Five years still remained before graduation — yet the weight of responsibility already pressed heavily on Kael's shoulders.
The academy grounds were unusually quiet that day. Morning drills had ended early, and the air carried the dampness of an incoming storm.
Kael sat alone on the rooftop, overlooking the vast courtyard below where recruits practiced. His gaze was fixed—not on them, but far beyond, where the forest met the sea. The edge of the island. The place where demons first appeared.
Mikaho soon joined him, holding two steamed rice buns, one of which she tossed into his lap without a word.
"Thought you'd forget to eat again," she said softly.
He gave a faint smirk. "I didn't forget. Just didn't feel like it."
"You always say that before something happens."
Kael didn't respond. The wind rustled their hair as thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.
Below them, the academy's elite division sparred in synchronized formations. Among them stood someone who always drew a crowd—even from the instructors.
A tall figure in a blackened cloak, his face mostly hidden by long, wild hair. A single sword strapped to his back. He didn't participate in drills. He watched.
Whispers passed between the students:
"That's him.""The One-Armed Demon.""He fought an entire horde… and didn't bleed once.""He's not even part of the military, is he?"
Kael had heard all the rumors. But there was one thing everyone agreed on:
Ashen was the strongest man on the island.
Later that evening, Kael found himself summoned to the old training chamber—a circular stone hall deep beneath the academy.
There, under torchlight, stood the academy head: Master Rago.
"You're progressing fast," Rago said, inspecting Kael's stance. "Too fast."
"I thought that was a good thing."
"Not always. Fire that burns too fast… burns out."
Before Kael could reply, the chamber doors creaked. A shadow entered silently.
Ashen.
Kael turned instinctively—but his eyes went to the man's right side.
Where an arm should've been… only an empty sleeve hung.
"You'll be training with him," Rago said. "He volunteered."
"I didn't know legends volunteered," Kael muttered.
Ashen didn't smile. He only said one thing:
"Let's see if your fire burns real… or if it's just smoke."
Their first duel was not a duel.
It was a massacre.
Kael hit the ground in under five seconds. Then again. And again. Each strike from Ashen's single arm carried weight like a boulder. His blade moved faster than Kael's eyes could follow. It was like fighting a storm that could think.
"Again," Ashen said.
Kael stood, breathing heavily.
"Again."
Blood trickled from his lip. But he stood again.
Mikaho, watching from above, clenched her fists.
Why does Kael always chase the impossible? she thought.
Night fell.
Kael limped back to his quarters, but his heart wasn't broken. It was awake.
That night, in the silence of his room, he whispered to himself:
"He fights like a man who's lost everything."
Next Episode PreviewA shadow grows beneath the island… as the Academy prepares for a trial no student has ever survived. And a secret buried in Kael's dreams begins to stir.