Chapter 10: Fractured

Chapter 10: Fractured

As the warmth of the fireplace touched Darius's small, lean form, he could not draw solace from its comforting flames. His azure eyes, usually sparkling with an eager thirst for knowledge, were now clouded and dull. He sat alone in a room of the foreign mansion, the scent of burning wood and beeswax permeating the still air. His heart felt cold, reflecting the marble underfoot.

The mansion in Rancito Cordoba was a humble testament to the Valdene family's prestige and prosperity, yet its intricate architecture, its ornate carvings of wolves and runes, meant nothing to the six-year-old heir. 

Amidst the fury of his thoughts, Darius was vaguely aware of the distant murmurings of his parents. Their voices, occasionally echoing down the corridor, were lost in a chaotic mix of his thoughts. However, the occasional sharp exclamation would pierce through his mental turmoil, each one a dagger of failure thrust into his heart.

"Too quickly, Jarek!" His mother's voice, usually a comforting lullaby, now boomed like a thunderclap. The words were bare, stripped of context, but the fury behind them was clear as daylight.

His father's response was more elusive, a low murmur lost amidst Darius's despair. Yet the undercurrent of disappointment in his tone was a chilling contrast to the comforting warmth of the fire. "Without his aura...our son, he cannot...," Jarek's voice, normally as steadfast as a mountain, wavered, lost in an ocean of secrets that Darius couldn't understand.

"Honor be damned," his mother's voice rang out again, a beacon of defiance amidst the storm. Even in his state of mental chaos, Darius felt a pang of guilt at her determination. "He is Darius."

"Amara..." His father's voice faded into the background again. It was a helpless sigh that stirred unknown depths of sorrow within Darius, pulling him deeper into the abyss.

The arguments from his parents, once a distant echo, became a faded hum. Their words, tangled and twisted, drowned by the chaos within his soul. Only the tension remained, a palpable entity that coiled around his heart.

His mother, was stern and dignified, and had always been his fortress, her cascading aura a reflection of her protective nature. He remembered her aura flaring fiercely when Brundy uttered the derogatory term, dud. It was like a shield, rising to defend him. Yet, the mage simply brushed off the offense with an insincere smile, "A slip of the tongue, I assure you. Take no offense," his insidious intent glinting in his eyes.

And his father, the composed and honorable Jarek Valdene, The Blue Wolf, was silent. His usual robust voice, strong like the lightning he wielded, was painfully absent during the confrontation.

Caught in the whirlwind of his thoughts, Darius could feel the edges of his identity blurring, morphing, as though his very being was fracturing. The words of the wise cultivator Xue Feng began to slip from his grasp, fading like whispers.

"Am I truly...?" He found his own voice foreign, the cadence echoing more of Xue Feng's meditative tone than his own childlike one. "A mere illusion of grandeur, perhaps? A dream within a dream?"

His throat tightened as the weight of his failure sunk in. Darius had wanted to shine brilliantly, like a comet streaking across the night sky, admired by all who beheld its fiery trail. But comets didn't merely burn brightly; they plummeted and disintegrated, consumed by their fiery fate.

Now, the same fate seemed to be his own, his dreams of cultivating arcane power dissipating like smoke in the wind. His existence, once the embodiment of a powerful immortal, now seemed as transient and insignificant as a leaf carried by the breeze.

His mind teetered on the brink, swaying between his past and present realities. He was Darius Valdene, but was he also Xue Feng?

"Is this my karma?" Darius questioned aloud, his voice trembling through the empty room. His question hung in the air, unanswered, its silence amplifying his solitude. A searing pain suddenly gripped his mind, pulling him completely into the dark depths. 

His hands clenched his bowed head, nails digging into his skin. He was Darius Valdene, heir to the prestigious Valdene family. Yet, his title seemed hollow, meaningless. What was it without strength?

His small frame trembled under the intensity of the pain, each heartbeat echoing the reality of his existence. Yet, in the vortex of despair, the essence of the wise cultivator within him, still flickered dimly, casting a weak light against the darkness. 

His parents' argument was still a distant rumble. He wished to call out, to seek the comforting embrace of his mother or the supportive grip of his father's hand, but his voice failed him. 

 This final failure hit him like a crashing wave, drowning the tiny light that held the darkness at bay.

