Kael woke to silence. The kind of silence that pressed against his ears, heavy and cold. He was alone. Again. The orphanage was abandoned when he arrived, the walls crumbling and stained with years of neglect. Broken furniture littered the hallways, and the faint smell of mildew mixed with dust filled his nostrils.
Despite his timid nature, Kael moved cautiously, his footsteps barely making a sound. He had learned early in life that timidity could be a shield, but also a trap. He had to survive, yet the strange energy coursing through his veins whispered something else—a promise, a warning.
The first sign of it came when he touched the old mirror in the main hall. His reflection shimmered, not quite right. His eyes flickered—once gold, once black, then back to brown. A whisper echoed in his mind: "You are not what you seem, Kael. The Shadow waits."
Startled, he stepped back. No one was there. He had always been alone, but this… this felt different. There was a power inside him he didn't understand.
Night fell quickly, and Kael sought shelter in the ruins of the orphanage's old library. Books lay scattered, torn and yellowed, but one caught his attention. Bound in black leather and etched with symbols that pulsed faintly, it hummed as he approached.
He opened it, and the words seemed to rearrange themselves on the page, speaking directly to him: "The Shadowborn legacy lies within. Find it, or be consumed by what you are."
Kael's heart raced, but a strange calm settled over him. He didn't know what the legacy was, or why it called to him—but he knew one thing. He would not run from it. Not this time.
As he closed the book, the shadows in the corners of the room stretched unnaturally, reaching toward him. And for the first time, Kael didn't recoil. He let them touch him.
And in that moment, he felt something awaken—a pulse of power, a whisper of cunning, a force he had never known. The timid boy had begun to change.
The shadows were waiting, and so was his destiny.