Kael did not wake suddenly.
Consciousness returned to him in layers—first sensation, then sound, then thought. He felt warmth beneath him, not heat, but something alive, like resting on a breathing surface. His lungs filled slowly, carefully, as though the air itself feared shocking him awake.
When his eyes finally opened, the first thing he saw was the sky.
It was not a sky any mortal world could possess.
Seven suns hung in a fractured arc above him, each radiating a different color—gold, blue, violet, crimson, emerald, silver, and one so dark it swallowed light. Between them flowed vast rivers of spirit energy, forming constellations that shifted every few seconds.
Kael exhaled shakily. "I'm… alive."
"Barely," Ryn replied from somewhere to his left. "You tried to tear yourself apart from the inside. Very rude."
Kael turned his head. They were on a wide floating terrace made of translucent crystal-veined stone, suspended miles above the Spirit Realm. Below stretched endless landscapes—forests of glowing trees, oceans suspended upside-down in the sky, colossal cities carved into drifting mountains.
He pushed himself upright.
His body felt different.
Not stronger in the obvious sense—but aligned. Like pieces of himself that had never fit properly were finally snapping into place.
"You were unconscious for three cycles," Eira said as she approached. Her silver robes shimmered faintly, reacting to Kael's stabilized aura. "Long enough for every major power in the realm to notice you survived."
"Survived what?" Kael asked.
"The Trial of Becoming," she answered simply. "Only eight Spirit Walkers have passed it in recorded history."
That number settled heavily on his shoulders.
Before Kael could respond, footsteps echoed across the terrace.
One by one, figures emerged from spirit gates—each arrival bending the air slightly, announcing power restrained rather than unleashed.
Eira gestured calmly. "Kael Ardyn, you will now be introduced to the forces that shape this realm."
A towering man clad in bronze-and-black armor stepped forward first. Scars crisscrossed his exposed arms like a map of wars survived.
"I am General Tharos Valen," he said, voice sharp as steel. "Commander of the Iron Host. We train warriors to face extinction-level threats."
Behind him stood eight officers, each radiating disciplined killing intent.
Next came a woman draped in living vines and blooming flowers, her eyes glowing emerald.
"Lady Myrrha of the Verdant Conclave," she said warmly. "We cultivate balance—between realms, spirits, and life itself."
Creatures of bark and leaf bowed behind her—dryads, beastkin, spirit-healers.
A third figure stepped forward—a young man no older than Kael, robed in starlight, eyes reflecting entire galaxies.
"Archivist Solune," he said quietly. "Astral Order. We preserve knowledge forbidden to gods."
Behind him hovered three silent observers, faces hidden behind floating sigils.
More followed.
Elder Kharuun, Lord of the Stonebound Giants
Mistress Veyla, Shadow Court assassin-matriarch
High Tamer Orrix, Beast Dominion
Prince Aelion Frostmark, heir of the Glacial Throne
Sister Nyx, Oracle of the Veiled Moon
By the time they finished, thirty-six named representatives stood before him.
Kael felt like prey.
"These factions wish to claim you," Tharos said bluntly. "Not as a slave—but as an asset."
"An investment," Myrrha corrected.
"A variable," Solune murmured.
Kael swallowed. "And if I refuse?"
A ripple passed through the gathering.
Eira answered. "Then you choose the Unbound Path."
Silence fell.
Even Ryn stopped smirking.
"The Unbound Path," Eira continued, "means no sanctuary. No shared resources. No protection from political consequences."
Tharos scoffed. "It also means no one will stop us from killing him if he becomes a threat."
Kael stared at the horizon—the place where the Spirit Realm dissolved into chaotic, unclaimed space.
"If I choose one faction," Kael said slowly, "I inherit their enemies. Their rules. Their lies."
He turned back to the gathered powers.
"I need to understand everything if I'm going to stop what's coming."
Eira's lips curved into a dangerous smile.
"Then exile begins your education."