Morning came too quickly.
Kael woke to Theron shaking his shoulder. "Up. We have a visitor."
Still groggy, Kael stumbled outside. Dawn light painted the clearing gold. And standing at its center: Elyra, violet eyes worried.
"They're hunting you actively now," she said without preamble. "The Academy posted a reward. Five thousand crystal shards for your capture."
Kael's stomach dropped. "That's enough to buy a mansion."
"Enough to motivate every bounty hunter in Luminara," Theron growled.
"There's more." Elyra produced a rolled parchment. "This was posted in the Scholar's Quarter."
Theron unrolled it. His face darkened.
Kael read over his shoulder:
WANTED: KAEL VERONCrime: Unlawful awakening of prohibited aura typeThreat Level: EXTREMECapture alive. Kill if necessary.Reward: 5,000 crystal shards
"Prohibited aura type?" Kael's hands clenched. "Since when is dual aura prohibited?"
"Since it scares them," Elyra said softly. "The Council voted last night. All dual bearers are now classified as existential threats. Anyone harboring you faces execution."
Silence.
"I should leave," Kael said finally. "Go deeper into the wilderness. If they find me here, they'll kill you both."
"No," Theron said flatly.
"But—"
"You leave when you're ready. Not before." Theron's good eye blazed. "I made a promise to your parents. I don't break promises."
Elyra nodded. "Neither do I. Besides..." She smiled slightly. "I've been a heretic for decades. What's one more crime?"
Kael felt something warm in his chest. Not aura—gratitude. These people owed him nothing. Yet they risked everything.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"Don't thank us yet," Theron said. "Now the real training begins."
Real training, Kael discovered, made the previous three weeks look gentle.
Theron pushed him to collapse multiple times daily. Combat drills escalated—now Theron used real aura in attacks, forcing Kael to defend or dodge.
"In real battle, no one holds back," Theron explained after sending Kael flying into a tree. "Your Vision of Essence is excellent. But you must translate seeing into action faster."
Kael spat blood. "Trying."
"Try harder."
Elyra visited twice weekly, teaching philosophical control. She guided Kael through meditations that peeled back layers of consciousness, seeking the core of his dual nature.
"Aura reflects the soul," she explained during one session. "Your soul is dual—Pure and Shadow. Not split. Unified. Two sides of one coin."
"How do I know which side to use?"
"You don't choose. The situation chooses. Your job is to be fluid. Respond naturally."
Easy to say. Harder to do.
But gradually, over weeks, Kael improved. His aura grew denser. His control tightened. Combat reflexes sharpened.
And Vision of Essence evolved.
Where before he'd seen only immediate intention, now he could perceive patterns. The way aura flowed revealed personality, skill level, even emotional state.
"You're reading souls," Elyra said, impressed. "That's advanced for Fragmented level."
"Is it because of dual aura?"
"Partly. But mostly because you spent seventeen years observing people as invisible. You learned to read micro-expressions, tone, body language. Vision of Essence is amplifying skills you already had."
That made sense. Years as a servant had taught him to anticipate nobles' moods, avoid trouble, stay unseen.
Now those same skills made him dangerous.
Two months after fleeing Arcanis, Theron announced: "Tomorrow, you hunt."
"Hunt what?"
"A beast. Alone. In the deep forest." Theron's expression was serious. "There's a wolf—larger than the one you faced before. It has low Radiant Aura. Kill it and bring back proof."
Kael's throat went dry. "You want me to kill?"
"You've never taken a life," Theron observed. "That needs to change. Not because killing is good. Because hesitation in real combat will get you killed."
"But—"
"War is coming," Theron interrupted. "Tenebros Empire allied with the Sindicato Negro. Luminara will need every fighter. You will face life-or-death choices. Better to cross that threshold now, controlled, than later in chaos."
Kael wanted to argue. Couldn't.
That night, he barely slept. The thought of deliberately killing—even a beast—made his stomach churn.
But Theron was right. If Malachar came for him, would he hesitate? Let himself die rather than take a life?
His parents had died protecting him. Would he dishonor that by being too weak to protect himself?
Dawn came.
Theron handed Kael a short blade. "The wolf hunts near the Crystal Stream, five miles east. Track it. Engage it. Kill it." He paused. "If you fail, come back and we'll try again. But don't die stupidly."
"Encouraging," Kael muttered.
"I don't do encouragement. I do results."
Kael left the cabin, blade at his hip, aura coiled tight inside him.
The forest was different this deep. Trees older, air heavier. Spiritual energy pressed against his skin like invisible water.
He found the Crystal Stream by midday—a river cutting through ancient stone, water glowing faintly blue from ambient aura. Beautiful.
And dangerous.
Tracks led along the bank. Large. Canine. Fresh.
Kael followed, every sense alert. His aura flickered across his hands, ready.
A howl split the silence.
He froze. The sound came from ahead, maybe two hundred meters.
Kael approached carefully, using trees for cover. Vision of Essence extended outward, searching.
There.
A massive wolf—shoulder height reaching Kael's chest, fur silver-gray, eyes intelligent and cold. Its aura blazed visible even in daylight: pale blue, Radiant level, flowing around it like water.
The wolf wasn't alone.
Three cubs played near the water. Smaller, auras barely Fragmented.
Kael's heart sank.
A mother. Theron had sent him to kill a mother protecting cubs.
Was this a test? Moral rather than combat?
The mother wolf's head snapped toward Kael. She'd sensed him.
Time slowed.
The wolf's aura exploded outward—not attack, warning. Protective fury.
The cubs scattered into undergrowth.
The mother advanced, growl rumbling like thunder.
Kael's hand went to his blade. Vision of Essence showed her intention clearly: defend cubs at all costs. Fight to death if necessary.
She would kill him. Or die trying.
"I don't want to fight you," Kael said softly, knowing she couldn't understand words but hoping tone mattered.
The wolf didn't care. Charged.
-CONTINUED-