Chapter - 4

The day of Revelation arrived beneath a cloudless sky.

For most children, it was the happiest day of their lives.

For the Kim Clan, it was a celebration.

The estate had been decorated since dawn. Lanterns carrying the clan crest hung from every corridor, servants rushed between halls carrying trays of food, and relatives who rarely visited had arrived days earlier to witness the ceremony.

Every fifteen-year-old in the clan would stand before the Revelation Stone.

Every family hoped to see talent.

Every parent hoped to see greatness.

Every child hoped to see a future.

Taehyung hoped for nothing.

Years had taught him that expectations only made disappointment hurt more.Still, as he stood among the other heirs dressed in formal robes, he could not stop his heart from beating faster.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

Today would be different.

The Revelation Hall was silent as the first child stepped forward.

The enormous crystal in the center of the room glowed softly.

The boy placed his hand against it.

Light erupted.

Golden sparks exploded through the air.

"Lightning Affinity!"

The hall erupted in applause.

The boy's parents looked proud enough to cry.

One by one, the other heirs stepped forward.

Fire.

Earth.

Wind.

Water.

Healing.

Each Revelation was met with celebration. Each gift was welcomed with smiles and blessings.

Taehyung watched quietly from the back of the line.Then his name was called.

A strange silence settled over the room.

He could feel eyes following him.

Waiting.

Watching.

Judging.

He walked toward the crystal.

Step.

Step.

Step.

The Revelation Stone stood before him.

For a moment, he stared at his own reflection inside the crystal surface.

A boy with dark hair.

Tired eyes.

A face that had learned disappointment too early.

Then he placed his hand against the stone.

Nothing happened.

The room remained silent.

Taehyung waited.

A second passed.

Then another.

Nothing.

No light.

No energy.

No reaction.

The crystal remained completely still.

Someone laughed.

Quietly at first.

Then another.

Then another.

The sound spread through the hall.

Like cracks spreading through glass.

"Did it fail?"

"No."

"The stone never fails."

"Then..."

The unfinished sentence said everything.

Taehyung slowly lowered his hand.

The elder supervising the ceremony frowned.

He checked the crystal.

Examined it.

Repeated the process.

"Try again."

Taehyung obeyed.

His palm touched the stone for the second time.

Again.

Nothing.

Not even a flicker.

The silence felt heavier now.

The elder stepped back.

His expression had already changed.

"Revelation complete."

That was all he said.

No title.

No affinity.

No blessing.

Nothing.

The room erupted into whispers.

Taehyung stood motionless.

Something inside his chest felt strangely hollow.Not because he had expected greatness.But because he had expected something.

Anything.

Even the weakest affinity would have been proof that he belonged in this world.

Instead...

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Across the hall, he saw relatives shaking their heads.

Some looked disappointed.

Others looked satisfied.

As if his failure confirmed everything they had always believed.

Joon-ho smirked openly.

"I guess even magic doesn't want him."

The people around him laughed.

Nobody corrected him.

Nobody defended Taehyung.

The ceremony continued.

The clan moved on.

As though his Revelation had never happened.

As though he had never happened.

That night, the celebration lasted until midnight.

Music filled the estate.

Families gathered together.

The newly Revealed heirs received gifts and congratulations.

Taehyung received silence.

No one came looking for him.

No one asked if he was alright.

No one cared enough to notice he had disappeared.The library was empty when he entered.

Dark.

Quiet.

Safe.

He sat alone beside the window.

The moonlight spilled across the floor.

For a long time, he simply stared at his hands.

Nothing.

The word echoed inside his mind.

Nothing.

Twelve years of waiting.

Three years of hoping.

Nothing.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

The sound startled even himself.

"So they were right."

His voice sounded strange in the empty room.

For years he had endured because somewhere deep inside, a tiny part of him believed things would change.

Now even that hope felt foolish.

The room blurred.

His eyes burned.

He lowered his head.

Not wanting to cry.

Not again.

Not after all these years.

But loneliness had a way of finding every crack in a person's heart.

And tonight, there were too many cracks to count.

"Why was I even born?"

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Silence answered.

Then something impossible happened.

A book fell from a shelf.

Taehyung flinched.

The library was completely still.

No wind.

No movement.

Yet the book had fallen.

It landed open on the floor.

Directly in front of him.

He stared at it.

Slowly.

Carefully.

He walked over.

The page it had opened to contained a single sentence written in faded ink.

"Reality is merely the agreement of all things."

Taehyung frowned.

He had never seen this book before.

As he reached toward it—

A crack echoed through the room.

The candle beside him suddenly repaired itself.

Taehyung froze.

His eyes widened.

The candle had been broken for months.

He knew because he had knocked it over himself during cleaning.

Yet now the fractured base looked untouched.

Perfect.

As though it had never broken at all.

His heartbeat quickened.

"What..."

The air around him felt strange.

Heavy.

The shadows seemed deeper.

The room quieter.

For a brief second, the library looked different.

Not changed.

Almost...

Listening.

Then everything returned to normal.

The feeling vanished.

The repaired candle remained.

Taehyung stared at it.

His pulse thundered in his ears.

Slowly, he picked it up.

Turned it over.

Examined every inch.

There was no crack.

No damage.

Nothing.

The candle was whole.

As if reality itself had rewritten the memory of its destruction.

A chill ran down his spine.

For the first time since the Revelation ceremony, his sadness disappeared.

Replaced by something stronger.

Curiosity.

The same curiosity that had driven him through thousands of books.

The same curiosity that had kept him alive.

His eyes slowly drifted toward the mysterious book lying open on the floor.

The faded sentence stared back at him.

"Reality is merely the agreement of all things."

And somewhere deep inside his soul..

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