THE VEILED MASTER

CHAPTER TWO: THE HOLLOW MASTER

Kael stood frozen. The stranger’s gaze was too calm. Not threatening but ancient. His robes, though ragged, bore an insignia Kael didn’t recognize: a flame, split down the middle and inverted like a hollow vessel. "Your... master?" Kael asked, voice trembling.

"You touched the sword," the man said, stepping closer. "You carry the mark. The Seal chose you. That makes you my responsibility… for now."

Kael backed into the clinic shelf, knocking over a tray of dried medicinal roots. "I didn’t ask for this."

"Neither did the world, boy. But it’s already burning."

The man moved like smoke one blink and he was beside Kael, placing two fingers on his chest. The seal flared blue, and Kael’s breath caught in his throat. For a moment, he felt everything the air, the moisture in the room, the pulse in his own blood… even the thoughts trying to surface in the man’s mind.

And then, it was gone. "Your Qi pathways are blocked. But the seal is forcing them open," the man said. "If you don’t learn to control it, it will burn through you slowly."

Kael stared. “Then take it out.”

"I can’t. Even if I could, you’d die in the process." The man turned, walking toward the door. “You have two choices. Learn. Or perish.”

Kael didn’t move. "And what would you teach me?" he asked, desperate to make sense of the nightmare unfolding.

The man paused, looking over his shoulder. "Martial arts that break bones and bend steel. Medical skills that heal a man from death’s edge or turn his blood against him. And how to survive in a world that doesn’t know it’s already at war."

Kael hesitated. "Who are you?"

The man looked him dead in the eye. "I have no name anymore. But those who knew me… called me the Hollow Flame."

Kael follows the Hollow Flame through hidden alleys to an abandoned temple on the city outskirts. It’s covered in moss, cracked statues, and strange sigils. This becomes his new training ground.

The Hollow Flame wastes no time. Day 1 is brutal: Kael is forced to meditate under a freezing waterfall to open his blocked meridians. Every time he fails to control his breath, the seal activates and nearly burns him from the inside out.

He learns how to pulse Qi through his limbs, faintly enough to sense life… not yet strong enough to fight. By dusk, Kael collapses cold, exhausted, and furious.

“Why me? Why not someone stronger?”

The Hollow Flame doesn’t answer. Instead, he drops a scroll beside Kael. "Read. Understand. This is not just about fighting. It’s about knowing where to strike and where to heal."

Kael opens the scroll. It’s a map of human meridian points and energy gates used in martial pressure attacks and healing techniques. It’s also… pulsating.

“What is this made of?”

The Hollow Flame simply replies: “Human memory. Sealed in spirit ink.” That night, while Kael struggles to sleep in the temple, the mark on his chest begins to flare. In a vision, he sees the man he saved captive, shackled in chains made of fire, screaming Kael’s name.

Kael bolts upright, gasping. The Hollow Flame is already standing in the doorway, eyes glowing faintly.

“They’ve found you.”