Chapter 5: Trial by Beast
The Skyblades didn't believe in second chances.
If Kairo wanted to stay aboard the Auric Fang, if he wanted answers—about the world, about Null Kaigen, about his mother—he'd have to earn them.
Not with words.
With survival.
---
They led him below deck to an open chamber lined with runes and steel, deep in the ship's underbelly. A large circular hatch groaned as it opened, releasing steam and a low, monstrous growl.
Inside the cage: a creature born of nightmare.
A Kaigen beast.
Seven feet tall. Black fur covered in pulsing red scars. Its head was covered by a bone mask, with cracks that bled glowing energy. Its claws scraped the ground, sparking against the runes. It was bound in three layers of seals—but just barely.
Rhea stood to the side, arms folded.
> "It's called a Gravor. Cursed by failed Kaigen experiments. Strong enough to rip you in half."
> "Your test is simple: Survive."
Kairo stared at her.
> "...Survive?"
> "For five minutes. We drop the cage. It attacks. You defend. Or you die."
Zephyr's voice crackled over the speaker system above.
> "You have no friends here, Kairo. Just a choice. Show us you're not a threat—or become the corpse everyone expects."
---
The cage dropped.
The Gravor didn't hesitate.
It lunged.
Kairo dodged, barely. The beast's claw tore into the floor where he'd just stood, cracking steel like paper. Sparks rained from the ceiling.
He rolled, gasping, trying to summon something—anything.
> Come on…! Null Kaigen… awaken…!
But nothing came.
The Gravor turned, sniffed the air. Then it roared and charged again.
Kairo raised his arms to block—
Clang!
He flew across the chamber, slammed into a pillar, bones screaming in protest.
---
Blood dripped down his forehead.
Pain flared in every limb.
> I'm going to die.
No power. No plan. No miracle.
Only pain.
Only fear.
---
The Gravor approached, slower this time. Savoring it. Snorting. Growling.
Kairo closed his eyes.
But something stirred.
A memory.
A voice.
> "When it hurts... reach deeper."
His mother's voice. Gentle. Calm.
> "Your power doesn't come from rage. It comes from the part of you the world tried to erase."
---
The lotus mark on his chest flared to life.
Time slowed.
The Gravor leapt.
Kairo raised his hand.
And for the first time…
He erased.
---
A ripple spread from his palm.
The energy in the Gravor's claws vanished—snuffed out like a flame.
Its movement stalled.
Its body collapsed mid-air, crashing to the ground with a yelp of pain. Not dead—but weakened. Severed from its strength. Like it had just been drained of the very essence that made it dangerous.
Kairo stood up slowly, breathing hard.
Silver light pulsed from his body like fog, soft and deadly.
---
Above, silence.
Then the intercom crackled.
Zephyr spoke again.
> "He did it."
> "Prepare a seat at the war table."
Rhea stared down at the unconscious Gravor, then up at Kairo.
Her voice was quieter now.
> "Guess you're not just Voidspawn after all."
---
✦ End of Chapter 5 ✦
> Next Chapter: "The War Table" — Kairo is introduced to the Skyblade command crew and begins to understand the fractured politics of the sky. But whispers of a coming war—and a bounty placed on his head—change everything.