The flames died.
Kael stood alone in the crumbling ruin of the Trial Gate, his hand still clutching the scorched heart of the Flame Reaper. It pulsed faintly before dissolving into ash, absorbed completely by the Void within him.
> [Flame Reaper's Heart absorbed]
Trait evolved: [Flame Tolerance I → Flame Assimilation I]
Unique Skill unlocked: [Ashbound Blade Lv. 1]
Void Sovereign Seed Progress: 40%
Humanity: 41%
The ground beneath him began to collapse.
The Mythic Trial was ending.
A swirling rift opened beneath his feet—different from the others. This one led not deeper into the Void… but back to the mortal realm.
> [System Alert: Dimensional Anchor Detected – Return Point Unlocked]
> "Back… already?"
Kael's fingers clenched. The last time he stood in the real world, he was on his knees, bloodied and broken, mocked by his clan—by Lysar, the snake who took everything.
Now?
Now he was stronger. And hungry.
---
🌍 [Stormwatch Realm – Outer Wastes]
A flash of black lightning ripped the air open.
A young man fell through, landing hard on cracked stone. Dust and ash swirled around him. For a moment, the world was silent.
Then Kael Draven stood.
He looked… human. Mostly.
But his eyes shimmered with violet rings, and a thin mark, shaped like a broken star, glowed faintly beneath his collarbone—the seal of the Void Sovereign Seed.
Around him, the landscape groaned. Withered trees bent away from his presence. Birds scattered. Even the wind seemed to avoid him.
> "So this is the outer edge of the clan's territory…"
His voice was quiet. Cold. The voice of someone who had died—and returned with purpose.
He looked down at his palm, flexing his fingers.
> [Ashbound Blade], he thought.
A flicker of power sparked, and a dark flame coiled around his arm, forming a short sword of ashen black steel. The weapon pulsed with devouring heat—silent, hungry, and unholy.
> "This… is only the beginning."
---
🏞️ [Scene Shift – Draven Clan Inner Grounds]
A low alarm echoed through the halls of the Eastern Flame Branch.
> "Unstable energy detected near the Ash Wastes!"
"It doesn't match any recorded cultivation signature!"
"Could it be… a rogue beast?"
Lysar Draven stood on the balcony, his golden robes flowing in the wind.
He frowned, eyes narrowing toward the horizon.
> "No… this feels familiar."
---
🌒 [Ash Wastes – Twilight Hour]
Kael walked across the burned fields once more, the distant walls of his former home visible on the horizon. Soldiers patrolled the area, unaware of the danger that now approached them.
He paused as a squad of scouts appeared ahead—four of them, lightly armed, laughing and talking.
Kael's eyes narrowed. One of them… wore the ring of his former friend, Ryven.
The same friend who had left him to die.
> "You called me trash. You left me to burn."
He stepped forward.
> "Let's see how trash tastes when it bites back."
---
⚔️ [Combat Initiated: Enemy Squad – Lv. 8–10]
The scouts turned too late.
> "Who the hell—!"
Kael was already among them.
He moved like smoke, shadow-gliding through the first man's strike, driving the Ashbound Blade into his chest. The flame devoured his heart before he could scream.
> [Enemy Slain] – Exp +70 | Essence +1 | Humanity -1%
One tried to flee. A mistake.
Kael snapped his fingers. Shadowy spikes erupted from the ground, skewering the man through the legs.
> "Please—spare me—"
> "Like you spared me?"
Silence.
Ash filled the wind.
---
💠 [Void Authority Update]
> Void Sovereign Seed Progress: 50%
New Trait: [Fear Aura I] – Enemies of lower level hesitate when facing you.
Humanity Remaining: 40%
Kael stood alone once more.
He stared toward the clan walls.
And smiled.
> "Tell them I'm coming."