The clang of shattered metal still echoed in the chilly training arena air. Synthetic blood dripped from Lucian's sword tip, forming a small puddle on the gleaming obsidian floor. He stood tall, breath heavy, chest rising and falling beneath his dented chest plate.
His hawk-like eyes fixed on the only figure that mattered in the entire Dome: his father. Across the arena, General Cassian Aurelius stood unmoving, his silhouette like a monolith carved from granite and disappointment.
The silence he created was more deafening than the roar of the Darkness monsters outside the walls. Lucian had defeated twenty elite-level combat automatons, a new record even veteran warriors would struggle to match. Yet, there was no applause. Only a piercing cold gaze could freeze the core of any man's heart.
"Do you think this is a victory, boy? You think this pathetic acrobatic display is true strength?" Cassian's voice shattered the silence, each word like shards of ice striking Lucian. No pride in his tone. Only cold scorn that killed any remaining hope in Lucian's heart. He had fought desperately, pushing his limits to near breaking point, only to be greeted with this disdain. Lucian straightened his back, refusing to show how deeply the words cut him.
"I completed the Heritage Trial in record time, Father. I destroyed every target and surpassed every simulation you threw at me."
"You finished it with disgusting weakness," Cassian shot back, stepping forward. Each of his steps echoed with absolute authority. "You showed mercy in the last simulation. You hesitated. Doubt is poison, and mercy is a disease that will get us all killed."
At the arena's edge, Valerius, Lucian's cousin, smiled thinly. That smile held evil satisfaction, hidden behind a mask of fake concern. He stood beside Lucian's fiancée, Seraphina Vallen, whose face was pale. Valerius' presence here was salt poured into an open wound.
"General, perhaps Lucian only wants to show that strength isn't always brutal," Valerius interrupted, his tone slippery as oil.
"He has the heart of a warrior, not a killing machine. Unfortunately, heart is a luxury that will get you killed out there." That veiled insult hit Lucian harder than any punch. Valerius was always skilled at poisoning his achievements.
"Shut your mouth, Valerius. This isn't your concern," Lucian growled, his eyes glinting dangerously.
"Oh, but this is my concern," Cassian retorted, his eyes fixed on Seraphina. "The daughter of the noble Vallen clan is engaged to the heir of Aurelius, not to some sentimental boy who needs defending."
Seraphina's face flushed with shame and anger. She stepped forward, her voice clear despite a slight tremble.
"General Cassian, Lucian's skills are undeniable. His strategies may be unorthodox, but he proves their effectiveness with remarkable results."
"See?" Cassian laughed dryly, without humor. "You even need your fiancé to defend you. How pitiful. The Aurelius clan wasn't built on 'unorthodox' strategies. It was built on blood, steel, and the will to do whatever it takes to survive."
General Cassian stands before Lucian, his presence a palpable force. The power dynamic between them is stark, like a mountain looming over a pebble. His aura weighs heavily on the air, a silent threat.
"You're tarnishing the Aurelius name, Lucian," Cassian whispers, voice low and menacing.
"Every time I look at you, I see your mother's weakness. The foolish emotions that got her killed by those Dark monsters."
The blow lands deep. Mentioning his mother is forbidden, a wound that never heals. Blind rage surges through Lucian, eclipsing fear.
"How dare you speak her name. You did nothing as she lay dying! You just stood there, watching!"
Plak!
Cassian's hand slammed into Lucian's cheek with brutal force. Lucian's head jerked sideways, sharp pain exploding across his face. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, tasting like hot metal. Total silence enveloped the arena. Guards and onlookers averted their gaze, unwilling to witness the heir's humiliation.
Lucian staggered back, one hand touching his throbbing cheek. His eyes blazed with pure hatred. Amidst this public disgrace, something within him began to crack. The foundation of respect and love he held for his father started crumbling to dust.
"You are my greatest disappointment," Cassian hissed, his eyes as cold as ice. "Your evolutionary core may be pure, your strength considerable, but your spirit is weak. Too bright, too naive. This world will devour you alive, and I won't lift a finger to save you."
Cassian turned away, as if Lucian no longer warranted attention. His gaze fell upon Valerius, and for the first time, a glimmer of approval sparked in his eyes.
"Valerius, you understand what's at stake. You know that to protect the Dome, we must be fiercer than the monsters we face."
Valerius bowed his head in feigned respect. "I live to serve Clan Aurelius and safeguard the Dome, General. By any means necessary."
Lucian could only stare, a chill of betrayal creeping down his spine. His father praised him publicly, moments after destroying his pride. This wasn't about the Inheritance Trials anymore. It was a coup unfolding before his eyes.
Seraphina looked at Lucian, her eyes filled with horror, pity, and something deeper – fear. She was trapped in this cruel family drama, their engagement now feeling like a shackle, not a promise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Cassian's warning glance silenced her instantly.
"As proof of my conviction," Cassian continued, his voice echoing across the arena, "I grant the honor of leading the next Gamma Sector Purge Expedition to Valerius."
The world seemed to stop spinning for Lucian. This expedition should have been his. It was his right as the heir, a ritual that transitioned him to solidify his position. His father hadn't just humiliated him; he'd actively stripped him of his inheritance and handed it to a venomous snake who'd been eyeing him for so long.
Valerius struggled to hide his triumphant smile, but his eyes gleamed with cruel delight. He glanced at Lucian, an overtly superior stare.
"I won't disappoint you, General," Valerius said, his voice full of promise.
Lucian felt his throat tighten. He wanted to scream, attack, and destroy the smug smile on Valerius's face. He wanted his father to feel some of the pain and humiliation he'd just inflicted. But he knew it was futile. Fighting Cassian here was suicide.
He was a broken heir, a joke to his clan.
When Cassian's group left the arena, Seraphina hesitated. She looked at Lucian, her lips forming his name silently. There was a plea in her eyes, a struggle between clan duty and hidden feelings for him. Then, with a trembling breath, she turned and followed the others, leaving him alone.
Truly alone.
Lucian stood in the empty arena, his blood dripping into synthetic blood pools. The silence now felt heavy, oppressive, filled with echoes of his failure. His father's shadow, Valerius's victorious gaze, and Seraphina's horrified expression seared his mind.
This wasn't just a defeat. It was the beginning of his downfall.
Lucian stared at his sword, lying on the ground. It symbolized his strength and pride, but now it seemed like a cold, useless piece of metal. His training, sacrifices, and hopes lay shattered.
A strange chill ran through him, unlike the arena's cold air. It was a whisper from within, from the core of his evolution. A dark, ancient echo, something he'd long suppressed. Legends spoke of the Abyssal Echo, a forbidden evolution path that consumed its user's soul.
"They called you weak," the voice whispered in his mind, tempting and dangerous. "They stripped your rights. Left you to rot. Show them true strength."
Lucian clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm until it bled. He lifted his head, eyes no longer filled with pain, but something darker. Something cold and merciless.
"If the world wants a monster, a monster they'll get."
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes watched from behind an obsidian pillar. Not his father's or Valerius', but an informant loyal to a different faction, one waiting for the Aurelius clan's first crack.
The observer touched his hidden communicator.
"Target broken. Stage set. Aurelius' legacy will crumble from within."
In the arena, Lucian took his sword, no longer a proud heir. He grasped it as a man with nothing left to lose. And such a man is the most dangerous.
Revenge was planted. In the Kubah's barren land, such seeds grow into poisonous trees, tearing apart their world's foundation. His downfall began, but from the ashes, something far more terrifying would rise.