A streak of blood trailed behind Kael as he dragged the last body to the mountain's edge and tossed it over.
It fell like a torn flag before being swallowed by the clouds.
'It's not how I planned it, but this will work too.'
He stood still for a moment, taking in the view.
Kael had intended to kill Valthorne members eventually, to feed the fire that was already brewing… but he hadn't gotten around to it yet. Thankfully, the Valthorne had come to him on their own.
'How ironic, coming here to study ancient rituals only to die in the same way.'
Kael didn't believe in Smolten's god, Heimith, but tossing humans over the same cliff as the ritual three hundred million years ago still felt… different.
A sudden weight settled on his shoulder.
He turned.
A raven had landed there, graceful and silent, staring at him with hollow, depthless eyes.
Kael didn't move. He simply returned the cold stare.
The raven's throat shifted, bulging like it was swallowing something alive. Then a voice slid out of its beak.
"I assume you know what you've just done," it said, calm and low.
He slammed his hand over his shoulder.
The raven burst into a cloud of black feathers, scattering into the wind.
Kael snorted and stepped toward the small pile of items lying at the center of where the group had once stood.
He went through all the belongings, collecting spare mindstones and anything that might be useful in the near future.
'Twenty-one mindstones… and a pen covered in gold.'
'What status did the people I killed have?'
He picked up one of the Luminaire's diaries and slipped it into his pocket.
'Too bad all of their motes detonated the moment they died.'
Just like every other Luminaire he had killed, they had set their motes to self-detonate the instant they stopped breathing.
Kael cleaned up the last scattered items before beginning his descent down the mountain.
'Such an annoying situation.'
His thoughts wandered as he made his way downward.
He had tried to remain relatively passive these past weeks, waiting for the tension to finally snap and for the two noble families to clash. But true to their reputation, they had managed to de-escalate the situation again and again.
Kael had killed the Valthorne heir's family, and even the brother of his wife, but it still wasn't enough.
Valthorne had not only kept their composure, they had even succeeded in calming the public.
Even Kael himself had remained relatively safe, considering his actions.
'Is the fact I act in the name of Eireindaile holding Valthorne back?'
He tilted his head as he walked.
"Guess I'll have to increase the pressure then."
After descending the mountain, Kael entered the Luminaire District once again.
'Where was it…'
Kael moved through the market, passing shops and cafés.
Even though the district was used to ragged Luminaires returning from brutal missions, people couldn't help but stare as Kael walked past, eyes lingering on the blood, the sewn-shut eye, and the expression that looked more like a threat than a face.
'Here it is.'
At the center of the Luminaire District stood the most pristine buildings, apartments so expensive only nobles or high-ranking Luminaires could afford them.
Kael's gaze lifted.
A building made from polished white stone towered in front of him, gold décor tracing every edge and corner like veins.
Kael reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, eyeing the small note attached to it.
"Apartment building A, apartment 4."
He chuckled softly to himself.
"I'll have to thank Darian when he comes back."
It was the key to Darian's apartment, owned by his family.
As Kael climbed the stairs, he passed several residents dressed in tailored suits. Their eyes followed him, some wide, some narrowed, all clearly unsettled by his apperance.
He ignored them.
Kael slid the key into the lock and entered the apartment.
Apartment 4 rested on the highest floor of the building, which naturally made it the most expensive. Only one apartment occupied the top level.
He took in the open kitchen and the pristine, untouched state of the place.
"It will do."
He hung his coat on a hanger and walked to the nearest window.
Below, the streets bustled with Luminaires and a handful of mortals handpicked by the noble families to clean the district.
Kael walked into the bathroom and removed his clothes. He stared into the mirror.
He lifted his hand toward his left eye and felt the eye begin to stir beneath the sewn lid as his fingers approached.
He sighed and pulled his hand back.
The eye went still again the moment he withdrew.
'Does Syleena have a way to remove the eye?'
The thought formed, then faded just as fast.
'It won't do.'
He had already decided, even before the thought completed itself.
Even if she did know how to remove it, he wouldn't go to her. That choice was already made. He was too ignorant about the eye, and that ignorance was dangerous. It had managed to infiltrate his Will. He had never heard of a mote capable of such a thing. And Syleena was a Mind Pathway Luminaire. If he went to her now, she might use that ignorance to her advantage, catching him at a moment of weakness.
He stepped into the shower and turned on the water. Steam filled the room in seconds.
After scrubbing away the blood and dirt clinging to his skin, he stepped out and tightened a towel around his waist.
The moment he reached for an apple on the counter, a sudden knock interrupted him.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
He walked to the door, one hand loosely securing the towel at his waist.
When he opened it, he was met by a woman around his age, holding a newspaper and reading as if she owned the place.
"Geez, what took you so long," she chuckled, still buried in the paper.
She stepped forward without looking and bumped straight into Kael's chest.
She recoiled, rubbing her forehead.
