Ascension of the Forsaken Genius

The halls of House Aldreth were always alive with the echoes of training, from the clash of steel to the crackling of elemental energy. It was a household of warriors, where even the youngest members were expected to wield power befitting their noble lineage.

For months, Sylas had watched. Observed. Analyzed.

From his crib, from the arms of attendants, from the corners of the training hall, he absorbed every detail. His older brothers could summon flames, command the wind, or bend shadows to their will. Even those barely older than him could stir the energy in their cores with childish excitement.

But him?

Nothing.

No spark. No reaction. No hint of the power his family so valued.

At first, no one paid much attention—after all, he was still an infant. Most children didn’t awaken their abilities until years later. But for Sylas, the problem ran deeper.

He wasn’t just waiting for his power to manifest. He was actively searching for it.

And every attempt ended in failure.

His body simply refused to respond. No matter how much he focused, strained, or experimented, energy remained elusive—like a puzzle with missing pieces.

Until one night, everything changed.

The moonlight filtered through the grand windows of the Aldreth estate, casting a pale glow over the marble floors. In his crib, Sylas lay still, his young mind calculating his next approach.

For months, he had tested different methods. Breathing techniques. Muscle control. Even the way he shifted his body in hopes of triggering a reaction.

Nothing.

But tonight, he tried something new.

Rather than forcing energy to respond, he let go. Instead of pulling at it with his will, he let himself feel it.

His body relaxed. His breathing slowed. His mind emptied.

And then—

A flicker.

A sensation unlike anything he had felt before.

It was faint, weak, but undeniably real—a ripple of warmth moving beneath his skin, flowing outward like an unseen current.

His small fingers twitched. A faint glow shimmered around his hands, barely visible, like mist catching the moonlight. It wasn’t fire. It wasn’t ice. It wasn’t wind.

But it was something.

Sylas’s heart pounded.

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He had done it.

For the first time, energy responded to him.

His excitement was short-lived.

A soft gasp filled the room.

One of the attendants, a young maid assigned to care for him, had entered just in time to witness the phenomenon. She froze, eyes wide in shock, before scrambling out of the chamber.

Within minutes, the estate erupted into motion.

The training hall was rarely this crowded.

Duke Varian Aldreth stood at the center, arms crossed, his towering figure exuding authority. To his right, Lady Evelyne watched with cautious hope. Surrounding them were Sylas’s elder brothers and several key members of the household, their expressions ranging from curiosity to skepticism.

A Core Examiner—a scholar specialized in energy assessment—knelt before Sylas, who sat on the polished floor.

“So, this is the child,” the examiner murmured, studying the infant with sharp eyes.

The air in the room was tense. An early sign of affinity was rare, and for Sylas, who had shown no promise until now, this was unexpected.

Duke Varian nodded. “The attendant claimed he emitted energy last night. We will confirm it now.”

The examiner placed a small, ornate crystal before Sylas. “Let him touch it,” he instructed.

Lady Evelyne hesitated before gently guiding Sylas’s tiny hand onto the crystal’s surface.

A moment of silence.

Then—

A faint glow.

It was weak, unstable, but unmistakably present. Energy swirled within the crystal, responding to Sylas’s touch.

Gasps filled the hall.

“He truly has an affinity…” someone murmured.

Hope ignited in Lady Evelyne’s eyes. Even Duke Varian, ever composed, seemed intrigued.

The examiner hummed thoughtfully. “Interesting. It’s not a lack of talent, then. His energy simply… took longer to stir.”

Sylas listened, his young mind absorbing every word. He had done something significant. He had proven he wasn’t empty.

But then, the examiner’s face darkened.

The energy within the crystal had settled.

No vibrant red for fire. No deep blue for water. No luminous gold for lightning.

Instead, the glow was… colorless.

Transparent.

A silence heavier than before filled the room.

The examiner frowned, placing a second, more refined crystal before Sylas. “Once more.”

Sylas complied. Again, the energy responded—but the result was the same.

The scholar straightened, expression unreadable. “Duke Aldreth… your son possesses an affinity, but it is not for any elemental energy.”

A pause.

The words that followed struck harder than any blow.

“He has pure energy affinity.”

The shift in the room was immediate.

Excitement turned to unease. Hope withered into disappointment.

Rael, the eldest, let out a scoff. “Pure energy?” He turned to his father. “It’s useless. A raw, diluted force with no properties of its own. It can’t burn like fire, can’t heal like light, can’t destroy like lightning. It’s nothing.”

Lady Evelyne’s grip on Sylas tightened. “But he still has power,” she argued softly. “Surely there must be—”

“There is nothing,” Duke Varian cut in, his voice like steel. His gaze was locked onto Sylas, unreadable, unreadably cold. “Pure energy is a blank slate. It grants no advantage. No noble house values it.”

Sylas, despite his age, could feel it—the shift in how they saw him.

The anticipation, the hope, was gone.

Replaced by silent disappointment.

What should have been a moment of triumph became a quiet, shameful failure.

Lady Evelyne, unwilling to let the silence continue, whispered, “He can still grow… still prove himself.”

Duke Varian exhaled. “We shall see.”

With that, he turned away.

One by one, the others followed. The examiner packed his tools. The brothers lost interest. The attendants, once eager, looked upon Sylas with muted pity.

And just like that, the excitement was gone.

Left in the dimly lit hall, Sylas remained in his mother’s arms, his tiny ha

nds clenched into fists.

He felt no sadness.

Only resolve.

They dismissed pure energy as useless.

Then he would show them what the useless could become.