CHAPTER TWO — THE FORGOTTEN BLOODLINE
The courtyard emptied under Master Rokan's command. Some students avoided Kael's gaze. Others stared with fear. But none came close.
Kael could barely stand.
His limbs shook. His breath trembled. Whatever had awakened inside him… it had drained him more than the battle itself.
Taron was carried away, eyes burning with rage and disbelief.
"Kael…" someone whispered, "did he just beat Taron?"
"No," another replied. "Something else beat Taron."
Rokan placed a steady hand on Kael's shoulder.
"You. Follow me."
Kael nodded weakly.
---
The dojo's inner chamber was silent and sacred—filled with relics, scrolls, and incense. A place where only senior disciples were allowed.
Rokan closed the door behind them.
"Sit."
Kael obeyed.
The master observed him quietly before speaking.
"Your body shows no sign of opened Qi Veins. And yet you displayed power far beyond a first-stage martial student." He paused. "Tell me everything that happened."
Kael hesitated.
He thought of the strange dreams—the glowing warrior he always saw.
The heartbeat that sometimes echoed in his chest.
The faint whispers during meditation.
Things he never told anyone because even he didn't understand them.
But these were his secrets.
So he lowered his gaze.
"Nothing happened, Master. It just… happened on its own."
Rokan sighed heavily.
"I expected as much."
He walked to a wooden cabinet and pulled out an ancient, dust-covered scroll.
"Kael, have you ever heard of the Astral Fist Clan?"
"No."
Rokan unsealed the scroll. The parchment unfolded with a brittle whisper.
A painting covered it—
A warrior whose fists burned with starfire.
Whose eyes glowed with the same silver flicker Kael felt beneath his own skin.
Kael stepped closer involuntarily.
The warrior's stance…
The energy aura…
Even the expression…
It looked disturbingly familiar.
Rokan began:
"Four hundred years ago, a clan existed whose martial arts came not from Qi alone, but from the Astral Vein—a mystical bloodline connected to the stars. Their power was rare. Feared. Coveted."
He looked at Kael.
"They were said to be the only ones capable of breaking the Astral Veil. The only threat to both realms."
Kael's heartbeat quickened.
"What happened to them?"
"Wiped out. Erased from history. Betrayed by allies, hunted by enemies. Their bloodline faded… or so the world believed."
The master's eyes sharpened.
"But today, I saw something I never expected to see again."
Kael's voice trembled.
"Master… you think I'm one of them?"
"I know you are."
Silence.
Crushing. Heavy. Unbelievable.
Kael shook his head. "But I'm nobody… My family—"
"Your family has been hiding," Rokan cut in. "That much is clear. But blood cannot hide forever."
He rolled up the scroll.
"What awakened in you today was not your full power, Kael. Not even a fragment. It was merely a spark—the first heartbeat of your Astral Core."
He paused.
"And these awaken slowly. Dangerously. Unpredictably."
Kael swallowed.
"So… what do I do?"
"You learn to control it," Rokan said firmly. "You grow quietly. And you tell no one about this."
Kael nodded.
But outside the chamber, hidden behind a pillar, a dark expression twisted with jealousy and burning hatred.
Taron Blaze had been listening.
"So that weakling is special… a bloodline genius?" he whispered.
"If he thinks he can surpass me… I'll crush him. I'll make his life so difficult that he'll regret ever awakening his so called bloodline …"
His fist tightened.