After several hours locked in that suffocating office, surrounded by mountains of documents that seemed to multiply every time he looked away, Kael finally managed to escape when Serenna collapsed exhausted onto the desk.
It was not an elegant or silent fall.
Simply, at some point between a pile of military reports and a scroll about internal trade, Serenna's head ended up resting on a stack of unsigned papers, while a quill still remained between her fingers.
Her breathing became slow, heavy, deeply exhausted. The physical and mental fatigue had finally defeated even someone as disciplined as her.
Kael remained motionless for a few seconds, observing her in silence to make sure she was really asleep.
When he confirmed she wasn't pretending, he let out a very slow breath.
Then he stood up with an almost ridiculous slowness, as if the mere sound of his bones protesting could wake her.
Every muscle in his body hurt.
It was not a superficial pain.
It was that deep kind of pain that settles inside the body after being pushed beyond its limits for too long.
He felt his arms heavy, his legs tense, his back stiff, and his chest still sore from the brutal training that Agnitus had decided to call a "light session."
Kael advanced toward the door with clumsy steps, trying not to make any noise.
When he finally stepped out into the hallway and carefully closed the door behind him, he leaned for a moment against the stone wall.
—I survived —he murmured to himself—. Honestly I don't know how, but I survived.
The castle was immersed in a strange calm.
At that hour of the night, most of the hallways remained in semi-darkness, barely illuminated by blue fire torches that burned silently on the walls.
The dim light cast long shadows on the black stone of the castle, making everything seem bigger, colder, and older than it really was.
Kael began to walk carefully, moving with as much stealth as possible so as not to attract the attention of any knight or one of the Sins.
He had no intention of returning to that office.
Not that night.
Not in the next life.
As he advanced down the empty corridor, he slowly moved his shoulders trying to relieve the stiffness.
—Damn… my body feels too stiff and rigid.
He raised one of his arms, tried to rotate it a bit, and a sharp pain ran through his back.
—Perfect. Now even breathing hurts. Fantastic.
But the physical pain was not the only thing wearing him down.
What really kept circling in his mind were Agnitus's words during training.
That comment the semi-human had said with absolute coldness, as if he were describing something obvious.
"Even if at first glance you are strong… you don't have even one percent of real control over your body."
Kael had tried to ignore it.
He had wanted to take it as another of the cruel ways Agnitus had to motivate him.
But deep down he knew it wasn't mockery.
It was the truth.
And that was what hurt the most.
Because he himself felt it.
There were moments when his own body did not respond as it should.
Moments when the energy inside him seemed to move on its own, as if something else existed under his skin.
As if that immense power that everyone seemed to see in him was still foreign, as if it belonged to someone else.
Not even his memories were complete.
Since he woke up in this world, too many pieces were missing inside him.
There were voids.
Silences.
Shadows in his memory that he could not touch.
And the more he tried to understand who he really was, the more he felt he was walking inside a fog that never ended.
Kael clenched his jaw.
On the outside he could smile.
He could joke.
He could pretend everything was under control.
But inside he was beginning to feel frustrated with himself.
Disappointed.
Because everyone around him seemed to expect something from him.
A king.
A leader.
A monster.
Something.
And he still didn't know if he was even capable of understanding himself.
Without realizing it, his steps ended up leading him to the castle kitchen.
The enormous room was almost completely dark. Only a weak blue flame remained lit in a corner, casting a dim light on the wooden furniture, the empty tables, and the long shadows that seemed to move among themselves.
Kael stopped at the entrance.
For some reason, he felt a shiver.
It wasn't cold.
It was something else.
An instinctive sensation.
The same sensation an animal has when it enters a place and understands, without knowing why, that it shouldn't be there.
He frowned slightly.
Then he saw it.
In the distance, on one of the wooden chairs near the central table, someone was sitting.
A motionless figure.
Dark.
The silhouette was barely distinguishable among the shadows.
It didn't seem to move.
It was just there.
Waiting for him.
Kael felt his body tense instantly.
His heart gave a hard beat inside his chest.
He looked around by reflex, searching for any other presence.
Nothing.
Only that figure.
And the silence.
Kael took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
But the closer he got, the stronger that sensation inside him became.
His entire instinct screamed at him to stop.
To retreat.
Not to keep advancing.
And yet, he continued.
Then the figure spoke.
—Are you seeing me?
The voice came out with a strange tone, mixed with a calm sarcasm that made the air itself seem to cool.
Kael stopped.
The voice was difficult to identify.
It didn't seem completely masculine.
Nor feminine.
It was a confusing voice, as if several voices were speaking at the same time from the same place.
Kael swallowed.
—Who are you… and what are you doing here?
The figure let out a small laugh.
A low laugh.
Uncomfortable.
—Who am I? What a complicated question.
The shadow tilted its head slightly.
—Maybe the right question would be… what am I to you.
Kael frowned.
The words left him silent for an instant.
—What are you to me?
He clenched his teeth.
—Stop saying nonsense.
The figure remained seated.
Motionless.
—I only say truths.
There was a brief pause.
—Or maybe it's also a lie.
The shadow seemed to smile inside the darkness.
—In the end… I am only…
The last word it pronounced was impossible to understand.
Not because it spoke softly.
But because the sound itself seemed to break before reaching Kael.
An unbearable buzz pierced his ears.
Kael immediately fell to his knees, bringing both hands to his head.
A brutal pain pierced his eardrums.
Blood began to slide slowly from one of his ears.
—What… what did you say?!
His breathing became agitated.
The figure did not respond to that.
Instead, it spoke with absolute calm.
—In two days… the heroes you saw will come to attack you.
Kael slowly raised his gaze.
The shadow was still there.
Still.
—And you won't be able to do anything.
Those words fell heavily into the silence.
—No matter how much power you have. No matter how much you train. No matter how much you try to understand who you are. If you follow the path they are showing you… you will die.
Kael felt a shiver run down his spine.
—What are you saying?
The figure continued as if it hadn't heard him.
—Tomorrow, the system will give you a mission. It will tell you to go to the Kingdom of Vampires.
Kael opened his eyes a little.
—How do you know that?
The shadow ignored the question.
—Don't go.
The voice sounded colder this time.
—It will be a trap.
Kael felt the skin on his arms prickle.
—If you go… you will die.
The silence in the kitchen became unbearable.
The figure raised its head slightly.
—Instead…
Its voice became lower.
Stranger.
—Go to the Paradise of the Gods.
Kael remained motionless.
—There you will find a reward.
The shadow seemed to lean toward him.
—And maybe… you will discover who you really are.
Kael's heart beat hard.
Too hard.
His mind tried to organize all of that, but none of it made sense.
The system.
The heroes.
The Kingdom of Vampires.
The Paradise of the Gods.
Nothing fit.
And yet…
The most terrifying thing was that a part of him felt that the figure was not lying.
The shadow smiled inside the darkness.
—After all… we all need a mask.
Kael took a step forward.
—Wait… what does that mean? Who are you? Why are you telling me this?
He tried to get up quickly, but his foot hit something on the ground.
A sack of flour.
He lost his balance.
He fell to the side.
And when he looked up again…
The chair was empty.
The kitchen fell silent once more.
There was no one there.
Not a presence.
Not a sound.
Nothing.
Only the darkness.
Kael remained motionless on the floor for several seconds, with agitated breathing and blood still slowly dripping from his ear.
He stared fixedly at the empty chair.
And for the first time since he arrived in this world…
He felt fear of something he could not understand.