The city was silent at midnight.
Kael moved through the empty streets, his cloak drawn tight against the cold night air. The meeting place lay just beyond the outer ruins an old temple long since abandoned to time and decay.
He stepped into the broken courtyard, his senses sharp.
A single figure stood beneath the ruined archway, bathed in the silver glow of the moon.
Eva.
She turned as he approached, her hood falling back to reveal sharp golden eyes, her dark hair catching the light.
"You came," she said.
Kael didn't waste time. "You said you had answers."
Eva nodded. "I do. But you won't like them."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Tell me anyway."
She took a slow breath before speaking the words that would change everything.
"You weren't sealed by accident. It was the Demon Lord's doing."
A Fate Decided Before Birth
Kael felt something in his chest tighten.
"The Demon Lord?" he repeated.
Eva nodded. "Before you were even born, the Demon Lord received a revelation—one that spoke of a child destined to bring his end. A child marked by overwhelming potential. A Sovereign."
Kael's breath was steady, but his mind raced.
"A prophecy?" he murmured.
Eva shook her head. "No. Not a prophecy. A certainty. The moment you were born, the world itself would begin shifting toward his downfall. And the Demon Lord knew it."
She stepped closer, her golden eyes locking onto his. "So he acted first."
Kael remained silent. He could already feel the answer forming before she even spoke it.
"The Demon Lord sent his minions into the world," Eva continued. "They possessed a noble—one with enough influence to control the Sentinels. Through him, they gave the order."
Kael felt his pulse slow.
"The order to have me sealed," he said.
Eva nodded grimly. "Yes. The noble made sure your power was suppressed before it could even awaken. He knew that without magic, the world including your own parents would see you as worthless. Forsaken."
Kael exhaled, his fists clenching.
It all made sense.
His abandonment. His sealing. The Sentinels who had come for him.
None of it was by chance.
It was by design.
And the worst part?
It worked.
A Life Stolen
Kael stared at the ground, his thoughts like a storm.
"They took everything from me," he murmured. "My power. My past. My place in the world."
Eva didn't look away. "They were afraid. And they should be."
Kael looked up.
"You were meant to be their end," Eva said softly. "And now that you're awakening, the Demon Lord knows his time is running out."
Silence stretched between them.
The truth was bitter, but it also fueled something deep inside Kael.
He had spent his life as a forsaken child, abandoned and left to die. But now?
He wasn't that child anymore.
He was a Sovereign.
And the world was about to remember.
The Road Ahead
Eva studied him for a long moment. "Now you know the truth. The question is—what will you do with it?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
"I'll take back what was stolen."
Eva smirked. "Good answer."
She turned away, her voice carrying in the wind. "Then you'll need to move fast. The Sentinels won't be the only ones hunting you now. The Demon Lord won't make the same mistake twice."
Kael exhaled. He had no doubt about that.
But it didn't matter.
Because this time
He was ready.