Chapter 5 - Chapter 13: The Path to Wealth

Fenris reached the summit of the volcano when the echo of Kai's tears still seemed suspended in the air. The boy, kneeling on the dark rock, wiped his face with the back of his hand. He did not try to hide his pain; he simply tucked it back inside himself. The wolf observed him with a faint smile. It was not mockery, nor condescension. It was the smile of one who recognizes someone who has survived something that should not be survived.

—Are you prepared for what follows, boy? —asked Fenris, with a serene voice.

—Yes —responded Kai without hesitating. Then he raised his gaze.

—I will ask you a question, Fenris.

—Tell me, Kai.

—When I said goodbye to everyone… I told them I would return home. To the peninsula. To the ancient land of the white warlocks. But they laughed at me. They said it was a dead land, full of monsters. Kai made a brief pause. He did not know if those words had wounded him in that moment, or if they had done so later, like a slow poison.

—I don't know if it affected me… —he continued—. Maybe yes. Maybe no. But I decided something. I want to create my home in this land. I am ready for the next test. Fenris studied him in silence for a few seconds. Then he nodded.

—Good, boy. Good. The wolf approached one step closer.

—The test consists of this: during the next two years, you will seek riches across the entire planet. Kai showed no surprise.

—You will go to dungeons. You will seek forgotten treasures. You will not work for anyone who takes advantage of your effort, nor will you participate in businesses that punish the weak. Fenris walked slowly around the boy, as if drawing an invisible circle.

—You may dedicate yourself to mining, if you so desire. Excavate an entire mountain and extract everything within it. Conquer the dungeons and keep their treasures. Search for great sunken ships, chests of gold forgotten beneath the sea. He stopped in front of him.

—Everything will be yours, Kai. The volcano roared softly beneath their feet.

—We will create a great vault beneath this mountain —Fenris continued—. There, you will store every wealth you obtain. For two years, you will gather everything the world has hidden. Do not worry about its protection. I will take care of it. No one will touch a thing. Kai listened without interrupting.

—To disguise your disappearance from all the academies —he added—, you will continue attending until you are sixteen. You will graduate from all of them. In the Empire of Cathay, where martial arts grant a title at that age, you will pass every course… but you will not collect a single one. Kai's eyes narrowed with understanding.

—When they call your name, you will not be there. You will disappear a few days before. Anonymity will be your shield. We will meet here again. Fenris held his gaze.

—In two years, boy, you will be the richest man on the planet. Kai bowed his head.

—Go to your academies. Return to your cities. Loot every treasure you find and bring them here.

—Yes, master —Kai responded. Fenris disappeared without a trace, as if he had never been there. But the mission was already engraved in the boy's heart. Kai would descend from the mountain. He would return to every city he had stepped in. To every kingdom he had studied. But this time, he would not go as an apprentice or as a silent shadow. He would go for that which the world had hidden. And while the volcano roared at his back, Kai thought, with absolute conviction: Everything in this world is mine.

And there will be nothing that can stop me.

The First Treasure

The first treasure that Kai chose was not buried underground or hidden in a forgotten dungeon. It was in the sky. Stories spoke of a flying ship, an ancient cruiser, anchored among the clouds like a scar the world never managed to close. It belonged to the Heaven Nation, the kingdom of the hawk-men, who in remote times had built flying machines so as not to wear out their wings on long journeys. One of those ships —the largest one— never returned. Legend said it was loaded with riches gathered nearly four thousand years ago. All the great coffers had contributed gold, gems, relics, and sacred metals to help small kingdoms escape poverty. But some nobles were not willing to allow it. They preferred an unequal world over losing power. The ship was attacked before reaching its destination. The Heaven Nation had been in charge of transporting it. They thought that by air it would be safer. They were wrong. Ancient dragons and flying beasts emerged from the clouds, and the cruiser disappeared without a trace. It was never found. Kai listened to that story without fully believing it. But he understood something:

If it was a lie, he would only lose time.

If it was true, he was facing a treasure capable of founding an entire kingdom. The problem was evident. Kai did not have wings. The Heaven Kingdom floated too high, orbiting the planet like a wandering moon. Its islands moved with the wind, describing impossible trajectories. The hawk-men guarded every strait, every pass, every floating platform. But they did not guard the storms. Kai walked to the last coast of the known world: the land of the dark elves. It was the final border country before the open ocean. From there, the elders told how the Heaven Kingdom passed periodically over the sea, hidden among black clouds and lightning. A cursed zone.

A zone avoided. Kai listened. He measured times. He observed the sky for days. And he thought. If I cannot fly… then I will jump. He stole a small boat. Barely a wooden shell intended for fishermen, not for what he carried. Kai weighed too much. Far more than any simple structure could support. The teenager headed into the ocean. The sky closed in. Storms began to roar. The wind pushed the waves like walls. The boat creaked under his weight, every board complaining. It did not take long before it split apart. A sharp blow.

Wood shattering.

Water devouring everything. Kai fell. He did not float.

He did not fight against the current. He sank like a rock. He descended toward the bottom of the ocean, feeling the pressure crush his body. He knew he did not have time. The Heaven Kingdom did not stop. It would pass over him only once. Then he saw it.

The storm opened. A cloud shifted as if it were pushed by an invisible hand. Over the chaos of the sea, a floating island appeared, breaking the darkness with a beam of light that pierced through the rain. The Heaven Kingdom was there.

Just above.

Kai did not hesitate. He dug his feet into the seabed. He flexed his body. And he jumped. The ocean exploded around him. The water evaporated in an instant, pushed by a brutal force. Kai shot out from the bottom of the sea toward the heavens, piercing through layers of water, rain, and wind like a projectile. He thought the sky would stop him. It did not. He rose so high that he bypassed some islands. Too high. For an instant, he believed he had been seen. But he was insignificant: a minimal shadow in front of floating continents. Gravity reclaimed him. He fell. He impacted against a mountain of rock suspended in the air. The earth opened. There was noise. Dust. A crater, small for a kingdom, enormous for a single body. Kai remained pinned to the ground. He breathed. It hurt. Everything hurt. But he had achieved his goal. He sat up slowly and looked around him. Sky below.

Islands floating adrift.

Eternal wind. Kai was in the Heaven Kingdom. And the first treasure…

it was up there, waiting for him. Kai remained motionless, hidden among the thickness of the floating forest.

He did not even breathe.

The sound came first: the heavy beating of wings. Then shadows crossed between the trunks. Soldiers of the Heaven Kingdom. Winged men, bodies trained for aerial warfare, light armor, sharp gazes. Dangerous. Kai did not wait for them to look for him. In the instant that one of them turned his head, he was no longer there. His body displaced with such speed that the air took time to occupy the space he had left behind. He disappeared from the island as if he had never existed. The legend was clear. The treasure was not found on the guarded routes. It was not in the floating cities nor in the trading platforms. The ship had never left the territory of the Heaven Kingdom… but it had fallen in the part that no one claimed. The storm zone. There, where the lightning fell with a force capable of splitting islands. Where the clouds were not a refuge, but weapons. The hawk-men did not patrol that place. Not out of cowardice, but out of wisdom: to fly there was to die. Kai jumped from island to island. He did not fly.

He did not glide.

He jumped. Each impulse was exact. Each landing calculated. He traversed cities without stopping, crossed platforms, passed between towers and hanging bridges without being seen. He did not seek people. He sought patterns. The rhythm of the islands. The logic of the movement. Until he felt it. The air changed. He crossed a floating mountain range and then he saw it. Not one island.

Three. Three enormous masses, far from the rest, situated at the edge of the territory. They were not outside the system: they followed the general orbit, but they did so from a distance, as if the kingdom itself had rejected them. Approximately two hundred kilometers. Too far for a normal jump.

Too close to ignore them. The sky above them was heavy. Black clouds. Constant lightning. The storm did not move; it lived there. Kai knew it without the need to think. If they are not there… they are nowhere. The treasure that could change his future was before his eyes. And at the same time, out of his reach. If he jumped and did not arrive, he would fall.

And there would be no second chance. Kai moved away. Ten kilometers back, to the edge of the island. Every step was a renunciation of safety. He stopped. He observed. He measured the distance. Not with numbers, but with his body. He crouched down. He fixed his target. And he stopped thinking. His muscles moved on their own. The world contracted. The air hit his face with violence. Everything around him became small, distant. A stone suspended in the wind grazed his cheek and cut it, leaving a red line that the wind dried instantly. Kai had jumped. It was not a jump. It was a shot. In less than three seconds, he covered a distance that should not have been possible. The impact was brutal. He crashed head-first against a floating mountain; the rock exploded, and his body remained embedded in it. Silence. Even Kai was surprised. He pulled his head out from among the broken stone, breathing heavily. He looked around him. The sky was charged with electricity. The lightning fell close. Very close. He barely smiled. He knew exactly where he was. He was very close to his future.

And this time…

Kai began to advance through the floating mountain. He did not walk fast. He did not run.

Every step was a decision. The three islands formed a closed circuit of air pressure. It was not a common storm: it was a complete system, contained within itself. The clouds rotated around the islands like invisible gears. The lightning did not fall at random. They followed precise, repeated trajectories, as if the sky breathed electricity. Kai felt it. The bolts fell close. Very close.

