Ryen's Command
The throne room remained cloaked in silence long after Ryen Sylvan's boots had echoed through it.
King Kael stood at the far end, his cloak trailing behind him like a shadow that refused to let go. The firelight caught on his silver crown, casting jagged reflections on the obsidian floor. His commanders stood around the war table, still tense from the shock of Ryen's sudden return.
Ryen, silent as ever, stood in the middle of the hall like a ghost that did not belong to this era. His piercing eyes scanned Kael, but his face betrayed no emotion.
Kael finally spoke, voice low, heavy. "You heard everything."
Ryen gave a slow nod. "Dark Element. Born with it."
Kael's voice sharpened. "A walking contradiction. Wind and Dark. An impossibility… and a threat."
"He survived the Forbidden Forest and killed Vernakar," Ryen said coldly. "That alone means he's worth more than half your Council."
Murmurs from the commanders, but none dared speak aloud.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "And you, Ryen Sylvan. Are you ready to take responsibility for him?"
Ryen stepped forward once, his presence immense.
"I'll take him. But he follows my rules."
Kael's lips curved ever so slightly. "Then go. He's in the eastern dungeon. Take three of your finest. I want him trained… or destroyed."
Ryen turned on his heel without another word.
---
Zeyrus Castle – Eastern Dungeons
The stone beneath their boots was cold, damp, and ancient. Ryen moved with silent purpose, flanked by three elite ADM enforcers—silent warriors clad in obsidian gear, bearing no insignias.
A distant scream echoed from the lower levels, but Ryen didn't blink.
When they reached the final corridor, a pair of steel-plated guards stepped aside without a word, recognizing Ryen instantly. One of them glanced toward the iron gate ahead.
"He's in there. Still breathing."
Ryen walked to the cell door. His gloved hand pressed against it.
A moment later, the massive iron doors groaned open.
Chains clinked. The scent of scorched flesh and sterilizer hung heavy in the air.
Inside, Yuji Kazehaya sat slumped in a corner, his wrists bound by reinforced elemental cuffs. His shirt was torn, body marked by bruises, welts, and injection scars. One of his eyes was half-swollen, but the moment he saw Ryen—
His gaze sharpened.
"You…" Yuji whispered.
Ryen stepped in.
"The King told me everything," he said bluntly. "You're not going to rot in this cell."
Yuji pushed himself upright, groaning slightly. "So what then? More torture? More tests?"
Ryen stepped close. Too close.
"No. From now on… you're under me."
Yuji scoffed. "I didn't agree to that."
Without warning—
CRACK!!
Ryen's boot slammed straight into Yuji's face.
Yuji crashed against the stone wall, blood trailing from his lip.
The guards flinched.
Ryen leaned down, ice-cold and merciless.
"I don't like arguments, bastard."
Yuji's head throbbed. But his glare didn't fade.
Ryen stood tall again. "You either learn. Or die in the next mission. And trust me—you're not ready."
He motioned to the enforcers. "Remove the cuffs."
They hesitated. "Sir, he's still unstable—"
"I said remove them."
With shaking hands, they did.
The cuffs unlocked with a hiss, falling to the floor.
Yuji stretched his aching wrists, biting back a groan.
"Get up," Ryen said.
Yuji stood slowly, shaky—but still upright.
"This is your last chance," Ryen said. "You want to live? Then follow. You're coming with me. Back to Sector 454."
Yuji looked up at him, hate and curiosity clashing in his bruised eyes.
"…Why?"
Ryen turned his back and walked toward the exit.
"Because I'm the only one left who won't kill you."
And with that, the two shadows left the dungeon—one cold and ruthless, the other broken but burning.
Outside, the sun was rising over the towers of Zeyrus.
A new chapter had begun.
One of pain. One of growth.
But most of all—
One of war.
Flames of Training
Sector 454's dawn mist rolled over the mountains like a second sky, blanketing the ADM Corps base in soft silver. But the calmness was a lie. Beneath it, chaos was about to erupt.
