Two days after the secret training in the Hall of Scars.
The skies of Emberlands dimmed, shedding ash like soft rain. It was not a sign of disaster—but The Still Season, a brief time when the system dimmed its power to reset the world's flow.
Most nobles took it as a time of reflection—or silent scheming.
Kael used it to vanish.
He walked alone through the forgotten west wing of Virdane Keep, where stone walls still bore scorch marks from the founding era. Old flames whispered in silence—some claimed you could hear the first flame's voice if you listened long enough.
But Kael wasn't listening for fire.
He was chasing truth.
---
🔍 System Task – Hidden Mission
After his training, the system granted a strange prompt:
> [System Task: Erased Traces]
Find traces of a Virdane heir erased from history.
Starting Location: Sealed Records Chamber – West Wing
Reward: Unknown Legacy Fragment (1), Locked Identity Key
No one else received this. Only Kael.
---
In the chamber, dust blanketed broken shelves and scorched scrolls. In one corner—
a black iron chest, wrapped in chains of etched fire.
Touching it triggered a system response:
> [Old System Seal Detected – Unlocking…]
[Erased Identity: Dareth Virdane – Status: Missing / Trapped in Dimensional Layer]
[Legacy Fragment Retrieved (1/7)]
Kael froze.
> "Dareth… he's alive…?"
---
System Reaction
> [Legacy Fragment Activated: Flame-Touched Lineage (Dormant)]
Bloodline and system have resonated.
Partial traits of the First Heir will begin to affect the user.
Kael held his chest. It burned—not from pain, not from magic.
From memory.
Legacy. But not from his father.
From one forgotten… even by time.
---
Family Politics – Lady Tharia & Lady Elaira
In the quiet tea chamber, Lady Tharia turned to Elaira, who served herbs as she often did.
"Still pampering the boy?" Tharia said sharply.
Elaira smiled. "I raise a child, not a tool."
"Tools outlast orphans," Tharia hissed.
But even she noticed something new.
Kael's aura was shifting.
Something was stirring in his blood.
---
STATUS – KAEL
[Level]: 11
[Skills]:
Ember Pulse (Lv.3)
Shadowstep (Lv.2)
Veiled Sigil (Lv.1)
[Traits]:
Dream-Echo Instinct (42%)
Shadow-Forged Memory
Willsplit Reflex
[NEW TRAIT UNLOCKED]:
Dormant Flame Resonance – 5% chance to activate Memory Skill of Dareth upon receiving heavy damage
[Title Gained]:
Heir of the Erased Line