Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Azrael looked at the person who had just crashed down some distance away and noticed it was a man.

For some reason, the man had horrified expression on his face as if had just seen something terrifying.

The man was nearly 190 centimeters tall, with shiny silver hair similar to Kael's, deep black eyes, and a handsome face capable of attracting attention of most of the women effortlessly.

His body was perfectly sculpted with lean muscle— strong, yet not bulky like a bodybuilder's.

This man was Silas Thorne, Azrael's father. A man who had nearly suffered a heart attack after reading a message from his wife suggesting she might elope with their son.

"Wh-what happened?" Silas stammered, his voice filled with panic, wondering if Ashara had discovered that the beautiful client they had met a few days ago had secretly slipped him her private number.

Was Ashara now planning to leave him because of it?

Ashara noticed Silas's exaggerated reaction, which made her feel something was off— as if he were panicking for a different reason— but deciding that Azrael's situation took priority, she pushed that suspicion to the back of her mind and spoke in an annoyed tone.

"What do you mean, 'what happened'? Your son had an accident during the Galactic Eclipse, and instead of worrying about him, you are wasting your time on that damned spaceship."

A huge burden lifted off Silas's shoulders the moment he heard those words.

'Thank goodness… She didn't find out about the private number. Not that I planned to call her, but having more connections never hurts.'

He turned to look at Azrael, whose head was still locked under Ashara's arm. Azrael was staring at him in silence.

Silas wanted to offer a few comforting words to his son, but the moment he met Azrael's calm yet disturbingly emotionless eyes, his heart sank. A sense of foreboding crept in, and he instinctively glanced at Ashara— or more specifically, into her eyes, which mirrored Azrael's almost identically.

The difference was stark. Where Azrael's gaze was unnervingly calm, Ashara's eyes were filled with visible concern.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Silas turned and looked at Kael, who was crouched down in the distance, drawing circles in the dirt alongside Coco like an abandoned puppy and muttering some words like he was an adopted child and no one loved him.

Silas just took a look at Kael before turning his attention back to Azrael and snapped his finger.

With a snap of his fingers, everything changed. In the next instant, Azrael found himself sitting inside a study room.

"Huh?" Azrael looked around in confusion before recognizing the familiar surroundings.

'This is the study room inside the mansion… I remember visiting it while familiarizing myself with the place.'

His gaze fell forward, where Silas and Ashara were now seated on a couch directly across from him.

Ashara, visibly dissatisfied, was about to get up and sit beside Azrael, but Silas gently stopped her.

She looked at him in confusion, only to see a complicated expression on his face.

"What's wrong, honey?" The playful tone she had used earlier instantly vanished, replaced by genuine worry. She assumed Silas had discovered something serious.

But Silas didn't respond to her question. Instead, he turned his attention to Azrael, who, though still confused about how he had suddenly been teleported here from the backyard, kept his expression neutral.

'What is he planning?' Azrael also noticed Silas's uncharacteristically serious demeanor and became wary of what was about to happen.

"Son..." Silas finally spoke after a long moment of silence. "Have you awakened your trait?"

Azrael was stunned by the question.

He had actually been planning to tell Ashara and Silas that he had awakened the Cold Blooded trait. Using this trait, he intended to explain the recent changes in his behavior. After all, the Cold Blooded trait gave its user near-perfect control over their emotions—allowing them to remain calm no matter the situation.

When he told Ashara earlier that something had indeed changed within him, his plan was to blame it on the passive effects of this trait. Since he had also lost consciousness during the Galactic Eclipse, he could claim his memories had become fuzzy, including his recollection of how he used to behave before awakening this trait.

So when Silas unexpectedly asked him about awakening a trait, Azrael was genuinely caught off guard. If the conversation didn't go as planned, it could unravel his entire cover story.

"Trait?" Ashara repeated in surprise, her face lighting up with excitement.

Awakening a trait before one's official awakening was extremely rare and could significantly aid someone preparing to enter Eonrift. Naturally, Ashara felt elated for her son.

However, the moment she recalled Azrael's cold, emotionless expression from earlier—and connected it to the mention of a trait—her smile froze, and a look of horror overtook her face.

Silas gently held her hand in an attempt to calm her, though his other hand was trembling slightly.

Azrael noticed both their reactions and realized that there was clearly more to the topic of his trait than he had initially thought.

"Azrael… ha-have you really awakened a trait?" Ashara asked again, her voice trembling, and notably, she no longer called him "Azu."

Azrael looked at them both silently. After carefully considering everything, he nodded.

"Indeed, I have awakened a trait. That's also what I meant earlier when I said something had changed."

The sinking feeling in Silas and Ashara's hearts intensified. Their breathing became shallow.

Ashara inhaled deeply, trying to steady her voice. "Wha-what is the name of the trait you have awakened?"

Silas, too, stared at Azrael, holding his breath.

Azrael carefully studied their expressions before answering.

"It's called... Cold Blooded."

The moment those words left his lips, Ashara's face went deathly pale. She stumbled backward, nearly falling off the couch.

"Mo—" Azrael instinctively stood up to catch her, but stopped midway as a jarring wave surged through his heart because of his own unexpected reaction.

'What's wrong with me?'