They told me once that shadows were empty things.
Absence. Hollows. The space between what mattered.
That was a lie.
Shadows remember. They remember every cut, every betrayal, every scream you tried to swallow in the dark. They cling to you long after the light is gone, whispering truths you don't want to hear. I should know. I was born of them. Marked by them. And when I was too young to understand what that meant, they took everything from me in their name.
The Empire called it justice. A purge. A necessary cleansing of a bloodline too dangerous to be left alive. My family burned in that lie. My people called it prophecy. Destiny written in violet eyes. But to me, it was just a massacre, and I was the one they didn't finish.
Funny, isn't it? The gods choose you, and the world hunts you for it.
I was raised in the Empire's shadow, taught to be a number, a soldier, another cog in their perfect machine. They never knew what I was,not fully. I hid it well, behind round lenses and silver contacts, behind fights in orphanages and smirks I didn't feel. I thought if I played the part, I could pass for one of them.
Then came the Academy. The place where boys became weapons. Where I learned that loyalty can get you killed, that love can turn to a blade in your back, and that even the best friend you've ever had can bleed out in your arms because of who you are.
They will tell you I'm a murderer. They will show you a dead girl's face and say I stole her life. They will parade my crimes across every broadcast, and Elara, sweet, perfect Elara, will swear on her pretty green eyes that it's true.
But the shadows know.
The shadows remember.
And so do I.
This is the story of how it began. Not the lies they taught you in your bright classrooms or on your shining screens, but the truth, carved in blood and silence. This is the story of the Academy, of Greg, of betrayal. The story of how Kaelen Kaelith became the fugitive they fear.
And if you've come this far, into the dark, then you'd better listen closely. Because the shadows don't forget. And neither do I.