The courtyard was silent.
Too silent.
Even the night wind seemed to hold its breath as Kael lifted Amelia gently, her head resting against his shoulder. The faint silver luminescence beneath her skin pulsed like a second heartbeat—soft, hypnotic, terrifying.
Master Xuan circled them slowly, his expression growing darker with each step.
"She shouldn't have been able to do that," he muttered. "Not without training. Not without guidance. Not without… lineage."
Kael tightened his hold on her.
"Then say it plainly," he snapped. "What did she awaken?"
Master Xuan stopped in front of him, his eyes reflecting the sigils still glowing weakly on the ground.
"A celestial inheritance," he said quietly."Not human. Not demonic. And not of this realm."
Kael felt his blood turn cold.
"That bloodline died out centuries ago," he said. "Hunted. Erased."
Master Xuan nodded grimly.
"That's exactly why her existence is impossible."
Amelia Comes To
A soft sound escaped her lips—half a breath, half a tremor.
Kael looked down instantly.
"Amelia?"
Her eyelashes fluttered.
For a moment, her eyes were still silver.Otherworldly.Ageless.
Then the glow faded, returning to her natural color—but glassy, dizzy, unfocused.
"K… Kael?" she whispered.
He exhaled a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"I'm here."
She lifted her hand weakly, brushing her fingers against his jaw as if to confirm he was real.
"I… I saw her," she murmured. "A woman. Wrapped in shadows. She said—she said I inherited a debt."
Master Xuan stepped closer."A debt paid in blood?"
Amelia's throat tightened.She nodded.
Kael brushed her hair back gently. "Don't speak. You're exhausted."
"No…"Her voice was thin, trembling."You don't understand. She touched me. She told me to awaken."
Master Xuan's gaze sharpened.
"She guided your awakening?"
"No…" Amelia whispered."She commanded it."
Both men froze.
Kael's heartbeat kicked into overdrive."That means—"
Master Xuan finished the sentence for him.
"She is bound to a celestial progenitor."
Amelia blinked slowly."What does that mean?"
Kael's jaw clenched.
"That you are the last surviving heir of a lineage the heavens themselves tried to erase."
Something Watches
A sudden gust of cold wind swept across the courtyard.
Master Xuan's eyes snapped toward the trees.
Kael stiffened.
Amelia shivered.
A presence pressed against the edges of her consciousness—distant, predatory, patient.
Like a beast circling its prey.
Master Xuan raised a protective talisman instantly."Demons?"
Kael shook his head."No. Not demons."
Amelia swallowed.The sensation grew stronger—an invisible gaze trailing across her skin.
Something old.Something intelligent.Something hungry.
Her fingers trembled as she clutched Kael's sleeve.
"It's not demonic," she breathed."It feels like… me."
Kael's eyes widened.
Master Xuan went pale.
"Her awakening has drawn attention," the master whispered."But not from the corrupted. From the celestial remnants."
Kael set Amelia down carefully, positioning himself between her and the darkness.
"Are they coming for her?"
Master Xuan exhaled sharply."No. They're… bowing."
The night air shimmered.
Three luminous silhouettes appeared among the trees—kneeling, heads lowered, wings folded like soft ribbons of light.
Kael's blood turned to ice.
"Master," he whispered, "those are—"
Master Xuan nodded, awe and dread mixing on his face.
"Celestials."
Amelia's breath hitched.
"Why are they kneeling?"
The silhouettes lifted their faces toward her.
Their voices echoed as one, ethereal and resonant:
"We greet the awakened heir."