Astral Odyssey Dying Ember

"You still aren't performing well enough for a member of this family. Is this really your best?"

This was the umpteenth time Luna had heard this sentence in her life. She could only shrug in response. Even if she said it was her best, it would not change a thing. So, what did her opinion matter?

It was another normal Sunday at home. Back-to-back tuition for different subjects. 18 years of this, but Luna was fine with such a life. Not only was she used to it, she also subscribed to her parents’ belief that she would one day find her talent. They just had to keep trying.

Her older brother, Desmond, was 12 years old when they identified him as a smart child gifted with an athletic body. Unsurprising. He had taken after their father.

Her younger sister, Erica, was 9 years old when her unique ideas and speed in grasping complex concepts astounded adults. Again, people talked about how she took after their mother.

It had worked for both her siblings. So, why would it not work on her?

"That's it for today.” Her tutor said with a drawn-out sigh. “We'll go through the rest the next time I come."

After the tutor left the room, Luna cleared her grey study table and put things back where they belonged. Then, she headed out to the kitchen to join their cook in making dinner.

On her way down the stairs, she heard her tutor’s voice.

"She's still performing the same as any average person walking down the streets. Is it still the same in other areas?"

Luna did not need to see to know who her tutor was talking to. She also knew what the response would be. After all, she was the most familiar with her own results.

"Perhaps she's the type to do better with less work? You know, work smart, not hard?" Her mother sounded concerned.

"We're already trying that. Any less and you might as well stop calling me over." The tutor said. "I don't mean to sound offensive but... She may be the dud in your family. There's no point forcing it. You can’t make a diamond out of nothing."

"Excuse me?” The pitch of her mother’s voice raised in irritation. “Even if she’s just average, she's NOT a dud. You don't have to return any longer. Perhaps the issue is you."

“...I’m sorry.”

Luna listened to the sound of their main door opening, then closing.

"Should we give her a break?" Her mother’s voice was now soft and vulnerable. “From everything?”

‘She must be talking with dad.’

"We could try.” It was a deep masculine voice this time. “It's all trial and error now, my love."

Luna hung her head low. Were her parents giving up on her? Was she really hopeless? The dud of the family?

She turned her head and looked at the mirror installed on the wall beside her. Her expression was as flat as ever. Despite her thoughts, she felt nothing. After growing up surrounded by all these beautiful and talented people, while having nothing to her name and no looks that would turn heads, Luna had long grown numb.

No, there was still one thing she constantly felt towards her family. She felt sorry.

Luna waited for her parents to vacate the area before she resumed her way down the stairs. There was no need to make them feel worse than they already did.

At the round dining table, the results of Luna's research, planning, and cooking were laid bare for everyone to see. The food looked appetising enough, but the taste was… Ordinary. Sometimes, it would be the other way around.

Nonetheless, everyone showed joyful and proud expressions, praising her for the effort she had put into the dishes. Luna received it all with a polite smile and routinely asked for critiques and suggestions. Her attitude thus earned her even more praise and admiration.

However, nothing really sunk into Luna’s head.

When her family began chatting over dinner, Luna spaced out. She was not much of a conversationalist, so she spent more time listening and staring than participating.

Then, it happened again. She started to see herself and the people around her from a third person’s perspective. It was moments like this that the feeling of being the odd one out was the strongest.

Everyone at the table shared at least one or two outstanding features that made no one doubt they were a family. That was, except for one member. Luna had even suspected for a while if she was adopted. However, that was just another one of her many intrusive thoughts. Upon closer inspection, she had inherited her parents’ more subtle features and her grandmother’s stubbier figure.

Before she knew it, it was time to turn in for the day.

The next morning, the three siblings headed out to the driveway in front of their four-level terrace house where their chauffeur was waiting. After everyone hopped in, the chauffeur continued to hold the door open.

"What's wrong?" Erica asked.

"Is Miss Lu-" The chauffeur's voice got stuck in his throat when he caught sight of Luna in the car. "My apologies." He closed the door right after.

Erica could guess what had happened and she looked very displeased.

Luna smiled a little to comfort her. "Just let it go. You should be used to it by now."

"It shouldn't be something you get used to! I don't like how people always fail to see you. Like, how does that even happen?"

Desmond chimed in from the seat at the front. "I know, right? I can't understand either! I mean, she practically shines, doesn't she?"

