Cain could barely remember how he got out.
The climb felt like a dream. A blur of pain, magic, and darkness that never ended. The only thing that kept him moving had been the whisper of light above. A promise that something still waited for him on the surface.
And now, it was here.
Warmth.
For the first time in what felt like forever, the touch of sunlight kissed his skin. Not the flickering, fake light of corrupted crystals or the red glow of abyssal pits, but real light. Gentle. Golden. Alive.
He inhaled.
Fresh air poured into his lungs, crisp and clean, tinged with pine and earth. It made him dizzy. His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees on the mossy clearing just outside the sealed stone mouth of the Twisted Grove Dungeon.
He looked up. The sky stretched above him, wide and endless, and for a moment all he could do was stare.
Free.
He was finally free.
A strange sound broke the silence. It was shouting. Raised voices. Boots on grass. The thrum of mana being gathered in an instant.
Cain turned his head sluggishly.
A half-circle of teachers stood a few yards away, their weapons aimed directly at him. Blades shimmered. Staffs sparked. Spears glinted in the light. Defensive formations already in place. They were treating him like a threat.
"State your name!" one of them barked.
"Identify yourself immediately!" another shouted.
Cain blinked slowly. His lips parted but no words came. His mind was still catching up. The sudden rush of reality after so much time below ground left him dazed.
More shouting. One of the instructors took a cautious step forward, fingers twitching as mana pooled at their palm.
Then Cain saw their eyes.
Not just the teachers.
Students had gathered as well. A growing crowd lining the nearby trail, drawn by the commotion and the rare sight of instructors on full alert. They were whispering to each other, some pointing, others watching in stunned silence.
At first, Cain thought they were reacting to his sudden appearance. He had come from a dungeon that no one had entered in a month, a place sealed shut and considered deadly. Of course people would be shocked.
But it was more than that.
The teachers were tense. The students were... embarrassed?
He heard a girl gasp and turn away. Another shielded her eyes with her hand, her cheeks crimson. One boy laughed nervously before being smacked by his friend, who whispered something while averting her gaze.
Cain blinked, confused.
Another instructor barked something, but his voice faded into background noise as Cain finally looked down.
Muscles wrapped around his body like coiled steel, every inch defined and sculpted in sharp relief. His chest rose and fell with slow, steady breaths, broad and firm, while his abdomen was a flawless row of chiseled muscle, each line sharp enough to catch the light.
His skin, pale from the absence of sun, only made the contrast more striking. Clean, unblemished, smooth like polished marble, it pulled tight over his physique with not a single scar or flaw to mar the perfection. Every movement he made seemed to ripple with controlled strength, every breath a quiet display of power.
That was when Cain froze.
It hit him all at once. The open air. The cold breeze against his skin. The dozens of eyes locked on him.
He had escaped the abyss.
But he had done it completely naked.
Cain's face didn't turn red. He was too tired. Too numb. But the moment was no less humiliating. He stood there in silence as more students arrived, their whispers rising into a chorus of curiosity and confusion.
One of the teachers finally lowered their weapon and pulled off their cloak, walking forward with cautious steps. They tossed the garment toward him, careful to keep their distance.
Cain caught it and draped it over himself, saying nothing.
The instructors exchanged glances.
"My name…." Cain's voice cracked. How long had it been since he had spoken?
"My name is Cain Sinthorne. 7th Prince of the Sinthorne Kingdom…"
Hushed murmurs rippled through the crowd like wind through leaves.
"Did he say Cain Sinthorne?"
"That's impossible…"
"He looks nothing like the prince…"
The students couldn't take their eyes off him. Neither could the instructors.
Cain remained still, the cloak loosely draped over his shoulders, shielding just enough to preserve modesty but doing little to hide the imposing silhouette beneath. His muscles stood out beneath the fabric, his presence quiet but commanding. Not the lean, quiet prince many remembered. Not the soft-spoken noble whose strength had always been second to his name.
The Cain they knew had vanished.
"What trickery is this?" one instructor muttered, eyeing him with suspicion. "This man does not match Prince Cain's recorded features."
"Check his mana signature," another whispered, already beginning to cast a verification spell. "It should confirm it…"
Cain stood quietly as a faint glow flickered around him. The spell washed over his form like a breeze, the magic pulsing, analyzing, comparing.
And then it stuttered.
The glow flickered once and snapped, like a heartbeat that skipped a beat.
The instructor's eyes widened. "It's him. Or… it should be. His mana matches the royal records. But his body..."
"There must be a mistake," someone said from the back. "Cain Sinthorne was weak. Average at best. This—this is something else."
Cain's gaze didn't waver. He said nothing. Let them whisper. Let them doubt.
He had crawled out of the abyss with no one to rely on but himself. Let them decide if that made him more or less of a prince.
One instructor finally stepped forward, cautious but curious. "Prince Cain," he said carefully, "do you remember anything that happened inside?"
Cain's expression was unreadable. His voice came out quiet.
"Yes. Yes I do."
They stared at him, caught between disbelief and wonder.
The boy who had entered the Twisted Grove Dungeon a month ago was not the man who stood before them now.
"And I would like to face the man who tried to kill me. In a duel…to the death."
Gasps rippled through the gathering. The already stunned silence shifted into something heavier, something that pressed down on every student and teacher present.
A duel?
To the death?
Cain's words didn't ring out like a boast. There was no shouting, no anger. Just a quiet, steady declaration. The kind of sentence that made the hairs on the back of one's neck stand up.
One of the instructors stepped forward, concern and caution written all over his face.
"Prince Cain... you should rest. You've been missing for a month. Whatever happened in the dungeon, it must have left you—"
"I'm not broken," Cain said, his voice still low. "I'm not lost. I know what I'm saying. And I know who tried to leave me behind."
More whispers.
Abel.
The name hadn't been spoken, but already the thought had sparked among the crowd. The only other man who came back.
The one alongside Julia who claimed Cain had sacrificed himself.
A teacher stepped away, murmuring something to a subordinate before turning back to Cain with furrowed brows.
"You'll need to submit a formal challenge," he said slowly. "We cannot allow a death duel without the Academy's approval."
"I will," Cain replied. "Then make sure he accepts it."
The instructor hesitated. "And if he doesn't?"
Cain's gaze hardened. Cold. Calm. Sharp.
"He will."
With that, he turned, still clutching the cloak tightly around him, and walked forward through the parted crowd. No one moved to stop him. No one dared. Students stepped back instinctively, unsure if they were in the presence of a prince… or something else entirely.
Above them, the sun continued to shine.
And behind him, the entrance to the Twisted Grove Dungeon remained sealed. Silent. As if even the darkness was reluctant to open again now that something had escaped.