Kael had seen fights before. Street brawls, drunks swinging fists outside taverns, the occasional Resonant duel that lit up the sky like fireworks.
But this… this was different.
The man in black armor wasn't even moving, and yet Kael felt like the air had thickened around him. Like every sound in the market, every laugh, every shout, every hammer strike, was pressing against his ears until it all blended into a single painful hum.
Lyra's hand glowed brighter. Notes, actual notes, lifted off her fingers, glowing threads of sound twisting into the shape of a bow. She drew back an arrow of pure resonance, her voice steady.
"Kael, run."
Her words hit him harder than a slap. Run? Leave her here? He barely knew this girl, she'd only spoken to him for a minute, but something in her voice made his chest tighten.
The armored man tilted his head, like he was listening to music only he could hear. Then he laughed. A deep, fractured sound, like glass breaking inside a barrel.
"The Harp's daughter. How predictable." His gaze shifted to Kael, and suddenly the weight in the air doubled. Kael staggered back, clutching his lute so tightly his knuckles went white. "And the boy… the silent one. At last."
Kael's mouth went dry. "I think you've got the wrong"
The knight raised a gauntlet. Sound exploded.
It wasn't fire or water or lightning, it was noise. A crushing wave of clashing tones, like every instrument in the world being smashed at once. Kael's head rang, his knees buckled, and for a terrifying moment, he thought his skull might actually split open.
But Lyra moved.
Her bow sang. The arrow shot forward, slicing through the noise like a blade cutting cloth. The wave shattered, the sound dissolving into a thousand echoes.
The knight staggered back a step. Not far, but enough. His voice rumbled low. "Still weak. Still clinging to harmony."
Kael forced himself upright, his ears ringing. He wanted to run, every instinct screamed at him to. But his feet wouldn't move. Not away from this. Not away from her.
Lyra fired again, three arrows this time, her voice weaving notes faster than Kael could follow. Each arrow sang with different tones, high, low, steady. Harmony, layered and strong.
The knight lifted his hand, and the arrows dissolved into dissonant static before they reached him.
"Child's play," he growled. Then he slammed his fist into the ground.
The cobblestones cracked. The air shook. A shockwave of raw sound blasted through the alley, throwing Lyra backward into the wall. She gasped, the glow around her hand flickering.
"Lyra!" Kael dropped to his knees beside her. Blood trickled from her lip, but her eyes were still sharp.
"Idiot," she hissed, shoving him toward the street. "Why are you still here? Run!"
Kael shook his head, clutching the lute to his chest like a shield. His voice broke as he shouted, "I'm not leaving you!"
The knight's shadow fell over them. He loomed tall, the runes on his armor pulsing with faint, broken rhythm.
"Pathetic," he said. "Do you think she'll save you, boy? No one can save you from what you are."
Kael's throat tightened. His chest burned, not with power, not with strength, but with something heavier. Fear. Rage. Shame. All knotted together until it hurt to breathe.
And then… silence again.
It wasn't like before. This time it didn't creep up. It hit him like a stone dropped into a pond, rippling out from his chest, swallowing the world.
The knight froze mid-step. Lyra's eyes widened.
Everything stopped. The clamor of the market. The rush of the wind. Even the ringing in Kael's ears.
Silent.
Kael didn't understand what he was doing. He only knew it hurt, like dragging nails across his own soul. He clutched his head, gasping, as the silence deepened.
The knight stumbled. His armor screeched as if the silence itself was crushing it, grinding the dissonance in his body to stillness.
He laughed, even as he sank to one knee. "Yes… Yes! That's it! That's the curse!" His voice cracked into static. "Death Resonance… born again!"
Kael's vision blurred. His chest felt hollow, his lungs refusing to draw air. He couldn't hold it. The silence cracked, and sound rushed back in, too loud, too bright.
He collapsed to the ground, clutching his lute as if it could hold him together.
The knight staggered upright, armor dented, runes flickering. He didn't strike again. Instead, he looked down at Kael with something far worse than hate.
Satisfaction.
"We will meet again, boy." His voice grated like broken strings. "The world will choke on your silence."
And then, as if the sound itself carried him, he dissolved into static. Gone.
Kael lay there trembling, his whole body weak, his chest aching like he'd swallowed ice.
Lyra pushed herself upright, wincing, and grabbed his shoulder. "Kael… look at me."
His eyes fluttered open. "What… what was that?" His voice cracked. "What did I do?"
Lyra's expression was grim, but her voice softened. "Something you were never meant to." She gripped his shoulder tighter, almost desperate. "You can't let anyone else see it. Not the guard, not the guilds, not even your friends. Do you understand?"
Kael swallowed hard. His head was still spinning, his throat raw. He wanted to argue, to demand answers, but all he could do was nod.
Lyra let out a shaky breath. "Good. Because if they find out…" She glanced toward where the knight had vanished, her jaw tight. "If they find out, they won't laugh at you anymore."
Her eyes met his. "They'll kill you."