The desert night pressed close around Kael, silent but alive. The black Ego Knife hung at his side like a shadow breathing, its presence both a comfort and a weight pressing on his mind.
He settled beneath the fractured ribs of an ancient skyship wreck, the cold metal biting through his cloak. The fire in his blood simmered, waiting — restless, unpredictable.
Kael knew the stories: the Ego Knife was no ordinary blade. It was a living weapon, forged from will and wrath, a soul trapped in steel. It demanded more than mastery. It demanded surrender.
His hand brushed the hilt, and suddenly the world shivered.
Darkness spilled out from the blade, wrapping around his mind like smoke.
Voices whispered — sharp, biting, full of hunger. They called his name, but it wasn't Kael who spoke. It was Elgraf's echo, the Ego's ancient will, clawing to rise.
"You seek to wield me," it hissed inside his thoughts.
"But first, you must bend or be broken."
Kael's vision blurred, reality folding as the Ego's presence surged inside him — a tempest of flame and shadow. It invaded his thoughts, dredging memories, fears, and doubt.
The fire in his blood flared, and Kael roared, summoning every ounce of strength to push back.
This blade will not control me.
In a world where his own blood betrayed him, Kael realized something: the Ego Knife wasn't just a weapon to wield. It was a mirror — showing him his darkest fears and greatest potential.
Hours stretched like years as he fought the knife's will. Pain seared through his body; whispers threatened to drown his mind.
But then, amid the storm of voices, a calm voice emerged — his own.
"I am more than my fire," Kael whispered.
"More than exile, more than curse. I am my own flame."
With that, the shadows recoiled, the Ego Knife's hunger easing. It pulsed, not with ownership, but with respect.
Kael rose, breath ragged but unbroken. The blade at his side was no longer a burden. It was an extension of him — dark, fierce, and free.
He was not the boy they cast out.
He was something new.
Something ready.