Ch-7 “The Weakest Among Royals”

The air in the throne room felt heavier.

Kazuki's voice continued like a thread sewing together the torn pages of memory. And Vareon—silent and still—could only listen.

But this time…the story wasn't about someone else.

[Backstory — The Fall of the Quietest One]

The classroom returned to Vareon's vision, almost hauntingly familiar now.

There they were—Shang, radiant, surrounded by admirers and strength.Raizen, seated near him, buried in books, eyes calculating and sharp.Darius, off to the edge, silent, detached from the world, as if he didn't belong to the same timeline.

And then—there was Vareon.

Always smiling. Always polite. Always present.

To everyone else, Vareon was the kindest child in the academy.Teachers praised his consistent grades. Students admired his patience. Nobles commended his manners.

But none of them saw the truth.

Because inside... Vareon was breaking.

He wasn't like the others. Not even close.

During the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, where Shang had summoned a celestial being, Vareon had felt nothing. No energy. No flicker of light. The crystal didn't glow. The air didn't shift.

He failed.

Then came the spiritual force testing—where children channeled Chaos or Holy energy. Raizen had awakened Holy light. Even Darius had triggered chaotic interference. But Vareon?

Nothing. Again.

His body trembled. His hands bled trying to force what wouldn't come.All he managed to produce was a weak glimmer—a whisper of energy compared to the storms around him.

In a world built on strength, Vareon had none.

He wasn't physically strong like Shang.He wasn't intellectually superior like Raizen.He wasn't dangerous like Darius.

He was just… Vareon.

But what he lacked in raw power, he compensated with something far more dangerous.

His mind.

Not the sharp logic of Raizen.Not the instinctual calm of Darius.Not the instinctive charisma of Shang.

Vareon's mind was cold. Strategic. Manipulative.

He learned early on how to read people—not just what they said, but what they feared, what they wanted, what they refused to show.

He studied smiles. Reactions. The moments people looked away.He learned to play the part—of the good student, the respectful noble, the gentle soul.

But deep inside… he hated every second of it.

Not because he envied them.But because he feared he might never matter at all.

[A Darker Shift — The Cave]

The memory continued.

Vareon—alone now—was sitting in a dark cave, far from the academy. His back rested against jagged stone, and his fingers gripped a half-burnt scroll of forbidden scripture.

His eyes were wide, face pale. He wasn't a boy anymore—but he wasn't a man yet either.

This was the moment it all changed.

"If the world won't give me power,""Then I'll find power in the world they fear."

He had whispered that in the cave's silence.

Even then, he had hesitated.He wasn't proud of what he was doing.But he saw no other way.

Vareon had chosen a path not of ambition... but of survival.

[Back to the Present – Throne Room]

The vision faded like fog burned away by sunlight.

Kazuki stood before Vareon, his voice low but piercing:

"You never wanted to be this man, did you?"

Vareon didn't answer.

Because the answer was already known.