Chapter 6: The Man Behind the Bronze Mask
He's fast.
Kai barely had time to finish that thought before the masked figure closed the distance. One blink, and the man was in front of the Fragment, hand raised, as if daring Kai to try.
Behind Kai, Lina panted softly, crouched low, eyes locked on the swirling black crystal. She was trying to stay calm, but Kai could feel the tremble in her presence. A spiritual bond pulsed faintly between them—thin, like a thread woven from light and instinct.
If I get us killed here… No. I can't afford to hesitate.
Kai took a breath. His chest ached from the last burst of Phase-Break. Every fiber of muscle screamed for rest, but the Protocol hummed within him, eager—almost joyful.
"Who are you?" Kai demanded.
The figure tilted his head, bronze mask glinting under the crystal's glow.
"A Shepherd. That's all you need to know."
Kai's jaw clenched. Cryptic cultivators. Always with the riddles and masks. If you have a face, show it. If you have a weapon, draw it.
"You're standing in my way."
"No," the man replied calmly. "I'm standing at the end of a path that might destroy you."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll change direction."
He surged forward, Protocol igniting through his arms—veins glowing, momentum folding through space. The energy wasn't stable yet, but it moved with him like a second skin.
The man didn't flinch.
In a single motion, he stepped aside, not with speed—but precision, like water sliding around a blade.
Kai's strike missed.
The man retaliated, a palm to Kai's shoulder—simple, but devastating. Kai was flung backward, skidding across the chamber floor, slamming into the reinforced edge of a starlight node.
Too strong. Too calm. He's not holding back—he's not even trying yet.
Lina cried out, but Kai raised a hand from the floor. "Stay back!"
The masked man began circling.
"The first Fragment is not a prize for the desperate. It will unravel you if you reach for it before you're ready."
Kai coughed. "Then why are you here?"
"To see if you're different from the others."
Kai rose shakily to his feet. A flicker of fire passed through his limbs—anger, fear, something primal and electric.
He's testing me. Like they all do. Like the instructors who pretended I didn't exist. Like the medics who turned away when my parents died. Like the Sect who labeled me 'unfit' without ever giving me a chance.
"You want to know if I'm worthy?" Kai's voice was low now. "I'm not."
The man paused.
"I'm not righteous. I'm not enlightened. I don't know any sacred scripture, and I didn't inherit a master's legacy. But I have one thing."
His eyes lit like twin suns.
"I have a reason to keep going."
He pointed toward Lina without looking.
"She's my reason. And I'll walk through fire, bleed through stardust, and rip this world in half before I let anyone take her from me."
The masked man was silent for a moment.
Then he laughed. Not mockingly—almost... fondly.
"There it is."
Kai blinked. "What?"
"The spark."
The man stepped aside.
"The Fragment will recognize you now. But understand this: its power is not a weapon—it's a trial. You gain nothing from it unless you survive yourself."
Kai didn't move at first.
Is this a trick? Why step aside now? Was that all just a test?
He walked slowly toward the black crystal. It floated in silence, pulsing slower now, as if… listening.
No traps. No alarms. No guards. Just a crystal and my heartbeat.
As he reached for it, a pulse of pressure surged through the room.
Lina gasped.
The Shepherd's robes rippled.
And Kai's fingertips touched the Fragment.
Everything went white.
–––
He was falling.
No—floating. Through memory.
Through pain.
Through stars.
He saw flashes. A field of fractured satellites. A silver sphere cracked open like an egg. His mother, standing before a council, fire in her eyes. His father, bleeding from the mouth as guards closed in.
Lina. Screaming.
Himself—standing alone, staring into a mirror that reflected a man made of constellations.
"You are the Starborn. Your path is forged by collapse and rebirth."
The voice came from nowhere. And everywhere.
"You carry a lineage that did not begin with your bloodline. You are the spark that will reignite a dying system."
Pain ripped through him.
Something inside was changing—veins stretching, meridians rearranging. A second core flickered into being beneath his heart. Not physical—spiritual. Like a star collapsing inward, then exploding outward.
He screamed—
And awoke.
–––
Kai gasped, eyes flying open.
The chamber had gone still. The Fragment was gone. So was the Shepherd.
Lina knelt beside him, eyes wide.
"Your veins… they're glowing."
He looked down.
Violet starlight threaded through his skin like living ink. But it wasn't just glowing—it was singing. In resonance. A hum deep in his soul.
The first Fragment had accepted him.
But the voice still echoed faintly in his mind:
"One down. Eight remain."
He stood slowly, helping Lina up.
She smiled faintly. "That was insane."
Kai managed a small laugh. "Yeah. Let's do it eight more times."
She groaned. "You're the worst big brother."
And for the first time since their parents died…
Kai smiled.