The docks were a ghost town beneath the cold moonlight, yet the tension was palpable, almost suffocating. Every plank, every crate, every rusted chain seemed to hum with anticipation, as if the city itself knew what was coming. My breath misted in the chill air, each exhale a small, fragile cloud that disappeared into the night. The faint sound of water lapping against the hulls of abandoned ships blended with the creak of the docks, forming a rhythm that matched my own heartbeat.
Then I saw him. Black armor, absorbing the lantern light, giving him the appearance of a shadow come to life. Twin daggers glinted like jagged shards of night, their edges screaming danger. And those eyes… a deep, unnatural red that burned through the darkness, fixing on me with the precision of a predator. A Council Hunter. One of their elite enforcers. And in that instant, I knew—this was the closest thing to reckoning I had faced since the poison had nearly killed me.
No hesitation. There was never room for it. The moment he stepped forward, the world contracted until it was just him and me. Every muscle, every nerve, every memory of training with Ryn and Mira flared to life.
I drew deep on my Soul Resonance, feeling the familiar surge of energy twist and coil through me like living fire. My fists crackled with blue power, tendrils of raw force dancing along my arms and legs, coiling around my muscles like serpents. The poison that had once weakened me was a distant memory; I was no longer the broken shadow they thought I was.
He struck first. Twin blades slicing through the night with inhuman speed. I ducked, rolling to the side as the air itself screamed past my face. The impact of his strike hit the wooden dock like thunder, splinters flying as the vibration rattled my bones. I retaliated instantly, my fist igniting with Resonance energy, smashing into his midsection with a force that cracked the wood beneath us. The shockwave threw him backward, crates shattering like fireworks, splinters raining down.
He recovered in an instant, fluid and terrifying in his speed. Each strike he threw was a deadly question I had to answer with precision. Parrying, dodging, countering—the air around us shimmered with sparks and bursts of energy. The Resonance in my body pulsed violently, muscles straining, bones aching under the pressure, but my focus never wavered. Every scar, every bruise, every night spent training in pain came together, shaping my reactions, sharpening my instincts.
The hunter lunged again, blades spinning in a blur, but I twisted midair, pivoting with the grace of a dancer and the force of a battering ram. My boot connected with his chest, sending him crashing through another stack of crates. The sound was deafening, splintered wood and metal clattering across the dock.
He rose again, coughing, but the red in his eyes burned brighter now. Every hesitation had vanished, replaced with pure, lethal intent. He would not stop. He would not yield. And neither would I.
I clenched my fists, the Resonance spiraling outward like a storm unleashed. I moved forward, faster than thought, faster than fear, my fists a blur of blue light and energy. We collided again, his blades meeting my fists in a shower of sparks. The dock itself seemed to shake with the force of our battle, every strike a hammer blow to the world around us.
And then… the opening.
The hunter overcommitted, his swing wide and reckless. I saw it, felt it, reacted before thought could form. My hand ignited in pure Soul Resonance, a brilliant blue flame that seared the night. I slammed my palm into his back with every ounce of strength, every shred of training, every moment of survival driving the force.
The impact was absolute. Armor shattered, the sound of cracking metal and bone ringing in the night. He was flung forward, crashing through the railing and into the icy water below with a splash that echoed like a cannon. Silence followed, broken only by the distant slap of waves against the dock.
I stood there, chest heaving, drenched in sweat and the adrenaline of power coursing through me. My hands trembled slightly—not from fear, but from the sheer intensity of the energy I had just unleashed.
"Rank Up," I whispered, almost reverently.
The surge hit me like a tidal wave. Every sense sharpened, every muscle coiled with newfound strength, every breath electric with potential. The wind seemed to hum around me, carrying the promise of what I had just become.
C-Rank.
It was more than a label. It was a rebirth. A declaration. A statement that Kael was no longer the broken survivor, no longer the shadow he had been. I could feel the difference immediately: faster reflexes, stronger strikes, the kind of focus that could turn near-impossible battles into calculated victories.
But I knew better than to linger in triumph. The Council did not send their best for games or tests—they sent them for death, for results. Rhea, the hunter I had barely survived, was only the beginning. More would come, and each would be deadlier than the last.
I flexed my fingers, feeling the hum of Resonance thrumming beneath my skin. The docks, the shadows, the city beyond—all of it was a challenge now, a proving ground for the new me. I would face them all. Every enforcer, every blade, every council scheme—they would learn, painfully, that Kael was rising again.
And I would not stop until the city, the Council, and even Aric himself recognized the storm I had become.
This was just the beginning.