The ground vibrated with every impact. He advanced with care, until he saw it. On one of the islands, emerging between the rock and the metal, an enormous structure rose. It did not look like a ruin. It did not look like a city. It was something different. Ancient. Artificial. Kai approached. Then a lightning bolt fell by his side. It was not a warning. It was a rejection. The impact made the island tremble. The air became charged. Kai observed the ground and understood: that entire zone was saturated with iron. Conducting minerals pierced through the rock like veins. The storm did not just fall there… it was attracted. Electricity was raining. The structure was completely electrified. Millions of volts running through it without rest. There was no safe path. There was no weak point. Kai stopped. He had no choice. The boy —months away from turning fifteen— moved forward. One step. The first bolt hit him head-on. It did not throw him.

It did not burn him.

It did not break him. The current pierced through his body and sank into the earth as if he were just another channel. Kai felt the impact, the roar, the vibration… but he remained standing. Another step. The lightning bolts began to fall upon him. Around him. 

Aquí tienes la continuación del capítulo. He mantenido el ritmo de frases cortas para resaltar la magnitud del descubrimiento y el misterio del barco, asegurando que la atmósfera de tecnología avanzada y muerte antigua se sienta claramente en inglés.

Through him. The image was impossible: a boy walking among lightning bolts as if he belonged to them. His eyes filled with electricity. His silhouette glowed. He did not defy the storm. He moved through it. When he crossed the invisible barrier, the clouds parted slightly. A ray of sunlight descended like a late blessing. And then he saw it. A ship. Not a common vessel. A cruiser over three hundred meters long, eight stories high, anchored on the island like a sleeping titan. The hull was intact. There were no signs of an explosion. But the bridge had an enormous gap: the machinery had been destroyed from the inside. The ship had landed.

And it never took off again. Kai entered while the lightning continued to fall outside. He moved through cabins. Hallways. Common rooms. The technology was impossible for his era: navigation systems, reinforced structures, designs that recalled worlds much more advanced. But there was no life. Only corpses. Attackers and defenders. Mixed. Fallen without glory. Not because one had defeated the other… but because the storm had won. When the ship entered the electrical circuit, it became completely charged. No one could step on it without dying. No one could ever recover it. Until now. Kai moved deeper. He searched for the treasure. He did not find it. Then he understood. The ship had six floors… but he could only access the upper deck and the two lower levels. The rest was sealed. Isolated. Protected. On the third level, he found a door. Not a common door.

Ancient steel. Reinforced. Perfect.

Kai struck. His hand bounced back. He frowned. He struck with more force. The metal vibrated. It did not yield. Anxiety overcame him. He did not want to destroy it… but he did not stop. He broke through the door. The steel opened as if it were paper. What he saw left him motionless. Three complete floors.

Three hundred meters long.

Filled with gold. Ingots. Chests. Statues. Coins. Jewels. Riches from all the kingdoms, accumulated over centuries. The treasure that never arrived. The treasure that could have changed the world. His eyes filled with ambition. With greed. Kai clenched his fists. He breathed. And he calmed down.

—All of this is mine —he thought—. It always was. And this time…

no one was going to take it from him. He was not going to let it escape. The problem was not the gold. The problem was the ship. Kai walked across the cruiser's deck with the lightning falling around him, thoughtful. He tried to understand the damaged machinery; he searched for repair points, connections, something that could move it… but he had no tools, no parts, no time. And then the island trembled. It was not an earthquake. It was a brush. Kai looked up and saw something he had not noticed before: two of the stormy islands passed so close that, at times, they collided. Barely a meter. Sometimes less. Further back, two other islands moved almost together, as if they were a single mass. The ship's island was not joined to them. It rotated… but badly. Kai observed for long seconds. He saw the pattern.

The rhythm. The anomaly.

—It is not properly attached —he murmured. And the idea appeared. What if I take the island? The Heaven Kingdom had never come here. They feared the lightning. They did not even know this place truly existed. If he removed that island, the storm would dissipate. The kingdom would gain two more useful islands… and he would keep this one. But how? Kai closed his eyes. This is an orbital circuit, he thought. It is not floating by simple magic. If I push it wrong, I lose it. If I throw myself with it, I lose everything. Then he saw it. Every time that island brushed against another, it did not react as it should. It was not attracted. It did not correct itself. The general gravity of the Heaven Kingdom did not hold it well.

—It does not entirely belong —he whispered. Kai did not hesitate any longer. The lightning bolts fell upon him as he positioned himself between two islands. He pressed his back against one. He dug his feet into the other. He tensed his entire body. And he pushed. It was not a common push. It was a contained jump. A brutal release of force. Kai buried himself into the earth of the island he wanted to keep… and at the same time, he knocked the cruiser's island out of orbit. The effect was immediate. The storm dismantled. The lightning stopped falling. The other islands maintained their trajectory, barely readjusting. They did not collide. They did not collapse. They simply continued. But the treasure island… It moved. It did not fall. It did not descend. It drifted. Kai frowned.

—It shouldn't float… The island remained suspended, moving without direction.

Magic? A physical error? Then he thought: "How do I control this?". And the answer was simple: —With a chain.

Kai raised his gaze to the sky. —Come to me.

Far away, in the peninsula, something responded. The ring. The sword. The shield. They shot out. They crossed oceans, mountains, continents. They traversed the world at an impossible speed, cutting through the air like meteors. In seconds, they were there.

The shield floated into his hand. Kai put on the ring. —What do you need, user? —Liris asked. —We are here to serve you —Solarael and Voraghun said.

—We have a problem —Kai responded—. This island is adrift. I need to take it to the peninsula. There was a brief silence.

—The island floats due to air crystals —Solarael explained—. They are enormous. Magical. It is not in a real orbit. —It should fall —Liris added—, but those crystals prevent it. Over centuries they accumulated earth, rock, and life. That is how the islands were born.

Kai nodded. —Then… how do I move it? —Put on the armor —Voraghun said. —What armor? —The liquid armor —Liris responded—. It is inside me.

Kai hesitated. —Due to your age, you will only be able to use it for one day —she added—. But it will be enough. —I understand. How do I do it? —Think about it —Liris said—. Think about protecting yourself. Think about your objective.

The ring glowed. From the crimson gem emerged a liquid metal, opaque, ash-colored. It surrounded Kai's body, covering him with a....

...silent armor, without shine, with a black cape. His blue eyes, filled with the cosmos, stood out even more.

—You look incredible, master —Liris said. —Good —Kai responded—. And now?

—Your strength has increased sixfold —Voraghun explained—. Your speed, threefold. —It is not enough —Kai said.

—Look at your back —Solarael responded. Two small shields. Joined by a chain.

—The chain is infinite —Voraghun said. —Invisible? —Kai asked. —Only when you throw one —Liris responded.

Kai took one of the shields. The chain vanished. He positioned himself at the edge of the drifting island. He took aim. Thousands of kilometers away, he saw the peninsula. The volcano. And he threw.

The shield opened in mid-flight, deploying blades. It crossed the planet like a bolt of lightning and embedded itself into the beach, near the volcano. Kai barely had time to react when something pulled him forward.

—The other shield is anchored —Solarael said—. As long as one does not return, they will be joined.

Kai gripped the shield in his hand. He pulled. The island responded. He pulled again. The chain retracted inside the shield as if it had no end. And the island moved.

Kai dragged an entire island. Eighty thousand kilometers. He crossed oceans. Continents. Skies. A fifteen-year-old boy, in borrowed armor, pulling an island loaded with a cruiser and three floors of gold.

The world did not see him. But the world trembled. And Kai knew one thing with absolute clarity: This… this was just the beginning.

The island remained anchored in front of the peninsula. Giant. Silent. Suspended in the air like an impossible scar over the sea.

No one approached those lands. The peninsula continued to be avoided, feared, forgotten. From afar, the island was not very noticeable. From close up, it was an aberration against all logic. Kai knew it.

—This is going to attract attention —he said in a low voice.

He sat on the hot rock, looking at the island and the cruiser embedded in it, and spoke with those who were always there.

—Should we do something? —he asked—. Do we sink it? Do we raise it?

The silence stretched out. —Why do you ask? —Liris finally responded.

—If we leave it at this altitude, it could collide with the Heaven Kingdom —Kai said—. If we sink it, it will just be another island in the ocean. And if we raise it… very high… no one, not even the hawk-men, could reach it.

The weapons fell silent. Liris, Solarael, and Voraghun exchanged thoughts. Not words. Kai waited. He thought as well. He knew that any decision here was not reversible.

Finally, Liris spoke. —We have an answer.

Kai looked up. —If we destroy the island, its magic will be lost —she said—. The air crystals will stop working. Do you want it to disappear? —No —Kai responded without hesitation.

—Turning it into a common island makes no sense —Liris continued—. But it cannot remain at the same altitude as the Heaven Kingdom either. It is out of sync. —Then… —We can raise it.

Kai frowned. —How? —Unload the ship —Solarael said—. The gold weighs too much.

—As long as the gold is there, the island is anchored at this altitude. Kai took a second to understand. —And if I remove the weight?

—The air crystals are not subject to the orbit of the Heaven Kingdom —Liris explained—. If there is not enough mass, the island will try to ascend. The planet's gravity might stop it… or not. —Could it go into space? —Yes.

Kai looked at the island. Then at the cruiser. —Then I have to bring the ship down. —Exactly —Voraghun said—. Repair it.

