Silence filled the vault after Malek Vos's revelation. A silence that wasn't empty, but charged—like a blade poised above the heart of the world.
Kael stood unmoved, his arms folded, eyes locked on the revenant-like figure before him.
"Then speak," Kael said at last, voice like frost. "Tell me everything. No riddles."
Malek tilted his head, amusement flickering in those eyes of immortal fire.
"You truly are his heir."
The Forgotten War
Malek's voice became low, reverent, like a hymn echoing through stone.
"The War of Immortals… it was not fought for power. It was fought to preserve the right to ascend."
He stepped around the chamber as he spoke, passing each of the ten statues.
"Tier Ten—true transcendence—requires unity. Not of just strength, but of essence. Body, Mind, Spirit. But the ruling sects of the higher realms—those you now call the Dominion of Chains—declared it heresy."
His finger trailed along the broken pedestal.
"They feared those who could ascend by understanding all Laws, not just one. So they shattered the knowledge. Scattered the paths. And created the Devourers."
Kael's expression didn't change. But his relic pulsed hard—confirming the words.
"You mean," he said, "they made the Devourers."
Malek nodded. "Not entirely. The Devourers existed at the edge of reality. But it was the Dominion who unleashed them. As a final purge."
He turned back to Kael.
"You, Kael Aetherborne, are the first bearer of the Triune Seal since that war. Your very existence is a threat."
Above – Emberlight's Observatory Tower
Riven Valemir stood at the edge of the tower's spire, watching the night with eyes sharpened by suspicion.
He felt something—a shift in the ambient flow of Spirit Essence.
He clenched his fists. Something below the Institute was stirring.
And Kael was missing again.
"If he's hiding power…" Riven muttered, "then I'll force him to reveal it."
From the shadows behind him, a voice spoke.
"You'll have your chance, Valemir. The Trials begin soon. And his path is far darker than yours."
Riven turned. A figure robed in red stepped from the gloom. One of the Inquisitors of Chains—an envoy from the outer realms.
The Bargain
Back beneath the vault, Kael stood still as Malek approached him, hand outstretched.
"I can unlock more of your relic. If you accept the burden."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"And what burden is that?"
Malek's grin was grim. "You must begin the Resonance Trials. One for each body within you. Each failure will consume one. And if you fail three times…"
He drew a line across his throat.
Kael didn't flinch.
"Begin."
The First Trial – Body of Iron
The vault dissolved into blackness. A ring of ancient script ignited around Kael's feet.
And then, light.
Kael found himself in a wasteland of scorched metal and shattered bones. A coliseum made of broken bodies, vast and echoing.
Opposite him stood a giant—three times Kael's height, armored in living iron. No face, no voice. Just the title that burned in the air:
First Body – The Warden of Flesh.
The relic hissed in Kael's ear.
"Your first self. The one forged in struggle. If you cannot overcome him, your path ends here."
Kael drew his blade.
His aura flared.
The battle began.
Clash of Titans
Kael moved like a shadow, each step calculated, his strikes precise—testing the Warden's form, rhythm, and reach.
But the Warden's strength was overwhelming. Each swing shattered stone. Each step cracked the earth.
Kael was fast, but his body screamed against the force.
Blood ran down his ribs.
"Is this all the Triune Lord left me?" he growled.
The relic answered—not with words, but memory.
A flash of his past: A younger Kael, alone in the mountains, surviving blizzards with a torn coat, sharpening blades on frost-bitten stone, eyes always cold.
Kael inhaled.
And then—he struck without hesitation.
He feinted left, dashed through the Warden's reach, and slammed his fist into the iron chestplate—infusing it with his own essence.
Crack.
The Warden staggered.
Kael moved like water, weaving through the giant's faltering rhythm, then leaped—blade through neck.
The colossus fell.
And the ground shattered.
Aftermath
Kael stood over the fallen body. The wasteland dissolved.
He was back in the vault. Malek stood where he had been, watching, impressed.
"One body. One victory. You now walk with strength tempered by iron."
Kael nodded once.
The relic glowed brighter. One of the ten internal sigils had lit up.
Malek added, "But beware. The next trial will not be of flesh. It will be of thought."
Outside the Vault – A Shadow Watches
Lirae stood hidden beyond the sealed entrance. Her third eye had opened on its own—unbidden.
"Kael… what are you becoming?"
And far above, in a tower of black stone beyond Emberlight's borders, a figure cloaked in silver looked toward the east.
"The Triune Seal… has awakened."
"Let the Hunt begin."