Several days had passed when I left the hospital to attend my dead friend's funeral, the room was small, too small and yet silence ruled the entire place.
Four torches burned at the corners of the plain black coffin. There were no flowers, not even his name written on it as if people's indifference was not already insulting enough they didn't even allow us to give him a proper funeral.
Aurora does not honor its dead, it simply throws them away inside badly nailed wooden boards where dreams, ambitions and memories disappear into complete indifference and oblivion.
We were five.
Elias, still pale, standing despite his cracked ribs.
Lyra, her hands together, her eyes red from crying.
Asha, stoic, fists clenched behind her back and the Patriarch of House Veyras, Dorian's Father.
He did not look sad at all, not even a slight reaction, his gaze moved over the coffin with boredom.
— That's unfortunate, he simply said.
His voice carried more tiredness than sadness.
— I knew he wasn't ready, let him join those who failed to endure.
Words failed me to describe what I felt at that moment.
Elias looked away, Asha would have hit him if I had not stopped her with a weak gesture.
I stayed still, I wanted to explode in rage, tell him that he never knew his son, that he never saw his courage, his optimism, the way he made situations feel less tragic even during the worst moments but no sound came out of my mouth then suddenly my aura weakly leaked out but enough for him to notice it.
— That anger you feel will lead you nowhere kid, he said.
— He was your son!
He completely ignored me while walking away somewhere.
In their rules, Dorian had failed, so he deserved no more attention and that truth cut deeper than any claw. The Patriarch gave one last gesture before leaving, then two guards carried the coffin away and an almost tangible emptiness took its place as if he had never been there, as if Dorian had never existed.
We remained alone after they left. That was when Lyra collapsed onto the floor shaking with sobs, Elias held her in his arms without saying a word.
Asha punched the wall, her fist leaving a grotesque crack and as for me I had nothing to tell them so I stayed silent.
Later everyone returned to their quarters, I had not left my room since the funeral.
The flames of the torches still came back to my mind, his father's cold words still hitting me. "That's unfortunate."
Those words frustrated me beyond reason, I clenched the sheets in my fists when the door opened.
Pedro entered his usual large smile absent this time, behind him, Bruno, they said nothing, they first sat down, Pedro at the edge of my huge bed, Bruno on a chair near the fire. A heavy silence filled the room but it was not oppressive. A silence meaning they already knew everything…
Pedro finally sighed:
— We know about Dorian, Simon told us what happened there.
I looked away.
— Then you already know how pathetic I am, you warned us…and instead of running away we believed our strength meant something…
— Stop blaming yourself it's already a miracle he didn't tear all of you apart, Bruno whispered.
I raised my eyes toward him.
His face said the opposite of those words.
Pedro placed a hand on my shoulder.
— Listen, Iron… you can blame yourself as much as you want, you can destroy yourself from the inside but it won't bring him back.
My lips trembled.
— But how do you expect me to…it shouldn't have happened…I should have done more…
Bruno walked closer and crouched in front of me.
— Our universe is cruel little brother and it forgives nothing, you can meet death at any moment. That's just how it is but believe me… dying instead of him would not have changed anything, there would simply be two missing tonight.
I shook my head, tears blurring my vision.
— Then what? I just wait until someone else dies? We keep playing roulette until nobody is left?
Pedro tightened his grip slightly.
— No, what you're going to do is stop thinking about what you lost and be grateful you're still alive then when you leave this room you will turn this unbearable pain into a strength capable of surpassing anyone trying to threaten you and your loved ones, got it?
He smiled, a sad smile.
— That's also what it means to be a Vongold, not letting adversity defeat you and continuing to move forward.
Bruno nodded.
— You want to honor Dorian? Then stand tall against the world even if it tears you apart from the inside, even if you want to die because he doesn't have a choice anymore, but you still do.
My head lifted up, tears freely falling. Pedro tapped my shoulder one last time, then stood up.
Before leaving, Bruno stopped at the doorway.
He turned toward me, his deep voice filling the room.
— Iron… listen carefully.Our world does not cry for its dead, so for tonight only cry for him, cry one last time but tomorrow… Tomorrow you will move forward and make sure his name is never forgotten.
Then they left and I remained alone with my last tears…
Days passed and what struck me the most was how normal life returned. Between theory and practical classes, hellish training and the heirs' wars of influence my friend's death still hurt but had become a reality I had finally accepted.
However after a few days of silence the whispers returned and it was my name they whispered again as always with fascination and disgust.
— Hey, did you hear about Arcadia?
— Yeah apparently they ran into Aegon Targus Izac's former war dog. That's insane…
— Dorian was the only one who didn't survive…
— That bastard owed me money damn but hey I wonder how much the others begged The Butcher to come back alive…
The attitude of most heirs had changed and some avoided me as if I was a walking curse, others stared at me like prey they needed to kill before I became too dangerous.
Thankfully I could still count on my friends to support me no matter what, since our loss our bonds had grown stronger.
And at the top of that tower of hostility stood Cassian Montclair, whenever his gaze landed on me it was always cold and controlled, strangely I felt like the world was doing everything possible to keep us away from each other until the inevitable collision because within the whispers there was now this unbearable doubt:
— If Iron survived Aegon… What about Cassian?
— Stop dreaming Cassian passed every challenge perfectly… from what people say he didn't even need to draw his sword once.
Cassian Montclair, Aurora's uncontested champion, the perfect heir, seeing his name compared to mine was an insult he could not ignore but he still showed nothing, his aristocratic smile remained, his duel victories remained flawless but his silence about all this made me deeply uncomfortable.
Three weeks later training had become much more intense, every heir wanted to prove they were worth more than their rank. Duels followed one after another, the pressure grew heavier and I no longer wanted to play, not since Arcadia, not since Dorian so I crushed them without any compassion, glory after each fight meant nothing to me, only my progress mattered.
Then finally came the announcement most people were waiting for.
The Academy Rector, wrapped in black clothes, stood inside the main amphitheater.
His voice announced death and triumph.
— Protophetos, most of you have survived death more than once and most of you have triumphed more than once. If your Houses send you here it is not only to see you triumph and survive against simple monsters but above all to see what their future is, the future of their names through you…
In four months the Heirs Tournament will take place, all Houses will fight to decide which one deserves to stand at the top of this academy.
A heavy pressure spread through the hall, the ultimate trial where every family would place its name on the scale. A way for everyone to settle scores, a spectacle.
— To prepare you properly, the Rector continued, you will return to your respective Houses to train under your mentors, you will be judged when you return. Prepare yourselves well. The weak will fall. The strong will climb higher.
A shiver passed through the crowd.
For many, it was the perfect chance to erase their humiliations. For others, a chance to shine before the Patriarchs and restore their Family's name.
And for me…it was the deadline, the moment when I would eventually have to face Cassian Montclair, before all of Aurora, a duel that would not only be a fight but also a finale.
When we left the amphitheater, the stares felt even heavier.
Elias clenched his fists, Lyra raised her eyes filled with determination and Asha smiled wildly before this great challenge, ready for anything.
I raised my eyes toward Aurora's heavy sky. Four months…four months to become stronger than I was now.