The Abyss

I am Sebastian Eldrion. I come from the wealthiest and noblest family in the land, but within my household, I am considered useless because of my lack of power. Despite this, my family sent me to the Magic Academy, where my brother, Lucas, and my sister, Valencia, are currently enrolled. Both of them remain outstanding students due to their incredible attributes and hard work. The air in the Testing Hall was thick with the scent of ozone the heavy, suffocating weight of raw mana that I could never touch. I walked between my siblings, my boots clicking a hollow rhythm against the polished marble. Every eye in the academy felt like a needle, and the whispers followed me like jagged glass. "The Eldrion failure. The hollow prince." I pulled my collar tight, the pressure in my chest swelling until the air felt like liquid lead. "Where are you headed?" Valencia asked, her voice soft with a pity that stung more than the glares of the crowd. "The orb," I rasped, my throat feeling as though it were filled with dust. "I need to know if anything has changed." We rounded the corner, and the atmosphere shattered. A sound like grinding stones echoed through the chamber, followed by the crystalline "c***k" of exploding glass. In the center of a circle of trembling students stood a man draped in a murderous, crimson aura. He withdrew his hand from a pedestal, leaving behind a pile of shimmering, pulverized dust. His presence hit me like a physical blow. The malice in his gaze was a jagged blade, cutting through the room's oxygen. My stomach lurched, and before I could steady myself, I was on my knees, coughing until the white marble beneath me was stained with a bright, metallic crimson. "Sebastian!" Lucas was at my side in an instant, his face a mask of alarm. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine," I replied, wiping my mouth as my vision swam. "But that person... he has a terrifying will to kill." "That's Luke," Valencia intervened, her expression darkening as the man stood amongst the shards of his own strength. "One of the few elites born with divine power. The Abyssal Warlord took his family; now, he is a man living only for a revenge he hasn't claimed yet." After the introductions, a heavy silence fell as the professor's voice rang out, calling my name. I stepped onto the dais, my legs feeling like brittle straw. Luke's bloodshot eyes followed me, his gaze heavy with cold, silent judgment. I reached out, my fingers trembling as they touched the cool surface of the new testing orb. I closed my eyes, searching deep within for a spark, a heat, a single drop of mana to offer. I poured every ounce of my soul into my palm. The orb remained dark. No hum. No glow. Not even a faint, flickering shadow of light. The machine confirmed the truth I had tried so hard to outrun. My siblings stood there in shock, faced with the reality that I truly possessed no power at all. I wasn't just a late bloomer. I was a void.