The sun had barely risen when Kael left the house. He didn't tell anyone, not that there was anyone to tell. The insignia sat heavy in his pocket, its weight pulling at him like a secret he couldn't bury.
His footsteps took him somewhere he hadn't dared visit in years, the old shrine just outside the city, hidden in the wooded hills where the world felt quieter. It was abandoned now, forgotten by most, but not by him. Not by the Fang.
This was where it began. Where the mark had first been carved.
Kael knelt before the weathered altar. Moss and ash covered the stone, and cracks split its surface like old scars. He placed the insignia on the center tile and closed his eyes.
A whisper broke the silence.
"You came."
Kael opened his eyes slowly. Jun Sera stood a few paces behind, dressed not in his school uniform, but the black garb of the Fang. His expression was unreadable less cold than before, but not warmer either. Just... still.
"I needed answers," Kael said.
Jun stepped forward, his gaze flicking to the insignia. "You already have them. You just don't want to accept what they mean."
Kael's hands curled into fists. "Then say it. Say what I am."
Jun tilted his head, studying him. "You're a legacy. A ghost born of blood and silence. A weapon that was never supposed to have a will."
The words hung in the air like a blade suspended mid-fall.
Kael didn't flinch. "Then I'll be a weapon they regret forging."
Jun's lips twitched, almost a smile. "There's something you need to see."
He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a sealed envelope, edges scorched. Kael hesitated before taking it. The paper was old, the writing faint but familiar. His mother's handwriting.
Kael,
If you're reading this, then the shadows have found you. I'm sorry. I wanted to keep you safe, to raise you far from this world. But we don't get to choose the fire we're born into.
Don't trust anyone not even the ones who offer kindness. Especially not them.
There is one truth you must remember. Your father didn't die a traitor. He died protecting you.
Go to the lantern gate. You'll find what he left behind.
—Mom
Kael's hands trembled.
The Fang had always told him his father was a deserter. A coward. But if what this letter said was true…
"They lied to me," Kael whispered.
"They lie to everyone," Jun replied quietly. "But now you know. And now you choose."
Kael looked up, his eyes no longer uncertain.
"I'm done running."
Jun stepped back, fading into the trees. "Then I'll meet you at the gate."
Kael stood alone, but not afraid.
There was a fire inside him now, one that wouldn't flicker or fade.
Only burn.