Prince Singh awoke to the scent of old parchment, incense, and the faint flicker of spirit energy dancing through stone walls. For a brief moment, he forgot where he was. The ceiling above him wasn't his bedroom's, nor was the soft bed beneath him familiar. His eyes scanned the polished stone chamber until memories returned—Mistfire Ridge, the lynx, the Nightveil Stalker... the Silent Kunai.
He sat up slowly, pain flaring across his ribs and shoulders. But something had changed. His body felt... stronger. More balanced. As if the fire of the Eternal Sun Lotus and the cold precision of the Silent Kunai had reached a strange harmony inside him.
The door creaked open. Lian Rou stepped inside, holding a silver basin of herbal water.
"You're awake," she said simply, placing the basin beside him. "Three days. You were unconscious for three days."
Singh's brow furrowed. "Three...?"
"Dual absorption takes a toll," she added. "Faen said most wouldn't have survived."
He nodded quietly. "Where are we?"
"Inner sanctum. Starfire Spirit Hall. Only senior initiates and special guests are permitted here."
He dipped his hand into the basin, the cool water soothing his raw fingertips.
"I guess I'm a special guest now."
Lian studied him. "More than that. There's talk."
"Talk?"
She nodded. "About your martial souls. Your rings. The speed of your growth. There's... interest."
Before Singh could press further, the door opened again. Faen entered, accompanied by a tall figure in white and gold robes. The new man's aura made the air around them feel heavier, like a silent pressure that made Singh's instincts scream.
"Prince Singh," Faen said, voice clipped and formal. "Allow me to introduce High Priest Reynold. One of the Inner Circle of the Central Spirit Hall."
Singh stood, despite the aches in his limbs. "High Priest."
Reynold examined him with unsettling calm. "You bear two spirits—fire and shadow. Light and silence. Very few in history have had twin martial souls. Fewer still survive two ring absorptions in one day."
He stepped closer. "Tell me, young man. Where are you from?"
Singh hesitated. He remembered Faen's warning. Never mention another world.
"I was raised far from here," he said carefully. "In the outer villages, away from the major clans."
Reynold studied him a moment longer, then gave a single nod. "That will suffice—for now."
He turned toward Faen and Lian. "Prepare him. A place has been made available at Sunveil Academy, under Spirit Hall's highest sponsorship. His progress must be monitored. Closely."
Faen's jaw clenched subtly, but he bowed. "As you command."
As Reynold left, the air seemed to breathe again.
Singh looked at Faen. "Monitored?"
"It means you're marked," Faen said. "They won't say it out loud, but you've become a threat. Or an asset."
"Or both," Lian added.
---
That night, Singh sat on the balcony of the guest chamber, staring at the moon. Two spirit rings now floated beneath each martial soul: one yellow for the Eternal Sun Lotus, and one yellow for the Silent Kunai. They shimmered faintly in the moonlight, reflecting two sides of him that didn't yet understand each other.
His thoughts drifted. Who had he become in this new world? Just a boy caught between politics and power?
His kunai pulsed once.
Not just a boy.
A whisper rode the wind, barely audible but clearly directed at him.
"Come to the eastern cliff. Midnight. Alone."
Singh rose, body tense. He slipped his blade into his sleeve and drew his cloak tight.
Who was calling him now?
The shadows were watching.