Prologue: The Weight of Causality

Inner System, Ember's Family Main Hall.

"Do you know why I called you?" Ash Ember, the Sneaky, sat in the main chair, which could be called a medieval throne instead, and sternly scrutinized the young kid who calmly greeted him half kneeled.

The boy, who was no more than seven old, looked him directly in the eyes and said with a serious tone, "I don't c-... I mean, I don't give a fuck."

Ash's expression didn't change a bit after hearing such an outrageous answer, his wrinkles and tired eyes didn't give a signal of emotional change.

"Tell me, what's your name?" Ash asked after a few seconds of gloomy silence.

"I'm Rey," the boy answered with a sharp and rather menacing expression.

"You are Ash," Ash rebuked, but his tone of voice was as calm as before, "And will always be Ash."

"I don't remember my parents calling me by this name," Rey said with a sarcastic expression and tone, "Only a senile old man, by himself, decided it was my name, for whatever reason I don't give a single small fuck."

"Where did you learn such ugly words?" Ash asked with a small change of expression, his grey eyebrows slight frown.

"By looking at your face," Rey sneered.

"I could have you imprisoned by showing so much disrespect to me," Ash said with a half smile, but his tone was far from serious.

"Go on," Rey smiled and shouted in a high voice, "Better than to continue living together with a bunch of old undying hypocrites."

"Why lose your time talking to such a horrible kid?" The doors of the hall suddenly opened and an old woman entered, she was May Ember, the Treacherous, wife of Ash Ember.

"Finally showed up?" Rey said with a mocking gaze and tone, "Here was I, wondering where the old poison toad has gone."

Pah!!

"Be more self-contained, young bastard," May said in a grave tone as she shook the hand she just used to slap Rey, "Your parents knew how to be educated."

"Afraid of hurting me?" Rey mocked as he cleaned the drop of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, "Or is your remaining life not enough to give a proper slap?"

"Hmph! Don't try me, I know what you are trying to do!" May said as she sat in a chair beside Ash, "But I'm only doing my duty here."

"My blood suddenly tastes sweet," Rey muttered, but high enough for the others to hear, "I wonder if other Embers would taste the same."

"I would be happy if you used this sharp mind of yours in productive things," Ash said as he sighed and held his forehead with his hand, "Rather than cursing and saying outrageous nonsense."

"What did you expect me to do?" Rey suddenly shouted with a distorted expression, "Can't I curse the people who bear the guilt!?"

"Your parents are alive," May shouted back, "We simply don't understand your rage!"

"It was never about my parents!" Rey continued to shout, getting more and more angry as words came out of his mouth, "It's about this damn hypocrisy!

"This family, and the others in this cursed place! Every single one of them! And also the other places!"

"You are still a kid indeed!" May interrupted, "You are not damning with your mouth just a few families, but all of humanity, but who are you? A stinky kid in a rebellious phase!"

"And it's because I'm still a kid that I can still shout and curse this damned species!" Rey began to high pinch his voice, as tears began to flow from the corners of his eyes.

Before May could say anything more, Ash beckoned to her, got up from his chair, and began walking to Rey's side.

"It's our fault for letting you know too many things prematurely," he said as he put his hand on Rey's shoulder, "We expected from you a maturity a kid can't have, we were blind by illusory prospects... I'm sorry."

May sighed and closed her eyes, and Rey stopped crying and began to stare directly at the old eyes of Ash.

"If I accept this new name, can I ask something?" he asked with a sour voice, still bitter from the crying, "It's the only thing I will ever ask you."

"Say it," Ash answered but his expression was the one of someone who knew what was coming, a small smile was hiding behind his stoic expression.

"Take this burden from me," Rey said with clenched teeth, "And give it to someone willing to carry it."

"Don't say such ridiculous things," May interrupted and got up from her chair, "You are one who is carrying irreplaceable expectations from the whole family!"

"Damn this family!" Rey cursed, "I won't exclude even myself and my parents from this curse!"

Pah!!!

This time, it was Ash who slapped him, but it was even heavier than before.

Rey fell directly to the ground with blood flowing from his mouth and nose, but his eyes never stopped looking at Ash.

"This slap was for your parents," Ash said calmly and sighed, "They don't deserve your curse."

"Hmph!" May snorted and sat again, but her expression was even heavier than before.

"Yeah? Suit yourself!" Rey just sneered and held his pained tears back.

"About your wish..." Ash said word by word and looked at May, "Fine, I permit it."

"What!?" Both May and Rey shouted in surprise, "Are you crazy!?" Both asked at the same time.

"What? You chicken?" Ash asked with a mock while looking at Rey.

"Bah!" Rey got up from the ground and shouted with all his strength, "Did you all hear it? You peeking bastards! I'm Ash from now on! But I'm no longer an Ember!"

