System Of Judgment: Rise Of Kael

Chapter Three: Ashes and Allies

Kael stumbled through the alleys with Mira dragging him by the arm. His back burned where the brand still pulsed, every heartbeat whispering pain.

Behind them, the city screamed, bells, fire, soldiers shouting his name. “Stop pulling,” Kael hissed.

“Then run faster,” Mira shot back. “You light up like a beacon every time you breathe.”

They turned a corner and nearly collided with two patrolling guards. Mira didn’t hesitate, she threw a handful of powder into the air. 

The spark flared green, blinding. The men cried out, clutching their eyes. Kael blinked through the smoke. “What was that?”

“Sleeping ash,” she said, catching her breath. “Hurts like hell if you inhale it. Works every time.”

He stared at her, trying to catch up. “Who are you?” 

“A healer,” she replied, voice tight. “And apparently your babysitter now.”

Kael’s temper flared. “I don’t need saving.”

“You almost died in there.”

“I’ve died before,” he snapped.

She stopped, turned on him. “Then stop acting like it’s a badge of honor.”

The words cut through the rain. Kael’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Mira sighed, tension fading just a little. “Listen,” she said softly, “I lost someone to the Church too. If we start fighting each other, they win.”

Before Kael could answer, the air rippled. A faint hum crawled through his mind, the System awakening.

[New Quest Triggered: Survive the Pursuit.]

[Companion Linked: Mira Solen.]

Kael’s breath caught. “You.”

Mira blinked. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“The System… it recognized you.”

“Then maybe it’s smarter than I thought,” she muttered, gripping his wrist again. “Come on. There’s a safe house ahead.”

They slipped through the dying market district. Shops stood half-burned, shutters hanging loose. Somewhere in the dark, a child cried, then silence.

Kael slowed as they passed a familiar sight: a broken mining cart lying in the mud, its wood charred black. His throat tightened. “I worked here,” he murmured.

Mira glanced back. “Then you know how to keep moving quietly.”

But Kael didn’t move. His gaze lingered on the ruins, the ghosts of his past buried under rain. “They burned it to hide the evidence. All those workers…” His voice cracked. “My father died in that collapse.”

Mira’s expression softened. “Was he like you?”

Kael shook his head slowly. “No. He believed justice came from patience. I buried him believing that lie.”

She stepped closer, her voice gentle but firm. “Then make him proud by staying alive.”

Before he could reply, footsteps echoed behind them, many. Mira cursed. “They’re tracking your energy again.”

Kael turned, eyes flashing. “Then we fight.”

She pulled a dagger from her belt. “We survive. Then we fight.”

The guards rounded the corner, torches flaring in the rain. “Kael Thorn! By decree of the Church, surrender!”

Kael uncoiled his chain, lightning flickering across the links. “You first.”

The fight erupted in chaos. Steel met chain, sparks flying. Kael moved with deadly rhythm, each strike precise, almost instinctive. 

Mira darted behind him, striking pressure points, throwing vials that burst in flashes of smoke. “Two on your left!” she shouted.

“I see them.”

He swung the chain wide, catching one by the neck, jerking him into another. They crashed to the ground. “Judgment Executed.”

The words whispered in Kael’s skull as blue light pulsed through the chain.

Mira stared at the glow. “You really are one of them.”

“One of what?”

“The Judge.” Her voice was awed and terrified all at once. “The one the prophecies warned about.”

Kael didn’t answer. He was too focused on the last soldier standing, the captain, his armor etched with holy sigils.

The man smiled coldly. “Blasphemer.” He drew a glowing sword. “The Inquisitor sends his blessings.”

Kael raised his chain. “Then let him collect them himself.”

They clashed. Lightning and holy fire collided, lighting the alley like dawn. The captain was skilled, each swing heavy with divine energy. 

Kael parried, countered, barely dodged a burning arc that scorched the stone beside him. “You cannot win,” the captain growled. “Your system is a mockery of the divine!”

Kael’s breath came hard. “If the divine made this world, maybe it deserves mocking.”

He ducked under a blow and drove his knee into the man’s gut. The captain staggered. Kael wrapped the chain around his sword arm and pulled, the links glowing hotter.

