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Chapter 24: Embers Beneath Marble
The sky shimmered with quiet unrest as the city of Halvethorn appeared through the morning mist—its alabaster towers and skybridges glistening like spears aimed at the heavens. To most, it was simply the capital of the southern dominion, but to Kaelen, it was an unfamiliar battlefield dressed in ceremony and civility.
He'd arrived with Auren and Selene, their escort riding under the banner of House Vernalis, one of the Twelve Skybound Lineages. It was the first time Kaelen had entered a city without needing to hide, kill, or vanish.
He felt like a sword in a silk scabbard—out of place, but not unwelcome.
The guards parted quickly upon seeing the house crest. Whispers followed.
> "Is that him?"
"The one who saved Lord Auren?"
"They say he took on a corrupted horde alone…"
Kaelen ignored them.
Selene, still recovering but radiant in a fresh crimson robe, walked slightly behind him. But her eyes never left his back—not with suspicion, not with fear, but with a question she wasn't yet ready to ask.
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The halls of the Vernalis estate were carved from imported Lumestone, a material that absorbed mana to remain ever-pure. Kaelen could feel the subtle pull on his senses as they passed through sanctified doors and ceremonial gardens filled with floating lotus orbs.
At the apex of the estate sat the Vernalis Assembly Hall, and within it, the ruling matron: Lady Calistra Vernalis, mother to Selene and Auren, and a power in her own right.
She was not old, but her presence made the air tighten.
Her eyes locked onto Kaelen the moment he entered.
> "You saved my children," she said without preamble. "Twice, if Auren's retelling is accurate."
Kaelen said nothing.
> "We are not a House that forgets debt."
Selene stepped forward. "He did more than that, Mother. Without him, the Black Braid Sect would have desecrated our line and sealed the dungeon fracture to spawn a new cultic anchor."
A flicker of emotion passed through Lady Calistra's expression—something between gratitude and concern.
> "And what do you desire in return, Kaelen of no House?"
He met her gaze evenly. "Nothing. I came because they needed help."
The hall murmured.
Nobles weren't used to such answers.
But Calistra's smile was thin and dangerous.
> "You act outside the dance of power, Sovereign. But you've now stepped onto the floor."
She turned.
> "We will offer you a formal boon—resources, connections, allies. Name what you lack, and we shall fill it."
Kaelen considered. His eyes drifted to Selene, just briefly.
> "Then I ask for time. And your silence."
The matron arched a brow.
> "A curious request."
Kaelen bowed slightly. "I walk a road not meant for many eyes. But should I return, I may call on the House Vernalis. And in that moment, I expect not politics… but steel."
Lady Calistra studied him, then inclined her head.
> "Granted."
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That night, Kaelen stood on one of the sky balconies, staring out over the cityscape, cloak rustling in the warm wind. He didn't trust peace—it was too often the eye of a coming storm.
Selene approached without a word.
They stood in silence for a long time.
Then she said, softly, "Do you always vanish after you save people?"
He turned, surprised. "You think I'm leaving?"
She looked up at him.
> "I think you want to. But I also think… you don't have to."
He searched her face. It wasn't pity. It was a genuine tether—a thread of understanding from one soul to another.
> "What do you see in me?" he asked.
> "Someone carrying too many endings, and not enough beginnings."
Kaelen swallowed. He didn't speak. Couldn't.
Selene stepped closer, close enough to reach out—but didn't.
> "If you stay, even just a little longer… I'd like to begin something."
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[System Alert]
> [Hidden Affection Flag Triggered: Selene Vernalis]
—Affinity Level: Budding Interest
—Future Path Available: Romantic Ally / Political Tie / Co-Sovereign Route
New Journal Entry Unlocked: "City of Marble & Crimson"
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In the shadows of Halvethorn, however, other eyes stirred.
A figure cloaked in distorted light knelt before an unseen throne in a shattered realm of memory.
> "Kaelen has surfaced," the figure rasped. "And he has gained House favor."
The voice that answered was low and fractured, as if echoing through broken glass.
> "Let him. The Sovereign's road only has one destination. And I'll be waiting."
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