Chapter 02: The Damaged Lamp
Kai had never seen a sky so full.
People flew above the streets as if gravity were a suggestion. Some stood on swords, others rode strange beasts with glowing wings. Entire houses floated high above the city.
His mouth hung open.
"Oh…"
No one paid him any attention.
The ground beneath his feet hummed faintly—warm and alive. Everything here felt powerful; dangerously so. Kai wandered through the streets, afraid to touch anything, and afraid not to.
Then he saw it.
A crystalline structure stood at a crossroads, carved with glowing symbols. At its center burned a soft blue flame, contained within a transparent shell. People passed it without a glance.
Kai stepped closer.
Something pulled at him.
Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out.
The moment his fingers brushed the surface, the flame flared violently.
Alarms screamed.
Runes burned red.
Before Kai could pull his hand back, a hand clamped around his wrist.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Cold restraints snapped around his arms, humming with suppressive energy. Kai's heart slammed against his ribs.
"I didn't mean to," he said quickly. "I was just looking—"
"You sabotaged a city security artifact," the officer said sharply. "Move."
Kai was dragged away as people stared. Whispers followed him like shadows.
The interrogation room was small and cold.
Magic circles glowed faintly beneath the floor. Kai sat alone, wrists bound, feet barely touching the ground. Across from him stood three officials.
"Name?"
"Kai."
"Origin?"
"I… don't know."
The room grew colder.
"No registration. No soul record," one of them muttered. "That artifact guards the city barrier. Only authorized personnel can activate it."
"I didn't activate anything!" Kai said desperately. "I didn't even know what it was."
"You triggered it," another official replied flatly. "And you appeared from nowhere."
They exchanged glances.
"Unknown origin. Unknown soul. Child or not, this is too dangerous."
One of the men glanced at his colleagues."We need to interrogate him thoroughly. But most of all, we must be certain before we send his file to the higher-ups. You know what will happen if he—"
He was interrupted sharply:"With the situation in the palace, this is no time to worry about a child being wrongly accused. But we must be careful not to be implicated in a spy matter. Remember what happened last year."
The first man's face paled. Sweat formed as he recalled four interrogators punished for collusion and treason over a single mistake.
The verdict was delivered before Kai understood the questions.
By sunset, the charge was announced:
Sabotage of city security.Suspected espionage.Threat to the kingdom.
Sentence: public execution.
In a dark room within a majestic palace lay a damaged lamp.
A faint spark of light flickered within it—weak, fading. For a moment it seemed it would die entirely… until it pulsed again, brighter, then dimmer, as if struggling to stay alive.
As the light flickered, space itself tore open.
A man in purple armor stepped out of the rift. His eyes widened as he saw the lamp sputtering, on the verge of extinguishing. Shock and grief washed over his expression, and his knees nearly buckled as strength left his body.
Then—suddenly—the spark surged.
The lamp flared to life, its light growing stronger.
The man froze.
"What is happening…? This is impossible."
He approached with heavy steps and lifted the lamp as though afraid it might shatter—as if his life depended on it.
The colosseum was full by morning.
Stone seats rose in endless circles, packed with citizens eager for spectacle. To them, this was not a tragedy. It was a warning.
Kai was forced to his knees at the center of the arena. His wrists and ankles glowed with suppression seals. Sand pressed into his palms.
A herald stepped forward, voice amplified by magic.
"Kai. Unknown origin. Unregistered soul."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Crimes: sabotage of the city's security artifact, possession of unidentified energy, and suspicion of espionage."
High above, the king sat beneath a royal canopy.
Beside him, the young princess clutched the railing.
"Father," she whispered urgently. "Please. He's just a child."
The king did not turn.
"A ruler cannot be soft-hearted," he said. "Think of the people. Think of the greater picture."
The executioner stepped forward.
His sword gleamed.
Kai closed his eyes.
The blade fell—
—and stopped.
At first, no one noticed.
The executioner frowned, muscles straining. The sword did not move.
"What's he doing?" someone laughed nervously.
The city guard commander stood up.
"What are you doing?!" he barked. "Men, remove him—"
The wind vanished.
The sky darkened.
The sword hung suspended, inches from Kai's neck.
People tried to move.
They couldn't.
Time had stopped.
The king's eyes widened as he searched the crowd.
"Show yourself!" he shouted. "Who dares interfere?"
No answer came.
The sky tore open.
A vast whirlpool formed above the colosseum, clouds spiraling inward as lightning crackled. Space bent.
From the heart of it, a man stepped down.
He walked across the void as if it were solid ground. Lightning wrapped around him, his presence crushing and undeniable.
In his hand was a lamp.
Old. Cracked. Barely glowing.
His gaze locked onto Kai.
The lamp trembled.
Threads of pale light drifted downward, drawn into Kai—disappearing beneath his skin.
The man's breath caught.
"…Ten years."
Tears welled in his eyes—and froze midair.
Time resumed.
A shockwave blasted through the colosseum. People screamed. Guards were thrown aside. The executioner collapsed, frozen in terror.
The man stepped in front of Kai.
"My son," he said, voice breaking. "I've finally found you."
Lightning split the arena floor.
He turned his gaze on the crowd.
The king fell back, pale and trembling.Just the man's eyes made him feel his soul being dragged into darkness.
What power is this…? Even the Emperor… is not this powerful.
Kai stared up at the man, heart pounding, mind empty.