Location: Edge of Elarion – The Outskirts
Kael walked alone, away from the academy walls.
He didn't know why his feet carried him here.
Maybe it was instinct.
Maybe it was fate.
Or maybe… it was the gods.
Azrion's voice was uneasy.
> "Kael… something is wrong. I feel divine traces in this area."
But Kael wasn't listening.
He had seen something—someone—sitting by a ruined inn.
Old. Unshaven. Drunk.
Clothes torn. Eyes empty.
His father.
Kael stopped. The world fell silent.
This was the man who used to be a hero in his eyes.
Before alcohol replaced love.
Before fists replaced words.
Before Kael learned that silence hurts more than screams.
> "...Dad?"
The man didn't look up. He took another swig of wine.
> "Tch. So the useless brat still lives, huh?"
Kael's heart twisted.
He wanted to walk away.
He wanted to scream.
But instead…
> "Why did you give up on me?"
No answer.
> "Was I that much of a burden?"
Still nothing.
Kael knelt down. Eyes burning.
> "You hit me. Ignored me. Let me starve. While I watched other kids smile with their families…"
> "I trained alone. Ate crumbs. Slept with bruises. And you still looked at me like I was worthless."
The man laughed, bitter.
> "What do you want, pity? You were born cursed. Your mother died the day you came out screaming."
Kael froze.
> "I drank to forget you."
> "Your existence is the worst thing that ever happened to me."
Silence.
Then Kael smiled.
But it wasn't joy.
It was that smile that comes when pain stops being pain… and becomes something worse.
> "You know what hurts the most?"
> "Even now… some part of me still hoped you'd say sorry."
> "But you're already dead. Just a corpse that breathes."
Azrion, in Kael's mind, was silent for a long time.
Then he spoke—low, cold, furious.
> "He deserves to be erased."
But Kael shook his head.
> "No… He deserves to live."
> "Because the more I grow… the more it'll hurt him to know he couldn't destroy me."
Kael stood up, turning away.
His father shouted behind him:
> "You'll never be anything! You're just like me!"
Kael didn't even look back.
> "No, I'm not."
> "Because I have someone who believes in me now."
As Kael walked into the night, Azrion whispered:
> "You've suffered more than most gods, Kael. And still… you stand."
> "That's why they fear you."
Suddenly—Azrion froze.
> "Wait… I sense something."
> "Kael… run."
Too late.
A spear of light flew from the sky—aimed straight at Kael's heart.
TO BE CONTINUED…