Dawn bled slowly into the sky as Kael walked deeper into the forest. The shadows that followed him hissed at the approaching light, retreating into the folds of his body like ink sinking into water.
Kael didn't rest.
Didn't pause.
Didn't breathe heavily.
His body was made in the Shadow Forge—engineered for endurance, battle, and survival. Sleep was a luxury he had never been taught to need.
But hunger… that was new.
His stomach tightened painfully. He frowned, rubbing his fingers together as if testing whether the sensation was real.
The shadows whispered around him, offering to kill something for him.
He ignored them.
Instead, he emerged from the trees into a clearing where faint smoke curled into the sky. A small village lay beyond—a cluster of wooden houses, crops swaying gently, chickens pecking at the dirt, and people moving quietly with morning routines.
A peaceful scene.
Kael stared at it like it was something alien.
Peace.
He had never seen it.
Never touched it.
A boy ran past him chasing a dog, laughing. A woman called after him with a smile. A man stacked firewood. None of them noticed the strange boy in tattered clothes standing at the treeline.
Kael's fingers twitched.
His shadows stirred.
They fear you, the darkness whispered.
They will kill you if they see what you are. Strike first. Always strike first.
Kael stepped forward—
"Are you lost?"
A voice cut through the whispers.
A young man had approached him—a guard in simple leather armor, holding a spear but not pointing it. His eyes were suspicious, but not cruel.
Kael didn't respond.
"You don't look like you're from here," the guard continued, scanning him. "You injured? Need help?"
Help.
Kael had only ever heard that word used mockingly, by mages asking him if he wanted "help dying quickly."
He stared at the guard blankly.
The man sighed. "Look, kid… if you're hungry, come to the village. No one will hurt you."
Kael's shadows pulsed angrily at the word hurt. They rose like black smoke behind him, unseen by the guard.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Why… would you help me?"
The guard blinked. "Because you look like you need it."
Kael didn't understand.
A moment passed.
Then—
Screams erupted from the other side of the village.
The guard snapped to attention. "Bandits! Not now—"
A flaming arrow arced through the sky and struck a house. Villagers ran, shouting. More arrows followed, raining fire and chaos.
Bandits stormed into the village, weapons raised, shouting threats.
The guard cursed and ran toward the fray.
Kael watched him go.
The shadows inside him trembled wildly—hungry, eager.
Conflict.
Chaos.
Blood.
They whispered seductively:
Let us loose.
Let them scream.
You were born for this.
Kael stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly.
He could walk away.
He owed these people nothing.
But something inside him remembered the girl in the woods—the fear in her voice, the thanks she whispered.
He didn't understand why that memory burned.
But it did.
Kael raised his hand.
The shadows swarmed forward like a black storm.
Bandits screamed.
Steel fell.
Horses reared.
The earth itself seemed to darken under his power.
The villagers watched in horror as a boy—barefoot, bloodstained, eyes shining like frozen night—cut through the attackers without a shred of mercy.
When the last bandit fell, the clearing fell silent.
The villagers stared at him.
Not with gratitude.
With terror.
The guard trembled as he approached Kael slowly. "W-What… what are you…?"
Kael didn't answer.
He didn't stay.
He turned and vanished into the trees, shadows swallowing him whole.
Behind him, whispers rose in the village:
"A demon…"
"No, a monster…"
"Don't go near him…"
"He saved us but… at what cost?"
Kael walked deeper into the forest, expression unreadable.
He had helped them.
And they feared him.
Just like everyone else.
Just like they always would.
But far away, in the radiant kingdom of Aurelia, a girl with silver eyes stirred from a dream—seeing only shadows… and a boy walking alone through them.
Their fates had begun to intertwine.