Shadowblade:Rise of the Outcast

2:

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The afternoon sky looks golden, as if God painted it with soft fingers. But in Kael's chest, the sky is like a thick gray. He sat on the banks of a small river behind the village hill, the place he used to visit since childhood. The wind blows calmly, but his mind cannot be calm. 

That day, he should have left the village. But where? The world outside of Valir is a mystery. And the mystery is more frightening than the ridicule that he was used to hearing. 

Footsteps sounded closer from behind the bush. Kael turned quickly, on standby. But what appeared was only Reian -putra from his uncle, a child who since childhood grew up with him. Same age, but different worlds. 

Reian's face always looks sweet in front of an adult, but full of poison if it is only alone with Kael. 

"Hi," said Reian, smiling faintly. "Still feel at home after being laughed at by one village?"

Kael did not answer. He just looked down, looked back at the water flow. 

Reian sat next to him, kept his distance. "I thought you would run away. But you stay here. Great too."

"What do you want, Reian?" Kael asked quietly. He was tired of the game. 

Reian laughed softly. "Calm down. I just want to help."

Kael frowned. "Help?"

"You want to know why you can never arouse your core, right?"

Kael turned around. His eyes were sharp. "What do you mean?"

Reian grinned. "I know the place that is said to be able to arouse someone's hidden power. But ... it can only be done if you are really desperate."

Kael was silent. He didn't just believe it. But curious seeds grow fast. 

Reian stood up. "If you want to know, come with me. But don't tell anyone."

Doubts had confined Kael. But a deep sense of emptiness made him stand too. He followed Reian who stepped towards the north of the village - to the forest that was rarely touched. 

**

The journey was quiet. The sun sinks slowly, leaving a blood red color in the sky. The sound of the night bird began to be heard. Kael remained silent, paying attention to Reian's movements that looked so sure. 

"I've never been in this direction before," Kael finally said. 

Reian turned quickly. "Naturally. This is a hidden place."

Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the Tebing Tinggi facing the dark valley - the floor known as the black cliff. Legenda said, the place kept the spirits of exile, the souls who lost their place in the world. Nobody returned from there. 

Kael looked at the abyss. The inside is like swallowing light. 

"There?" he whispered. 

Reian nodded. "You have to go down a little. On a large stone on the side of the cliff there is a sign. Put your black stone there. He said, if you match, your core will rise."

Kael hesitated. But somehow, something in him pushed him forward. 

He tied the inheritance black on the waist, then down the small path on the side of the cliff. His steps are careful, because just slightly slipped, his body will float to the eternal darkness. 

Reian stood on top, watching quietly. 

"A little more," murmured Kael. He found a flat stone on the side of the cliff, full of moss and cracks. 

He put the black stone on it. 

Lonely. 

The wind roared. 

Then ... the sound of fast steps. And before Kael had a chance to turn around, a pair of hands pushed his back. 

His body was thrown. 

The air screamed in his ear. 

The black cliff swallowed Kael's body without a sound. 

**

Reian stood on the edge of the cliff, staring blankly down. There is no reflection. There is no sound. 

"Sorry, cousin," he said quietly. "You really shouldn't be born."

He turned and left, leaving the place as if there was never anyone with him. 

**

Kael didn't know how long he fell. The world seemed to hug him in a whirlpool. But his body was not crushed. He fell - but not dead. 

When he finally opened his eyes, he lay on hard ground, his body hurt everywhere. His gaze blurred, but he could see the black sky above him, covered in strange green purple fog. 

"Where is this?" he hissed. 

He tried to sit. The chest feels tight, and the spine throbs. But he lives. Somehow, he still survived. 

The roar was heard from a distance. Not the sound of water, not wind. It's more like - if something big ... and old. 

Kael reached for his waist. The black stone is still there. But now, the stone throbs softly. Like a heart. 

He looked at him, his breathing hunted. 

The stone ... live. 

Kael felt something flowed from within him. Warm. Circular. Bite. A strength. But with him comes pain. As if his entire body is being re -formed from the inside. He screamed, his body stretched on the ground. 

A strange picture of crossing his mind - black, a big eye watching, and a voice that is not like a human voice:

"Kael ... the heir is empty ... finally you came ..."

Kael bit his lips until it bleeds. The world around him trembled. 

Kael's steps staggered in the foreign land. Black ravine - a place that is believed to end - it turns out that keeps something that is far more dark than death. The surrounding air is sticky like a poisonous mist. The aroma of metal and old fungus fills every breath. 

His body has not fully recovered. The muscles feel attracted. His feet barely shot the ground. But there is something in him that encourages to keep going. Since the black stone throbbed, as if a faint force propagated throughout its pulse. 

He finally arrived at the gap between two rock cliffs that seemed to open the way for him. In the middle of the gap, a faint light visible from a distance-not natural light, but a dark red tinge, like a burning embers quietly. 

Kael hesitated. But his feet continued to step, slowly, one by one. Something called him. Not sound, but encouragement ... instincts ... invisible whisper. 

Tap ... tap ... tap ... 

His footsteps reflected on the stone wall. He arrived at a large cavity like a cave. In the middle, stood a stone altar. On it ... a sword stuck. The handle is jet black, wrapped in blood red wire. His bare was barely visible, integrated with the shadow around him. 

But the most striking is the aura around him - lap, sharp, and alive. The wind was not blowing, but Kael's robe moved slowly, as if it was pulled by something from the sword. 

Kael approached. The steps are slow, full of vigilance. His breath was running low, not because of fear ... but because of a strange amazement. The sword ... as if calling his name. 

Kael ...