Chapter 2: The First Step
The forest swallowed Kael whole. Smoke from the village fire lingered behind him, but the night ahead was darker than any darkness he had ever known. Each step was silent, but the shadows beneath his feet seemed alive, stretching and twisting toward him like curious hands.
Kael had survived, but survival meant nothing without power. His hands still throbbed with the energy of the shadow, and every nerve screamed that this darkness was hungry. Hungry for control. Hungry for strength. Hungry for revenge.
He crouched near a creek, staring at his reflection. His eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight, black tendrils crawling along his arms. The shadow within him pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Control it," he whispered, but the shadow only responded with a rush of strength, almost playful, almost mocking. Kael gritted his teeth.
If he was going to live… he had to learn.
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The first test came sooner than he expected. A wolf larger than any natural predator, eyes burning red emerged from the darkness. It growled, circling, muscles taut. Kael's instincts screamed to run, but he stood his ground.
The shadow surged. Without thinking, he extended his arm. Black tendrils lashed out like living whips. The wolf snarled, lunged and then froze midair, suspended by the creeping darkness. Its growl faded to a whimper before it collapsed, unconscious.
Kael's heart pounded. I did it… The shadow listened. The shadow obeyed.
He spent the next nights in the forest training relentlessly. The shadow taught him instinctively: how to merge with darkness, how to slice through air like a blade, how to extend his presence across the forest without moving. Pain and exhaustion became his companions, but power grew within him.
By the tenth night, Kael could move unseen, strike without warning, and control shadows far beyond his body. Yet, even as he mastered the darkness, a voice a memory of his parents echoed in his mind: Do not lose yourself to the shadow, Kael.
He ignored it. There was no room for hesitation. Only strength. Only revenge.
Weeks later, Kael returned to the ruins of his village. The once vibrant homes were now charred skeletons. He crouched in the ashes, letting the shadows wrap around him. And as he gazed at the moon, cold and silver, he made a vow:
I will rise. I will grow. And I will make the world kneel before the power of shadows.
From that night, Kael Veyra's journey had truly begun.