Each rooftop groaned beneath him.
Talon's movements were sharp and mechanical, eyes fixed forward, heart in a storm of denial and hatred. The moon cast a pale glow over the Adretian cityscape—old stone buildings, candle-lit windows, curved metallic spires jutting like fractured bones into the sky.
The cold in his breath wasn't from exertion.
It was ether—pure, unfiltered Frostdraw, leaking from his very soul.
His coat fluttered like a banner of war.
He killed her. He killed our mother.
The thought burned louder than the wind rushing past his ears.
He dropped down into a small courtyard—worn stone under his boots. Vines crawled along the home's outer walls. A red training cloth was pinned to a wooden post nearby, smeared with blood from repeated practice.
And there he was.
Kouneli, young, naive, covered in sweat and flickers of blood-wrought blades that hovered around him like loyal wolves. He was focused—channeling something ancient, something wild, into sharp, elegant forms.
"Cleave."
The blades snapped forward, slicing the air.
The younger Kouneli exhaled and turned. "Talon? You're—"
A flash of blue ether cracked against his jaw.
He was sent flying backward, smashing into the wooden wall of the house.
"No…"
Present Kouneli watched the scene unfold as if standing in glass.
The colors were vivid, sounds real—he could even smell the scent of pine oil from the wooden beams of their old home. But his body wouldn't move.
He felt like a ghost.
Tears stung his eyes, but didn't fall.
Then his knees gave out.
He collapsed to the ground, his fingernails clawing the dirt. Every breath was jagged.
"Stop…"
His voice barely left his lips. "Please, stop…"
A cold, amused voice rang out behind him.
"So fragile," Ethiron whispered.
She appeared like a shadow wrapped in velvet—her presence more felt than seen. She looked down at him with silver eyes and a tilted smirk, her long white hair flowing unnaturally in still air.
"You can leave," she said, kneeling beside him. Her voice was honeyed, but sharp. "We wouldn't blame you."
Kouneli's breathing turned erratic.
His heart ached, not just from watching Talon—but from knowing he couldn't reach him. Couldn't scream. Couldn't defend himself, even here.
Ethiron's eyes narrowed, a false pout forming. "But imagine what your friends would say..."
And then they appeared behind her.
Flickering phantoms. Ghosts of judgment.
Velvet, arms crossed, disappointment in their eyes. Leonardo, shaking his head in disbelief. Übel, cold and distant. Even Maestro Rest… turning his back.
"So he broke."
"Told you he wasn't ready."
"He's no threat."
"A coward."
"No—!" Kouneli clutched his head, his scream choked by sobs. "Shut up! You're not real!"
But they laughed.
Talon stood above his younger brother, frost spreading like webbed veins across the stone floor. His chest heaved.
Kouneli coughed blood, the frostburn mark still glowing on his chest like cursed ink.
"You always made excuses," Talon spat. "But now I see it. You're a curse. A disease."
Kouneli raised a trembling hand. "Talon, I—I didn't mean—"
"Shut up!" Another blow came down—
Caught.
Light. Blinding. Brilliant. Divine.
A man now stood between them.
Golden robes. Bare feet. Ethereal glow spiraling up his arms like constellations. A sun tattoo was branded on the back of his hand.
His voice was warm and calm.
"He doesn't even understand what happened."
Talon's eyes shook. The frost around him pulsed.
"What are you saying… Teacher?"
Before the man could answer, a voice slithered into the air.
"So what?" the sponsor cooed.
He stepped out from behind a stone column, dressed in a sleek, obsidian cloak. His white hair flowed to his lower back. His skin—too pale, too perfect. His smile—unsettling.
"He was still born of blood," the sponsor said. "Still tore your mother apart from the inside with his power."
Talon's body trembled.
"No. No—he didn't mean—"
"Intent means nothing to the dead."
The light-wielder's eyes narrowed. "Enough."
But Talon had already drawn in more frost than ever before.
His body erupted in a storm of cold. The grass turned to brittle ice. Trees cracked.
He lunged.
The light-user moved, clapping his hands together. A sudden flare of radiant energy blinded the entire area—then the flash was gone.
Talon stood alone.
They had vanished.
The images faded.
Kouneli remained on the ground.
He was shaking uncontrollably, lips murmuring fragments of words. "Why… why him…? Why me…?"
Ethiron moved beside him, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.
"You endured it," she said, sitting cross-legged in the dirt. "Didn't run. Didn't scream for help."
She leaned forward, cupping his jaw with one hand and raising his gaze to hers.
"In pain, the gods of destruction are born."
Kouneli's eyes—once dim—slowly shifted. Red. Deep crimson. Veins glowing beneath the skin. Ether pulsed behind his gaze like tidal waves.
"Do you see now?" Ethiron whispered.
He didn't speak.
But he stood.
The ground trembled.