The dungeon's forge echoed with the rhythmic pounding of hammers and the hiss of molten metal cooling in carved molds. The Research Division worked in fevered bursts, dwarves, elves, and humans side by side under Kael's gaze.
On one side, newly built golems stood tall—towering shapes of steel and mana crystals. Their cores pulsed faintly, waiting for command. On the other side, workbenches overflowed with parchment, arcane diagrams, and half-finished prototypes.
Sara sat among them, her brow furrowed, hair clinging to her face from the heat of the forge. Despite the chains of her past, her hands were steady now, sketching runic arrays inspired by her observation of the lizard's mana-gathering spikes.
Kael observed quietly. Her idea was bold. If it succeeded, the golems would no longer rely solely on magic cores—they would feed endlessly on ambient mana like predators in the wild.
"It will take time," one of the dwarven smiths admitted, wiping soot from his forehead. "We're close, but the array needs refinement."
Kael's voice was calm, yet sharp with command."Then split. One team continues research. The other—focus on production of what we already know works. We cannot pause our defenses while chasing perfection."
The division saluted, their movements sharpening with renewed purpose.
Later, Sara wandered the training cavern, parchment still in her hand, her mind replaying the runic patterns. Her thoughts broke when a soft, cheerful voice called out.
"Big sister!"
Sara turned—and froze.
The little girl Kael had brought home ran toward her, laughter ringing in the cavern. She was surrounded by slimes—common ones bouncing happily, and rarer types glistening with strange hues. A crystal slime, a venom slime, even a glimmering light slime—all clustered around her like guardians.
Sara blinked in disbelief. "Who… who are you?"
The little girl's smile was as radiant as sunlight. "I'm Kael's little sister!" she declared innocently, then added with a tilt of her head, "And my name is still a secret until he says so!"
Sara's lips parted, words failing her. At last, she knelt and gently asked, "Then… may I know your name?"
Before the girl could answer, Kael's presence filled the cavern. He strode closer, the slimes shifting aside like shadows bowing before their king.
Sara turned to him, confusion plain on her face. "Kael… why is a little girl here? This place is no place for a child."
Kael's eyes, unreadable as ever, rested on the girl. "She is no ordinary child. She is a Titan-class Summoner."
The words struck like thunder. Sara's eyes went wide, her lips trembling. "T-Titan… class…?"
The world spun. Before she could protest further, her vision blurred. Her knees buckled, and she fell—only to find herself swept into Kael's arms, carried effortlessly in a princess hold.
Kael brought her into his home, his movements smooth and calm despite the chaos unfolding around Greyspire. Reina looked up from where she was brushing her hair, her expression instantly lighting with mischief.
"Brother," she teased, grinning wide, "first a little girl, now a woman? Are you… building a harem?"
Kael's face remained impassive, though his silence only fueled her laughter. He turned instead to his mother, who was waiting with a calm smile.
"Change her clothes when she wakes," Kael instructed. "She has lived under chains long enough."
His mother nodded gently, her eyes filled with quiet understanding.
As Kael turned to leave, Umbra's shadow slithered at his feet. At his command, it reshaped—becoming a sleek black cat with glowing violet eyes.
"Stay here," Kael ordered. "Inform me the moment she awakens."
Umbra's feline form purred in assent, curling at the foot of Sara's resting bed.
Far to the north, the city was a storm of activity.
The sisters stood atop Greyspire's battered wall, their cloaks flaring in the chill wind. Around them, soldiers dug trenches, carpenters reinforced barricades, and blacksmiths worked their forges without pause. Farmers arrived in long carts, unloading food and supplies under watchful guards.
"Every stone must hold," the elder sister commanded, her voice steady but heavy with the weight of what was to come.
Messengers ran back and forth, carrying orders to nobles in the surrounding countryside. Refugees streamed through the gates, arms full of grain and tools, determined to help protect their homes.
For the first time in years, Greyspire stood not as the weakest city of the empire, but as a bastion of defiance.
The air itself vibrated with preparation, the people ready to bleed for their walls.
