Years passed in the Forgotten Vale.
Under Sylara's watchful guidance, Kael grew stronger—not just in body, but in mind. He was no longer the fragile infant abandoned to die. His muscles, though still developing, were firm from constant movement. His instincts, sharpened by the lessons of the wild, allowed him to sense danger before it struck.
But his true strength the power slumbering deep within him remained locked away.
Sylara had always known it would not awaken as human magic did. Spells, incantations, and mana manipulation belonged to lesser beings. Kael's power was something greater, something that defied the natural order.
Yet it remained chained.
And so, she decided.
Tonight, the chains would break.
The Ritual of Calling
The moon was full when Sylara led Kael to the heart of the vale, where the land itself pulsed with ancient energy. Massive stones, engraved with symbols far older than any kingdom, stood in a perfect circle. The air here was different—heavier, charged with a force unseen yet undeniable.
Kael looked around, curiosity flickering in his blue eyes. "What is this place?"
Sylara's emerald gaze never wavered. "A place where the forgotten awaken."
She motioned for him to stand at the center of the stone circle. Kael hesitated only briefly before obeying. The ground beneath him hummed, as if recognizing his presence.
Then Sylara spoke.
Not in the language of humans, nor in the tongue of beasts, but in something older a language woven into the fabric of existence itself.
The stones shuddered.
The sky above darkened, though no clouds had gathered. A deep, resonating force filled the air, like the sound of a heartbeat, vast and unrelenting.
Kael gasped as a sudden pressure bore down upon him. His knees buckled, his breath caught in his throat. It was as if something immense something ancient had turned its gaze upon him.
His vision blurred. Shadows twisted at the edges of his sight, shifting into forms that were neither human nor beast. They whispered words he could not understand, yet somehow felt etched into his very soul.
Pain lanced through his chest.
Kael clutched at his heart, gasping. It felt as if something inside him was breaking—not his bones, not his flesh, but something deeper.
Sylara watched silently. She knew this pain.
It was the pain of unshackling one's true self.
Kael collapsed to his hands and knees, his breath ragged. The pressure mounted, threatening to crush him. His vision flickered memories not his own flashed through his mind. A world unlike any he had ever seen. A throne shrouded in darkness. A power that once was his taken, sealed, erased.
And then Something snapped.
The force that had bound him, that had buried his true nature beneath layers of suppression, shattered like broken chains.
A pulse of raw power erupted from within him. The stones around him cracked. The ground shook. The air roared as an unseen force surged outward, rippling through the vale like a shockwave.
Sylara's emerald eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
He is awakening.
Kael gasped, his body trembling. He felt… different. Lighter, yet heavier. Weaker, yet more whole than he had ever felt before. His fingers curled, and for the first time, he could feel something not just around him, but within him.
A power that did not belong to the world's rules a power that belonged to him.
Sylara stepped forward, lowering her massive head to meet his gaze. "Do you feel it now, Kael?"
He looked up at her, blue eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
"Yes," he whispered.
A slow, knowing smile curled on Sylara's lips.
"Good."