Extra's POV: I am the Sixteenth Son

The finalist wing of the Cradle was always dead quiet.

Not because of any stupid rules, but because the people who lived here had grown way past needing to make noise. Every whisper meant something. Every step was planned. And the air itself seemed to bow down to whoever was strongest.

Vael de Eisenklinge sat in his favorite chair by the big round window in the finalist lounge, soaking up the orange glow of afternoon sunlight. The room was quiet but not empty. A fire crackled softly in the fireplace, and the gentle whoosh of wind outside mixed with the tiny clink of his teacup as he stirred his black tea.

His eyes were closed, like always - thin slits behind snow-white eyelashes, his face perfectly calm. But anyone with half a brain knew the truth: Vael didn't close his eyes to rest. He closed them to see things others couldn't.

On his lap sat an open scroll, its surface glowing faintly with magic writing. It told the whole story of yesterday's class captain match. He read every single word like he was studying a map to buried treasure. His tea sat steaming patiently beside him.

Two wins. One crazy technique. One body pushed until it broke.

"Fire Bolt, is it..." he murmured, sounding almost amused.

Then someone knocked on the door.

Two soft taps. Nothing more.

Vael didn't even twitch. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and there stood Roul with his usual guarded look. The fourth-year's uniform was perfectly neat and tucked in, his posture confident. But his eyes darted around the room like he was counting escape routes. Smart kid.

Vael kept his eyes shut. "I asked for tea to be delivered, not a grumpy knight."

Roul stepped inside, his mouth set in a hard line. "You wanted to see me."

"Yes." Vael set the scroll aside with just two fingers and waved lazily at the chair across from him. "Sit down."

Roul stayed standing.

"I'd rather stand."

Vael's smile never changed. "So serious. Were you always like this? Or did this place suck all the fun out of you?"

Roul said nothing.

Then Vael opened his eyes.

They were midnight black, bottomless, old beyond his years. Roul jerked back before he could stop himself.

"I'm curious," Vael said softly, his voice somehow filling the entire room. "Your roommate... Ares. He's quite the little firecracker, isn't he?"

Roul kept his mouth shut.

Vael's voice dropped to a whisper that felt like ice water. "You've been protecting him."

"I've been warning him," Roul shot back. "There's a difference."

"Mmm. How noble of you." Vael leaned back, folding his hands in his lap like a patient cat. "But I'm not interested in hurting him."

The air went cold.

"Unless, of course, he becomes... inconvenient."

Roul's hands clenched into fists. "What do you want with him?"

Vael took a sip of his tea, slow and deliberate. "Just curiosity. Nothing more." He set the cup down with a gentle clink. "Tell me... has he ever mentioned his mother?"

That hit like a punch to the gut.

Roul's silence was all the answer Vael needed.

Vael's smile turned sharp as a knife.

"Well then. I see we understand each other perfectly."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his chair arms like he was about to share a secret.

"If I were you, Roul, I'd think about staying very, very far from what's coming. Protect him if you want. But don't get in my way. Because if you do..." His voice turned deadly quiet. "It won't be just him that bleeds."

Roul's jaw tightened. "You're making a huge mistake."

"No," Vael said, standing up in one smooth motion like flowing water. "I'm fixing one."

He turned and walked toward the fancy glass door on the far side of the lounge.

"Do enjoy your afternoon, Roul."

He disappeared through the side door, only the swirl of his coat proving he'd ever been there at all.

Roul stood alone in the now-silent room.

And for the first time in a very long time...

He felt genuinely scared.

– – –

The truth was, Vael wasn't really a monster. Like everyone else he stepped on, he was being crushed by someone with more power. Not him directly, but his entire family.

Vael's real surname wasn't supposed to be "de" but "du", which meant his family was just a branch, not the pure blood. But the Eisenklinge Queen had tied them to one of the pure-blood families. It wasn't completely permanent, some branch families could earn their way into the pure houses if they did something amazing. But only two people could make that call: the family head and his wife.

Cassia had lifted his family into the pure house, and now they owed her a debt that felt like a mountain on their backs. She had finally come to collect. The letter Vael had gotten weeks ago made everything crystal clear.

Written on the magic scroll in elegant handwriting were the words that would change everything: "I think it's time you paid back what your family owes! Kill the son of that bitch and we'll call it even. Ares Eisenklinge, the sixteenth son. Make it look like an accident and leave no witnesses."

This was the break he and his family had been waiting for their whole lives. His father had always told him that someday, he would be the one to bring honor back to their name. Now that chance was knocking at his door, and it sounded like destiny.

If Roul tried to stop him, Vael would handle Ares himself. One way or another, before graduation came around, Ares had to die.

The family debt would be paid in blood, and Vael would finally make his father proud.

– – –

A/N – Was it fire or mid? Don't just vanish—powerstone, comment, review. Let me feel your presence.