Page 509 of Axis of Fire

Blue flames lilies stood as a final farewell, guiding a hero into the next world.

That was how I would always remember Seris—

A boy who hadn't been afraid to face danger.

Who had accepted someone else's fate as his own.

The grand ceremony of the Selection had been transformed.

Thousands of candles now illuminated the grounds, their warm glow seeming to cradle the soul of the fallen.

He had given his life to save mine...

And I had barely had the chance to know him.

The Selection hadn't ended.

It had simply been suspended so that, as Stacia had quietly explained, Seris's soul and magic could be guided into the Realm of Death.

After a silence that lasted not one minute, but ten, Mr. Shiford, Eugene, and Draksen Ardevain stepped onto the stage.

"In all the years since Istmond was founded," Draksen began, pausing before he could continue, "I have never had to speak words like these."

For a moment, it almost seemed as though the pause was meant to heighten the drama.

But then I noticed his hands.

They were trembling.

He wasn't doing it for effect. He was doing it because it was the only way to steady himself.

"Today, we all gathered here for the Selection."

His voice carried across the silent crowd.

"And none of us could have imagined that before it was over, both Istmond and Istarus would be forced to say farewell to one of our most promising first-years."

I could hear every word.

But none of them truly reached me.

My mind was drowning beneath a relentless tide of thoughts.

Everything that had been weighing on me had chosen today of all days to demand my attention.

And it took everything I had simply to remain standing.

My eyes drifted across the crowd.

Some faces were stricken with grief.

Others...

looked completely indifferent.

That alone made something inside me burn.

Then a few of the guests let out quiet laughs.