And that is what he did. For months. Without armor. Without shortcuts. The shields continued to hold the island, invisible, immovable. Kai, now having turned fifteen, worked day and night. He repaired the damaged machinery. He reconstructed ancient systems. He learned the technology of a dead civilization while the sea crashed against the shore.

The gold did not move until everything was ready. With the help of Liris, Solarael, and Voraghun, the ship rose once again. Not as before, not as a king of the sky, but as a survivor. Kai guided it carefully. He descended slowly until the cruiser touched the water and ran aground on the beach, in front of his house, like a sleeping monster loaded with wealth.

Now the island remained. Kai observed the invisible chain. —If I let it go… it will leave. —Yes —Liris said—. It will not return.

Kai took a deep breath. —Then I will do it from above. He climbed onto the island. He positioned himself in the center. And he released the chain.

The island jumped. Not slowly. Not with hesitation.

It ascended at a brutal speed. The ground trembled. Kai had to dig his feet in to avoid being thrown off. The air grew thin. The world curved beneath his eyes. The island pierced through layers of clouds, winds, and altitudes where no living being could remain.

And it stopped. It did not fall. It did not escape. It entered orbit.

Kai looked up. The planet was below him. Complete. Blue. Alive. An enormous moon passed nearby. So close it seemed he could touch it with his hand.

Kai did not smile. He did not shout. He simply understood. Now he had a domain in the skies. A place that no one could reach. A treasure that no one could claim. And the world, without knowing it, had just accepted a new frontier.

Kai observed the moon, now behind him. It did not shine as it always did. From that height, it seemed closer, more real, almost tangible. The silence of the sky enveloped the newborn island in orbit.

Then, the air pressure changed. An enormous shadow glided between the light and the vacuum. A green dragon emerged from the sky as if it had always been there. Its wings covered part of the island as it descended, and when it touched the ground, the floating rock vibrated only slightly, respectfully.

The dragon adopted its humanoid form with naturalness, like someone taking off an old coat. —Hey, boy —he said, looking around—. The island is nice, isn't it?

Kai bowed his head slightly. —Yes, master.

The dragon looked at him out of the corner of his eye, measuring something that did not need to be said. —Very well —he finally said—. I will accept it as a gift.

Kai blinked.

—Gift? The dragon had already decided. He hadn't asked for anything. He had simply gifted the island to himself. Kai exhaled slowly. There was no point in arguing.

—Very well, master —he responded—. It is your gift. The dragon smiled, satisfied.

—And what do you plan to do now? Kai looked at the planet beneath his feet. He thought of the gold, the ship, the peninsula, and everything he had moved without the world noticing.

—I have an idea in mind —he said—. But not yet. —Hm —the dragon murmured—. Patience. Good.

Then he remembered something. —Ah, I almost forgot. Fenris is waiting for you at the peninsula. Kai looked up. —Where? —On top of that big ship you brought.

Kai nodded. —I will go down right now. He turned around, ready to depart, and added without solemnity: —Enjoy the island, master.

The dragon did not respond immediately. When Kai moved away, the great green dragon leaned against a tree that shouldn't exist at that altitude, crossed his arms, and contemplated the sky. —My own island… —he thought—. Not bad. And for the first time in a long while, the sky had an owner… even if no one else knew it yet.

Kai fell into the ocean like an arrow and emerged among the waves. He swam to the shore with firm movements, without haste. The grounded ship awaited him, enormous, silent, loaded with gold. On the deck was Fenris.

Kai climbed up and said bluntly: —This is the gold I have brought… for now. I will go look for more. Fenris observed the loot calmly. He did not smile. He was not impressed.

—You must bring ten times this amount. Kai looked at him.

—That much? Where am I going to get it from? Fenris responded without raising his voice: —You already did it once. You searched within a legend. Now, search within them all.

From the side, the wolf's deep voice closed the discussion. —Now go, boy. I will store this in the vault.

Kai nodded. There were no long goodbyes. He departed immediately for the Sand Empire. There, the pyramids rose like ancient wounds. Monuments to dead kings, to forgotten gods, to buried riches.

Kai descended into deep chambers, into tombs sealed for millennia. He found small chests, fragments of treasures. In some dungeons, he defeated guardians… only to discover that others had arrived before him. Many were already looted.

The problem was not finding gold. The problem was moving it. In the Sand Empire, there was no transport. The portals were few, guarded, and limited. He could not pass through them carrying tons of metal without giving explanations. And Kai did not give explanations.

So, he accumulated. He stored the gold in forgotten tombs. He marked locations. He thought. Until, in an especially deep pyramid, he found something different.

A circular chamber. In the center, a chest. Floating around it, two swords of blue energy. The entire air vibrated with magic. Kai took a step. The swords vanished. The blue light died out. Darkness fell like a curtain.

He lit a torch. He opened the chest. Inside was a silver necklace, crafted with precision: four triangles, four horizontal rhombuses of a deep blue, and a smooth central stone of the same color. Beside it, a small wooden box. Inside, a...

...a blue sphere, like a glass marble. And a scroll. Kai read it:

"This is a teleporter, adventurer. Throw this gem wherever you wish to go. The necklace will fix its location. It is a powerful weapon, but I did not have the strength to throw it far. That is why I hid it. It is my masterpiece. Take care of it. It is my gift to my descendants."

Kai looked up. He did not smile. He did not celebrate. He understood. He put on the necklace. He walked out into the desert. He looked toward the west, toward the peninsula. And he threw the marble with all his strength.

The necklace glowed. The sphere touched the ground far away, on the other side of the world. A blue line, almost invisible, crossed the entire ocean like a scar of light. Kai closed his eyes.

—Teleport —he said. He tested words. He tried to feel it. —Now.

The world vanished. And it returned. Kai appeared in a forest on the peninsula. Before him stood a tree; embedded in its trunk was the blue marble. Kai blinked.

He could see it. Not with ordinary eyes, but with something more. As long as he wore the necklace, he could always see it, no matter where he was. Then he knew: this was the transport.

From that day on, everything changed. For two years, Kai traveled the planet while continuing to attend academies, institutes, and dojos. He sailed to...

...sunken ships. He descended into forgotten dungeons. He looted tombs, legends, and ruins. He mined in the peninsula and in far-off kingdoms. He bought entire mountains only to empty them. He extracted gold, diamonds, and rare metals.

He transported everything in an instant. He filled the vault. He closed the mines. He destroyed them. He left no trace. When he finished, he had more than double what Fenris had asked of him.

And then he thought of something more dangerous than gold: a bank. With that wealth, he could found one. Control flows, debt, real power. But not yet. It was not yet the time.

The expected day arrived. Kai vanished from the academies, from the institutes, from the dojos. This time there were no goodbyes. It was as if the earth had swallowed him whole.

And then, on the sands of the peninsula, a young man of nearly sixteen years appeared. Not a child. Not an apprentice. A man who had traveled the world… and was ready to begin something much larger.

Kai met with Fenris deep within the peninsula. The vault was full. Not just full: overflowing. They had been forced to excavate entire levels underground; layers upon layers beneath the earth to house gold, jewels, ancient weapons, and relics of lost civilizations. Everything that Kai had snatched from the world without the world even noticing.

Fenris observed the place in silence. —You have fulfilled the mission, boy —he finally said.

Kai looked up. —What?

Fenris did not move. —Now I must go.

Kai frowned. —What are you saying?

The wolf looked at him with absolute calm. —The training is over, Kai. I have nothing left to teach you.

The words weighed more than any blow. —But… —Kai hesitated—. What do I do now?

Fenris did not respond immediately. —What do you want to do?

Kai looked at the land. The trees. The mountains of the peninsula. —I want to recreate the kingdom of the White Warlocks.

Fenris nodded, showing no surprise. —Then you must do it.

He stepped closer. —I will support you. I will be with you every day, every year that is necessary. But now you must choose your own path. If you decide to be king of a lost land, many will stand against you. —He stared at him—. But you are part of my family.

The wolf embraced him. Not as a master. Not as a judge. As something more ancient. —Do not worry about the vault —he added—. Go into the world. Do what you must do. I will guard your home.

Kai understood something then. For the first time since he was a child, he would not divide himself. There would be no clones. There would be no multiplication. He would travel the world as one.

And in the silence that followed, he understood another problem. He had gold. He had power. He had territory. But he had no name. There was no nobility in his blood. He was a commoner. In a world of monarchies, titles, and lineages, that made him a nobody.

Fenris withdrew toward the sea. Kai remained alone, looking at the horizon. And he remembered a name: Alessandro Moretti. Cardinal of the Church. The only one with enough power to open the door to nobility for him. The only one capable of legitimizing a kingdom that had died.

Kai did not look back. He set out on his journey toward the Kingdom of the Church with one clear mission: to rekindle the brilliance of the White Warlocks. And this time… the world would not be able to ignore him.

Chapter 14: Path to Nobility

Kai used no wagons. Nor horses. His body could no longer do so. He weighed more than two hundred tons. Not because of size, but because of evolution. Every step he took slightly deformed the ground. Thus, when he was not using the blue gem, he moved on foot… but at a speed impossible for any ordinary human.

At times, he would stop. He would enter a forest. He would eat something simple. He would breathe. And he would look at the moon. Jetris had five moons, but there was one that always seemed to accompany him. It was the same one that had passed over his head when he was on the island in the skies. That moon never fully moved away.

The continent was enormous. The Kingdom of the Church, distant. While he moved through one of the ancient forests of the white mages, he thought: "I am always alone." It was not a complaint; it was a realization.

