The next day arrived like a blade sliding from its sheath.
Ash had Thalion settle the twins in temporary palace quarters, nothing permanent yet; he had greater plans for them. Now he sat alone in the vast throne room of Velora, true appearance unveiled.
Black-white hair fell in messy strands to his neck, sharp, sculpted features catching the light that spilled through high arched windows, golden-pink eyes glowing faintly in the half-shadow.
King Alaric was dead.
From this day forward, the mask would stay buried with the rest of the corpses....
He flicked through lesser stele reports he had ignored for weeks, lazy swipes of one finger pulling glowing panes of light into the air. One name stopped him cold.
'So, he hit A rank already?'
A rare frown tugged at Ash's face. In the novel, Kale was supposed to be barely clinging to the peak of B-rank, still far from forming his Soul Brand for another fifty chapters.
