The world was quiet.
Ash drifted in the air, carried by the wind across what had once been a military base. The ground was cracked, scorched black. Steel twisted into unrecognizable shapes.
And in the middle of that ruin, Kael sat on the rubble, clutching his head.
His breaths came ragged. His hands trembled.
He could still feel it—that burning heat in his chest, that violent pulse in his veins. His eyes stung as if fire lingered behind them.
The memory replayed in fragments.
The missiles falling. The black portal opening.
And then—Vaelstrom.
Kael whispered, voice hoarse:
"…I saw him."
The Monarch. The one the world did not know existed.
But Kael knew.
Kael had always known.
And yet… why had his hand raised a sword against him?
---
The Fear
Kael looked at his hand, fingers shaking.
He remembered the flame—crimson, alive, not his own. It had coiled around him, driven his body forward like a puppet. His voice had shouted words he didn't remember speaking.
But inside that haze… a part of him hadn't resisted.
A part of him had wanted to strike.
"…What's happening to me?" His voice cracked.
No answer came. Only the soft hiss of cooling rubble.
---
The Weight
He forced himself to stand, but his legs threatened to buckle. Around him lay the ruins of machines and men—men who had been alive minutes ago.
Kael had seen death before, but this was different. He didn't remember delivering the blows, yet his body ached as if he had.
And worse… he remembered Vaelstrom's eyes.
Cold. Stern. But not without sorrow.
Kael bit his lip until he tasted blood.
"I almost… killed him."
The thought felt like a blade shoved through his chest.
---
The Shadows Watching
The wind shifted. Kael froze.
Somewhere beyond the wreckage, he felt it—eyes watching. Not soldiers, not survivors. Something else. A chill crawled up his spine, the same way it had before the crimson power surged.
He raised his hand instinctively, but no flame came this time. Only trembling fingers.
The silence stretched. The presence lingered, unseen. Then, slowly, it faded—like laughter swallowed by the wind.
Kael dropped his hand, teeth clenched.
"…Leave me alone."
---
The boy stood alone in the ruins, the world already whispering of him.
And though he could not hear it yet, far away, in the halls of the Monarch's castle, his name was already spoken with equal parts fear and fragile hope.