Heavenbreaker: The Rebirth of the cursed Hero

Chapter 4 - THE ASSASSIN WHO KNEW MY TRUE NAME

The world snapped back into focus with a violent jolt.

Kai felt the ground slam against his back, air knocked from his lungs. Smoke curled around him in black and gold spirals, the residue of the Heavenbreaker’s burst. His ears rang. His vision blurred.

Shouts echoed faintly.

“Get the healer!”

“Protect the students!”

“Where’s the assassin?!”

Kai pushed himself up, coughing. His vision cleared just enough for him to see Elder Han lying unconscious against the far wall, staff cracked in two. The arena floor was shattered, forming a small crater where Kai had been standing.

But the assassin…

He was still alive.

Standing calmly amid the ruin as if nothing had happened.

That cold, unreadable mask reflected the broken arena. His white veil symbol glowed faintly, resisting the Heavenbreaker’s energy.

Kai swallowed hard. He tanked that burst…? This can’t be a human.

“Correct,” the system whispered. “He is not human. He is a Divine Construct, created for killing.”

The assassin stepped forward, unhurried. “Your awakening was not authorized. Your existence is a threat to the celestial order.”

Lira sprinted to Kai, her cloak fluttering. She knelt and grabbed his arm.

“Kai, don’t move. You’re still unstable.”

“I’m fine,” he rasped.

He wasn’t. His bones felt like molten iron. His chest burned.

Raven landed beside them in a burst of dark flame. “Lira, step back. This isn’t someone you can reason with.”

The assassin tilted his head. “Raven Nightfall. You may leave. Our target is only the anomaly.”

Kai felt a chill slash down his spine.

Anomaly… He’s talking about me.

Raven’s eyes narrowed. “He touched the mortal realm. That alone breaks celestial law.”

Lira frowned sharply. “You’re… you’re defending him?”

“I’m stating facts,” Raven replied coldly. But he stepped in front of Kai anyway. “And until we know why he’s here, you’re not touching him.”

The assassin didn’t seem impressed.

“You were not part of the prophecy,” he said calmly. “Move.”

Raven drew his blade. “Try and make me.”

A flash of white tore through the air.

Raven barely dodged. The ground where he stood exploded in a burst of blue fire. The assassin moved like a shadow, reappearing behind him.

Kai didn’t even see the movement.

He’s faster than before.

Lira pulled Kai back. “You need to run.”

“No,” Kai said weakly. “If I run, he’ll kill the entire village to get to me.”

The system’s voice chimed again.

“He will. Divine assassins erase all witnesses.”

Lira paled. Raven gritted his teeth.

The assassin raised his blade, focusing entirely on Kai.

“Kai Ren is not your true identity,” he said.

The words sliced deeper than any blade.

Lira froze. Raven’s grip tightened around his weapon.

Kai felt his heart stutter. “What… did you say?”

The assassin continued, emotionless.

“You bear the signature of the fallen Celestial Hero, Azeriel Dawnblade. You should not exist in this realm.”

The world stopped. Kai couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t think.

Lira covered her mouth. “A-Azeriel…? That’s a celestial name.”

Raven’s eyes widened with recognition. “The traitor hero? The one executed by the gods?!”

Kai stared at the assassin, numb. “I… don’t understand. I don’t know that name.”

But his voice trembled.

He did know it.

Somewhere deep within his soul, the name echoed like a forgotten scream.

Azeriel.

His chest tightened painfully. A memory flashed , quick, blurred, violent. A cracked sword. A burning sky. A voice calling his name.

Then it vanished.

Who was I… before this life?

The assassin lifted his blade again. “Orders are absolute. You will die now.”

He moved, And suddenly Kai could see it.

His movements slowed. Not physically… but within Kai’s perception. Like the Curse rewired his senses.

“Heavenbreaker combat instinct activated.”

Kai’s body reacted before his mind did.

He raised his hand.

Dark-gold energy burst outward, forming a jagged shield of light.

The blade struck it.

BOOM.

Kai was thrown backward, but the shield held for half a second , long enough to keep him alive.

The assassin landed lightly, unscathed. “Your soul remembers. The rest will follow.”

Kai trembled. “Stop… talking like you know me.”

“I know what you were,” the assassin corrected.

“And what you will become if left alive.”

He lunged again.

Raven intercepted the strike, blades clashing. Sparks of black and white scattered across the arena.

“You want him?” Raven said through gritted teeth. “You’ll go through me.”

The assassin cocked his head. “Pointless.”

He flicked his wrist.

A shockwave of divine force blasted Raven across the arena.

“Kai!” Lira shouted.

The assassin appeared in front of Kai in a blink.

Too fast.

Kai felt the cold steel touch his chest.

“This is your fate, Azeriel Dawnblade.”

The blade pushed, And suddenly, A roar ripped from Kai’s body, not human nor mortal.

His eyes flashed gold. Light exploded beneath his skin.

And the world around him shattered like glass.

The assassin’s mask cracked.

Lira screamed his name.

Raven shielded his face from the blast.

And Kai felt warmth , no, power , rise inside him, ancient and terrifying.

A voice echoed in his mind.

Not the System.

Not the wolf spirit.

A voice older than both.

“Wake up, Azeriel.”

Everything went black.