Ryen Sylvan marched across the gravel path toward the training grounds, Yuji following behind, still bruised, bandaged, and wearing a freshly issued ADM uniform with a 1-Star insignia on his chest. It felt like a collar around his neck.
His footsteps faltered as they passed the central courtyard.
Aika Miyawaki stood there.
She spun around the moment she felt his presence. Her ocean-blue eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yuji…?"
He froze.
She ran forward—but stopped just short. Her gaze flicked to the cuts on his face, the bandages around his chest, the emptiness in his eyes.
"You're alive," she whispered.
Yuji gave a hollow nod. "Barely."
Her voice trembled with anger and worry. "What did they do to you…?"
He looked away.
Behind them, Ryen's cold voice cut through the air. "Save the feelings. He's not your problem anymore."
Aika turned sharply. "He's my teammate."
"No," Ryen replied. "He's mine now."
Hakiru and Sagai arrived seconds later, both freezing when they saw Yuji. Sagai's smirk vanished. Hakiru narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
Yuji stared at all three of them, the silence tightening like a noose.
Ryen walked to the center of the training field and raised his voice.
"From today onward, Yuji Kazehaya is under my command. Until he either reaches 3-Star capacity… or dies trying."
A murmur passed through the gathered soldiers.
Ryen pointed to each of them one by one.
"Aika Miyawaki. Wind Element. 3-Star ADM Rank. Potential—dangerously high."
Aika's brows lifted slightly at the description.
"Hakiru. Ice Element. 2-Star Rank. Logical but unstable. Sagai. Lightning. Also 2-Star. Skilled, but reckless."
Then he pointed at Yuji.
"And this one? One-Star. Wind and Dark."
More murmurs. More stares.
"He is the most unstable soul in this base," Ryen said. "And if anyone underestimates him, they'll die."
He turned back to Yuji.
"Training Camp 2. Let's go."
Yuji followed without question.
They passed through layers of barriers and guards, finally entering an isolated mountain gorge carved with weapon racks, elemental targets, and blast-proof walls.
This was where the real training happened.
No rest. No mercy.
Yuji barely had time to blink before Ryen shouted, "Attack me."
"What?"
"I said—attack."
Yuji summoned his Wind Blade and rushed forward. The slash was fast—but not fast enough.
Ryen sidestepped and drove his palm into Yuji's gut.
CRACK.
Yuji gasped and crumpled to his knees.
"Again."
Yuji stood, shaking.
SLASH.
Blocked.
Ryen swept his leg and knocked him flat on his back.
"Get up."
Yuji groaned.
BOOM.
A cold blast of Ice Element hit his side.
He screamed and rolled away, steam rising from his ribs.
"Move like a soldier," Ryen growled. "Not like a wounded dog."
Yuji struggled to breathe. His muscles trembled. Every part of him screamed to stop.
He stumbled to his knees, panting.
In his mind, a whisper surfaced.
> Why does it feel like everyone either wants to use me… or destroy me?
He looked up. His hands were shaking. Not just from pain—but confusion.
Was this training? Or punishment?
Ryen stepped forward, gaze as cold as the North Canyons.
"You think your life is special?" he snapped. "You think your pain is unique? That the world owes you a second chance?"
Yuji clenched his fists.
"You're wrong."
Ryen unleashed another wave of ice. Yuji barely dodged it.
His heart pounded like a war drum. His Wind Blade flickered. His shadow stirred—but he forced it down.
Ryen stopped.
"You're hesitating. Don't."
"I'm tired!" Yuji shouted.
"So was every soldier who died in the Forbidden Forest!"
Silence.
Even the birds fled the trees at that voice.
Yuji stood, fists clenched.
"You don't know what it's like… to be feared by everyone. Used. Shackled like a beast!"
"I do," Ryen said, his voice suddenly quiet.
Yuji froze.
Ryen turned his back.
"That's why I'm training you."
