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📍 Ruins of Gatepost 4 – Ghost District, Juren
The mist hung low, thick and damp, coiling around the shattered remains of what once served as a portal hub. Gatepost 4 had been sealed years ago after a mana rupture consumed half the sector. Now, only crumbling metal and silence remained.
But silence… could be sacred.
Myrla arrived first.
Cloaked, blade hidden, eyes sharp. She waited beneath a broken streetlight, her senses tuned for something—someone—she wasn't sure she'd ever see again.
Then, from the fog, he appeared.
Kael.
Changed.
Sharper, darker… stronger.
No words at first. Just a long moment where memory and reality collided.
"You still have the same eyes," Myrla said, voice steady. "But now they carry the weight of a thousand shadows."
Kael lowered his hood.
"You came."
"Of course I did."
She stepped closer, reaching into her cloak.
"This is a rune-blade," she said, placing it in his hand. "And this—" she looked around, voice lowering, "—is the start of something real. People are listening to what you've done, Kael. People are ready."
Kael stared at the blade.
Then nodded once.
"Then let's begin."
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📍 Dragoon Guild – Southern Command
Infiltrators moved through the lower districts—Espelhos, elite agents trained to manipulate crowds, sabotage rumors, and erase symbols of rebellion.
Two of them moved unnoticed beneath the lanterns of District Six.
"They say he's rallying rogue hunters," one whispered. "We'll dismantle their cells before dawn. No one will ever know they existed."
But someone was already watching.
Silent Blade, Kael's second shadow servant, glided through the rooftops.
> [Target Acquisition: Infiltrators – Confirmed]
[Mission: Shadow Mark – Imminent Elimination]
The rebellion wasn't just surviving.
It was fighting back.
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📍 Kael's Hideout – Crystal Cavern
Inside an ancient root chamber, lit by mana-infused stones that absorbed light instead of emitting it, Kael stood before a rune-map glowing softly on the floor.
Myrla, alongside a few trusted rogue hunters, updated him.
"Fourteen groups aligned," said a hunter with crimson hair and a scar across her jaw. "Some still doubt you. They want proof you're more than a symbol."
Kael pointed to a red-marked location: The Scarlet Aether Guild, known for its brutality and cover-ups.
"Tomorrow, they'll have their proof."
Myrla watched him quietly.
There was something in his eyes that hadn't been there before—not just vengeance, but conviction that could tear kingdoms apart.
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📍 Nara – North District Care Center
The crystal in her hand pulsed stronger each night.
This time, it burned.
"I know it's you, Kael," she whispered.
But before she could say more, the old woman in the next bed spoke, her voice dry as parchment:
"You're the sister of the shadow boy, aren't you?"
Nara turned sharply. "What did you say?"
"I hear the mist speak," the woman murmured. "It whispers his name now. With reverence."
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📍 Ancient Portal Fragment – Outskirts
A relic of the Old Portals flickered deep in the ruins, leaking mana in twisted pulses.
Inside it, something ancient stirred.
A presence with eyes like molten silver, surrounded by silence thick as space.
> "The boy walks again among mortals.
The balance stirs."
Another voice echoed—cold, heavy.
> "Shall we intervene?"
> "Not yet. Let the Arcontes observe. Let the seeds ripen."
The first Archon opened all six eyes.
And watched.
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📍 Kael – Atop an Abandoned Tower
Kael stood beneath a fractured moon, watching the city pulse like a wounded heart below.
Myrla joined him, offering a cup of warm herb drink.
"Do you sleep?"
Kael chuckled. "Sleep is for the safe."
"And for those who fight?"
"They learn to dream while standing."
She said nothing. The moment didn't need words.
Above them, thunder rumbled in the clouds.
The city didn't know it yet…
…but war had already begun.
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📌 Next: Chapter 11 – The First Flame
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