"Who is going to have me killed? I want to go back home. I want to go back to my father because it is clear that I am not wanted here." Kael said, looking at Master Harond. "I am sorry, Kid, but you don't have any family. I am your only family." Master Harond said, looking at his face. "Are you saying I am an orphan? Do you actually expect me to believe that?" Kael said with tears almost spilling from his face. "I am going to be your father from now on, and I am going to take care of you. All you need to do is ask." Kael staggered backward. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. One minute he was inside a tube, and the next he was hearing the most shocking news of his life. "Can you be truthful with me for once, Master Harond? Are you hiding anything from me?" Kael asked.There was a brief moment of silence. "This is for your own good, Kael. You were in pain before all of this. You wanted blood, and you don't mind drenching everyone you loved in it. You took a life. Your cous

Kael slowly hid behind Harond, whose gaze was locked on Dareth for a fight.The room was in a frenzy mode until King Almond raised his hands up."What have we all decided to do with the boy?" He asked after they were all silent.The most powerful mage in the room stood up. Everyone's gaze was locked on her. "We all know what he is capable of. But I want to believe I have managed to do the right thing, and for now, Kael is not a threat to anyone. But he killed Rand nonetheless."Another swordmaster stood up, looking at Dareth. "I believe this is a fight between Dareth and Kael. We were there when Dareth drew his sword at him. The boy only defended himself." Master Nikoklause said, looking at Dareth, who was fuming with anger."Is there something we didn't know about the death of the former, Swordmaster?" one of the elders asked again.The throne room was silent, with many of them looking at Dareth and back at the king for an explanation. "What are you asking of me? That I killed my bro

The morning air was cold, sharp enough to bite at the skin, and Kael’s breath fogged as he trudged toward the stables. Master Harond's words echoed in his ears. " Don't try to stand out. Don't try to take revenge. And don't train." Those were the rules he needed to abide with. The rules that was going to keep him safe and away from danger. But which danger?Kael's mind went back to the Sowrdman who wanted to fight Harond. Except that he was not trying to fight Harond. He was trying to kill him. Kael tilted his head and his gaze locked with hers. Breathtaking.Her skin was glowing and she had this eyes that showed either love or attraction. Kael dismissed the thought. Her dressing showed that she was a high born. The last thing he needed was to get entangled in another problem. He has more than enough on my plate at the moment. Kael new robe—gray, coarse, and slightly too big—hung on him like a burden. The pay token clinked softly in his pocket, the sound a constant reminder of

Kael froze immediately; the demon landed right in front of him. He felt glued to a spot. Could barely move. The stench of sulphur filled the air as the creature landed. Its claws dug into the earth with a hiss, cracking the cobblestones beneath it. The demon was tall—taller than any man Kael had ever seen—with skin like obsidian wrapped in shifting shadows. Its ribs pulsed red through the gaps in its armour of bone and ash. Fire licked around its horns, and its eyes—two molten pits—locked directly onto him. Kael's gaze was fixed on the demon. Anticipating and wondering what it was going to do. “Kael,” Nira whispered beside him, her grip on his wrist tightening. “Don’t move.” The demon stepped forward. Its movements were fluid, almost human, but wrong in the way it tilted its head, in the way it seemed to slide across the earth without truly touching it. “You bear the power of the most powerful Swordman, but where is it?" The demon growled, its voice scraping across the world

It was like Master Harond was asking for the impossible.Kael’s breath came slow and uncertain as he closed his eyes. The flickering candlelight in Master Harond’s chamber cast shadows across the stone walls. But here, in the stillness, Kael heard only the sound of his own heartbeat — steady, unsure, but present.“Focus on the space between your breaths,” Harond said quietly, pacing behind him. “That is where your Hakana lives.”Kael didn’t respond. He could feel his limbs trembling slightly, not from fear — or at least, not entirely — but from anticipation. Deep within his chest, where moments ago that strange surge of power had blossomed, there was now a faint hum. A distant pull, as if something ancient and bound in chains was slowly turning to meet him.“Master,” Kael said softly. “What is Hakana?”There was a pause. Harond’s footsteps stopped. “It’s more than power. More than magic or energy. It is the essence of your lineage — the spiritual force that binds your soul to your swo