Chapter 1: Buried in Blood, Awakened in Fire The earth was cold. Too cold for a prince. Kael Valenhart coughed up dirt as he clawed at the soil crushing his chest. Blood soaked through his armor, the taste of iron thick on his tongue. The last thing he remembered was his brother's blade—shining with betrayal—piercing through his heart. "You were always too noble, Kael," Lucien had whispered, his voice like ice. "This kingdom doesn't need honor. It needs a god." Then darkness. Then silence. Until now. Kael's fingers twitched, broken nails tearing through the burial ground. His body should've been dead. Should've rotted like the lies they told the kingdom. But death… rejected him. He heard the voice again. A whisper in the abyss. A name, repeated in the ancient tongue of curses. "Kael… Valenhart… awaken." Flames—black and red—erupted from his chest, wrapping around his limbs like chains of fate. His scream shook the ground as the curse branded itself into his soul. Revenge. Obsession. Destruction. This is the gift of the Abyss. He emerged from the dirt, eyes glowing like dying stars. The once-golden prince was now a beast forged in betrayal. His heartbeat pulsed with two desires: To burn his brother alive. To find the girl who once saved him. Lira. She had touched his hand when no one else would. Bandaged his wounds when others flinched. She had smiled at him. That smile was the only warmth he remembered. "You're the only light I remember, Lira… And I will find you. Even if I have to tear the world apart." The cursed flame roared inside him as Kael took his first step out of the grave. And the world shuddered in fear.
