Time seemed to pass by rapidly like broken clockwork as the tinged glass of the window blackened like ink spilt against a white canvas. A clear testament to the coming of night, and for me, my birthing ceremony.

To be completely honest it would be nice to understand how many seasons were in a month or hours in a day, but the constant snow and lack of sun made guessing such things an incredibly difficult task. Through observation I did however come to the conclusion that the days were short while the nights were much longer. Though it didn't take much of a genius to figure that out.

My parents were currently absent from the room, having left some time ago, more than likely attending to visiting guests. The only person in the room being the maid Lita, still dressed in her raven black dress.

To be completely transparent, I had a love-hate relationship with her. My mother had told me that I was to see her as an older sister and not a caretaker, Yet she did a bad job of fitting into that role herself.

I did like that she kept her distance from me, giving me a peace I didn't receive while my parents were present.

But why does she always act like this?

Lita’s eyes, now with nobody left in the room to check her, were stuck on me. A ravenous almost hungry look lurking in her cloudy grey eyes, It was quite the contrast to the rest of her expressionless face. I didn't even know that just a person's eyes could show this much raw emotion. A bad feeling gripped my heart as a look of determination flashed across Lita's face.

Her face flushing slightly she took her first shaky step towards my direction.

Gods.

Suddenly, the door opened automatically, stopping Lita in her tracks.

“It's time Lita” my mother said as she casually walked into the room, her red toga dragging across the floor with each of her steps.

“Come here, Tene” walking over to my bedside, she lovingly scooped me up within her embrace, her sapphire jewel around her neck gleaming before my eyes. She gently carried me towards the door where Lita was still standing, her composure regained. Thank the gods.

“Of course you don't have to come as well Lita, I know how much you dislike these people” my mother said glancing at Lita who now had an almost steel-like gaze

“It's fine,”Lita simply replied.

My mother silently nodded towards her. “Just don't overdo it, Lita. You don't have to force yourself.”

“Mm” Lita softly responded.

As we stepped into the long wooden hallway, the chandelier lights on the high ceiling illuminated the hall brightly, our shadows dancing against the walls. The sounds of guests entered my ears refreshingly as chattering, laughter and music echoed loudly through the hall.

Does the door also have some sort of soundproof functionality? I could hear nothing from my room, yet as soon as the doors opened an onslaught of sound reverberated within my ears.

Passing through the long, straight hallway the wooden floorboards squeaked slightly under our weight, the guests' noises getting louder and louder until a much larger wooden door of the same make to the one from my room appeared before us. This door however had far less symbols decorating it.

When my mother got to the front of the door, as if gathering her own conviction, she took some deep breaths.

“Tene, you're probably going to have to meet my father today, in other words, your grandfather.” pausing slightly she attempted to regain her composure.

”Know this, he's an extremely cold man and he thinks nothing of others, particularly women. He sees everyone as pawns within his game.” Hints of anger lingered within my mothers words.

Lita remained silent, However I could see her nails dig deeply into her palms.

“You're a smart girl though, I'm sure youll see through his nonsense straight away.” my mother said proudly, her diamond blue eyes gazing proudly into mine.

Looking down slightly, a regretful look flashed across her face ”You're far more like your father Tene.”

Looking at the woman who I had begun to call my mother, complicated feelings arose within me. A strong part of myself, possibly my old self, was telling me to be distant, to not trust her.

All I need to do is regain my memories anyway.

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“Mawmy” the words came out of my mouth with no teeth to back them up. It was one of the few words my mother had been constantly repeating to me over the past month.

Ugh, why did I go and do that.

Both my mother and Lita's face clouded over with shock as they both looked at me with slight awe, one of the rare occasions where Lita's mask completely crumbled apart.

“Did you hear that lita!? Tene spoke! She said mommy!”

“Y..yes, I heard” Lita replied, still slightly shocked.

“Children aren't supposed to speak until around 8 months old!!?, she hasn't even teethed yet?” my mother continued excitedly.

“Mm,a Genius?” lita seemed to ask herself, before slightly nodding her head.

“Just wait till I tell Samel this!! He's not going to believe it!” My mother continued her rant excitedly.

Haaaa why did I go and do that. I could feel a prickly sensation spread across my skin from my neck down to my toes.

Absent-mindedly my mother took another step forward, sensing this, the door began to open automatically.

The light seeping through the door crack started to rapidly escalate, as the doors began opening further and further. The chattering of people and the sounds of elegant music getting louder and more vibrant as I adjusted my eyes to the harsher intake of light until suddenly, silence, as people turned towards the door to greet the awaited main guests.

Entering my vision was the same ballroom my mother had brought me through a number of times before, now filled with expensive tables and chairs over the polished wood floor. Luxurious food items and exquisitely dressed people decorating the chairs around the tables on the lower floor. There were less people than I expected, it looked like not even half the room was filled.

On an overarching balcony on the second floor, overlooking the ballroom stood an elaborately decorated pair of chairs, or perhaps thrones were a more fitting word, My father sitting comfortably on the larger of the two as he overlooked his guests.

Attention gathered on us as the eyes in the room focused on the three of us, quiet whispering now filling the ballroom.

“An elf?”

