Chapter 18: Unfair Contract
Zephyr shut the heavy door behind him, the ornate crest of the Demios clan etched deep into the polished wood gleaming faintly under the flickering crystal-light chandeliers. The silence of his room pressed down on him like a thick velvet curtain.
His breathing was slow, measured, but his heart hadn't calmed since that moment with Serena. He stared at his trembling hands, the memory of Aether still crackling beneath his skin like static before a storm. A tingling pulse swirled in his chest, faint but real—proof that something alive was within him.
He walked across the obsidian-tiled floor, dragging his fingers over the stone-carved fireplace, his reflection stretching faintly in the polished black surface. Then he looked up at the tall mirror near his bed.
His red hair was slightly messy, eyes still vibrant red, and his silver-white skin glowed faintly in the dim light. But something was different. His eyes held weight now. Like the first flicker of power had begun to burn away the fog of worthlessness the clan had branded him with.
Zephyr leaned closer.
"It's real."
He placed a hand over his heart where the Aether stirred—a weak beat, yet alive. A grin slowly pulled at his lips. "You bastards really thought I was a joke. Turns out, the joke's got a punchline." He could feel it the sharp increase in strength and speed, his processing power increased the feeling was exhilarating.
'i feel lighter, it's as if space has softened for me'. It was a surreal feeling, it was as if he was facing less resistance when moving forward. And then a thought struck him. 'By my knowledge the Art gained is relative to one's deepest desire or trauma, I wonder what mine is derived from'. Just as the thought settled the answer came.
"You are a waste of space". The thought rang loud through out his life, he heard the word numerous times that even when asleep he would hear it, the trauma of the previous zephyr was so deep it affected how the world saw him. 'was it his deepest desire to not being seen as a waste of space, damn the guy sure has suffered, but worry not I am here now'. It seems the word waste of space was too much for the young zephyr to bear that he actually gained a power similar to it, overriding his innate bloodline. They were time where people awaken power that differ from their family but they still share the same source, but his Art was related to space and it didn't even start with 'DESTRUCTIVE PIN' but LIMBO.
As he pulled back, a knock echoed through the room.
He turned, composed. "Enter."