Kaelith and Kiara had grown used to each other — the once-strange silence between them now felt like a quiet understanding. They had become friends in a world that didn't always feel friendly. And for the first time, Kaelith didn't feel the darkness pressing so heavily around him.
It was a new morning, and the sky held a pale golden hue. Kaelith arrived at school with Kiara by his side. As they stepped out of the bus, Kaelith suddenly grew quiet. Too quiet. Kiara, however, turned to him with concern, waving slightly.
"You okay?" she asked gently.
Kaelith gave a small nod, eyes distant. "Yeah," he murmured.
Kiara hesitated but let it go. "Okay."
Later, during lunch, Kiara sat with him outside under a tree. She handed him a snack with a smile, as she always did — something small, something thoughtful. Then she stood and said, "Be right back, I left my drink in my bag."
Kaelith watched her walk away.
But trouble had already spotted her.
A group of boys swaggered across the courtyard, led by Zander — the same boy who had mocked Kaelith on his first day. His laugh was low and mean, and his friends followed close behind.
"There she is," Zander sneered, eyeing Kiara.
They surrounded her. One of them snatched her snack, another tugged at her backpack.
"C'mon, princess. Share a little," one boy jeered.
"Leave me alone," she snapped, trying to pull away.
From across the courtyard, Kaelith rose slowly from his seat. His eyes narrowed.
He walked toward them with quiet purpose.
"Let her go," he said, his voice low but cutting.
Zander turned, his smirk widening. "Oh, look who it is. The mystery boy."
Kaelith didn't blink. "I said… leave her."
Zander stepped forward, arms crossed. "Or what? You gonna cry? You and your fake name, your blank form. You're not scary."
Then, one of the boys shoved Kiara roughly — and she fell to the ground with a gasp.
That was the last straw.
Kaelith snapped.
His eyes darkened like a storm pulling in clouds — and for a heartbeat, a flash of glowing red sparked within them. One of the boys, the smallest, froze in place, panic flooding his face. He turned and ran without a word.
But Kaelith didn't chase. He burned.
The spoons in the cafeteria shimmered. Metal trays clattered to the floor. The air grew thick and hot — unbearably hot.
Inside the kitchen, a scream echoed as someone dropped a boiling pot. The handles of utensils were too hot to touch. Even the lightbulbs above began to flicker.
Zander took a shaky step back.
Kaelith stood still, fists clenched, breathing heavily, shadows curling faintly beneath his feet.
Then he turned away… and helped Kiara up.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
Kiara nodded, shaken but safe.
And without another word, Kaelith walked back to his seat, the rage still simmering in his veins.
Something inside him had awakened. Something that didn't want to sleep again.
Back at home, miles away from the chaos of the school cafeteria, Helen McClure paused mid-step. She had been folding laundry when an invisible wave of heat and darkness brushed over her skin like smoke. Her breath caught. She closed her eyes.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
She reached for her phone.
At school, not long after the incident, Kaelith was quietly escorted out. The headteacher claimed it was a routine early dismissal, but Kaelith knew better. Whispers followed him down the hall. No one said a word to his face.
But far above, in the clouds, something stirred.
A pair of unseen eyes watched from a veil of golden light.
An angel.
Clothed in radiance and silence, it hovered where no human eye could see — watching the boy with growing unease.
It had sensed it.
Not just a flicker. Not just a whisper.
A wave of dark power had been unleashed.
The kind that didn't belong in the human world.
The kind born of demons.
"He walks among them," the angel murmured, voice echoing like wind in the heavens. "One of the fallen is here."
When Kaelith got home that afternoon, his face was tense, his steps heavy with questions he could no longer ignore.
He found Helen in the living room, Without hesitation, he walked up to her.
"Helen," he said, his voice low but firm. "I need to know the truth. What am I? Where did I come from?"
Helen looked up at him, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she let out a long, weary sigh and set her cup down.
"I was wondering when this moment would come," she murmured.
She rose from her seat and walked to a cabinet tucked in the far corner of the room. From it, she pulled out a large, worn book — its leather cover cracked, its pages yellowed with time.
"This," she said, brushing dust from the cover, "holds everything you need to know."
Kaelith's eyes followed every movement as she opened the book.
"You weren't born like other children," she began softly. "You came from a realm not meant for humans... and your birth shook the balance of that world. That's why they feared you."
He said nothing, waiting.
She turned to a page marked with strange symbols. "You are... a demon by blood, Kaelith. But not of evil. You were sealed away at birth, cursed and forgotten — until the flood brought you here."
He swallowed hard, but didn't interrupt.
Helen looked at him gently. "You've only lived a few years in this world... but by true count, you are fifteen