Volume 3, Chapter 6: Shadows and the Rival
The festival in the capital city was alive with music, lights, and laughter. Nobles and students from neighboring kingdoms mingled, unaware of the hidden powers weaving through the crowd.
Cael moved casually, pretending to be the weak noble student everyone thought he was.
> "Master… Kaelen is nearby," Selene whispered, her shadows flickering subtly.
> "Good," Cael replied calmly.
"Let him see only what I allow. Let him chase shadows."
Subtle Interaction
Kaelen spotted Cael across the festival grounds, sensing fragments of his Absolute Atomic presence.
Cael "accidentally" dropped a cup of tea, but it didn't shatter, floating gently in the air for a moment a tiny, unnoticeable display of atomic resonance.
Shadows flickered unnaturally around Cael, just enough for Kaelen to notice, yet he couldn't pinpoint the source.
A faint afterimage appeared as Cael moved through the crowd, leaving Kaelen puzzled.
> "This… presence," Kaelen muttered, confused but intrigued.
"He is weak… yet something here… feels impossible."
Cael's Strategy
> "Patience," Cael whispered to Selene.
"We test him, observe him. Let him reach… the edge of perception. When the time comes, he will see only a fraction of Absolute Atomic."
The festival continued, oblivious to the tension beneath the surface.
Cael's aura remained completely hidden to everyone else, yet the multiversal threads shifted subtly, preparing the stage for the next confrontation.
> "Let the rival chase shadows," Cael murmured.
"Every step he takes brings him closer… to the Absolute."