"Wait, I never agreed with you quitting the family," Ash, the Sneaky, interrupted with black lines on his face.

"What!? You chicken!?" Ash asked back with a mocking face.

Ash, the Sneaky, twitched the corners of his mouth and stayed silent for a moment before saying, "Fine, let's see where you can go with this joke of yours!"

"I can't believe it, you are yielding to a kid's provocation!" May shouted almost hysterically while holding her head with both hands, she seemed seriously desperate.

"Nah! Do you really think it will go far?" Ash, the Sneaky, didn't take it too seriously and got back to his chair.

"I will prove you wrong," Ash vowed as he grinned, "I hope you keep your word until the end."

"Yes, yes..." Ash, the Sneaky, waved his hand and said, "You can leave now, go talk to your pitful parents, they are worried."

"Hmph!" Ash left the hall in high spirits and muttered, "I still don't like you, old foggy!"

Ash, the Sneaky, grinned and shook his head.

Out of the Main Hall, a huge group of people quickly dispersed as it became obvious that Ash was about to open the huge door, only two remained, a man and a woman, both had serene expressions and clear eyes.

After Rey closed the huge door, he looked at them and said with complicated eyes, "Father, Mother..."

"We aren't angry at you," his father, whose name was Kyle, shook his head and said, "We are just a bit sad." Just after saying that, he received a strong elbow in his side, making him hold back a pained moan.

"Cough... I mean, we are okay with you the way you are," Kyle quickly changed his words, "We will always love you."

Rey stayed silent for a moment before looking at the black eyes of his mother, whose name was Rose, which were as clear as ever, and as loving as they could.

"What I said wasn't entirely out of rage," he said slowly as if making sure they would listen, "I'm really angry with everything, everyone. Me, you, them, and even the people I never met, it's a rage I can't completely understand either, and it just makes things worse...

"Why am I like this?" Rey asked with a tired expression, "Is this part of being a kid?"

"That's right," Rose embraced him and said, "Being a kid means making mistakes and learning from them. This means not understanding how some things work and why they are like this. You can have doubts, you can cry, and you can also curse if it makes you feel better.

"Just because some people expect things from you, it doesn't mean you have to satisfy them!" his mother concluded her dialogue in a strong tone, looking at the huge door in front of them.

"But, what you really want...," Kyle also embraced him and said, "...There's no rush in discovering it. You can even pass the rest of your life searching for it, and in the end... never find it.

"That's why the extraordinarily important thing... is to savor well the present that was given to you."

"Present? What are you talking about?" Rey asked as his eyes began to give in to the tiredness he accumulated.

"Why do you think the 'now' is called present? Because it's a gift," his father answered with a smile, "The most valuable in our lives."

"What are you talking about?" Rose rebuked, "Our children are the most valuable!"

"Yes, yes... As you wish, my present wife."

"What the fuck do you mean!?"

"Stopping hitting me! I just mean we can't be sure of the future!"

"Or perhaps you already have a "future" woman in some bitch hole out there!?"

"How could this be!? Hey, look at how beautiful our son is! He inherited your deep-as-abyss eyes!"

"Don't change the topic! We are going to get a nice talk at home!"

////////////////////////////

He knew what he was about to do, his right hand was slightly trembling, it held his bright "ideal future."

It was a precious artifact, the size of an eye and as round as a perfect sphere, and meant to be implanted close to the spine of a baby when he/she was just born to accumulate his innate vitality that would have been naturally lost as he grew older. The value of this innate vitality was immaterial for any aspiring Etherist, as it would boost life transformation.

Ash, the Young, looked at his panicked parents, his expression was as disappointed as it could be. "I never hoped for you to truly understand me, but I thought you could accept my feelings."

"Hey, dear," his mother said with a trembling tone, "Don't do anything rash, okay?"

Ash mocked himself in his heart after hearing it and said, "Are you talking about this valuable ball of shit? This one I never asked for?"

"It's all for your good, son," his father was super tense and looking for a chance to take Ash down.

"My good, huh?" Ash muttered and looked at Ash, the Sneaky, and May, they were looking at him with gloomy expressions while sitting on their chairs.

The Main hall was silent for a few minutes before the sound of something cracking and falling smashed everyone's train of thought.

"Perhaps you thought it was just a tantrum since I'm still a kid," Ash slowly lifted his hand with the broken orb, making sure everyone could see it, "But I have always been serious."

The broken orb was emitting a strange smoke, but everything Ash's parents could see... was the fleeting future of their son.

But contrary to everyone's gloomy feelings, Ash, the Young, felt more relieved than ever. He felt that the world was broad, his feet were young, and that he had a lot to explore.

"I, Ash, am no more a damned Aspiring Etherist," Ash shouted with relief and looked at his paralyzed parents, "And no longer have any use for a Family of Etherists."