Ruach's POV
As the doors opened, I saw an older woman standing at the center of the room, poised beside a small table with two couches on either side. Though her features showed her age, she carried herself with undeniable dignity. Her stance was elegant, but also something sharper—a watchful, commanding gaze that made it clear: this was someone accustomed to being obeyed.
Even so, I remained still. I am the last of the Ruach line, and I've long accepted that the world will meet me with suspicion and judgment. But I will not retreat from it. If I can't face even this without wavering, then the idea of restoring my family's name means nothing.
Since the incident, I made a choice. I would no longer run, no longer yield to the expectations or threats of others. For the past five years, I've prepared myself—studying etiquette, magic, combat, and more. I shaped a persona of calm and distance, not to impress, but to endure. It is not pride that holds me upright now. It is a necessity.
I walked towards the woman my head high and looking directly at her eyes while trying to show my more stoic and unafraid face I could ever give.
"Good morning, Miss. Ruach I hope you have found my invitation and academy quite pleasing"
"If you call a threat of expulsion an invitation then I am afraid that instead of being please I must ponder about the ethics of your organization"
The grandmaster give a smile that showed both smugness and interest then with a look to her assistant the assistant left the room closing the doors while he was leaving.
"Why don't we have a sit?" she said still with a smile
After sitting she was still smiling but this time it felt different, it felt as if she was seeing through me pitying me while also wanting to help me which gave a warm feeling, but that just made me more uneasy what did she know about me? Who is she to pity me? Grandmaster or not she should still give me even a little bit of respect maybe not as a ruach but atleast as a human being, she was similar to the others… everyone in Velarith hated the Ruachs but the few who did not hate the Ruachs instead pitied us while also looking down on us just like the rest. In the end whether we were hated or pitied they all had the similar feeling of being superior to us while looking down on us and I hated that I would much rather be hated then be pitied, yes maybe that pity came from a good heart but that does not excuse them looking down on us in the end disrespect is disrespect and no matter how far the Ruach have fallen I will not have it!
I walked toward the woman, head held high, eyes meeting hers without hesitation. My expression was composed, controlled—my best attempt at stoicism. But under the surface, something tense and unsettled twisted in my chest. I wouldn't let it show. I couldn't afford to.
"Good morning, Miss Ruach. I trust you've found my invitation—and the Academy—satisfactory?"
"If you consider a threat of expulsion an invitation," I replied, voice level, "then I must question the ethical standards of your institution."
She smiled—not warmly, but not cruelly either. A knowing, almost amused smile. Then, with a small nod to her assistant, he silently excused himself, closing the door behind him.
"Why don't we sit?" she offered, her tone pleasant.
We moved to the sitting area—two finely upholstered couches with a polished table between them. She took her place on one, and I sat on the other, careful to keep my posture straight, my hands folded, and my expression unreadable.
She studied me for a moment longer, her smile softening into something quieter—something that felt almost… gentle. Pitying.
And just like that, I felt it—that familiar, unwelcome tightening in my chest. That subtle gaze I had come to recognize all too well. The look people give when they don't hate you—but still don't see you as their equal. When they believe they're being kind, yet speak to you as if you're something damaged.
What did she know of me? What gave her the right to look at me like that?
I've seen that expression too many times. In Velarith, they either hate the Ruachs or pity us. And if I had to choose, I would much rather be hated than pitied.
Because pity, even when it comes with a smile, still comes from above. It looks down. It assumes you're already beneath them.
I've carried that weight long enough. And yes, there are days when helplessness creeps in—quiet and cold. Days when I feel the burden pressing too heavily. But I will not break under it. Not now. Not in front of her.
No matter how far the Ruachs have fallen… I will not be looked down on.
"Miss Ruach, do you believe I pity you?"
The question struck me—blunt, direct. Still, I kept my expression steady, my voice even.
"Yes. And to be honest, I find it insulting. I don't want—nor do I need—your pity. I'd much rather be hated than pitied."
For a moment, the Grandmaster looked surprised. Then she smiled—but not smugly this time. It was a quiet, almost bittersweet smile, touched by something distant.
"I knew your mother, you know. We were part of the same group of friends once."
I blinked. The air seemed to shift.
"What?" The word came out before I could stop it. "I've never heard anything about that. My mother told me everything... or so I thought."
"Then perhaps she chose not to mention it," the Grandmaster replied gently. "Which, considering what happened, is understandable. Still, it doesn't change the truth. And it doesn't change the fact that I intend to support you."
I narrowed my eyes, tension rising in my chest.
"Why should I believe you?" I asked quietly. "Anyone could claim that. And even if it's true—why help me? What do you gain? And again, I don't want your pity."
She gave a soft, almost sad laugh—one that didn't mock, but lingered in memory.
"Pity?" she echoed. "Maybe. Maybe there is a trace of pity. But not because I see you as weak. You remind me so much of her—your mother. The way you carry yourself. The way you speak. The fire in your voice. The way you hide everything behind control."
She looked at me closely now—not in judgment, but with something deeper. Familiar. Knowing.
"I imagine your goal is the same as hers once was: to restore your family's honor, no matter the cost. Even if it means becoming someone distant, guarded… cold."
I swallowed hard. She wasn't wrong. I had suspected she saw through me—but not this clearly, not this completely.
"You don't have to trust me now," she continued, her voice calm. "But whether or not you want it, I will be here to help you. Not because I pity you, Liora, but because I refuse to let you fall the same way she did."
"I—"
She lifted a hand, silencing me.
"This meeting is over. I already know what you want to say—that you don't want help, that you don't want pity. You sound just like her." Her tone shifted slightly—firmer, but not unkind. "So here is my first piece of advice: learn to accept help. Because if you don't, you'll end up like the others who carried the Ruach name—with dreams unfulfilled, crushed by their own pride. Now go. I have another student to meet with."
"…Yes, Grandmaster."
And just like that, it ended. If you could even call it a conversation. I barely had the chance to speak freely—just enough to realize how completely she had seen through me. I left the office, retreating into silence, and made my way to the dorm I had been assigned.
*Grandmaster's Office – moments later
The Grandmaster remained still for a moment, her eyes fixed on the door Liora had just exited.
"I'm sorry for being harsh, Liora," she said softly, as if speaking to the empty room. "But I needed to begin the wake-up call early—if I want to keep you from repeating the path of your ancestors."
A knock.
She turned her gaze toward the door, expression shifting into something calm and expectant.
"Ah… he's here. Caelum."
END OF CHAPTER