When Vaelor stood up from his throne, the gravity within the hall seemed to multiply.
It wasn't crushing or even oppressive.
It was a weight.
A weight that hung over everyone's heads, causing many below the podium to subconsciously lower their heads.
Elowen drew her daughter closer to her side, alleviating most of the pressure the young girl was feeling.
Faelor's expression darkened upon seeing the tension on his daughter's face.
His yellow eyes turned back to the towering figure standing above them.
'This bastard! Is he crazy? I thought this was supposed to be a birthday party for a one-year-old—how did we get wrapped up in this farce!?'
Regret flooded his mind as he promptly swore to never again go to any birthday party involving an Aetherion or their ilk.
Alaric's eyes blazed with a reckless fire. His fists clenched tightly behind his back as he basked in the weight of Vaelor's presence.
'So this is the peak. This is the pinnacle of power he sits on.'
His eyes flashed with a look of fanatic obsession. A burning desire held deep within him burned anew.
On his throne, Vairon was about to stand, but a single look from his mother stopped him in his tracks.
Gritting his teeth, he sat down heavily, his hands gripping the arms of his throne with crushing force.
Kaelira turned to face her father-in-law, a fierce resolve in her gaze as she stared directly into his eyes. Gone was the spoiled daughter, replaced by a mother willing to tear down the heavens should anything harm her child.
Vaelor met her gaze, his stormy eyes fixed on her piercing ones. For a moment, the two stood like that, communicating silently.
After a few seconds that felt like hours to everyone else, Kaelira closed her eyes and took a step back.
A flicker of approval flashed in Vaelor's rumbling eyes before he turned his gaze to the small boy below.
And that boy, his own flesh and blood, stared back at him.
His gaze resolute, but a spark of something flickered within the depths of his eyes.
Thud. Thud.
Vaelor's heavy steps sounded throughout the hall. Every step fell like a hammer on the chests of those watching.
Meilan and Marek stood nervously behind Chayrith, not knowing what to do.
'This is not part of the plan! Big sis Kaelira, help!'
Marek's childish body tremored like a small quail, his face pale as fear gripped his heart.
But when his eyes looked at the small child standing in front of him, the tremors calmed little by little.
He couldn't understand.
Chayrith was smaller than him. Weaker than him. Hell, the kid could barely talk.
So why? Why was his back so straight?
How was he able to meet that monster's gaze?
As question after question rifled through his mind, one question in particular festered, growing like a tumor until it couldn't be ignored.
'Am… am I really so weak that a baby can stand up straight before me, while I cower like a fool?'
For the first time in his life, he felt an emotion stronger than any envy or fear he had ever felt before.
It was bitterness.
…
Chayrith watched his grandfather approach.
The very void around him seemed to twist and bend to his will. As he watched, his heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.
Was he afraid? No, that wasn't it.
Anxious? Never.
What is it? What is this feeling?
Chayrith's heart was a jumbled mess; his brows, for the first time that night, furrowed in confusion.
His expression was somewhat lost as he tried to place the emotion he was experiencing.
"Annoying, isn't it?"
Chayrith was shocked awake by the sudden unfamiliar voice.
When he looked up, he noticed that at some point, his grandfather was now standing directly in front of him. It was his magnetic voice that had spoken.
Chayrith's confused gaze met his grandfather's dark eyes.
"Gabo?"
Vaelor watched him closely, as if peering into his very soul.
"That knot in your heart. It feels like a bone lodged in your throat with nowhere to go."
As he spoke, his gaze grew heavier, the storm contained within his eyes growing darker.
"Do you know what that feeling is, boy?"
Chayrith tilted his head in response. His eyes held a yearning for knowledge, his gaze still unwavering, but the spark within now growing fainter.
Vaelor didn't speak immediately. But his silhouette seemed to grow larger, covering the hall in an oppressive shadow.
Staring down at Chayrith, he finally spoke. Every word was clear and concise.
"That feeling is helplessness."
Chayrith's body shook, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief.
Vaelor tilted his head and continued as if he had just stated the most common truth.
"You are a weak boy. And not just because you have barely learned to walk or because you are but a child. You are weak because you lack what it takes to even understand what it means to be strong."
At this, Chayrith lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes from view.
The guests present were stunned, no one able to comprehend what was happening.
Was the great patriarch of the Aetherion Clan… bullying a toddler?
Kaelira bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, but she didn't say a word, choosing to trust in her father-in-law.
Liraxia's face was still hidden behind a veil, making her expression impossible to read. Not a single emotion could be gleaned from her veiled face.
Only the rhythmic tapping of her nail on her throne indicated that she was even listening to what was going on.
"And it is because of this weakness that you can become something greater."
Although his head stayed lowered, Chayrith's body tensed, waiting for his next words.
"You are different from others in this hall, not just because of your heritage or bloodline. You are different because that is what fate decided for you the moment you were born into this Clan. I am here for one reason, and one reason only."
Vaelor's aura didn't explode. It didn't even flare.
It simply vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.
But that absence made it difficult to breathe. All the bowed heads within the hall sank even lower, their bodies dripping with cold sweat.
When Vaelor spoke again, his voice was serene. But it was filled with a power, a conviction that pierced straight into Chayrith's being.
"I am here…"