"Then die."
---
The words didn't echo.
They didn't shake the room.
They simply… existed.
Cold. Absolute.
---
Kael didn't react immediately.
Not because he didn't understand—
But because he did.
---
"…What?" he asked, his voice low.
---
Aether didn't repeat himself.
He didn't need to.
---
"To walk this path," Aether said calmly, "you cannot remain who you are."
He stepped closer.
"Kael Veyron—the boy who begged in the streets… who was thrown away… who lived as nothing…"
A pause.
---
"He dies here."
---
Something in Kael's chest tightened.
---
"And in his place," Aether continued, "something else will be born."
---
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
---
Kael let out a slow breath.
"…And if I refuse now?"
---
Aether's expression didn't change.
---
"Then you walk out."
"Back to the same world."
"The same hunger."
"The same end."
---
No lies.
No pressure.
Just truth.
---
Kael closed his eyes.
For a moment—
He saw everything.
His mother.
The streets.
The cold nights.
The way people looked through him like he didn't exist.
---
Then—
He opened his eyes.
---
"…Do it."
---
Aether smiled.
---
"Good."
---
There was no ritual.
No chanting.
No warning.
---
Just—
Darkness.
---
…
---
Rain fell quietly over the alley.
The same alley.
---
A body lay motionless on the ground.
Thin. Broken.
Unnoticed.
---
By the time the authorities arrived—
It was just another corpse.
---
They weren't called police.
Not in this world.
They were known as the Veil Wardens—keepers of order, silencers of inconvenient truths.
---
One of them glanced down at the body.
"No Seal signature."
Another scoffed.
"Then he's no one."
---
A short silence.
Then—
"Dispose of it."
---
No investigation.
No questions.
No name.
---
The body was taken.
Not to a home.
Not to family.
---
But to a place where the forgotten went.
---
A silent ground beyond the city walls—
Where unclaimed bodies were burned without ceremony.
No prayers.
No tears.
No witnesses.
---
Kael Veyron's body burned that night.
---
And the world didn't notice.
---
…
---
A sharp breath tore through the silence.
---
Kael's eyes snapped open.
---
He was back.
---
The golden room.
The still air.
The unnatural silence.
---
But something was different.
---
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
His body felt… lighter.
Sharper.
Like something inside him had been cut away.
---
"…I…"
His voice trembled.
"…I died."
---
Aether stood where he always had been.
Watching.
---
"Yes."
---
No hesitation.
No denial.
---
Kael's hands clenched.
"…Then what am I now?"
---
Aether's eyes gleamed faintly.
---
"A beginning."
---
Before Kael could respond—
The doors behind him opened.
---
A man walked in.
---
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Carrying himself like someone who had never once lost a fight.
---
He looked… out of place.
---
Messy dark hair.
A thick mustache that didn't match his age.
A lazy grin stretched across his face like he didn't take anything seriously.
---
But his eyes—
Sharp.
Calculating.
Dangerous.
---
He stopped a few steps away from Kael, looking him up and down.
---
"…This him?" the man said casually.
---
Aether nodded.
---
The man scratched the back of his head.
"…He looks like he'd pass out climbing stairs."
---
Kael's expression darkened.
---
Aether ignored the comment.
---
"Kael," he said, "this is Ronan Vex."
---
Ronan raised a hand lazily.
"Try not to die too fast, yeah?"
---
"…He's your instructor."
---
Silence.
---
Kael blinked.
"…You're joking."
---
Ronan grinned wider.
"Oh, I like him already."
---
Aether turned slightly, his voice returning to that calm, controlled tone.
---
"In this world, Seals are not the only path to power."
---
Kael's attention snapped back instantly.
---
"There exists an older method," Aether continued. "One that predates the Seals themselves."
"A forgotten path."
"A dangerous one."
---
Ronan's grin faded slightly.
Just slightly.
---
"We call it…"
Aether paused.
---
"The Luminous Core Technique."
---
The air shifted.
---
Kael felt it.
For the first time—
Something faint.
Deep inside his chest.
---
"…What is it?" he asked.
---
Ronan stepped forward now, cracking his knuckles.
---
"It's pain," he said bluntly.
"Lots of it."
---
Aether didn't interrupt.
---
"It's tearing your body apart," Ronan continued, "and forcing something inside you to wake up."
---
He leaned closer.
---
"Most people die trying."
---
A pause.
Then a grin.
---
"Which is why this is gonna be fun."
---
Kael didn't smile.
---
"…And if I survive?"
---
This time—
Both Aether and Ronan looked at him.
---
And for the first time—
There was something real in their expressions.
---
Interest.
---
Aether spoke.
---
"Then you won't just walk the path of Seals…"
---
A beat.
---
"You'll surpass it."
---
Silence filled the room.
Kael lowered his gaze to his chest.
That faint sensation…
Still there.
Waiting.
Slowly—
He looked up.
"…Then teach me."
Ronan cracked his neck, grinning like a man about to enjoy himself.
"Alright, kid."
"Let's see how many times you can die… before you actually break."