Chapter 1: No Mana
"Again."
Kael raised his hand.
The training ground stretched wide beneath the morning sky, its surface packed with hardened earth from years of use. Stone pillars stood evenly along the edges, carved with old runes that most students didn't bother to understand. They weren't here for history.
They were here for power.
Dozens of young nobles stood in formation, each focusing on the same task. Faint lights flickered around them—small at first, then growing steadier as their control improved. Some managed to hold their mana in place, shaping it into spheres. Others let it flow loosely around their hands.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was something.
Kael closed his eyes.
He had watched this scene every day for years.
"Mana…"
He steadied his breathing.
Inhale.
Exhale.
He focused on the space within his body, the place where others described a presence—a flow, a warmth, something that responded when called.
Kael felt nothing.
Not resistance.
Not absence.
Just… nothing.
A few seconds passed.
Then someone sighed loudly.
"Still nothing?"
Another voice followed. "At this point, it's kind of impressive."
A few quiet laughs spread through the group.
Kael opened his eyes slowly.
He didn't turn toward them.
There was no need.
He already knew.
Some were amused.
Some were annoyed.
Most simply didn't care.
He lowered his hand.
"Again," the instructor said.
The word came faster this time.
Sharper.
Kael nodded slightly and raised his hand once more.
His arm felt heavier than before, but he ignored it.
"Mana…"
Around him, the others were finishing. One student managed to form a stable orb of light, earning a brief nod from the instructor. Another shaped his mana into a thin, wavering edge.
Progress.
Recognition.
Things Kael had never received.
He stood still.
Waiting.
Hoping, even if he knew better.
Nothing came.
A удар struck his chest.
Kael staggered back and fell, the impact forcing the air out of his lungs. Dust rose around him as he hit the ground.
"Stop," the instructor said.
His voice carried no anger now—just annoyance.
"You're wasting time."
Kael coughed, his chest tightening as he tried to breathe.
"I can still try," he said, his voice low.
The instructor looked down at him.
"Try what?"
He stepped closer.
"You can't sense mana. You can't gather it. You can't use it."
Each sentence was flat.
Final.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Kael didn't answer.
Because he didn't have one.
He had never had one.
He just… kept going.
"You've had fifteen years," the instructor continued. "Everyone here started later than you. Look at them now."
Kael didn't need to look.
He already knew.
They were ahead.
Far ahead.
Some of them had only trained for a few years.
Some for less.
But they all had something he didn't.
The instructor shook his head. "You don't belong here."
Before Kael could respond, the air shifted.
It wasn't loud.
There was no sudden movement.
But the training ground changed.
The casual murmurs stopped.
Students straightened.
Even the instructor took a step back.
Kael felt it too.
A presence.
Controlled.
Heavy enough to be noticed without force.
"Why is he still training?"
The voice was calm.
Kael opened his eyes and looked up.
Arden Veyron stood a short distance away.
His older brother wore the same uniform as everyone else, but it didn't make him look ordinary. A faint silver glow surrounded him, steady and even. It didn't flicker or waver.
It stayed.
The instructor spoke quickly. "Young Master Arden, he insisted on continuing, so I allowed—"
Arden didn't look at him.
His gaze rested on Kael.
"Why?"
The question was directed at him.
Kael hesitated for a moment.
Then said, "I can still improve."
A few students laughed quietly.
Not loudly this time.
Just enough to be heard.
Arden didn't react.
He walked closer.
His steps were even, unhurried.
"For fifteen years," he said, "you've done the same thing."
He stopped in front of Kael.
"And nothing has changed."
Kael looked up at him.
"That doesn't mean it won't."
Arden studied him for a second.
"You don't have mana."
"I know."
"Then you also know that won't change."
Kael didn't respond.
There wasn't anything he could say.
Arden continued, "This training ground exists for a reason. It's not for effort. It's for results."
Kael's hands tightened slightly against the dirt.
"This is still my family," he said.
There was a pause.
Arden replied, "Not really."
The words were simple.
But they settled heavily in the air.
No one spoke.
No one disagreed.
After a moment, Arden said, "There's an open slot for the Abyss Trial tomorrow."
The instructor stiffened. "Young Master… that trial is meant for selected candidates. He doesn't meet the requirements—"
"He will go," Arden said.
The instructor stopped immediately.
Kael frowned slightly. "The Abyss Trial is dangerous."
No one interrupted him.
"People die in it," he added.
Arden nodded once.
"Yes."
Kael held his gaze. "Then why send me?"
"For the same reason you shouldn't be here," Arden replied.
His tone didn't change.
"You have no place in the main house. This is the simplest solution."
Kael stared at him.
There was no anger in Arden's face.
No frustration.
No sign that this decision meant anything at all.
That made it clearer than anything else.
This wasn't punishment.
It wasn't even personal.
It was just… removal.
"…I understand," Kael said quietly.
Arden turned away.
"Take him."
Two guards stepped forward.
They grabbed Kael by the arms and pulled him up.
He didn't resist.
As they dragged him across the training ground, the whispers started again.
"Finally."
"He lasted longer than I thought."
"Should've happened earlier."
Kael kept his eyes forward.
He didn't look back.
The room they locked him in was small and bare.
Stone walls.
No windows.
A single heavy door.
Kael sat down against the wall, letting his body rest.
His chest still ached from the удар earlier. His arms felt numb from being dragged.
But he ignored both.
For a long time, he didn't move.
Didn't think.
Just sat there.
Eventually, he exhaled slowly.
"…so that's it."
The words sounded distant.
Like they belonged to someone else.
He had always known he was different.
From the first time he failed to sense mana as a child.
From the looks people gave him.
From the silence that followed whenever he tried.
Still—
He had kept going.
Every day.
Every year.
Because as long as he tried, it felt like there was still a chance.
Now—
That was gone.
Not taken.
Not stolen.
Just ended.
"You never will."
Arden's words repeated in his mind.
Kael closed his eyes.
He wasn't angry.
Not really.
Just tired.
The kind of tired that didn't go away.
Tomorrow, he would be sent into the Abyss.
A place meant to test the strongest.
A place where even those with talent sometimes didn't return.
For someone like him—
There wasn't anything to consider.
Only one outcome.
Kael leaned his head back against the wall.
"…it's fine."
No one would come for him.
No one would stop this.
And he didn't expect them to.
Time passed slowly.
The silence stretched.
At some point, Kael stopped thinking about tomorrow.
Stopped thinking about anything at all.
Far below the world above…
The Abyss remained.
Dark.
Deep.
Unseen.
And in that darkness—
Something opened its eyes.
End of Chapter 1
"Add to library if you like it 🔥"