When he finally arrived at the capital of the Church, something...

...inside him, he tensed. The last time he had been there, it was as a student. Now he returned as someone different. Almost a man.

He entered well-dressed. Noble's clothes, fine fabric, impeccable cut. He wore a mask that did not cover his mouth, only his eyes; it revealed half of his face. It was not to intimidate, but to avoid being recognized. He had studied there and wanted no questions.

He did not know how to find him. He walked aimlessly through the white streets until he saw him: a man of about fifty-five years, calm, feeding pigeons in a plaza. He did not dress like a high dignitary; he looked like anyone else.

Kai stopped. He observed him more closely. —How are you, boy? —the man said without looking at him—. A long time has passed, Kai.

Kai tensed. —Alessandro…?

The man smiled. —Yes. It is I.

Kai took a step forward. —How did you know it was me?

The man looked up for the first time. —We never lost track of your movements.

Kai remained silent. —The peninsula was taken by the crowned beasts —he continued—, but we never stopped looking for you. When we found you, we decided to let you live in peace.

Kai felt a chill. —We know you studied at all the academies. We know you are a wealthy man. The Church has eyes everywhere, boy. We never lost sight of you.

It was true. The Church was in every kingdom. Kai exhaled slowly. —Then you know why I am here.

Alessandro gently shook his head. —Sincerely, I don't. But I will listen to you. What do you want?

Kai did not beat around the bush.

—I want to become a noble.

Alessandro looked at him closely, as if seeing him for the first time. —Do you know that is impossible?

—I have no noble blood —Kai responded—. I know that.

—And furthermore —Alessandro added—, you were granted sacred titles that you never went to claim. Those things matter. I do not know why you ignored every one of them… nor how you studied in so many places at the same time. —He watched him with gravity—. Even if you could split the world with your hands, Kai, you will not become a noble so easily.

Kai did not lower his gaze. —I will do what is necessary. What must I do?

Alessandro sighed. —I assume you come for the title of nobility that the Church grants. Kai nodded.

—Most come for that —he continued—. But that title has not been granted for more than a hundred and fifty years. —Why? —Kai asked.

Alessandro dropped some crumbs onto the ground. The pigeons fluttered. —Because the sacrifice it demands… no one wants to pay it.

And for the first time since he had set foot in the capital, Kai smiled slightly. He knew it would not be easy. And precisely for that reason… it was the right path.

Alessandro continued with the explanation, resting both hands on the stone table, his face serious but without harshness. —Listen carefully, Kai. The requirements for you to become a noble in this world —and for the Church to grant you a recognized title of nobility— are not complicated. They are strict, but simple.

Kai looked up, attentive. —You must fulfill ten years of waiting —Alessandro continued—. And during those ten years…

...something invisible. —I assume you are still a virgin, correct?

Kai blinked, surprised by the direct question. —Yes… I am a virgin —he responded—. Why?

—Because you must remain chaste until you are twenty-six. You are sixteen, right? —Yes.

—Then it is simple —Alessandro said—. Ten years without being with any woman. Ten years of discipline. Ten years of self-mastery. When you return, the Church will verify your chastity. If you remain pure, the title will be granted to you.

Kai swallowed hard. —Is that all?

Alessandro shook his head slowly. —No. There is a second requirement.

—Which is? —Kai asked. —Ten years of militia. Ten years of real military experience.

Kai frowned. —But… I am a commoner. No regular army will accept me as a soldier, much less as an officer.

A slight smile appeared on Alessandro's face. —Exactly. That is why you will go to the Human Kingdom.

He stood up and began to walk across the room. —The other kingdoms do not have a formal militia. They are sustained by individual strength, scattered infantry, mercenaries, or warriors of lineage. But the Human Kingdom is different. There, a structured militia exists, and most importantly: it allows commoners to serve legally in the army.

He stopped in front of Kai. —You can fulfill the ten years of military service at the same time you fulfill the ten years of chastity. You will do both at once.

Kai remained silent. —We will draw up the papers of the promise here —Alessandro continued—. Then you will depart for the Human Kingdom. When the ten years are over, you will return. I myself will grant you the title of noble. You will be able to acquire lands. You will be able to build a name.

Then his voice grew deeper. —But remember this, Kai. Ten years is a long time. There will be beautiful women. Commoners and nobles. Some will desire you. Others will come directly for you. If you do not remain hidden… you will fall. That will depend solely on you.

Alessandro stared at him. —What do you say, boy? Shall we draw up the papers?

Kai took a deep breath. He thought for only a moment. —Yes —he said—. Let's do it.

Both headed to the Great Cathedral of the Church. The building was imposing, with white columns rising like spears toward the sky and stained-glass windows that filtered the light in tones of gold and blue. Inside, dozens of clerks worked at long wooden tables, writing without rest, sealing documents, and reviewing records.

Kai felt the weight of the place. There, before scribes and clerics, the promise of chastity was drafted. His name was inscribed in black ink and firm letters. Start date. Return date. Clear conditions: ten years of purity, ten years of mandatory military service.

Kai took the pen. He signed. In ten years, he would have to return as a virgin. Only then would he receive the title of nobility. When everything was finished, Kai embraced Alessandro tightly. —I will not fail you.

The cleric watched him walk away without a word. —There goes our hope… —he murmured.

Kai activated the blue gem of his necklace, and the world folded in on itself. As he traveled toward the human kingdom, he thought: "Ten years… Well, so far no woman has been interested in me. Not my classmates at the academies, nor the fighters at the dojos. No one noticed me. Perhaps it will be easier than I think."

He appeared directly in the capital of the human kingdom. A vast and powerful realm, ruled by King Neumann, the hero king. Banners were hanging everywhere...

...on walls and towers: the face of the king, the royal emblem… and that of the paladin hero, the great champion of the kingdom, a man of dark skin, imposing, revered by the people as a living legend. There were also portraits of the princesses.

—Very beautiful… —Kai murmured, almost without realizing it.

He entered the recruitment office. Behind the counter, a receptionist looked at him professionally. —Yes, young man. Tell me. —I have come to enrole in the militia —Kai said—. I bring this letter of recommendation from the Church.

The woman opened the document. She read it carefully. Her eyebrows arched slightly upon seeing the sacred seal. —Mandatory service for ten years… —she read aloud—. I understand.

She attached the letter to a form and handed Kai several documents. —Complete your details and sign here. You must know that, once signed, there is no going back.

Kai did not hesitate. —It is my intention to fulfill the ten years.

He signed. From that moment on, he was a militiaman of the Human Kingdom. The door burst open. A burly man entered with worn armor and a raspy voice. —Hey, boy. —He gave him a hard slap on the back—. Come with me. They call me Iron.

Kai looked at him. —I was told you will fulfill ten years of service. —Yes, sir. —Good. Let's go.

The receptionist handed the papers to the sergeant, and both headed toward the stables. Kai's job would be to care for the paladins' horses. It did not bother him. He had experience. He knew how to sleep among the straw. He knew how to handle animals. Although, due to his strength...

...massive, he had to be especially careful: a caress too strong could frighten or injure a steed. At nightfall, exhausted, he lay back in the straw, leaning against the side of a beautiful warhorse. While the animal slept peacefully, Kai closed his eyes.

—Ten years sleeping here… —he thought—. Well… sometimes every sacrifice is worth it.

Every day began the same. At five-thirty in the morning, when the sky was still a dark sliver and the cold bit at the skin, Auron would wake Kai without ceremony. A sharp knock on the barrack door; a raspy voice that allowed no retort.

Kai did not complain. He had been used to waking up early since he was a child. Although, deep down, he sometimes wished to stay a few minutes longer among the straw, to close his eyes and pretend that his body did not weigh so much. But there was no room for that.

Auron made Kai and the rest of the recruits run between twenty and thirty kilometers every morning. While they moved forward with their chests burning and their legs trembling, he followed them mounted on his horse, driving a wagon loaded with water and food. He did not run with them. He observed. He measured. He waited for someone to falter. And when someone fell, the journey did not stop.

During those long days, paladins would sometimes appear. They approached on horseback, in gleaming armor, and gave talks to the young men. They spoke of discipline, honor, and sacrifice. Big words, spoken with firm voices.

On one of those occasions, something different happened. The hero appeared. He was not much older than Kai; eighteen years old, perhaps. But his presence carried weight, as if the air became denser around him. He was the hero of the people, the one who had fought monsters, the people's favorite—an almost mythical figure.

The recruits looked at him with devotion.

...half-open. Others with shining eyes. Kai said nothing; he only observed. He had seen strong warriors, hard men, experienced fighters. But he had never seen a hero.

Behind him walked two maidens, accompanied by several nobles. And behind them all, advancing with a sure step, came the king himself: the hero king. The man who had fought the demon lord and his troops.

The maidens attracted as much attention as the hero. The king's eldest daughter was about nineteen years old; elegant bearing, firm gaze. She was the hero's betrothed, and it showed in the way she walked beside him, without needing to touch him.

A little further back came Sara. Beautiful, about sixteen years old. She was not betrothed to anyone. It was said she would soon depart for the academy of the Amazon Kingdom. There was something free in her expression, something curious. And beside them, almost hidden, walked a small girl no more than thirteen years old: Yemi, the king's youngest daughter.