"Ouch. What's your problem?"
Her eyes finally lifted from the newspaper, first to his chest, then upward to his face.
The paper slipped from her hand and fluttered to the floor.
"Who—who the hell are you?"
She backed up a step, staring into Kael's eyes.
"Kael."
He answered plainly.
"Where's Darian?" she demanded, quicker than she seemed to think.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Darian?"
"YES!?"
"He had to leave the continent for a while. Family business."
Kael's tone was calm, even bored.
Now she raised an eyebrow.
"He left already? I thought that wasn't happening for another month."
"Yeah… he knew I didn't have a place to stay, so he gave me his keys. Asked me to take care of the apartment while he was gone."
"He did?" She studied him for a moment. "Kael…" she murmured. Then her eyes widened.
"Oh. You're the Kael. The guy he met at the fight club and wouldn't stop talking about?"
Kael just looked at her.
He hadn't been entirely sure who she was at first, but once he got a closer look, the pieces had fallen into place.
The woman in front of him not only had the same blond hair, but the same green eyes, with that faint touch of gold in them.
"You're his sister, I assume?"
She met his gaze directly.
"Yes."
She extended a hand.
"Mael, nice to meet you."
Kael took her hand and shook it firmly.
"Kael."
Without waiting for an invitation, Mael brushed past him and made herself at home on the sofa, already diving back into the newspaper.
"I'm sorry to intrude like this, but I just can't be bothered with my family right now, so I thought I'd visit Darian to get away. Hope it's fine."
She said it as if asking permission, but she had already removed her shoes and coat.
"Sure."
Kael responded.
He said nothing else. He put on clothes, grabbed the apple, and sat at the desk. He pulled out a small notebook, struck a match to light a candle, and opened the book.
'Unreadable.'
It was one of the books he had taken from the house in the hollow mountain.
Every figure was alien; compared to a regular alphabet, this one felt endless, an infinite series of symbols that refused to form patterns.
Hours passed without progress.
'What language is this?'
He tapped a pen against the desk.
Then he felt it.
A gaze behind him.
"You're interested in the history of the Smolten?"
Mael's voice arrived softly from over his shoulder.
She had risen from the sofa and now stood behind him, leaning slightly to glance at the pages in front of him.
"Yes."
Kael said, raising a hand to rub his chin.
Mael leaned forward a little, studying his face.
"You look clueless."
Her eyebrows lifted in playful judgment.
Kael stayed silent.
"I can help you if you want. I've studied their language."
Kael finally turned to look at her.
"You have?"
"Mhm."
Her tone was casually upbeat.
She stood, walked to the kitchen, grabbed a chair, and placed it beside his. Then she sat down, legs crossed, ready to lecture.
"Look at this symbol, for example." She pointed at a line of the text. "To the untrained eye it might look completely different from this one, but it's not. The way they're written depends entirely on the context of the letter."
She spoke pedagogically, like a teacher explaining something to a stubborn student.
Kael's interest piqued.
"But how does that make sense? Wouldn't context have infinite possibilities? It seems like it lacks reason."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of her lips.
"That's the tricky part. The Smolten had a few gifted individuals, but most of them didn't. So, just like you said, it does lack reason."
Kael looked at her with a hint of disbelief.
How could an entire civilization build a language with no consistency?
"You're surprised?" She chuckled softly. "If you only knew how many tears I shed studying their academic papers."
Noticing how eager Kael was to learn, Mael's enthusiasm for teaching only grew. As the two of them sank deeper into the world of the Smolten, the sun slipped beneath the horizon, leaving the candle's soft glow as the only light in the room.
"Was that correct?"
Kael asked after reading through an entire page.
Mael stared at him, baffled.
"Y—yes."
"Wow…" She scratched the back of her head. "I can't believe you already have such a good grasp of their language. It took me almost a year to reach where you are now."
"You've studied other languages before?" she asked.
"Yes."
Kael replied, eyes fixed on the book.
"Thank god," she whispered under her breath.
"Anyway, it's getting late. I'll sleep in the guest room," she said casually.
"Night."
Kael didn't look up.
Mael smiled, placed the chair back in the kitchen, and set about preparing for bed.
'So the house was originally for a Smolten.'
His pen tapped against the desk again.
'Then does that mean the weeping eye also originated from the Smolten?'
The pen stopped.
'I thought Humans were the only species capable of fully controlling motes…'
By the time Kael finally closed the book, Mael had long since fallen asleep.
'It contained nothing.'
He rested his forehead in his palm.
He had read the entire diary in one sitting.
It was written by a Smolten who had lived in the hollow mountain, recording their experiments in cultivating plants that required no sunlight, and how they eventually grew an entire forest sustained solely by the light produced by the weeping eye.
"I need sleep."
Kael placed the diary neatly on the desk and blew out the candle.
He turned toward the window.
The first rays of sunlight were already creeping over Velthoria.