I ate in silence, each bite tasteless — mechanical, like chewing might somehow loosen the knot in my chest. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to be noticed. I just wanted to vanish into the background.
When the meal ended, I stood quietly and turned toward the stairs.
"I'm going upstairs."
But then — his voice.
"Wait. Sit down. We need to talk."
I froze.
It wasn't harsh, but there was no room for refusal in his tone. Just quiet authority — enough to send my heartbeat into overdrive.
I returned to the chair and sat down, eyes fixed on the table, unwilling to meet his gaze.
He exhaled slowly before speaking, his voice lower — gentler than I expected.
"You've been walking around like a shadow, son.
As if by being quiet enough, still enough… you'd vanish."
He paused for a moment.
"But I notice you.
I see it — the weight you carry, the way you keep it all inside.
And I know you're trying. Even now."
The lump in my throat grew heavier. I still couldn't lift my eyes.
"I should've said something sooner," he continued. "Before the exam. Before all this."
Another pause. But not an awkward one — more like he was being careful with every word.
"This pain you're feeling… it's real. And I'm not here to dismiss it.
But I need you to understand something, Edward."
His voice sharpened slightly — not in anger, but in clarity.
"Not every storm comes to destroy.
Sometimes it comes to clear the path you were too afraid to walk."
I blinked. That line hit deeper than I expected.
"It's not the end — it's the moment you stop running from yourself.
It's when you begin to discover the kind of man you're meant to become."
I felt his gaze on me, but I still couldn't look up. My fingers curled around the edge of the seat.
"Your worth isn't tied to a result. Or a score. Or what people think.
It's in how you rise. In how you keep moving, even when the road disappears under your feet."
He leaned back, his tone softening again.
"When you're ready — to speak, to stand — know this:
You won't have to do it alone."
Silence.
But this time, it didn't feel crushing.
It felt… grounding.
And for the first time in days, something inside me loosened.
Only slightly.
But enough.
After that, no one said anything more.
I simply stood, climbed the stairs, and lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling as my thoughts drifted.
What if I just disappeared from the world…?
And just like that, I slipped into sleep.
---------------
{A.N:-
At long last, the prologue comes to a close — a journey through shadows, memories, and foreshadowing that has laid the foundation for everything to come. With its end, we now stand at the threshold of the true beginning — the moment where the Legend truly begins to unfold.
From here on, the world expands, the characters take their first real steps into the unknown, and the threads of destiny begin to weave something far greater than any of them can imagine. Thank you for walking this far with me — now, let's dive headfirst into the heart of the tale. }
}