When the group approached, all the recruits bowed their heads immediately. Kai did as well. Not because he felt it, but because in that kingdom it was mandatory. While he remained on his knees, his gaze lowered, he felt movement in front of him. A light step. Then another. Yemi had let go of her father's hand.

—Hey… —the girl said, leaning toward Kai—. Do you have an insect on your shoulder?

Kai barely looked up, surprised. Before he could respond, Sara gently took the little girl's hand. —Stop bothering the boy.

Then, Sara smiled at him. It was not a practiced or distant smile. It was simple. Human

Kai immediately bowed his head again when the king called them. The group continued on their way, and the paladins performed a deep bow before resuming their talk with the recruits.

When it all ended, Iron approached Kai and nudged him with his elbow. —You were lucky, boy. —Why? —Imagine if the king had gotten angry because the princess touched your shoulder.

Kai nodded. —Yes… you're right. I have been lucky.

Iron smiled. —How about you pay for the drinks today? —No, Iron, I always pay —Kai responded—. You always say the same thing. —Because you always have money on you, and I don't know where you get it from.

Kai shrugged. —Don't worry. It's on me. —Good, boy.

Iron put an arm around him, almost with affection. It had been Kai's first encounter with a hero… and with nobility.

The days followed. The months passed. One night, after an especially hard day, Kai sat alone and remembered Sara's smile… and Yemi's innocent curiosity. Two princesses. It had been a long time since any woman had smiled at him like that.

"These ten years of chastity are going to be very difficult," he thought. He fell asleep with that idea.

And while he slept, the world changed. The earth trembled. Trumpets sounded in the distance: deep, desperate. Portals opened. The demon lord's territory had been taken. The heralds returned with news impossible to ignore: the pure-blooded demons had crossed over.

Four archdemons had taken the demon lord's castle: Death, Gluttony, Famine, and Pestilence. The demon lord, fearing that his daughters would be murdered, had bowed before them.

Eighty-eight portals opened across the planet. The hordes crossed through. This time it was not an isolated incursion; there were demon generals marching on all fronts. Hell had returned to attack Jetris, the mortal world.

And while Kai slept among the straw of the stables, without knowing it, the world entered a new era of fear and terror. The following day, shouting tore him from sleep before dawn had even broken.

—Wake up, boy! Wake up! —it was Iron.

Kai opened his eyes with a start. He could barely sit up before the sergeant shook him forcefully. —We are at war! —he shouted—. The trumpets have sounded! They are calling us to the battlefield! Get up and load the ammunition!

Kai understood nothing. He stood up almost blindly, threw on his boots at top speed, and left the stable. He washed his face with cold water, and when he looked up, the world was no longer the same. Paladins running back and forth; militiamen pushing wagons loaded with arrows, spears, gunpowder, and supplies. Shouts. Orders. The metallic sound of armor being buckled in the gloom.

Before the sun rose, the column was already marching toward the border between the Human Kingdom and the Kingdom of the High Humans. Kai moved forward, his body still heavy with sleep, but the word "war" echoed in his head.

As they walked, he managed to overhear a nearby conversation. A paladin, captain of the entire militia, was speaking with Iron. —Sir… —Iron said—. What has happened? Why are we being called to the border?

The captain gritted his teeth.

—The worst has happened. A thousand years ago, the portals opened. The Heralos crossed. The pure-blooded demons descended upon the world. —He paused—. Now, they have returned.

Iron turned pale. —There is a portal open in other lands —the captain continued—. Very close to the border between the Kingdom of the High Humans and our own. Our mission is to support the main army with ammunition and supplies.

—And the king? —Iron asked. —The hero king, the paladin hero, and the bulk of the army are marching along another, more direct route. We will take this path, protected by the forest. We will set up camp and wait for orders.

Iron swallowed hard. —And if the demons attack us? The captain looked at him bluntly. —If they attack us… we are dead.

Iron clenched his fists. —They say that last time, in ancient times, only demon captains appeared… and even then, an entire country was destroyed: the land of the White Warlocks. No one was left alive.

The captain nodded. —This time it is worse. Demon generals have appeared at every portal. And most gravely… —he lowered his voice— they say the demon lord himself bowed before the Heralos. Four archdemons hold him and his family captive. His entire army is on its knees.

Iron lowered his gaze. —That doesn't sound like hope…

—Iron, don't be an idiot —the captain cut him off—. A single demon can kill fifteen of our own. We don't win by strength. We win if a miracle occurs. Or something unexpected. —He pointed backward—. Behind us, there are hundreds of families. We are the last line of defense.

Then he spoke with a firm voice: —When we reach the crossroads, I will go with my men to inform the king that the supplies are ready. You will take the militiamen and set up camp on the eastern side of the forest. Do not move from there. Without those munitions, there is no future in this war.

—Yes, my lord —Iron responded.

Kai had heard every word. "All these people are going to die," he thought. "I trained to fight with them… not to watch them be slaughtered."

When they reached the split in the road, the paladins took the left; the militiamen, the right. The camp was set up with clumsiness and fear. No one spoke aloud. Hands trembled. Gazes were lost in the forest. Iron, as the highest-ranking officer, tried to organize guards with the strongest men, though deep down he did not know what to do.

Kai approached. —Sergeant —he said—. Do you want me to go and watch if any Heralo approaches?

Iron looked at him as if he were insane. —Are you out of your damn mind? If those demons see you, they will kill you.

—Exactly —Kai responded—. To warn you. If they approach, they will take us by surprise.

Iron hesitated. —You are right… but go carefully. If you see anything, return immediately. —Yes, sir.

With that white lie, Kai moved away from the camp.

As he went deeper into the forest, his mind cleared. "It is time," he thought. "For this, I have trained all my life." His goal was impossible: to eliminate the portals and destroy the demons. He still had no idea how he was going to do it.

The Birth of a Warrior

Kai headed into the forest without looking back. Climbing cost him nothing. He chose one of the highest hills in the area, a natural elevation from which he could observe both the militiamen's camp and the hidden paths among the trees. From there, with calm breath and alert senses, he saw them.

Eight demons. There were no captains. There were no high-ranking demons. They were soldiers, pure-blooded Heralos. But Kai knew it: eight of them were enough to annihilate the entire camp. Fifteen hundred militiamen meant nothing against such creatures.

"I must do something now." He had no weapons. He had no sword. He had no shield. He was not wearing his ring. He only had his body… and everything he had trained for during his life.

Kai descended from the hill and stood in the demons' path. The sixteen-year-old boy stood alone, between the human camp and the infernal advance. One of the Heralos raised his hand and pointed at him. He laughed. They spoke in an ancient and harsh language, but the message was clear: —You will die here.

The first one attacked. Kai dodged the blow as if time had slowed down. He took a step forward and extended the palm of his hand. He pierced right through him.

His hand penetrated the demon's chest like a spear. Blood gushed out violently. Kai did not withdraw his arm immediately; he held it there for an instant, feeling the life fade away inside that creature, and then he tore it from its body.

The Heralo fell dead. The other seven hesitated.

Demons were not so different from humans: horns, harder skin, eyes without empathy. But their essence was different. They knew no mercy. They did not understand love or friendship. They betrayed without guilt. Not because they chose to be that way, but because that was their nature. Kai knew it. If he did not stop them, they would kill everyone.

The remaining seven attacked with fury. Kai moved. He dodged impossible blows, spun, advanced, retreated. His fists fell like hammers. He killed one with a single blow to the jaw, completely shattering its face. He broke the neck of another. He pierced the skull of yet another.

One by one, they fell. Kai stopped, breathing calmly. All eight were dead. Only then did he realize something: his strength… when he fought in earnest… was indescribable.

But there was no time for amazement. He knew that this was only an advance unit; thousands more would come. He kept moving forward. He walked for hours without finding anyone. Then he began to run. The forest receded before him. The air split. He covered more than one hundred and fifty kilometers until he saw it: the portal.

An entire army protected it. Fifteen thousand demons, at least. Captains, sergeants, high-ranking demons. Beasts. Gigantic chimeras, some as tall as five-story buildings, with three heads roaring in unison.

And in front of the portal… a Demon General.

He was not ordinary. His body was mutated, deformed by an unnatural power. He stood nearly three meters tall; his mere presence made the ground tremble. Kai understood the truth: "Fighting all of them is impossible."

He hid behind a tree, but it was too late. A patrol found him. They were better armed; black swords gleamed in their hands. They attacked without hesitation. Kai dodged the blades, caught the arm of one of the Heralos… and tore it off. The scream was inhuman.

And that scream alerted the entire army.

Kai took the black swords and became a whirlwind. Fifteen demons fell in seconds. But when he looked up… he was surrounded. Hundreds. Then thousands. The sky darkened. Arrows; thousands of arrows descended like a deadly rain. Kai broke them one by one with impossible speed. He slit throats. He severed heads. The ground became covered in bodies.

But there were too many. Spears attacked from every angle. One struck his chest; it did not pierce him, but it pushed him back. The swords could indeed hurt him: the demonic weapons were dangerous. A black dagger stabbed him in the back. Kai ripped it from his flesh and, with that same blade, killed the demon that had wounded him. The wound closed before his eyes… but the circle did not yield.

He was surrounded. They were going to kill him.

And then… the sky opened. The clouds parted as if obeying a superior will. A blue bolt, wrapped in a crimson aura, fell upon Kai. The explosion threw the demons through the...