Erica beamed proudly at that comment. "That's right! Everyone should know how great my elder sister is!"

"I'm really sorry..." The driver squeaked timidly, while he started up the car.

Luna sighed helplessly and shook her head. "Will you both stop teasing the poor man already?"

“But seriously, how can anyone miss you when you’re right there beside us, unless they’re blind?” Erica pursued the matter. “The worst is whenever people assume there’re only two children in the... ARGH!” Just thinking about it got Erica all riled up again.

Luna patted Erica’s hand to calm her down.

“Maybe you should make more noise or something?” Erica suggested.

“And what sort of noise should I be making all the time?”

“I don’t know...”

Desmond burst out laughing.

“What is it?” Both girls asked their brother.

“I had a random thought of putting a bell on Luna. That way, at least everyone would hear the bell, right?”

“I refuse.” Luna flatly declined. “I’m used to being invisible already, I’d rather stay like that than to suddenly have a bell on me wherever I go.”

Their exchange continued until a majestic estate came into view.

“Oh, we’re already here.” Desmond pointed out, breaking the streak of nonsensical ideas that were being thrown out.

“Take care, girls. Here’s to surviving another day in this hellhole.” He looked back with a grin.

“Back at you.” Erica said. “You know it's not that bad for us. You’re the one in the military faculty. Our faculties aren’t crazy like yours.”

Luna agreed. “Don’t come back too badly injured.”

Desmond laughed again, feeling good about his sisters’ concern for him. “Okay, for my baby sisters.”

Time in school always passed uneventfully for Luna. This day should be no different. The ones who needed such encouragement and well wishes were her siblings who had more happening lives, battling with children from other elite families.

After school, Luna was free for the first time. Her parents had given her a break from all enrichment courses.

‘...What should I do now?’

The thought of finding a story to read or a show to watch crossed her mind, but she rejected the idea almost immediately. She was not sure when it started to happen, but she no longer found joy in the fictional worlds that she used to submerge herself in by sacrificing her sleep.

Perhaps she had merely gotten cynical. She found more and more issues with the plots and characters. Errors became increasingly glaring for her. Finding something that could satisfy her became harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Perhaps it was around the time when she started to have the dissociation-like experiences.

Perhaps it was when she started to view her life in the same way she viewed those fictional stories. Some people were the main characters, born blessed with talents and beloved by all. Sometimes they would even have a bonus tragic story. Whereas other people were cannon fodder whose only purpose was to spice up the plot. And of course, Luna considered herself one of the inconsequential insignificant characters.

‘I’ll just go to the library...’ Having drawn a blank, Luna chose to stick to her usual routine.

When she reached her favourite spot, tucked away in a quiet corner of the grand library, she found her tablemate already there.

Lucas Wu, the one she had pegged as the second male lead in her school life story. He was one of the rare scholarship students in this school and the only one who managed to secure a footing despite his vastly different family background. No one looked down on him or overlooked him. He was treated with due respect and even had a sizable number of fans.

The complete opposite of her, someone plain and too dumb for the school and had to rely on her family’s connections to get in.

‘What a sight for sore eyes...’ Luna thought drily to herself.

The plum blossom tree outside the large window, in the background, was not yet in full bloom, but still majestic enough. The tree was the reason she had chosen this spot, who knew that this location had contained another gem?

She sat down at the other end of the table that was flushed against the wall with the window. Then, she took out study materials, some to revise, some to learn in advance.

Not long later, an attractive pair entered the library looking for Lucas. Their presence commanded attention which hinted that they were the lead couple of her school life story.

“Lucas! School’s finally over. Let’s go eat some good food and play!” Victor asked with a smile as bright as the sun. His loud voice broke the serene silence in the library, but no one minded. Instead, people seemed to welcome the warmth of his loud and sunny personality, which was a huge contrast to Lucas’ cold and untouchable personality.

“Are you busy with something?” The girl, Rina, was clearly the more considerate one of the pair. Her bright doe-like eyes seemed to speak on their own. They naturally drew out people’s instincts to indulge and protect her.

Luna no longer bothered to follow their conversation. This was a common occurrence in the two years that they were tablemates.

The couple eventually left and brought the refreshing spring breeze out with them. Without their presence, the library returned to its cold aloof state.

"Big sis!”

The sweet voice that she had never heard in this library before raised alarm bells in her mind. A small frown formed between her brows.

‘What’s she doing here?’