The entire grand hall went silent, the golden rays of the sun hit Derrick, highlighting his failure for the world to see.
"What is this?" Derrick asked, his voice cracked and tears slowly pooled around his eyes.
"I'm sorry young prince." The priest placed his hand on Derrick's shoulder, his heart broken at the sight before him.
"I've heard of people like him, they are very rare, even rarer than people with grandmaster talents." A bystander spoke, a sympathetic look wove its way onto his face.
Sure, most people didn't like Derrick, but that didn't mean they wanted him to be magicless. This was a whole new level of bad luck.
"Fate has a way of testing us. Do not despair," the priest continued, trying to comfort Derrick.
Derrick didn't say a word, hundreds of thoughts were rushing through his mind.
Without any magic, how could he get any revenge for his mother? How could he take on the dark beasts?
"No..." Derrick said weakly, his legs turned to jelly, and he was about to fall when his Royal Knight caught him.
"Stand tall, my prince," The Royal Knight said softly, his heart broken at the sight of Derrick's result.
"K... Klea." Derrick stared at the girl who he had loved for four years, something didn't feel right.
Her hands were locked with Lancel's, and both were standing before him, trying to avoid meeting his eyes.
"My love, what is this?" Derrick said, clearly emotional.
"There's no easy way to say this..." Lancel started, his eyes fixated on the floor.
"Lancel and I have been seeing each other for about 4 months now," Klea said, her voice low.
Derrick's lips parted, but no words came. His mind screamed for an answer, a reason, anything. But all he found was silence and the crushing sound of something inside him breaking.
His heart thrummed, anger filled his mind, and for a second he saw red, but the hand of his royal knight on his shoulder made him calm once more.
"Why? How?" Derrick asked the two questions on his mind.
"You were always too available and too open to me, Derrick. I need someone who isn't obsessed with me." Each word that Klea spoke cut Derrick deeper than the last.
"Lancel made his feelings known to me one day, and I feel the same way," Klea continued.
"Thank you for the kindness and memories, Derrick, but I'm afraid we have to end things here," Klea said, a snicker on her face.
Derrick stood there, turning her words over and over again, trying to see if he was stupid enough to actually buy what Klea was selling.
"Ogreshit," Derrick said. He was no fool, especially now that the love had been peeled away from his eyes, he could see clearly.
"You just moved to him because he awakened magic. You're nothing more than a less privileged girl chasing after money and power." The pain in Derrick's eyes was evident.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak to my beloved that way." Lancel stepped in front of Klea with a smirk on his face.
"We were brothers, you bastard!" Derrick screamed, the hurt in his voice was clear.
"Like I said, don't speak to my beloved disrespectfully, else..." Lancel's voice was stern.
"What?" A new level of pain and anger manifested in Derrick's heart.
"Did you just threaten me?" Derrick couldn't believe it, he had been hit with more shock in the past three minutes than his entire life.
"Apologize to her." Lancel raised his hand, sparks gathered around them.
"Whoa, he just awakened his magic and he can already use it?" A member of the crowd said in admiration.
Normally, it takes a person anywhere from 3 days to a month, depending on their talent, to be able to use it.
"It must be his master talent." Another member of the crowd added.
Derrick's vision blinked, and just like earlier, he saw red.
He didn't wait for Lancel to make a move, he pulled the sword of his Royal Knight from its sheath and charged forward.
Lancel was caught off guard, he didn't expect such a reaction from Derrick.
"At ease, my prince." The Royal Knight said with his right hand holding Derrick firmly.
"Draw the carriage!" The Royal Knight shouted, and his subordinates did as they were told.
"You will regret this, both of you!" Derrick's voice crackled as the knight dragged him away, fury and heartbreak tangled in every word.
"Let go of me, I need to deal with that bastard." Derrick screamed at the top of his lungs.
"My prince, now is not the time or place for such an outburst," The Royal Knight said while shoving Derrick into the carriage.
The image of Derrick's mother flashed in his mind, and something deep inside him awakened.
"ARGHHHHHH!" Derrick screamed, he lunged out of the carriage window.
In his mind, there was a feeling, one he couldn't describe, something calling out to him from the great beyond, like a primal call.
"My Prince!" The Royal Knight screamed, but Derrick couldn't hear him, he was too blinded by rage and his emotions.
Each step Derrick took, he could feel himself drawing closer and closer to revenge.
He could feel his spirit calling out to power, and with each step he took, that power felt closer to the tip of his fingers.
Derrick felt something grip his legs, the same feeling had overcome him once again, drawing him downwards.
Derrick's body tumbled, going downhill. He didn't have any idea what was happening, neither did he want to know.
His body crashed into the walls of an unknown cave, and there it lay.
A glowing orb, like the one used during the awakening ceremony, but this one was different. It was dragon-shaped.
The glow surrounding the orb was otherworldly, ethereal. It was as if it was sacred even to the gods themselves.
The faint dragon roars coming from the crystal called out to Derrick, drawing him to its power.
Derrick ran towards it, the thoughts in his mind had gone completely numb, and his primal instincts had taken over.
Derrick's hands met the crystal, and a bright white light, one that could be seen from every part of the kingdom shot into the sky, tearing the clouds apart.
Derrick's eyes rested upon a mighty red dragon, one the size of a mountain.
The dragon stared at Derrick, and before Derrick could analyze what was going on, the dragon flew into his chest.
Derrick felt a painful pang coming from his chest, and his mind was instantly overwhelmed.
Golden glowing runes appeared all over Derrick's body, their glow growing brighter each second.
Derrick opened his mouth and a loud, unnatural scream came from the depth of his soul.
His eyes went pitch black and fangs grew out of his mouth.
His entire body felt like it was on fire from the inside.
Claws grew out of his hands, and his hair extended, growing to his waist.
Everything happened so fast, and through it all Derrick continued to scream.
[System Conditions have been met]
[Legendary Dragon Bloodline Awakening]
Those were the last words Derrick saw before the pain grew too much, and his body fell to the ground.