The man screamed as the holy symbols burned away under blue flame. “Judgment Complete.”

The captain fell to his knees, armor blackened. Kael stood over him, chest heaving. “Tell Alaric I’m coming.”

The soldier spat blood. “He already knows.”

A distant horn echoed, dozens, maybe hundreds. Mira’s eyes widened. “They’ve surrounded this sector.”

Kael glanced up. On every rooftop, torchlight flared. Dozens of archers aimed down at them.

“Move!” Mira shoved him toward a narrow doorway. They dove inside as arrows sliced through the rain.

They tumbled into a basement thick with dust and shadow. Mira slammed the door behind them, heart pounding.

Kael pressed a hand to his chest, the System’s hum vibrating through him. “It’s feeding on every kill,” he muttered. “It’s like it wants me to keep fighting.”

Mira crouched beside him. “Then learn to control it before it controls you.”

He met her gaze, fierce, steady, unflinching. “You don’t even know what it feels like.”

“Try me,” she said quietly. “I’ve healed people whose sins screamed louder than their wounds. Pain speaks the same language.”

For the first time, Kael saw something beyond defiance in her eyes, loss. Deep and old. “Who did you lose?” he asked.

She looked away. “My brother. He was taken by the Church. They called it a purification.”

Kael’s fists clenched. “Then we’re both chasing ghosts.”

She gave a humorless smile. “Maybe we’ll catch them faster together.”

They rested only minutes before the noise outside shifted, boots, shouting, doors being kicked open. Mira whispered, “They’re sweeping the block. We have to go now.”

Kael nodded. “You lead.”

She pulled up a trapdoor beneath an old carpet. “Sewer tunnel. Smells like death, but it’s freedom.”

They slipped into the dark. The tunnel stank of rot and damp stone, the sound of rushing water masking their steps. Kael’s voice echoed softly, strained. “Why are you helping me, really?”

Mira hesitated, then said, “Because I saw the lightning. The night you were branded, the sky split open over the slums. My brother used to say the gods only strike to wake the worthy. Maybe he was right.”

Kael’s laugh was bitter. “The gods made me a murderer.”

She stopped, turned toward him. “No. The world did. The System’s just showing you what you already are.”

Before Kael could reply, something moved in the dark ahead, a flicker of light, footsteps echoing. He raised his chain. “More guards?”

Mira shook her head slowly. “No… listen.”

A voice called softly from the shadows. “Lower your weapon, Judge.”

Kael froze. The voice was familiar. Corvin stepped out of the darkness, bruised, limping, one side of his mask cracked. “You didn’t think I’d die that easily, did you?”

Mira’s hand went to her dagger. “Who is he?”

Kael exhaled. “A liar. But useful.”

Corvin smirked. “Flattering. I brought news. The Church sealed the city gates. They’ve declared a purge, every slum, every worker’s quarter. They’re burning the evidence of what they did to the mines.”

Mira’s face drained of color. “That’s thousands of people.”

Kael’s pulse quickened. “They’ll wipe them all out just to erase me.”

Corvin nodded grimly. “And unless you find the man directing it, the Baron of Ashreach, you’ll never reach the mines or the truth.”

Kael’s fists trembled. “Where is he?”

Corvin handed him a bloodstained map. “North quarter. Guarded by a small army.”

Kael stared at it, eyes hard. “Then we cut through.”

Mira grabbed his wrist. “That’s suicide.”

“Then it’s the price.”

Lightning flickered again along the chain. The System whispered, cold and eager.

[New Judgment Mission: Baron of Ashreach.]

[Sin Level: 312.]

Corvin raised an eyebrow. “You’re smiling. Should I be worried?”

Kael’s reply was quiet, deadly. “No. But the Baron should be.”

A rumble echoed through the tunnels, stone cracking, water surging. Mira looked up in horror. “What now?”

The wall exploded inward. Holy fire tore through the tunnel, forcing them back. Soldiers poured in, led by a figure wrapped in blinding light.

Alaric’s voice thundered over the roar. “You cannot run from judgment, Kael Thorn. The next verdict is yours.”

The flames reflected in Kael’s eyes. He gripped the glowing chain, defiant even as the heat seared his skin. “Then let’s see whose judgment burns brighter.”