Kael sat in the center of the dark room, ignoring the sharp pain in his broken ribs. He held the quiet, sleeping Clara close against his chest. His hands turned tight and white as he watched bad purple lines from the poison spread across her neck. Her skin felt as cold as river ice, and her breath came very slowly."Clara, please stay awake," Kael said quietly, his regular voice shaking with real pain. "You risked everything to carry my mother's medicine at the palace gates. I will not let them take your life away tonight."Evelyn knelt down next to them on the cold stones, her hands shaking as she checked Clara's slow breathing. She touched Clara’s wrist, and her eyes went wide with fear as she looked up at Kael. "This is the Emperor's bad soul-poison," Evelyn said quietly, her voice full of real sadness.Kael looked down at her with sharp eyes and asked, "How do you know this specific poison, Evelyn?" Evelyn looked at the floorboards and answered, "My entire clan was destroyed by th

Lord Adrian’s ten dark assassins shadowed the luxurious merchant carriage as it wound through the narrow, wealthy streets toward the lower trading blocks. The hidden killers moved behind the tall stone pillars like fast ghosts, their eyes fixed completely on the purple silk curtains of the ride. They held their sharp daggers tightly beneath their dark cloaks."Do not let them turn into the main palace highway," the lead assassin whispered quietly to his squad from the shadow of an arch. "Lord Adrian wants that foreign merchant stopped before he can leave the city walls with our family money. Break his wheels if he accelerates."Kael sat perfectly relaxed inside the carriage, his long fingers resting flat against his new silk belt loops. He tracked their movements with his Heavenly Eyes, deliberately directing the carriage into the open public marketplace instead of running to the dark alleys. His vision cut straight through the wooden panels to see the killers."They want to trap us i

The dead scout's head rolled across the wooden floorboards, a dark crimson note pinned directly to his blood-stained forehead by a royal dagger. The heavy wood panels echoed with a sickening thud that made the entire cave fall into a freezing silence. Clara let out a sharp sob, her hands flying to her mouth as she stumbled backward in total horror.The scout's little sister froze for a single second, her wide eyes locking onto her brother's cold, lifeless face on the dirt floor. Then, a sharp shriek of pure, unadulterated agony tore from her small chest, and she threw her body directly onto the bloody floorboards. She clutched his frozen cheeks with her tiny hands, her tears mixing with the fresh red stains."Brother! No, please wake up! Do not leave me alone!" The little girl wept hysterically, her small shoulders shaking violently as the negative emotion inside the cavern reached a painful peak. "You promised we would go home to the village! Master Kael, please fix him! Use the need

The massive shadow spatial tear cut right through the center of the jade throne, making the floor ground apart. A cold, unholy dark mist released from the crack, filling the banquet hall instantly. The air turned freezing cold, turning the leftover wine into solid river ice within seconds."The space is cracking!" Evelyn shouted out fiercely, pulling Clara back as the stone steps began to burst. Supreme Overlord Vane stepped straight out from the swirling black center, his dark lightning claws buzzing loudly in the quiet night air.He wore heavy black armor that shined with purple electricity under the dim red lights. His eyes were cold as ice. "Did you honestly think you could keep a crown inside my sector, Kael?" Vane roared out wickedly, his deep voice shaking the ceiling.Vane’s ancient, top-tier immortal cultivation level completely pressed down on the wide room, freezing the movement of the forty thousand rebel forces. The intense magic weight slammed into the soldiers' chests,

Inside the private inner chamber of the newly built mud citadel, Empress Elara locked the wooden bolts behind Kael. Her maternal eyes were full of intense anxiety as she turned around to face her son. She checked the heavy timber panels one last time to make sure no one was listening to their conversation."Why did you lock the bolts, Mother?" Kael asked, his regular voice calm as he set his father's silver broadsword down on the wooden table. "The mages are far away from this sector, and the mud walls are completely secure tonight.""Someone very close to your shadow is walking with a dark aura, Kael," Elara whispered weakly, her fingers trembling against his linen hand wraps. She pulled him deeper into the dark corner of the room, her voice shaking with real, deep fear."The capital mages have planted a viper inside our lines," the mother added, her eyes fixed on his handsome face. "The betrayal will be brutal, and it might end life if you remain blind to the danger around your bed.