Air. Silence. From the light, a figure emerged. Ash-colored brilliant armor. A black cape fluttering in the wind. Blue eyes burning with determination. In his hand, a sword containing the power of the sun. In the other, a shield that roared like a storm.

Liris. Solarael. Voraghun.

The weapons had heard their master's call. The Black Knight had been born. A single warrior. A single banner. Against all the hordes of Hell. He had already taken the first step.

Kai did not understand what was happening. The roar, the light, the armor… everything had happened too fast. He felt the weight of the metal on his body, but it did not oppress him. It was as if the armor were part of him. Then a voice resonated in his mind.

"Do not worry, Kai," said Liris. "We are with you."

Another voice, firmer, more ancient, joined in immediately.

"Do not fear, boy," spoke Solarael. "I will protect you."

And a third, grave and resonant, vibrated like a deep echo.

"Prepare yourself," warned Voraghun. "They will all come."

Kai looked around. Demons everywhere. Infernal beasts roaring. The circle closing in.

"There are many…" Kai said. "They have surrounded me. I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to test Voraghun's defense?" Liris asked.

Kai hesitated for just a moment.

"Yes."

"Then do not move," the shield said. "Let them attack."

"Oh, really...?" Kai murmured.

At that moment, the entire horde lunged at him. Demons. Beasts. Claws, fangs, spears, swords.

A mountain of infernal bodies falling upon the Black Knight. But no one could touch him. A sphere of absolute power enveloped Kai. The shield glowed with an impossible violet intensity, and the pressure emanating from it made the very air creak.

"Behold my power, inferiors," roared Voraghun.

The sphere expanded. A brutal shockwave tossed demons and beasts through the air like broken dolls. Shattered bodies, pulverized bones, creatures slamming into the ground dozens of meters away. Kai remained motionless at the center.

"Impeccable defense," said Liris. "Now… do you want to test the power of the armor?"

Kai clenched his fist.

"I had already tested it before…"

"Not like this," Liris replied. "Now you are stronger. The armor multiplies your strength by six… and your speed by three."

Solarael added:

"Now, fight."

Kai took a step forward. The world seemed to slide behind him, as if reality could not keep up with his movement. With a single sword stroke, a line of destruction tore through the enemy. More than one hundred and fifty Heralos fell in an instant. The army retreated, disordered, huddling together by instinct. Kai was a black blur among them. Precise. Lethal. Unstoppable.

"Now that they are all huddled together…" Solarael said calmly, "do you want me to show you my true power?"

Kai felt the energy vibrating in the sword.

"This sword has many functions. For now, I will only show you one: I will amplify your energy."

"Which one?" Kai asked.

"Solar flames. But this time… a thousand times more powerful than before."

Kai swallowed hard.

"Do you want to use it?"

"Yes."

"Then leave the shield on the ground and take the sword with both hands," Solarael indicated. "Remember: when I release my power, I will consume your energy. You will feel exhausted."

Kai did not hesitate.

"Use everything you need."

In that instant, the three artifacts began to consume Kai's own energy. He left the shield on the ground. He gripped the sword with both hands. He looked at the demonic army. And he spoke a single word:

"Solar flames."

The cut was clean. It was not a strike… it was a cataclysm. A solar flare, like the very explosion of the sun, wiped out the horde. Demons, beasts, chimeras… everything was reduced to ash. The ground melted. The stones turned into magma. The flames reached the portal and destroyed the gem that sustained it. The portal collapsed.

When the light dissipated, only one figure remained standing: the demon general. He roared in fury and lunged at Kai. Kai barely moved. A single gesture in the air. The general's head fell… and his body disintegrated into ash before touching the ground. Solarael's edge did not cut: it erased existence.

Everything around was left black. No trace of the portal remained.

"Kai," said Liris, "you must hurry. You have less than twenty-four hours before all the hordes attack the cities."

Kai was breathing with difficulty.

"What do I do now?"

"We start with continent one," Liris replied. "The necklace is adapted to the armor. Use the marble. Throw it at the portals, appear, and destroy them."

Solarael added:

"Do not try to destroy all the armies. Kill the generals, the captains, and half of each horde."

"Leave the rest to the nations."

Voraghun roared with enthusiasm:

"Yes, master. Let's go. We will kill them all."

Kai gritted his teeth.

"How many portals were opened?"

"Forty-four on each continent," Liris replied. "You have destroyed one."

A visor activated in the helmet. A map appeared before Kai, with marked routes.

"Follow this line," Liris said. "First the demon lord's territory. Then the elves. After that the mercenaries, the pirate kingdoms… one by one."

Solarael spoke for the last time in that instant:

"If you destroy them all in less than twenty-four hours, Kai, you will save this world from a hopeless future."

Kai nodded.

"Alright. Set the route."

The visor confirmed the path.

"Are you ready, boy?" Liris asked. "What you are about to do will unleash hell."

Kai took a step forward.

"Then… let it burn."

In the demon lord's territory, the silence was crueler than the screams. Princess Gretel, the second legitimate daughter of the demon king, stood on the highest balcony of the palace. The wind gently tossed her dark hair, but she did not feel it. She was only sixteen years old, and her eyes—too young for such ruin—contemplated a world that had ceased to be hers.

Behind her, in the great hall, her older sister held the demon king in her arms. Her father. The monarch who had ruled for centuries and who now lay defeated, covered in wounds, his body still marked by the punishments of the archdemons. They healed his blows only to keep him alive, not out of mercy, but so that his humiliation would be complete. The entire territory had been subdued. In less than a day, entire cities fell. Families...

Separated. Demons in chains. Pride broken. The people who had once feared the world… now feared existing.

Gretel looked toward the horizon. From the portal, endless hordes emerged. Demons marching without a will of their own. Three demon generals advanced with steady steps, organizing the occupation as if that world were already a simple resource. The four archdemons were not there. They had already departed for the kingdom of the vampires, heading toward the second continent. For them, continent one was conquered. Closed. Settled.

The girl clenched her fists. Tears began to fall, and she could not stop them.

"Has… God forgotten us," she whispered, "because we were born cursed?"

No one answered. The sky remained gray. Then, something happened. A flash. In the distance, a blue bolt streaked across the firmament at an impossible speed. It wasn't descending… it was coming. Gretel's eyes widened, reflecting that unnatural light. The lightning struck the portal. There was no ritual. There was no warning. The portal was destroyed in an instant.

The princess held her breath. From a distance, she saw something she didn't fully understand: demons falling, torn apart, erased from existence by a solitary figure. A small warrior before the horde, covered in armor that barely glowed, with a black cape fluttering like a living shadow. And then… an explosion. It wasn't hellfire. It was something worse… and purer. A devastating flare wiped out the entire horde. Demons, generals, beasts… nothing remained. The ground turned black. The air burned. And then, the warrior disappeared.

Silence. Gretel fell to her knees. Her heart beat with uncontrolled force. The tears continued to fall, but they were no longer just from pain. She had seen the answer. She did not know his name. She did not know his origin. She did not know if he was a god, a hero, or a punishment. But in that instant, Princess Gretel understood something that would change her life forever: the Almighty had not forgotten them. He had sent someone.

The demon lord's army rose in arms. They were not many. They had been beaten, humiliated, reduced to shadows of what they once were. But those who remained were veterans, warriors forged in centuries of war and blood. When they realized the infernal vanguard had been destroyed, when the portal collapsed and the sky ceased to roar, something ancient awoke within them. Dignity. Honor.

In less than four hours, the cities fell back under their control. Enslaved demons took up improvised weapons. The demon lord's warriors advanced street by street, tower by tower. They killed the invaders who had been left behind. There were losses. There were screams. There were deaths. But they resisted. They defended what remained of their people. For the first time in a long time, they were not fighting for conquest… they were fighting to survive.

Meanwhile, Kai advanced. He did not run. He did not march. He appeared. It was as if an invisible finger pointed to him from the sky. A blue bolt crossing kingdom after kingdom, forest after forest, sea after sea. Wherever he landed, Hell was erased. Portals exploded one after another.

Entire hordes were reduced to ash. Generals and captains fell without understanding what had hit them. In less than an hour… forty-four portals were destroyed. More than a million Heralos died. The entire first continent felt the tremor.

The armies rose. Humans, elves, mercenaries, free demons. They did not wait for orders. They went out into the streets, the fields, the walls. They fought for their freedom. Because the world had received something it did not deserve: one more chance. They did not know his name. They did not know his face. But they knew that something—or someone—had intervened. And they called it a miracle.

Kai reappeared on the peninsula from which he had departed. The armor glowed one last time… and then went dark. His legs gave way. He fell to his knees and then to the ground, exhausted. Each artifact had drained his energy to the limit. He breathed with difficulty. His body trembled. He had saved a continent… and had almost lost his life. He closed his eyes. He slept. For three hours, the Black Knight was just an exhausted boy on the ground.

Kai woke up with a start. It took him a few seconds to understand where he was. The roof of his house. The smell of wood. The silence of the night. And yet… the familiar weight upon his body. He looked down. The armor was still on. It had not been a dream.

"Kai," Liris said urgently, "we must march immediately."

"Listen carefully," Solarael continued. "The four archdemons are in the vampire kingdom, in the..."

"If you attack the Vampire Kingdom first, where the four Archdemons are… you will die."

Kai slowly sat up.

"You must attack the other empires and kingdoms first," Liris explained. "Weaken Hell. Destroy the remaining portals. And only then… go for the Vampire Kingdom."

