The first thing Kael remembered was dying.The second thing he remembered was opening his eyes.He was standing beneath a sky that did not belong to Earth.Three moons hung above him.One was silver.One was black.The third burned red like an enormous eye.Around him stretched an ocean of darkness, yet he was standing upon its surface as though the water itself had become solid beneath his feet.Something enormous moved beneath him.Kael looked down.A shadow larger than mountains passed underneath the black ocean.Then it opened its eyes.Kael should have been afraid.Instead, he heard himself laugh.Not the laugh of a frightened young man.A deeper laugh.Ancient.Commanding.Familiar.“You took long enough.”The creature beneath the water answered.Not with words.With thunder.The heavens shook.The three moons shattered.Kael raised one hand.Everything became silent.The ocean froze.The creature stopped moving.The stars themselves seemed to wait for his permission to continue

Kael couldn’t sleep.The words repeated themselves in his mind.You are remembering.Not awakening.Remembering.That distinction frightened him more than anything else.He sat in the back seat of Adrian’s car as dawn approached.Neither brother spoke.Eventually, Kael broke the silence.“What exactly is my family?”Adrian kept his eyes on the road.“Human.”“That’s not what Grandfather meant.”“I know.”“Then tell me.”Adrian sighed.“Our family has guarded something for generations.”“What?”“I don’t know.”“You expect me to believe that?”“I expect you to believe that I don’t know.”Kael looked through the window.The city was beginning to wake.People walked to work.Cars filled the roads.Children waited beside bus stops.Everything looked normal.But Kael no longer trusted normal.His phone vibrated.Unknown number.He answered.“Hello?”Silence.Then a woman’s voice.“You shouldn’t have touched the door.”Kael sat upright.“Who is this?”“You already know.”“Seraphina?”A soft

CHAPTER FIVETHE FIRST DEATHKael woke in a forest.He didn't know how he had arrived.For several seconds, he didn't even know who he was.He opened his eyes.Darkness.Not complete darkness.Moonlight slipped through the branches above him, painting the forest floor in broken silver.Rain fell through the trees.Cold drops struck his face.His clothes were torn.Mud covered his arms.And blood—Blood covered his hands.Kael stared at them.His breathing became faster.He turned his palms over.The blood was fresh.Too fresh.“Where…”His voice came out weak.He swallowed.“Where am I?”No answer.Only the rain.Kael pushed himself upright.Pain immediately shot through his body.He gritted his teeth and waited for it to pass.His head throbbed.His memories came back in fragments.The library.The creature.Seraphina.The old man.The black flames.The voices.Azael.Then nothing.Kael looked around.“Seraphina?”The forest remained silent.He stood slowly.His legs trembled beneath

The Ardent family held an emergency meeting the following morning.No one called it an emergency meeting.There was no need.Everyone knew.The atmosphere inside the great dining hall was enough to make the truth obvious.Kael sat at the end of the long table.He had barely slept.The events of the previous night kept replaying in his mind.The shadow creature.His golden eyes.The impossible strength.The voice inside him.And the final word it had spoken.Demon.He still didn't know what it meant.But judging by the way his family looked at him, they did.His mother sat to his left.Her hands were folded tightly in front of her.Adrian sat beside her.His older brother had said almost nothing since Kael entered the room.Across the table were Kael's uncles and several senior members of the Ardent family.His grandfather stood at the head of the table.The old man looked exhausted.For several seconds, nobody spoke.Then his grandfather broke the silence.“You're leaving.”Kael frown

Kael spent the entire night awake.He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor.Seraphina's words kept repeating inside his head.You weren't Heaven's servant.You were Heaven's ruler.He looked toward the window.The city beyond the glass was quiet.Streetlights painted pale circles across the empty roads. Cars passed occasionally, their headlights sliding across the walls of his apartment before disappearing.Everything looked normal.But Kael no longer trusted normal.Not after discovering that he had died.Not after waking up without a scar.Not after hearing kings, demons, dragons, and angels whisper the same name.Azael.And now this.A ruler of Heaven.He looked down at his hands.They looked human.No golden light.No black flames.No strange symbols.Just skin.Fingers.Knuckles.Human hands.Kael slowly clenched them.“If I ruled Heaven,” he whispered, “then why don't I remember?”Silence answered.He closed his eyes.For a moment, he saw a throne.Golden.Enormous.