"Darius Valdene..." He whispered his name, the words falling from his lips like shards of broken dreams. The echoes of his name reverberated around him, a taunting reminder of who he was supposed to be. But the wise cultivator, the powerful Grand Elder, was absent, lost within a troubled child's fractured mind.

"The fire is warm," Darius said, his voice filled with a child's innocence as he looked into the flickering flames of the hearth. Yet, even as he said it, tears began to fall as he hugged himself tight, as if to ward off a cold that the fire's warmth couldn't reach. 

He blinked, his eyes mirroring the flicker of fire, the dancing flames a cruel tease of the magic he couldn't have. "I wanna be a comet," he murmured, his gaze still fixed on the fire, his small voice barely above a whisper. 

"But I'm just... just a boy... not a comet..." His voice trailed off into a heartbreaking admission, "... a dud."

A heartbreaking silence filled the room as Darius's tears subsided, replaced by a heavy emptiness. He was lost in a world he didn't belong to, his identity blurred and his reality shattered. The agonizing pain in his mind had gradually dulled, replaced by a chilling numbness that spread through his veins.

 "I want to go home," his tiny voice barely a whisper. 

In the silence that ensued, the mansion seemed to mourn with him, its once grand aura dimmed by the bitter sting of reality. He was alone, left to wallow in the remnants of his shattered dreams.

His eyes, now devoid of their previous brilliance, stared blankly at the dying embers. The last flicker of light extinguished, plunging the room into darkness. 

 The once radiant comet was no more, the wise cultivator was nowhere to be seen in his eyes. The darkness seemed to consume him, his small figure lost within its vast expanse. 

His memories as Xue Feng seemed a distant dream, a fantasy he had conjured to escape some harsh reality. As his world was crumbling around him, his existence doubted, and his identity shattered, he fell asleep. 

The day was too big for a six year old boy.

-----

A soft sigh echoed through the room as the young Darius Valdene peeled his eyes open. "It wasn't a dream," he murmured, his puffy eyes sweeping over the room he barely knew. It wasn't the stony floor where he'd fallen asleep, his heart weighted with defeat and shame. Someone had moved him, and he knew without a doubt it had been his parents. He was in the bed, enveloped in the unfamiliar softness of his blanket.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Darius dangled his small legs, the rugs warmth beneath his bare feet offering some comfort. "I bet dad is mad at me," he mumbled to himself, his heart heavy with loss. Regardless of his parents' thoughts, the grumbling of his stomach urged him forward. He needed breakfast.

As he padded down the hall, dressed in his day robes, the low murmur of his parents' conversation reached him. "I think it would be better for Darius if we head home early," he heard his mother, Amara, say, her usually calm voice tinged with worry.

His father's response was curt, a stark contrast to his mother's concern. "You know if we leave now it will only make things worse. The other households will only laugh harder."

"Dammit Jarek, will you stop being a damn Valdene and just be his father?" The desperation in Amara's voice made Darius pause.

"I'm trying to protect him, Amara! You know what will happen!" Jarek's voice rang out, tension palpable.

Hoping to defuse their rising argument, Darius decided to announce his presence. He took a deep breath, then began his descent, his small steps loud in the still morning air. As he rounded the corner, he found his parents standing near the staircase, their faces etched with concern. Averting his gaze, Darius managed to whisper, "I'm sorry I embarrassed you, father."

Jarek's eyes softened, "You didn't embarrass me, son. It's not your fault." But his gentleness faded as quickly as it had come. With a firm set of his jaw, he added, "But it doesn't change the fact that the heir to the Household needs to be able to protect. You cannot do that, Darius." Turning away, he announced their departure. "We leave for home today." Without a glance back, Jarek strode away, leaving a bewildered Darius behind with his mother.

As Jarek's steps faded away, Amara approached her son. "Your father loves you, Darius, you know that, right?" Her voice was soft, soothing, a balm to Darius's frayed nerves. 

"I know, mom," Darius responded, his voice small. His eyes lifted to meet his mother's. "Can I have some eggs?"

"Of course, my little wolf," Amara replied, but as she met her son's eyes, an overwhelming wave of loss and sadness swept over her. She blinked, confused by the sudden onslaught of emotions. Nodding, she retreated to the kitchen, her heart heavy. 

 She paused and looked back at Darius. He sat alone at the table, swinging his legs, oblivious to his mother's turmoil.