A map projected before his eyes.

"The route is already traced," Liris said. "The first country we will liberate will be the kingdom of the coastal jungle."

Kai looked out the window. The night was still intact.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Three hours," Solarael responded. "It is enough. Every minute we lose… is a life that goes out."

Kai nodded.

"I understand."

He took the gem. He threw it. And the ocean disappeared beneath his feet. The kingdom of the coastal jungle appeared before him with the roar of the sea and the damp smell of vegetation. Kai landed near the portal. But something was different.

"They are prepared," Liris said.

During those three hours, the rumor had crossed seas and borders. A portal destroyer. A ravager of hordes. A knight enveloped in blue light. The demons had learned quickly. They had taken hostages. Hundreds. Children. Women. Elders. Humiliated warriors. All on their knees, with black daggers pressed against their throats. More than a hundred lives held as shields.

"Cowards," Kai murmured.

The demons advanced, pushing the hostages ahead of them. In that instant, the helmet's visor activated. Zones marked in red. Blind spots. Open defenses.

"When you put a dagger to someone else's neck..." Liris said, "you leave yourself defenseless."

Kai took a single step. And the world broke. Every demon holding a hostage... lost their head. Not a single one of the captives was harmed.

Kai moved. He didn't run. He didn't jump. He appeared. It was as if he were teleporting from enemy to enemy. The demons fell like dry leaves in autumn. Brief screams. Bodies turning to ash before hitting the ground.

Kai unleashed Solar Flames. Not like before. More precise. More controlled. A thousand demons burned along with their generals. When it was all over, Kai stood atop the portal. A single sword stroke. The portal exploded. Silence fell over the jungle. The people looked at him without understanding. Some knelt in terror. Others backed away in fear. But two children approached. A young girl and a little boy. They bowed their heads with respect.

"Thank you..." the girl said, smiling, "for saving my mom."

Kai disappeared. But those words remained etched in his mind. The march to the south began. Portal after portal. This time he couldn't just devastate everything without thinking. There were more hostages. He couldn't repeat what happened on the first continent.

"If I keep going like this..." Kai said, "it will take too long. I need to know where there are hostages."

"Throw the shield into the sky," Liris replied. "Voraghun's eyes can see everything."

Kai threw the shield. Voraghun pierced the clouds and remained suspended in the...

Atmosphere, like a divine eye. The entire continent unfolded before Kai.

"I am checking all the portals," Voraghun's voice rumbled. A tense silence. "Only two had hostages. You have already destroyed them, Kai."

Kai exhaled.

"And the archdemons?"

"They are in the Vampire Kingdom," Liris said. "That kingdom has a different protection. There is no army. There are no generals."

Solarael spoke with gravity:

"Only the four of them. They are waiting for you."

Kai clenched his fist.

"Then… I will destroy everything else."

The blue march resumed. Country after country. Portal after portal. The hordes fell. The surviving Heralos were hunted by local armies. Hell was retreating. And from the Vampire Kingdom, the archdemons watched the horizon explode again and again. They knew the inevitable.

Until… the explosions ceased. Silence returned. Among the trees, a figure appeared walking. Covered in the dark blood of the Heralos. Sword in hand. Kai raised his arm. From the sky, Voraghun descended, slamming into the ground with a roar of wind. The Black Knight stood before them. Four archdemons. Enemies he had never faced. And for the first time since the hunt began… the world held its breath. Before Kai, there they were.

Gluttony. Famine. Pestilence. And Death.

Death ignored him completely, leaning disinterestedly against the portal as if Kai did not even deserve his attention. Gluttony watched him with an almost childlike fascination, eyes scanning him like one evaluating a strange delicacy. Famine laughed—a dry, mocking laugh, full of contempt. But Pestilence… Pestilence looked at him with pure hatred. He was the first to step forward.

"You, cursed one," he spat. "You have humiliated me. You have destroyed my army. I will finish you… but I will not do it quickly."

His voice was heavy with promises of pain.

Far from there, but with a privileged view, the vampire king watched from the balcony of his castle. The portal opened dangerously close to his domain, lighting up the night with an unnatural glow. Beside him stood Alequey, a fifteen-hundred-year-old vampire, his oldest and most powerful advisor.

"Is that the blue bolt?" the king asked, without looking away.

"Yes, my lord," Alequey replied. "I have investigated everything possible in these few hours. He seems to be the same warrior who has traveled across the continents, destroying portals and annihilating entire hordes."

The king clenched his fists.

"Cursed archdemons… My ancestors sealed an alliance with them, and now it is I who must carry the weight of that pact. Do you think that warrior can defeat them?"

Alequey remained silent for a moment.

"I do not know, lord. But if he has destroyed the entire army of the Heralos… then there is a possibility."

"I understand," the king said. "Let us continue watching."

Back on the battlefield, Pestilence smiled with cruelty.

"Do you know what I will do first?" he continued. "I will rip off your fingers, one by one. I want you to remember every second for meddling with me, you cursed brat."

Kai did not answer. There was no rage on his face. There was no fear. Only silence. Then, without any warning, Death moved. A brutal punch crossed the air. Voraghun reacted by instinct, raising Kai's arm to block the blow. The shield's magical force sustained the impact… barely.

The clash was devastating. Kai was sent flying like a projectile, pierced through an entire mountain, and ended up buried under tons of earth and rock. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. The world was spinning. Pain arrived in waves.

"If it hadn't been for me," Voraghun's voice resonated, "that blow would have gone straight through your stomach."

"You must understand, Kai," Liris added. "These beings want to kill you. You cannot be overconfident."

Kai coughed, pulling himself up among the debris.

"I know..." he replied. "But look at them. They don't use swords. They don't use shields. And that one..." he looked up at Pestilence, "has challenged me with fists."

"Don't do it," Liris warned. "You cannot beat them without us."

Kai gritted his teeth.

"You have already done enough..."

And he took a step forward.

"Now I want this guy to understand who he's fighting."

Then Kai took a leap and returned to the place from which he had been thrown. He landed in front of Pestilence. He drove his sword into the ground. He drove his shield beside it.

He flexed his legs and raised his fists. Perfect guard. Pestilence looked at him in disbelief.

"So the boy wants to challenge me with fists?" he laughed. "You're crazy."

He attacked. His strikes were fast, violent, charged with a power that could pulverize steel. He threw one, two, three consecutive impacts. Kai dodged them all. He didn't retreat. He didn't block. He only moved just enough.

Pestilence frowned. Blow after blow, faster and faster… and Kai kept dodging, like an elite boxer, reading every movement before it happened. It was impossible. Kai had six hundred and sixty-six years of training engraved into his body. When he saw the opening, he attacked. A sharp kick to the temple.

Pestilence was sent flying and crashed into the ground, tearing up stone and earth in his path. For the first time, the archdemon understood something: that boy… was as strong as he was.

Famine and Gluttony joined in immediately. Three against one. Blows from every angle. Fists, knees, brutal impacts. Kai resisted thanks to the armor, but even so, every strike made his body vibrate. Death remained leaning against the portal. He did not move. Kai noticed it. He wanted him to move aside. Death knew it. That was why he didn't do it.

A blow from Gluttony connected squarely. An upward kick that lifted Kai off the ground and sent him through the air. While Kai floated for an instant, Famine raised his hand.

A violet energy condensed, spinning upon itself like an unstable core. He threw it. The impact was monstrous. Eighteen kilotons of pure energy. As powerful as a nuclear bomb. Everything disappeared. The forest was leveled. The earth vaporized. A gigantic mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The portal survived only because Death protected it with an invisible shield.

Kai appeared buried under earth and rocks.

"Don't worry," Liris said. "We can withstand attacks of that level."

Kai was breathing with difficulty.

"But it's not wise to keep fighting like this," Liris continued. "Neither Solarael nor Voraghun should enter yet. I have a plan."

Kai understood instantly.

"Alright," he replied. "Say no more."

He stood up. He disappeared. He appeared striking. A punch to Famine. A brutal kick to Gluttony. A knee straight to Pestilence's face. The three of them bled. Death narrowed his eyes. He understood the truth: they could not win alone.

And that was the moment Kai was waiting for. Death moved away from the portal. All four attacked at the same time. Kai jumped and began to move in the air as if floating. He dodged impossible blows, passing between attacks with unreal speed. But Death was different. He disappeared. He appeared in front of Kai. An upward kick landed squarely on his head and slammed him into the ground.

Kai fell. Then the massacre began.

Gluttony, Famine, and Pestilence kicked him relentlessly. They held his head and slammed it against the rock. The pain was unbearable. Gluttony grabbed his right arm. Famine his left. They lifted him up. Pestilence struck him again and again.

Death stepped forward. He took Kai's sword, still driven into the ground: Solarael. They forced Kai to his knees. The blade rested against the chest of the armor. Kai was defeated. Subdued.

Death raised the sword. He was going to run him through. But Kai, hidden in his hand, had the small blue marble. He threw it. In the instant the marble flew toward the portal's gem… Kai disappeared. The sword pierced the air and drove into the ground. The four stood motionless. They did not understand.

Then, behind them, the marble struck the portal's gem, and Kai appeared in front of the portal and struck the gem with what strength he had left. The gem exploded. The portal collapsed. The explosion shook the entire valley. Silence. The portal had been destroyed.