“Look at what she's wearing?... it's rather beautiful”

“Hmf. probably stolen, typical wood rat”

“Is that the child? What a beautiful baby, look at her clothes. So cute”

“...the skill signature on the dress, It's void. Why would the king of ruin use his skill signature on a baby's dress?”

Looking towards Lita, she didn't seem particularly perturbed by their mockery of her, instead standing straighter and flaunting her native garments further. Honestly impressed, my evaluation of her increased slightly.

My father, finally noticing our presence, stood up from his seat regally and composed “Everyone, as you've all already noticed, the guest of honour has arrived. My beloved daughter Tene with my lovely wife Zara.”

Applause filled the room as my father paused his speech. My Mother and Lita made their way towards the balcony where my father stood, eyes watching all their steps. Further whispering matching our movements.

As we walked past one particular table I felt my mothers grip on me tighten, her eyes looking down towards the floor. Lita on the other hand had a far more announced reaction, her nails drawing blood from her palms.

None of the gossip or whispering seemed to affect them at all, yet walking past a simple table caused such a reaction.

What I assumed to be a family of three sat down leisurely around the table.

The eldest was a man with a warm smile that looked to be in his early fifties, holding a striking resemblance to my mother. With the same platinum blonde hair cut short and piercing diamond blue eyes. Accentuating his mature chiselled features were soft wrinkles decorating his eyes and forehead.

He appeared to be holding himself back from standing up as he looked at me and my mother. His gaze held a striking resemblance to how my parents looked at me.

A mature woman, appearing to be slightly older than my mother, sat next to him. Her red hair tied behind her back in a ponytail. She nodded slightly at us as we passed by, her cold green eyes evaluating our presence.

Seated at the final seat was the last person in what I assumed to be this family of three and was by far, in my opinion, the most eye-catching. With messy blood red hair hanging down their neck and iridescent gold eyes of a darker shade than my fathers. A face unbound by gender was one way to describe it, beautiful was perhaps another.

Yet his choice of clothes was a dead give away towards his gender. One thing I had noticed looking at the large number of guests was that the women wore longer tunics while the mens were much shorter. The beautiful boy sitting at the table had a simple blood red toga covering a short black tunic. Standing out as the only one wearing black within the entire room except for my father, a stark contrast to the white his parents wore.

He had a bored almost lifeless look as he stared absentmindedly at the meat sitting on his plate, looking completely uninterested in the ceremony.

Now walking up the staircase towards my father, I couldn't help but wonder what caused such a reaction from my mother and Lita. Except for the red haired boy, nobody else at the table particularly caught my interest.

My father, now greeting us at the top of the staircase, gently held my mothers hand as he led her to the side of his seat, a smaller queen sized seat waiting for her arrival. “It's ok now girls, i'll handle things with him from here. just relax and enjoy the night” he gave Lita a final reassuring glance as she gently patted her head, her face still slightly paler than usual.

Just who exactly were they talking about?

Gently taking me away from my mothers arms he walked slowly towards the edge of the balcony.

More whispering began to fill the silence of the room.

“Oh it's happening now? Rather early, looks like he's in a rush”

“Do you think she could have inherited his void?”

“Impossible, Samel was the first in nearly a thousand years to inherit it. Luckily enough for the family.”

“Either way, many people will still want her hand. An old kings bloodline and daughter of the king of ruin”

My father, now at the front of the balcony, with me held gently in one arm, took out a sleek elliptical but flat object made of a transparent colour. Multiple glowing straight lines flowing through it, creating a unique pattern.

“As you all already know, my daughter Tene just turned one month old today. commemorating the day a child's status takes root is an event that has been continued for generations.” My father elegantly spoke as the crowd, now silent, patiently listened to his speech.

Status? That word again, as I had guessed it looks like I won't need to try to envision it any longer. I couldn't help but feel bouts of excitement fill my heart.

“As you know, certain skills of the highest calibre can be passed down from generation to generation, the more powerful the skill, the more likely it will remain dormant until someone in the bloodline with potential awakens it.”

“This may come once a generation or could even surpass a millenia with nobody within the bloodline awakening it.” Many people were nodding their heads as if this was common sense within the world.

“A Blank canvas. This is what all children are at birth, and a status is no different. Even with the addition of a divine blessing or inherited skill, a truly talented individual is one who overcomes adversity. Time and time again. With the unlocking of my daughter's status, I know that regardless of the outcome she will prove our house proud.”

“.”

Some rather rude snickering could be heard from downstairs, it seemed most people didn't agree with my fathers stance on the matter.

Pointing the elliptical object over the balcony my father gently spoke into my ear.

“Don't worry Tene, it doesn't matter what skills you inherit. You will always be a Renhart and we will always be your family.”

Pointing the elliptical object over the balcony, like veins, flickering lights streamed over the many lines coursing through the object, beginning to pulsate different colours, from red to blue to green to finally black. shock was apparent on my fathers face then followed by excitement as he watched the dynamically shifting colours.

Then, while everyone within the room watched slack jawed, a translucent screen of sorts appeared in mid air over the balcony with information written in Ink black.

Name - Tene Renhart

Age - 0

Race - Human

Class —

Special Skills :

Void Aura [ S ] - Lv (1/50)

Yafels Blessing [ Goddess of ??? ]

Matter Manipulation [ S ] - Lv(1/100)

Silence filled the room.