Warm Family Spirit

"Look at how he is eating, eating like a dog that he is."

"Remember that the only food he could eat in the pit was dog food, now that he had tasted real food he will be sure to eat all he can".

"Is he even a member of this clan I heard that he did not awaken the clan bloodline".

"Someone pathetic wouldn't awaken something as great as our clan bloodline, he doesn't even have access to Aether".

"Don't have access to Aether, quick go and commit suicide".

"I bet you if he leaves this castle he would die painfully, which I prefer".

He was starting to get annoyed at them, it seems been quiet wasn't to going to cut it, so he did what he did best— being sarcastic. He chewed slowly, eyes half-lidded, as if savoring their insults like a fine wine. Then he smiled.

A blissful smile.

They frowned.

"Hey why are you smiling did desperation get to your head". A red haired boy said frowning.

'you know what screw this, I will show them why I was kicked here in the first place'.

"You know…" he said, putting the fruit down, "I was wondering why the air smelled so stale. Now I know. It's the stench of some people who think they're important because they share blood."

That silenced them for a second.

Then Kyra who was across from him leaned forward, her voice like venom.

"Still just as pathetic. Still nothing. You haven't awakened a thing."

He tilted his head and grinned wider. "You know," he said, looking at her, "your mother took nine months to make a joke—and it wasn't even funny." — unknown to him, her mother is Keede.

The table exploded.

"You bastard!" Kyra exploded in anger.

"I wouldn't blame you" he said, voice low and unhurried. "I guess you took your attitude from you mother whose greatest achievement is still being a footnote in someone else's legacy."

The air stilled.

Kyra's expression froze.

And then, slowly, her face became flushed in anger, he face turned red blending with her red eyes. "What did you just say to me?"

Zephyr sat upright from his chair, not shouting, not backing down.

"Did I stutter".

Silence.

Kyra face boiled over, turning red then a savage smile spread on her face, she pouted and spat at his soup. The spit was so fast that the only thing zephyr saw was a blur and with a slight thud the spit entered his soup.

Zephyr froze for a moment Wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him, he looked up from his food to see that Kyra had sat down. Seeing the smirk on her face his anger boiled over and on impulse he threw the plate of soup at her.

But despite the proximity she dodged it with unusual speed, the plate flew through the air and fell on the floor with a resounding thud.

Then the other Crownkin—an older man with emerald earrings—leaned forward, amused. "This one's grown teeth."

"He needs to be reminded how to use them properly," Kyra said, rising to her feet with a savage grin.

Her Aether stirred the air—a wave of chilling, sharp black that made the temperature rise by several degrees. The others didn't move, but they watched now, eyes glinting with interest.

Zephyr's heart pounded, but he refused to let it show. Although he could not see the Aether, nor could he feel it, he could feel it, feel the pressure in the air and the rise in temperature.

The pressure that pressed down on him. A tension sharp enough to slice the silence. Then a voice rang out, cold and heavy.

"Let it go". Out of nowhere a figure was already sitting on the chair close to the clan head, a piece of meat on his fork— Ladarius.

Everyone except the crownkins had a singular thoughts on their mind. 'When'.

Kyra snapped out of her shock then proceeded to put up a resistance.

"But h—

"I said let it go". This time he raised his voice higher. Kyra grumpily sat back on her seat staring daggers at Zephyr, but Zephyr mind wasn't on her anymore, instead it was on the words of Ledarius.

Zephyr's anger and irritation surged higher. The words replayed in his head like a warped melody.

"Let it go."

'Was the 'it' he was talking about… me?'

His blaring red eyes narrowed as he leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his palm, watching Ledarius with newfound curiosity.

'Did this bastard just refer to me as an it?'

Ledarius, the heir of the Demios Clan, didn't so much as glance in his direction. He simply sliced a piece of roasted meat, placed it in his mouth, and chewed with the same poise you'd expect of a prince. Calm. Controlled. Bored, even.

Zephyr hated that.

He hated the way the table calmed at Ledarius's single command. He hated the way power bled off him, unspoken but undeniable. But most of all—he hated the fact that he could see it. That unshakable center. That unbothered dominance. He haven't met him before but an overwhelming hate took over him.

What did the old Zephyr think about this guy?

He reached into the hazy pool of inherited memory—memories that weren't his, but were now a part of him. The past Zephyr had been beaten repeatedly by Ladarius in the name of forcing his body to accept Aether. Anytime Zephyr caught sight of Ladarius in the pit, he would run far deeper into the pit to escape from his 'training' but how could he escape from an Awaken.

Zephyr tapped his fingers on the table.

Not anymore.

He picked up a knife—elegant and curved with black-silver steel—examined it, then used it to idly pick at his nails. "You know," he said, loud enough for the room to fall silent again, "you could've just said 'let him go.' But I guess when you spend all your life looking down on people, it's easy to forget we're still human."

A few cousins gasped.

Ledarius paused mid-bite.

Zephyr leaned back again, arms stretched across the back of his chair like a lazy king, that same smug smile on his lips. "Or maybe the rumors are true. Maybe when you activated your bloodline, it burned out the part of your brain that recognizes other people."

One of the younger cousins choked on their drink.

Ledarius slowly placed his fork down.

The air grew heavy. Tense.

Zephyr's grin grew wider. That's right. I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore.

Ledarius raised his head at last, and their eyes met for the first time.

Cold.

Dead.

Aether hummed faintly around him, invisible threads of power twitching in the air like the legs of a sleeping spider.

But Zephyr didn't blink.

Ledarius didn't rise. Didn't curse. Didn't lash out.

He only said one thing.

"…Enjoy your meal."

Then he turned his gaze back to his plate, as if Zephyr had already been dismissed.

It stung. Not like an insult—but like being erased.

Zephyr clenched his jaw for half a second before letting it out in a theatrical sigh. "You know, Ledarius, I expected something more poetic than 'enjoy your meal.' But hey, I guess I'm still a lowly it, right?"

He stood from his chair, stretching like a cat, and added with a yawn, "Anyway, thanks for the food, cousins. It really filled me with warm family spirit."

With that, he strolled out of the hall, humming softly to himself.

Behind him, no one dared speak. And yet, tension pulsed in the air, thick and unshakable.

The black sheep had spoken—and the wolves were now watching.