"Run, Kael! Don't look back!"His mother's scream was drowned out by the thunderous crash of wooden ruins. Kael tumbled, hot dust and ash filling his lungs. The morning sky, which should have been a clear blue, was now covered by a thick black curtain. Eldara Village, where he had lived for eighteen years, had turned into a massive furnace in a matter of minutes.Kael coughed, trying to stand while wiping his stinging eyes. In front of him, a giant shadow moved behind the smog. The creature was nearly ten feet tall, with black scaly skin that looked like cold charcoal and glowing red eyes that radiated pure hatred. Xarath. The monster growled, the sound coming from its throat sounding like the scraping of sharp stones."Is this all?" Xarath's voice was heavy and raspy. "Another village destroyed, and I still haven't felt that vibration."Kael saw his mother, Mara, trapped under a burning wooden beam. Her face was pale, blood flowing from her temple. As Xarath's eyes shifted to the hel

Chapter 3. The First BattleThe growl vibrated through the air, heavier than the thundering waterfall crashing behind them. Xarath stepped out from the shadows of a giant oak tree, his three-meter-tall body appearing like a living monument of darkness. Black steam hissed from the cracks in his charcoal skin, and his red eyes locked onto Kael with an intensity that seemed capable of searing flesh."The scent of your fear is sharper than the smell of this sulfur, Boy," Xarath’s voice sounded like the scraping of rusted metal. "The Conqueror’s Flame does not deserve to be in the hands of a trembling coward."Master Selama stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Kael and Mara. His wooden staff now glowed with a faint blue aura, though Kael could see the old man's hand trembling slightly. The old wound on Selama's waist must have been agonizing, yet his gaze remained as sharp as an eagle's."Back away, Xarath," Selama commanded, his voice calm yet containing undeniable authority.

Chapter 5. Meeting a New EnemyKael gripped the stone box tightly, feeling the warm pulse spreading from its surface into his palm. Above him, the sound of Xarath’s claws tearing through the ruins grew increasingly frantic. The monster general wasn't digging to save him; he was digging to loot.I am no longer your prey, Kael thought.He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the heat in the pit of his stomach flow fiercely throughout his body. This time, the fire didn't feel like a crushing burden, but like a bloodstream that had finally found its way home. Kael could feel the fragile structure of the cave ceiling above him. With a roar that erupted from the depths of his soul, he thrust both hands upward.Boom!It wasn't just an explosion, but a pillar of pure orange fire that shot up vertically, shattering the remaining stones that pinned him down. Kael shot out of the hole along with dust and sparks that soared high into the dark forest sky. He landed firmly on the trembling

Chapter 7. The Prison of DarknessThe stone walls felt like ice, sucking the life from Kael’s pores. As the iron carriage door slammed open, the harsh torchlight pierced his eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness. He was dragged out, his legs still weak from the lingering poison, stumbling against the rough stone stairs leading into the bowels of the earth."Get inside, scum!" shouted one of the black-clad soldiers.Kael was thrown into a narrow cell. His body hit the cold, damp floor. The heavy iron bars clanged shut, echoing through the seemingly endless underground corridor. The black iron collar around his neck still felt suffocating, pulsing with dark energy that suppressed every spark of fire within his veins.He tried to stand, but every time he attempted to summon his energy, the collar would release a painful electric shock. Kael groaned, leaning his back against the cell wall. This entire room was made of anti-magic stone, a material specifically designed to exting

Chapter 9. New AlliesThe gravitational pressure nearly crushed Kael's ribs. Beneath the Shadow Sovereign's boot, his face was pressed into the cracked asphalt of the bridge. Above, the sky of the Capital continued to gape open, spewing giant black hands that seemed ready to tear reality apart. Despair was no longer just a feeling; it was a poison freezing his blood."Watch, Kael," the Sovereign whispered, his voice sounding like a death knell. "This world is nothing but kindling for my master."As Kael's consciousness began to fade, a sharp whistling sliced through the air. The sound was different from the roar of the wind or magical explosions—it was the sound of precise metal friction. An arrow with a strange silver glow streaked forward, not toward the Sovereign, but striking the bridge's surface right in front of Kael's chest.Boom!The arrow exploded, but it wasn't fire that emerged; instead, a white shockwave canceled the gravitational pressure around Kael. Instantly, the tight