Chapter 5: Do you desire power?

Being the head of the Vaishè Family was the only thing that I had on my mind since I lost everything.

It was one of those things where you cling only to a single hope when your whole existence is meaningless to everyone around you.

You begin making up things and relationships in your mind that actually don't exist for the people on the other end.

Example? It was the man who stood like a mountain in front of me as if what he said wasn't that bad - it was as if he actually didn't know what effect it had on me.

"What?" I stuttered a bit but tried my best to keep calm.

He's not serious about it, is he?

"After what you did at the academy ball, you think you'll be easily let off the hook? Without any consequences?" He raised a brow - what kind of expression of disinterest was it?

"I just broke what was meant to be broken. My engagement with Aurora was never that deep... to begin with." I managed to end the sentence.

It's true. In one loop, I loved her, in another I liked her, and in the third, I hated her... she never changed.

But it was because of that that she never changed at all!

So I did. I changed - I threw it all away to protect myself.

Lord Amire Vaishè crumbled the paper in his hand as one hand reached for my collar as he growled, "Boy! You never had a choice... you think you know how hard you make it for me to maintain the relationships between the Duke's House and us?"

Aurora Hex Decrux was the daughter of my father's friend, the Duke Lord of a nearby duchy, and he's right that it'll be hard for him to maintain the relationship with them.

But shouldn't I, as his son, be his priority?

"I am done with you, boy. You've been nothing but a problem for us. You took your mother from us, and now you want to make us even more miserable." His eyes looked vicious when he poured this venom on me.

Making them all miserable? Me? I never did anything to make them miserable because I was never theirs, not in their eyes or their hearts.

Let alone making them miserable. Isn't it me who's...

"I took mother?" I'm not sure what to make of these words.

He grabbed me by the jaw, making me flinch. "Yeah, you did. You were the reason why she died. Why did you have to be born?" He questioned me as if I were the one to blame.

And this man cares about mother? Does he have any right?

My mother once told me that it was a very stormy night when I was born, and my father couldn't come to see me in the manor because of how far he was and how hard it was to get there.

But as I grew up, I came to know that it was just that he was busy spending time with his mistress at night and couldn't make time for my mother during her labor.

This man has the audacity to say these things to my face.

He might not care about me, but he has no right to say that he cared about my mother.

"Believe me, I would've killed myself if it meant bringing her back, but don't have the face to say that you cared for her at all." I made it clear.

His eyes shook. His grip around my jaw increased. "Don't use such language with me."

I tried. I tried to bottle up these words and succeeded for years, for all those times I came back.

But what do you mean you can't give me that damn seat when I was finally out of that nightmare.

"Listen, you'd give me that seat of yours... even if it means breaking up your relationship with the Duke." I wasn't even sure what I was saying, but all I could feel was that something had gone numb inside me.

I never spoke to him like this. Amire Vaishè had always been respected by me, no matter what happened to me. I didn't disrespect him or his children, or even his wife, who all hated me, because I knew.

That I was superior to them in every aspect, as I was going to become the head.

So you're telling me that I went through all this for nothing?

Slap!

"You must be out of your mind to think that it'll ever happen, and you never, ever speak to me like that." He was practically choking my neck, and I could feel how much he was trying for real.

"Jealous? You didn't have any chance to be a seraphic bond?" And I must be really out of my mind to bring up this topic.

Thud!

I felt pain coursing through my body as I was slammed to the ground. I knew where Eldric gets his violent nature from.

"Don't try me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs before raising his foot off the ground.

Clank!

"Amire! Guests are waiting," Elaria entered the room. Her eyes followed me as she looked at Amire and said, "Not now." She snickered.

He slowly put his foot back on the ground.

"Pffffffffffffffff," I lost it. This was the peak of stupidity I'd seen from this man.

"Haha, how messed for a house lord to take orders from his whore!" I rolled to my side, still feeling the sting of pain.

My laughter echoed in the room, and I could feel her gaze on me as I lay on the floor. She was a woman who had always treated me with disdain, and now she was reveling in my moment of humiliation.

Amire, my father, turned away from me, clearly frustrated but not willing to engage further. His mistress held a sway over him that went beyond reason, and she knew it.

"You're a disappointment, Asher," Amire muttered, his voice dripping with disdain, and then he followed Elaria out of the chamber.

I lay there for a moment, collecting myself, nursing my aching body and wounded pride. This was a new low, even for me.

Getting up, I dusted myself off and made my way back to the grand hall, where the guests were growing restless. It was clear that my chances of securing the headship were slipping further away.

As I entered, I noticed Eldric smirking at my disheveled appearance. He had always been a thorn in my side, and today was no exception. I ignored him and took my place, trying to maintain some semblance of composure.

The atmosphere in the grand hall was tense, and I could sense the anticipation in the air as I stood on the stage. Amire had called me by my name, a rare occurrence that sent a shiver down my spine. This had to be a declaration of cutting me off from the house, a disownment that was now public.