And in the shadows, Kael's unseen hand guided it all.
Sara stirred in the soft bed, the faint fragrance of herbs clinging to her as her eyelids fluttered open. The ceiling above her was smooth stone, polished yet warm, unlike the damp cages she once knew.
She blinked—and then remembered.
Her gaze snapped to the side. Kael sat in a chair near the bed, unmoving, his mask still in place. His very presence weighed down the air like a mountain pressing upon her.
Sara swallowed. "You… it was you." Her voice trembled as the words spilled out. "Back then. In the dungeon… when you fell into the abyss. The boy everyone thought was dead. It was you, wasn't it?"
Kael said nothing, his silence heavier than any denial.
"I tried to help you," she continued, her hands clenching into fists. "I tried—but they stopped me. They said it was pointless. And then you were gone."
For a moment, the mask shifted slightly as if Kael were about to answer, but instead his gaze sharpened. A strange ripple of mana pulsed from Sara's chest. His senses tightened instantly, threads of his power probing delicately through her body.
Something ancient stirred within her blood. A dormant flame—slumbering, suppressed for years.
Kael's eyes narrowed as he pulled up her status window. What he saw made even him pause.
[Bloodline Detected]Name: Sara CaelisBloodline:Scion of the Phoenix Veil (Dormant)Status: Suppressed — Incomplete Awakening
The realization struck him like a blade.So that was why her land had burned. Why her family's fall was orchestrated with such ruthless precision. A phoenix bloodline—one that could never be allowed to blossom under enemy rule.
Kael let out a slow breath. "Now I see," he murmured. "Your house was destroyed not for rebellion, not for wealth, but for what flows in your veins."
Sara froze, confusion lacing her expression. "What do you mean…?"
Kael rose to his feet. "You will know in time." His tone closed the subject.
Later, Kael stood before the villagers, his cloak flowing behind him. Torches flickered, casting long shadows as the people gathered, fearful yet hopeful.
"The enemy marches," Kael declared, his voice resonant and unyielding. "They will scour every settlement, every farm, every soul they can reach. But not here."
The crowd stirred, whispers rising.
"I have sealed this village," he continued. "No one enters. No one leaves. The borders are wrapped in invisibility and barriers layered thrice over. You will remain unseen. To step beyond them is to risk everything. Stay. Endure. And live."
Faces once pale with terror now brightened with cautious relief. For the first time, survival seemed possible.
Within the dungeon's depths, Kael's war room had taken form. The vast cavern glowed with arrays of blue and violet light, etched across walls and floor. Arcane projections displayed maps of Greyspire, the enemy's known movements, and the defensive lines spreading across the land.
Before him, his golem legions stood in formation, row upon row of steel and stone.
Mage Golems, arms inscribed with runic conduits, capable of releasing focused volleys of destructive mana.
Artillery Golems, their massive cannons humming with restrained power, waiting to thunder across the battlefield.
Single-shot Assault Golems, compact but devastating, designed for relentless charges before returning to recharge.
As Kael entered, every golem saluted in perfect synchrony, the sound echoing like a drumbeat of war.
But the legion was not the only force sharpening its claws.
In the adjacent chamber, the lizard beast lashed its tail, the spines along its back glowing as it concentrated mana for a devastating plasma breath.
The twin fire dragons soared and twisted around one another, each building their core flames, attempting to fuse them into a blinding white inferno. Their roars shook the cavern ceiling, sparks raining like meteors.
On the far side, Pyraflame stood with wings unfurled, her fire refined to a deadly sharpness, the air warping around her with heat.
And in the icy caverns beyond, the frost twin guardian released waves of chilling breath, testing an evolved form—spikes of frozen mist designed to pierce as much as freeze. Alongside him, the stalwart Frost Guardian practiced shielding allies in crystalline armor of hardened frost, each breath expanding the boundaries of their potential.
Kael watched in silence, his hands clasped behind his back.
The storm was coming. And when it broke, his forces would meet it head-on—not as scattered prey, but as predators ready to consume the hunters.