Night crashed over Valenport like a black wave, swallowing every sound beneath its suffocating weight. The damp cobblestones gleamed under a thin sheen of rain, slick and treacherous. Smoke from distant chimneys curled into the mist, mingling with the sharp scent of wet earth. The day's bustle had faded into ghostly whispers, leaving the city hollow, every alley and shadow pregnant with threat.
I moved like a predator, boots brushing the stone with silence honed by years on rooftops and in alleyways. My eyes flitted from shadow to shadow, calculating, anticipating. Every flicker of movement, every distant murmur, carried warning. Valenport was no longer a city—it was a battlefield. And I was prey with a blade.
A faint glow pulsed at the edge of my vision—the System interface.
Rank Update: E+
Progress to Next Rank: 12%
A small gain, but progress nonetheless. Rock bottom was behind me, and each fraction of growth felt like a spark in the dark. My fingers tightened on the hilt of my sword, feeling the hum of Soul Resonance ripple beneath my skin—raw, untamed power, alive and impatient.
Memories clawed at me—the betrayal, the blood spilled in silence, the friends who had turned and left me for dead. That fire had never dimmed. It had grown hotter, sharper, consuming every step, every breath. Revenge was no longer a dream—it was a slow-burning inferno fueling me.
Ahead, Valenport's boundary approached, where fragile order dissolved into wild outskirts. Bandits lurked there, desperate, reckless, and dangerous—the perfect first test. The moon hung low, a pale sentinel casting silver over twisted branches and fallen leaves. I slowed, senses sharpening, heart beating a steady rhythm of anticipation.
A sudden snap to my left.
I spun, blade in hand, breath tight.
Two figures emerged—thin, ragged men, eyes wide with hunger and fear. Their blades were jagged, crude, but lethal enough.
"Your coin—or your life!" one hissed, stepping forward with a twisted grin.
I said nothing. I let the energy simmer beneath my skin, then called forth the Soul Resonance. My sword ignited—a blade of molten lightning, humming with hungry promise.
The first man lunged, reckless and desperate.
Steel screamed against steel, sparks bursting as energy clashed. I sidestepped, parried, and struck—a searing slash across his shoulder, sending him staggering back, blood blooming like dark fire across pale skin.
His companion hesitated, eyes wide with fear, then charged in a frenzy.
I moved faster. Soul Resonance erupted, a crackling wave of energy that hurled him into a tree with a sickening thud. Both men groaned, wounded, alive—but barely.
Before I could recover, a whisper cut through the night, cold and deliberate:
"Kael Draven."
I whipped around.
From the darkness emerged a figure cloaked in black, hood drawn low. Her face was hidden, but her eyes—sharp, calculating, dangerous—locked onto mine with chilling intensity.
"You carry the mark of the Soul Resonance," she said softly. "Power like that is a beacon. A target."
I narrowed my eyes. "Who are you?"
A sly smile flickered beneath her hood. "A friend… or a warning."
Before I could speak, she melted into the shadows, leaving nothing but the faint echo of presence. My heart hammered as I scanned the empty streets. Valenport's silence pressed against me, alleys alive with unseen threats, rooftops hiding potential ambushes.
The hunt had only begun. And so had I.
The fire of revenge burned hotter than ever. Every betrayal, every scar, every memory fed the storm building within me. I wasn't just back—I was coming.
When I struck, the world would feel the tremor.
Kael Draven was no longer a forgotten shadow, no longer a ghost slipping through the cracks. He was a storm waiting to break.