As I walked to the center of the stage, I clapped for myself, adding to the discomfort of the aristocrats around me. They watched with varying expressions, from curiosity to dismay.

"I am eager for it... house lord," I said, my smile masking the turmoil within me as I addressed my father. I tilted my head slightly, playing the game he had started. If they didn't want me to react the same, they were in for a surprise.

My words hung in the air for a moment, and I could feel the eyes of the aristocrats upon me, their hushed conversations growing quieter. I had their attention, and I intended to make the most of it.

Amire's expression tightened as he faced me, a mix of frustration and resentment in his eyes. He had underestimated me, and I relished the opportunity to turn the tables.

"Let's not forget the purpose of today's gathering," I continued, my voice clear and steady. "We're here to witness the seraphic bonds, a tradition that binds our family and secures our future and yours too as collateral families to us."

Might've stung a bit.

The room was silent, the tension palpable. I had their full attention now, and I knew I had to choose my words carefully.

"I may not be the perfect son nor was my father to my grandfather but" I paused,"I have a chance to prove myself, unlike my father who didn't have it because of his lack in prophecy."

There was collective gasp every where.

Must be new for them, as this was something they forgot in the passage of time.

How he was only kept at this position because my mother had a seraphic bond and she fell in love with him and that gave him the reason to be the head.

I turned to face Eldric, whose smug expression had shifted to uncertainty. "And as for my dear brother, Eldric, I'll remind you that the bonds we're about to make are a testament to our abilities. It's not about jealousy or spite; it's about the future of our house...Lady Elaria also has a bond herself so you might not end up like father."

Amire's jaw clenched, and Elaria watched with a calculating gaze. I had thrown their own words back at them, and for a brief moment.

But then I saw Eldric's sneer and heard a few disapproving murmurs from the audience. It was clear that I had made enemies today and I gave no fucks.

If I am going to be disowned then I might as well say what has remained silent in my heart.

"Let's start, lord Vaishè." I squinted my eyes a bit.

This felt oddly satisfying to me but on other hand I had few more things on my mind.

I eyed the servant who came forward with a tray in his hand, Presented it in front of Amire.

And he took it, there was a small table and a chair on the stage that used to place the tray on.

Inside the tray was a heavy looking block of metal with a lot scribbling alongside a knife.

"Come then," He said.

I walked up to the table and sat on the chair.

This is the contract.

A contract is something, that decides what your place is in this world.

Unlike me a lot of people have to go to the church to get this done as they don't have the device to commence this process.

In this ritual,one has to connect to another realm and pull something....a part of that world with them.

Nobody has ever been able to describe it as we can't enter it or even they can't completely comprehend what happened sometimes during these rituals.

And they still do it,why? Because it means that once the ritual is done you can do magic.

Something that considers faith of you and people around you too sometimes.

I picked up the knife and cut-off my palm and held it over the block of metal and it was then, the rock began glowing a bit and-

"Huh"

"Come then," Amire looked at me as he pointed at the chair.

This happened before right?

I for some reason felt a cold chill on my back as I walked to the chair again, sat down,cut my palm- blinked and-

"...." I am standing again.

"Come then," Amire's voice was irritating me again and again.

Another loop?

I sat, I cut and I returned....this cycle repeated again and again.

The repeating cycle of sitting, cutting my palm, and then ending up standing left me in a state of bewildering frustration. It was as if I was caught in a time loop, reliving the same moment over and over.

Amire's voice, calling me to the chair, grated on my nerves each time. I could feel the cold chill of déjà vu creeping up my spine.

What was happening? Why was I stuck in this loop? Was this some sort of punishment, or a twisted form of fate's whimsy?

The constant repetition of the ritual had an eerie, disorienting effect. Each time I cut my palm and held it over the block of glowing metal, a strange sensation washed over me. It was as if I was touching a hidden dimension, one I couldn't fully comprehend.

With each iteration, the sense of déjà vu became stronger, and I began to question my sanity. Was I going mad, or was there some deeper meaning to this relentless cycle?

I needed to find a way to break free from this loop, to escape the repetitive ritual, and to understand what lay at its heart. But for now, I remained caught in the unsettling dance of sitting, cutting, and returning, with no end in sight.

Till I heard.

[Say it.]

And it..... clicked to me,say it- I just have to say it.

I walked up to the chair,sat down and then cut my palm slowly and closed my eyes completely.

Before I muttered the phonetic pronunciation as

"ɪmˈbreɪs ˈmaɪθoʊs"

In that moment, as I gazed into the abyss, I felt a profound sense of unease. The voice that had responded was otherworldly, its resonance sending shivers down my spine.

"Who are you?" I stammered, struggling to find my voice.

The entity, or whatever it was, seemed to consider me for a moment before responding, "[Quite... interesting you are. But still not worthy of her sacrifice, Asher Amire Vaishè. Do you desire power?]"

The question hung in the air, laden with an eerie weight, and I was left with a choice that felt like it could change the course of my destiny.