Yuji was stunned. The coldness was still there—but now he saw the edge of something else. Like pain… long buried.
But then Ryen's voice shifted again—harder.
"And now…"
He turned to face the entire group.
"…there are two enemies among us."
The wind stilled.
Everyone froze.
Aika looked up sharply.
Hakiru's eyes narrowed.
Sagai blinked.
Yuji stared at Ryen.
"What?"
Ryen didn't elaborate. He simply walked away.
Leaving that cryptic declaration behind like a knife lodged in the air.
Something was wrong.
Yuji's chest tightened.
Whatever came next—it wouldn't be training.
It would be survival.
Council of the Veins
Within the obsidian walls of Zeyrus's High Council Chamber, torchlight flickered against stained glass, casting blood-red shadows across the black marble floor. Rain tapped faintly on the ancient windows, a soft reminder that even the sky knew something was wrong.
King Kael stood with both hands clasped behind his back, his crimson cloak sweeping behind him like smoke. His crown—a fusion of Energy Bottle crystal and forged obsidian—glimmered under the chandelier of elemental light.
Around the massive circular table sat Zeyrus's most powerful minds: Commander Xin Zee, head of Zeyrus's Intelligence Corps; High Healer Vurnai; Admiral Cyran of the Northern Fleet; and Grand Strategist Zorin.
The air in the chamber was sharp. Tense.
Kael turned, voice heavy with command.
"How is Yuji Kazehaya's containment proceeding?"
Xin Zee stood. "Perfectly. He's currently in Ryen Sylvan's hands. The dungeon readings confirm that his elemental flux has stabilized under suppression. No signs of rebellion… yet."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "And his friends?"
"We've isolated them," Zorin said. "No contact allowed. Aika Miyawaki remains in Sector 454, unaware of the full extent. The other two—Hakiru and Sagai—are under indirect surveillance."
Kael paced slowly around the table. "We cannot afford loyalty dramas. If Kazehaya loses control of the Dark… it could burn our entire nation from the inside out."
He stopped before a sealed glass tube resting at the center of the war table.
Inside it pulsed a faint red glow.
"The poison we injected into him," Kael said, voice low. "It will restrict his energy output, yes?"
Vurnai nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. The 'Red Coil' serum—derived from melted Anti-Core compounds—binds to his bloodstream. If he attempts to fully access the Dark Element, his body will begin to shut down. Internal corrosion. Complete shutdown within 60 seconds."
Kael stared at the poison in silence.
Then—coldly—"Good."
Admiral Cyran adjusted his steel shoulder guard. "A risky measure, if I may say so, my lord. If we seal him too tightly, we may break him. And if we fail to contain him—"
"—He becomes a catastrophe," Kael finished. "I know."
There was a knock at the chamber door. A scout entered, soaked from the rain, holding a trembling scroll.
"Urgent message," the boy said. "From the outer energy towers."
Kael waved him forward.
The scout unfurled the scroll, hands shaking.
"Your Majesty. Twenty minutes ago… a reading came in. A black fissure has opened along the western trench of the Dusk Ridge. Elemental distortion is—unlike anything recorded since… the Year of Collapse."
The table went silent.
Kael's eyes darkened. "Are you saying what I think you are?"
The scout swallowed. "The Shadow Vein… has reawakened."
Everyone stood.
"No…" Commander Xin Zee muttered.
"That Vein hasn't activated in two centuries," Zorin hissed.
Admiral Cyran slammed his fist on the table. "It's a cursed zone! That place should've been buried!"
Kael's hands clenched the throne's armrests.
He turned to the window slowly, watching lightning flicker across the distant peaks.
His voice was quiet—but sharp as steel.
> "If the Shadow Vein has appeared again…"
A pause.
A breath held by the gods.
> "…history is going to repeat itself."
A storm thundered in the distance.
The past had returned. And with it, the nightmare that Zeyrus had buried long ago.
END OF CHAPTER 11.