14 Resolve

Anastasia and Freya stood before Ember and Caldor, their hearts heavy with the burden they

bore. Anastasia cleared her throat, her voice trembling as she braced herself for

the task ahead.

"Darlings," she began, her voice soft yet unsteady. "I have something very difficult to tell you."

Ember and Caldor fixed their eyes on her, sensing something serious about to happen. Their gazes shifted from Anastasia to each other, a silent exchange of apprehension.

"Your father, Ariel," Anastasia's voice faltered, a tear escaping her eye. "He's... he died."

The room seemed to hold its breath as the weight of those words settled in. Shock ran

across their features as they exchanged a disbelieving glance before their composure crumbled, and they began to cry.

Caldor, who was usually a jester broke down. Even Ember, the usually reserved and stoic one, couldn't contain her grief and cried. They had become orphans.

Anastasia and Freya rushed forward, holding them tight. Their sobs echoing in the room, grief shared and burdens shouldered together.

Anastasia whispered, her voice trembling but comforting, "We will be here for you. Always."

Ember, her tears staining Freya's shoulder, looked up with reddened eyes. Her voice was barely

a whisper, filled with sorrow and anger. "Who did this?"

Freya met Ember's gaze, saddened. She didn't want her to live her life in pursuit of revenge.

"We're still investigating, but I promise you, we will find them. And whoever is responsible will pay for what they've done. Let us grown ups handle this, okay?" Freya held her granddaughter tighter.

While Ember was always cold and reserved, she loved her family dearly. She would do

anything to to be with them, but the world just took away a man she cared about most in the world.

'I'm too weak'. She thought, soaking Freya's clothes in tears. 'I'll make those

who killed him pay!' she thought, determined.

***

Atticus was absorbing mana inside his room, when Arya materialized from the shadows.

"Fuck!" he blurted. He quickly realized that he made a mistake and corrected himself.

"What brings you here?"

Arya paid no heed to his antics, as she met his eyes with a solemn expression. "Young master, young miss Ember and young master Caldor's father was killed yesterday night,"

Aria's words were like a dagger to his heart, each syllable cutting deeper than the last.

"How?" he asked, baffled that Ariel was killed just like that. If there was anything he had

learned, it was that the Ravenstein family was one of the strongest in the human domain. It was

surprising that anyone dared to kill Ariel.

"It's being investigated, young master. You should go meet young master Caldor and young

miss Ember. My lady is breaking the news to them now."

Without wasting another moment, Atticus set off towards Ember and Caldor, his heart heavy. He never met Ariel and he'd be lying if he said he felt anything about his death.

Although they might be related by blood, it was hard to care about a person he never met. The only thing he was worried about was how Ember and Caldor would feel.

He found Ember and Caldor crying their eyes out, as Anastasia and Freya as they embraced them.

'Ariel was strong, and yet he died.' He thought gravely, 'Without absolute strength in this world, you can't survive. It's even worse for me, as I am practically an heir of the Ravenstein family. I need to become stronger.' Atticus had not been able to prevent his death iin his past life; he refused to let that happen again.

A fierce resolve settled within him, a fire ignited as he watched his cousins, red-eyed and heartbroken. Atticus's jaw clenched, his hands balling into fists.

'I need to get stronger,' he repeated to himself, the words a silent vow. He would train harder, push to the farthest limits so no one would dare come near his family.

Meanwhile at the Ravenstein estate, hidden by a towering mountain, lay a secluded training facility.

Expertly crafted with unmatched precision and strengthened to endure the power of even the most formidable of entities, a Paragon.

As Avalon stood before the entrance of the facility, he took deep breaths to steady his resolve, his hands trembling ever so slightly. He stepped forward, his heart pounding in his chest.