Crimson Blood

The only sound in the room was the relentless ticking of the clock on the wall.

Joaquin sat in the chair behind his desk, eyes closed, his expression unreadable.

A gentle breeze drifted through the open window, making his obsidian hair, which fell to his shoulders, flutter.

As the clock ticked again, his phone buzzed.

Opening his eyes, they revealed deep, pitch-black orbs that seemed to absorb all light, like endless voids.

He glanced at his phone on the desk and checked the time:

00:00.

"Another year gone by just like that..." he murmured.

Azriel Crimson, his son's birthday had officially passed.

It was the only day his daughter, who had become distant and cold, would come home from the academy, refraining from training until she collapsed from exhaustion.

It made Joaquin's heart tremble. The mood in the Crimson Estate was at its worst, everyone preferring to be left alone, even his wife.

The hole in his heart ached more as he recalled his last moments with his son.

Azriel's aloof expression, without a single worry, as he watched the void rifts appear and Joaquin battle the harrowing creatures emerging from them.

Confident that his father would triumph against the waves of abominations. Joaquin never really understood what his son was thinking.

Azriel never tried his best, yet he never slacked off. He tried to hide his talents as much as he could, always skipping lessons to sleep.

Yet, Joaquin remembered how Azriel trained alone at night when everyone was supposed to be asleep.

His crimson eyes always had a fire that couldn't be extinguished when he was training, driven by something that made him swing his sword relentlessly.

"I failed you as a father, my son..." Joaquin's voice was hoarse.

He didn't understand why Azriel never ran away.

He was always watching his son, making sure no harm befell him.

Almost always...

'If only not for that one second...'

That was all it took. A single second when multiple abyssal-ranked creatures attacked, demanding his entire attention.

In that exact moment...

Azriel was gone. Nowhere to be found.

Panic turned to fury as he thought the worst. He screamed Azriel's name, his voice raw and desperate, tearing through the battlefield.

He searched everywhere, ripping open the stomachs of every void creature he encountered, tearing out their intestines, frantically hunting for any sign of him.

Yet...

He never found him.

Ever since that day, he had never forgiven himself. His daughter had become cold-hearted, shutting everyone away and training to become stronger.

He could only comfort his wife as she did the same for him, mourning their son, who was presumed dead.

The Crimson Clan might have looked like an unbreakable wall from the outside, but in reality, they were broken from the inside.

Joaquin didn't even try to fix things, focusing only on his work instead. Even then, he never announced Azriel's death to the public.

He couldn't.

Not because of the consequences, but...

"He is not dead..."

Joaquin refused to believe that someone like his son had really died. There was no way his son would have fallen.

Standing up, he slowly walked to the open window and gazed at the full moon.

"...Beautiful."

The moon was simply beautiful tonight. If only it weren't for those dreadful creatures residing on its surface.

Joaquin's voice trembled slightly as he spoke again, his gaze fixed on the white moon.

"You have the Crimson blood running through your veins, Azriel."

"...Dying was never an option."

The wind howled, making his hair flutter wildly. Joaquin clenched his fist tightly until blood dripped onto the wooden floor.

"So where the hell are you?"

*****

'Thanks!? Who the hell says just thanks! Argh, I want to die... Wait, no, I will just come back! Dammit, I want to die twice! No, thrice, I already died twice! What the hell am I even saying!?'

Inwardly, Azriel was a mess as he gazed at the soldiers expressionlessly. He wanted to bury himself in a hole and never leave.

Though for some reason, just giving them a small smile and thanking them was enough for each one of them to have their eyes sparkling.

'Ugh, how simple. It makes me feel bad for just saying thanks.'

"Prince Azriel, I apologize for not recognizing you earlier," the instructor suddenly spoke, bowing his head, followed by the others.

'They sure respect me a lot more than I thought... Even though each one of them could easily beat me up.'

Though he was glad at how respectful the soldiers in front of him were.

"You don't need to bow your heads. I am honestly impressed by how dedicated all of you are, training this late in such a dangerous country without any fear," Azriel praised them.

He could see their eyes sparkling even more as the cautious looks he was receiving from some of them lessened considerably.

'Glad I still remember those lessons in buttering people up...'

"It's only natural for us to be in top form when we could be battling any second," the instructor said as Azriel broke out a small smile, nodding toward him.

"That is true indeed..."

Acknowledging what the instructor had just said, he was about to end the conversation, unsure what more he could talk to them about, and go to the building where he was supposed to meet up with Solomon and Ragnar.

However, one of the soldiers hesitantly spoke up.

"Prince Azriel, if it doesn't offend you, may I ask you a question? Ah, of course, you don't need to answer if you are uncomfortable or anything like that!"

The soldier spoke hurriedly, trying to convince Azriel, which only made him try to suppress his lips from twitching.

'Stop acting so scared, dammit...'

"Sure, as long as I am able to answer."

"T-thank you..."

Taking a deep breath, the soldier spoke, "There has been a rumor for the past two years that you have been... well, dead. And seeing you now with your..."

The soldier tried to find the right words as he glanced at Azriel's long hair.

'So I'm not officially dead, huh? Only a rumor, meaning they have been suppressing information about me for the time being,' Azriel thought about the information he received before answering his question.

"My long hair? Doesn't suit me, right? Well, there wasn't really a barber in the void realm or anything similar like that."

The moment he spoke those words, everyone's eyes widened.

The instructor spoke up this time, "So the rumors are true... that you have been in the void realm for the past two years."

'Rumors must have gone around for the higher ranks, I suppose...'

As Azriel was about to speak again, a voice came from behind him suddenly.

"Here I thought I would wake you up, only to find an empty room, thinking you had gone back to the void realm as if those two years weren't enough. Man, you must have gotten homesick while missing those beautiful animals there."

Turning around, Azriel saw Solomon walking toward him, not just him, as next to him, he could see...

'Ragnar...'