome.
Then outside again.
His eyes widened.
What is happening?
He tried to speak, but no words came out.
Instead, he pointed wildly at the approaching wall while making frantic hand gestures.
Brome glanced up once.
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"Calm down."
Flare shut his eyes tightly.
So this is how my story ends... crushed before academy even begins...
Voices murmured outside.
No impact came.
Slowly, Flare opened one eye.
They were inside the city.
He blinked several times.
Then turned sharply.
"How?!"
Brome closed his book.
"The gate is hidden by illusion magic."
His tone carried faint respect.
"A masterpiece created by the academy principal... Syro."
Flare's crimson eyes lit up.
"Syro?! The Drifter of Onix?"
"Just like you and Mother?"
Brome only gave a quiet hum.
"Mm."
Flare's excitement faded slightly.
His father's expression had changed.
The usual pride in his eyes was gone.
He had gone strangely quiet.
Flare wisely said nothing more.
The carriage came to a stop before the academy grounds.
The door opened.
Flare stepped outside—
—and forgot how to breathe.
A massive white-stone structure stood before him, grander than any noble estate he had ever seen. Towering spires rose into the sky, while enormous training grounds stretched far into the distance.
Students in dark capes embroidered with the academy crest moved across the campus in groups.
Some sparred.
Some studied.
Some laughed confidently.
Flare's heart pounded.
This is the academy...
Then the atmosphere changed.
Students began moving aside.
Conversations quieted.
Someone was approaching.
A tall man with white hair and pale blue eyes walked forward with relaxed steps.
No guards.
No attendants.
No hesitation.
Yet every person instinctively cleared a path.
Flare's pupils narrowed.
Syro.
The Undefeated One.
He wore a smile.
But something about it felt unnatural.
Cold.
Empty.
Wrong.
Without realizing it, Flare took a step back.
His instincts screamed.
Danger.
One moment Syro stood in the distance.
The next, he was already before them.
Flare hadn't seen him move.
Brome clicked his tongue.
"This is why I dislike you."
He stepped forward.
"That creepy smile."
"And your disgusting habit of releasing bloodlust."
The air suddenly turned heavy.
Flare's chest tightened.
His body froze.
Then—
A far greater bloodlust erupted outward.
Brome's bloodlust swallowed Syro's in an instant.
Flare stumbled back two full steps, now trembling harder than before.
Syro laughed lightly.
"Still the same as ever... Lord of Death."
"And now you're frightening him more than I was."
The pressure vanished.
Flare gasped for breath.
Syro glanced toward an assistant nearby.
"Show the boy around the academy."
Then he looked at Brome.
"We need to speak privately."
Brome nodded.
Flare hesitated, then followed the assistant.
As he walked away, their voices drifted behind him.
"You remember what I told you, Brome?"
"About the teachers expecting too much from Flare because he is the child of two Drifters?"
"That is only part of it."
A pause followed.
Then Syro spoke again.
"Your marriage with Glassy was treated as an experiment."
Flare slowed his steps.
"Drifters are forbidden from marrying one another."
Another pause.
"Because their children may become... MONSTERS."
For a moment, silence followed.
Then Brome answered calmly.
"They are my children."
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"They will exceed every expectation."
Flare's fists slowly tightened.
Next Chapter: Magic.....