Path of the Extra

Basking in the morning sunlight, Jasmine peered through the open window at the rift in the sky that had first appeared 150 years ago, resembling shattered glass never to be made whole again.

It was 6:20 in the morning, and the cheerful chirping of birds filled the air.

Her obsidian-black hair, inherited from her father, was tied back in a ponytail, swaying gently in the breeze.

Her eyes, crimson-red like precious rubies passed down from her mother, gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

Jasmine stood in her simple white tunic dress, having just awoken, her flawless porcelain skin illuminated by the morning light. Her face remained impassive, her gaze cold as she stared at the fractured sky.

"Haa..."

A sigh escaped her lips as she closed the windows.

"The weather is beautiful today"

Mumbling to herself, she decided to change into proper clothes and go outside.

Quickly slipping into black leather pants that hugged her legs, she paired them with a simple white t-shirt and topped off her outfit with a black cap.

"Good."

Nodding at herself while watching in the mirror, she left her room.

It had been a while since Jasmine had last toured around the capital.

Walking down the empty corridors, all the servants and her parents still asleep, she suddenly stopped.

Her eyes fixed on one of the doors.

Her little brother's room...

"Azriel..."

Her heart ached as she gazed at the door that once belonged to Azriel.

Yet, he was no more. His carefree and bright smile flashed through Jasmine's mind as she thought of him.

All the memories they had together—bickering, playing, laughing, eating—were now just memories.

"Why... why did you have to go and leave me, Azriel..."

Since his death, nothing had been the same.

The mansion had become as quiet as a graveyard. Her father had thrown himself into his work, and her mother never wanted to leave her room.

It became so suffocating that Jasmine never tried to come back here, except for yesterday, Azriel's birthday.

"...Even though I trained so hard, tried to become strong, it wasn't enough to protect you."

A self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips.

Becoming a hero had been Jasmine's dream—not humanity's hero, but her little brother's hero.

She trained every day to become strong, took all her lessons seriously to ensure she lacked no knowledge.

Praised by everyone, even her parents, she was always the center of attention.

The heiress of the Crimson Clan.

The brightest star of the Crimson Clan.

One who outshone everyone so much that even her little brother was left in the dark.

When people started comparing them, rumors emerged, which she noticed behind Azriel's back.

Even at banquets, people started talking about her little brother without any consideration.

"If only your brother was as good as you..."

"Does he even train?"

"He must have given up; he's so talentless compared to you, Princess Jasmine."

"He isn't even worthy to be a prince compared to the other great clans."

"Yeah, I heard he's still just a grade 3 dormant while the others are almost awakened."

Lies.

How she regretted not silencing those fools back then and only deciding to smile fakely at them.

She didn't want to cause commotion and unnecessary trouble for her parents and...

Azriel.

She wanted to tell them how wrong they were, unlike them, she was his big sister.

There was no way Jasmine didn't know how capable Azriel was.

But she knew the reason why he hid himself in the shadows.

Perhaps more than anyone else...

Jasmine had even caught her idiot brother training his affinities secretly late at night, the affinities one only got once they became a grade 3 awakened, not a grade 3 dormant, not a normal human.

She had secretly watched him train for hours until the sun rose with his ice and lightning affinities.

She didn't even know he had dual affinities like her until that night.

Maybe he secretly went to a death zone and fought against void creatures when no one noticed.

How he did it without anyone noticing she didn't know.

Perhaps her father did know, though.

She was extremely happy that night just seeing how talented he really was.

But because she knew what Azriel wanted, she never said anything against those rumors, until one time she really got fed up and confronted her father about it.

She just couldn't take it anymore, seeing how much people looked down upon her little brother.

But when Jasmine did confront her father about it, all he said was...

"Azriel made his own choices now he has to live with the consequences if mere rumors are enough to break him than perhaps he really is unworthy."

Just hearing those cold words from her father made her break into a fight with him and not talk to him for 2 entire weeks until Azriel himself stepped in when he noticed it was because of him that the fight started.

Her own little brother comforted her for something she actually started,

"I truly was a pathetic big sister to you Azriel I could never do anything for you..."

Jasmine bit her lips as she wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes away.

It was somewhat ironic to Jasmine how her parents now seemed to think only of her little brother every moment, especially since his passing.

"As if they hadn't been equally disappointed in him for not wanting to be a hero."

"Why did he even choose to go to a military base in the first place..."

Shaking her head, the pained expression on her face vanished, replaced by the familiar cold demeanor she had worn since Azriel's death.

She turned her gaze away from his untouched room, now gathering dust and visited by no one.

'I want to eat ice cream...'