Kael stepped out of the black market.
Boots hitting the damp cobblestones with a hollow rhythm.
The night air clung to him. Heavy. Too heavy.
He adjusted the cloak around his shoulders. It didn't feel right anymore.
What once felt like a shield now pressed against his skin like a weight, a reminder of something he wasn't ready to name.
His hand placed on the mask dangling loosely from his face , he swallowed hard.
It should have made him feel stronger. Safer.
Instead, it made him sick.
"I feel different...weird."
His mind was too loud. Thoughts twisting in on themselves, chewing him raw from the inside out.
That kid's face wouldn't leave him. Hasen.
Every angle of that fight replayed, the humiliation etched sharp into his memory.
Kael wasn't walking with purpose now. He was just moving.
Feet dragging forward, body on autopilot, thoughts spiraling into darker and darker corners.
So when he bumped into someone, he didn't even register it at first.
His shoulder clipped theirs, the collision soft but enough to jolt him back into the present.
Kael turned quickly, his instincts almost automatic. He opened his mouth—
"Sorry, I didn't—"
But the words stuck in his throat.
It was Lunara.
She stood there, blinking at him, head tilted slightly. Her expression wasn't anger. It wasn't annoyance. It was confusion, sharp and unfiltered. Her face said it all.
"Who are you?"
Kael froze. His throat tightened. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
Her eyes ran over him, slowly, carefully, like she was trying to piece together a puzzle. Then she said it.
"Kael...?!"
"This outfit doesn't suit you."
Kael blinked.
She stepped closer, her right hand on her chin, gaze flicking from the mask at his side to the heavy cloak wrapped around him.
"You look unrecognizable. Almost… mysterious."
Her tone wasn't harsh. If anything, it was curious. Almost playful. But to Kael, it felt like knives pressing against his chest.
She shrugged, her voice casual, light.
"If you only came here for a cheap outfit, then sure."
And that was it. The dagger to the heart.
Kael realized what he nearly had done What he was becoming.
Her innocence only made it worse.
The reality set in quick, the very thing he hadn't even wanted to acknowledge about himself.
...had been ripped open by a kind gesture.
He had been willing—no, eager—to buy a disguise, to stalk the streets like a shadow, just to hunt Hasen down.
That was his intentions all along, he just refused to acknowledge them.
His defeat had blinded him so badly that he hadn't noticed how far he was slipping. What he was willing to do.
What he might become.
His hand moved slowly, almost on its own. He gripped the mask and lifted it.
The material felt heavier now, heavier than steel. He stared at it, then slid it back into his UI with a flick. Calm. Too calm.
The motion felt final.
Next, the cloak. He peeled it off, the weight leaving his shoulders in an instant, though the ghost of it still clung.
He folded it once before tossing it into his inventory as well.
Now just Kael stood there. Bandaged arms. Tired eyes.
Nothing else.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lunara's grin tugged at her lips, like she understood something, though she didn't. Not really.
Kael, on the other hand, understood too much.
He knew the truth now. If he let his mind slip too far, if he fed the hunger clawing inside him, he wouldn't just be a danger to Hasen. He'd be a danger to himself. To her.
Toeveryone.
His chest tightened again.
So he did what he always did. He smiled.
Forced. Thin. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled weakly.
"It really was quite cheap, huh."
The laugh was hollow. He knew it. She knew it.
But it was all he had left in him.
He turned, waved a quick goodbye, and started walking away.
But then—
Her hand caught his. Small, warm, firm.
Kael stopped. Slowly, he turned, eyes wide.
Lunara's expression had shifted. No more grin. No more playfulness. Just something serious.
Steady.
"Kael," she said quietly. "I don't know what you're going through…"
And then she hugged him.
Kael froze.
The world shattered in that instant. His thoughts, his plans, his mask—all of it crumbled like brittle glass.
The darkness he had wrapped himself in broke apart, leaving him exposed, raw.
Her arms tightened.
"But…" she continued, voice soft against his chest. "I hope this helps."
Kael's throat closed. His chest heaved once, twice.
Then the first tear fell, silent, unnoticed. Then another. And another. Until the dam broke.
He cried.
Not loud at first. Quiet, trembling sobs muffled against her shoulder. But then the weight of everything crashed down, and the tears poured like rain.
His body shook with it, every suppressed thought clawing its way out.
He didn't speak. Couldn't. He just cried.
Lunara held on tighter, steady, unyielding.
Kael's mind spun, but the images came clear. Dark, twisted visions of what he could've become. What he almost had become. A killer hiding behind a mask. A shadow without remorse. The line between him and that version was too thin.
Way too thin.
He cried harder.
Not from guilt alone. Not from sorrow.
But from the realization that it was all his fault. His choices. His hunger.
His weakness.
He had nearly lost himself.
And for the first time, he saw it. Saw what he would have turned into if he kept going. Saw the monster in his reflection.
The thought was unbearable.
So he cried until his chest ached, until his throat burned, until his eyes swelled.
Even through in the heart of the black market, it didn't matter, hundreds of eyes stared, but it didn't matter, what mattered in this moment to Lunara was letting kael get the breakout he needed.
He cried, he cursed, and even though she didn't understand the situation in the slightest bit
She still, stayed by his side.
By the time his sobs slowed, he was drained, hollowed out. His breaths were shaky, his voice gone. But she still held him, soft and firm at the same time.
When he finally pulled back, he expected her to say something heavy. Something wise. Something sharp.
Instead, she grinned again, wide, unfiltered.
"You look cute for once when you cry."
Kael blinked. Tears still clung to his face. For a moment, silence. Then, against all odds, a laugh escaped him. Broken, stuttering, but real.
Lunara grinned wider.
That night ended not with words, but with a quiet understanding. And a little bit of laughter.
They slept on an open field, star gazing, no words, just thoughts, and an ever so increasing desire to grow stronger.
—
The next morning, Lunara was asking around town.
"Do you know where Kael lives?" she asked a vendor.
"Oh, him? Big house up by the ridge."
"Big house?" Lunara repeated, blinking.
"He always said he lived in a nice house, but he only ever described it as nice..."
By the time she finally stood in front of it, Kael slumped half-asleep on her back like a sack of potatoes, she couldn't even believe her own eyes.
The place towered, massive, sprawling like a noble's estate.
Her jaw dropped.
"This place… is HUGE!!"
She almost dropped him out of sheer shock.