At that moment, the sword became impossible to move. Solarael weighed as much as a mountain. The blade sank even deeper into the ground, and Death tried to lift it… but could not. For the first time, something resisted him. Kai, on his knees, looked up.

It had all been a plan. He had allowed them to subdue him. He had accepted falling, being humiliated, being one step away from death… only to reach the portal. He had never tried to defeat the four horsemen. His only objective had been to destroy the portal. Nothing else.

The four of them understood it at the same time. Fury erupted.

"I am going to rip the bones out of you with my own hands, you cursed spawn," roared Death.

Gluttony, Famine, and Pestilence unleashed their power without restraint. The air trembled. The ground cracked. The pressure was unbearable. Kai knew it: "I'm going to die." But he also knew something else: "The world is safe."

Then, space tore open. A portal appeared… but it had no gem. It was not a structure. It was pure magic. From it emerged a young man no older than twenty-two. Black cape. Purple, deep, ancient eyes. His presence extinguished the fury of the place as if someone had closed an invisible door. He looked at the four horsemen.

"The four of you," he said calmly. "Come with me."

"We haven't lost yet!" roared Gluttony.

"Let me kill him!" shouted Pestilence. "Let me finish him!"

The newcomer did not raise his voice.

"He has already defeated you."

Death turned his face toward him.

"Beelzebub… what do you mean he defeated us? You know well that we are still alive."

"But you lost the army," Beelzebub replied. "You lost the portals. The wager was clear: if the mortals closed the portals, you would lose the right to remain in this world."

Silence fell like a sentence.

"Do you intend to disobey me?"

The four horsemen looked at Kai. With hatred. With promises of vengeance. Without saying a single word, they entered the portal. Beelzebub was the last to turn around.

"They will haunt you for eternity, boy."

Kai, shattered, stood up as best he could. He puffed out his chest, barely.

"I'll be right here."

"As you wish," said Beelzebub.

The portal closed. And then, Kai fell. His body was destroyed. Broken ribs. Internal bleeding. Every blow from the horsemen had been absolute. There was no strength left in him. With the last of what he had, he threw the blue marble. The world folded. He fell onto the sand, in front of his house. The armor vanished. The shield lay inert. The sword was dark.

In the Vampire Kingdom, Alequey walked through the battlefield. Mountains leveled. Forests erased. No trace of the portal remained. Not a single Heralo remained standing. The armies of the world had hunted them down to the very last one. Alequey bowed his head.

"This… is a miracle from the Lord."

Kai remained unconscious. Bleeding. Broken. Then, on the beach, Fenris appeared. He took him in his arms, surprised by his weight, by the fragility of the body that had held up the world.

"What happened…?" he asked.

The sword's voice answered, soft, solemn:

"He faced all of Hell. That… is what happened."

Fenris tried to lift Kai as best he could, but as soon as he wrapped his arms around his body, he understood the magnitude of the...

Problem. He weighed an enormous amount. It wasn't just flesh and bone: it was like carrying a compressed mountain, a body saturated with power, so dense that it defied all logic.

That was when Belmoth, the crowned tiger, appeared. Without saying a word, he positioned himself on the other side. Between the two of them, straining muscles, claws, and fangs, they managed to lift Kai just a few inches off the ground. The boy weighed two hundred tons. Even for legendary beasts like them, it bordered on the limit.

They advanced step by step to the stone stretcher resting inside the cave—the same beach cave where Kai had been subjected to experiments as a child, when he still didn't understand why the world demanded so much pain from him. There they laid him down carefully, as if fearing that even the slightest movement might break something irreparable.

As soon as his body touched the stretcher, it began to glow. It wasn't a chaotic glow, but a deep, steady one, like a core waking up. Fenris recognized it immediately: Evolution had begun its work. The ability responded to the damage received, rewriting his existence, raising him to the level of that which had tried to destroy him.

They cleaned his face, stained with blood and ash. They bandaged the most visible wounds as best they could, though they knew it was almost symbolic. What was truly important was happening on a much deeper level. They left him there, in the silence of the cave. While Fenris and Belmoth remained nearby, they talked with Solarael, Liris, and Voraghun. They needed to understand what had really happened.

"Kai has saved the planet," one of them said, their voice still trembling.

It had happened in less than twelve hours. Kai had faced the entire army of hell, fought against the four archdemons… and won. He nearly died in the attempt.

"The Black Knight," Solarael added with respect, "blocked the path to Hades."

Fenris nodded slowly.

"I understand…"

Belmoth looked toward the interior of the cave, where Kai's luminous body lay motionless.

"The world has just entered a new stage," said the tiger. "Jetris now has a warrior capable of facing all of Hell."

"Yes, I know," Fenris replied. "I will stay here, guarding the entrance. Nothing will get close while he is vulnerable."

"Don't worry," the others replied. "We will all be close by. I will scout the peninsula. I'll see if any Heralo remains alive."

And so they did. While Belmoth and the other crowned beasts patrolled not only the peninsula but all territories, they began an implacable hunt. They found Heralos hidden in forests, in ruins, in areas where the army had never reached. Creatures that planned to scourge defenseless villages, believing that chaos still reigned. Not one survived. The six kings, along with their daughters, took it upon themselves to exterminate them. There was no mercy. Not after what had happened.

For seventy-six hours, Fenris remained in front of the cave entrance without moving. He did not sleep. He did not lower his guard. Inside, Kai was crossing a new threshold. His evolution was molding him to match—and surpass—that which had damaged him. In seventy-six hours, the same warrior would not emerge from that cave. Someone new would come out.

Meanwhile, the whole world was talking. They spoke of a blue bolt that had streaked across the sky. Of a warrior who fought in the kingdom of the jungle. Children told stories of the great hero: of the Black Knight, of the sword of fire, of the shield shaped like the face of a demonic beast. Legends began to be born. Every country was liberated from two or three portals. Entire hordes vanished. There were many casualties in the...

Armies, yes… but they were insignificant compared to the total destruction that would have occurred if the Black Knight had not intervened. The kings called emergency meetings.

For the first time in history, the Hero King and the Demon King sat at the same table. Not to talk about peace, but to discuss a military alliance. Both had too much to lose: daughters, families, sons they did not want to see suffer. Entire villages had been saved.

The legend of the Black Knight traveled to every corner of Jetris: towns, villages, cities, capitals, forgotten roads. And always, always, it was the children who spoke of the blue bolt that fell from the sky like a divine explosion upon the hordes and the portals. In the Vampire Kingdom, people spoke of the great explosion where the four archdemons had faced the unknown hero. The Vampire King himself and his nobles had been witnesses to that impossible battle. All of Jetris wanted to know who the Black Knight was. But he had disappeared. And no one knew his name.

Chapter 14: The War from Sun to Sun

The War from Sun to Sun had not lasted more than fourteen hours. However, its consequences would span generations. Two weeks later, the world still trembled. Not because of the demons—who had been defeated—but because of the fear that they might return.

The great powers began to move with a speed they had never shown in times of peace. Urgent alliances were signed, emissaries were sent to all corners of the world, and above all, colossal loans were requested. Enormous loans, unthinkable until then, destined for one thing: strengthening the armies. The fear of the Heralos was deep. It was not an irrational fear, but one learned through blood. The great nations knew that if they had appeared once…

They could do it again. The Hero King and the Demon King sealed an unprecedented military alliance, joined by all the countries of the continent. Ancient enmities were cast aside. The Fire Empire and the Gatay Empire, historical rivals, forgot their disputes and formed a pact that completely protected continent two.

Continent three was never attacked. The divine dragons were too powerful, and the Heralos never had any intention of facing them. Even so, the rumor had reached even there. The rumor of an unknown knight. Of a warrior capable of facing entire armies and the archdemons. The Dragon Emperor watched his children in silence: the Black Dragon and the Golden Dragon. For the first time in centuries, a doubt crossed his mind.

"Perhaps," he thought, "we are no longer the only ones. Perhaps we are no longer the strongest."

The world was changing. Alliances became total. Continent one and continent two cooperated in both trade and military matters. There were no exceptions. No country was ignored or marginalized. Everyone had been attacked, and therefore, they all shared the same thing: a common enemy… and a common ally.

As the weeks passed, life began to return to a certain normalcy. But no one forgot. Investigations finally revealed the truth: the portals had been opened by religious sects that worshipped hell. Sacrifices of virgins and children had been the price to break the barrier between worlds. Those practices were banned across all continents, without exception.

Warlocks, witches, mages, "polverinos," and nobles who paid homage to Beelzebub were captured. The penalty was only one: death. None remained who practiced those rituals openly, though everyone knew some would always hide in the shadows. This time, the legends of the Heralos were not ignored.

The planet had lived in peace for a thousand years. The War from Sun to Sun had shattered that illusion forever. Nothing would ever be the same. When the armies reached the battlefields where the Black Knight had fought, they fell silent. The Hero King would never forget that vision: the earth was scorched as if the sun itself had descended from the sky. He had never seen such a landscape.

The paladin, standing beside him in the throne room, broke the silence.

"My king… do you believe this knight could be a threat to us?"

The Hero King took a moment before answering. Then he spoke calmly, with the voice of someone who had survived the judgment of the world.

"Learn two things, boy. First: he is not our friend… and that means he has very few reasons to become our enemy. Second: he is not our enemy either. Because if he were, we would all be dead by now."

The paladin remained silent. The king sat on his throne and, in the depths of his heart, thanked God. For him, there was no doubt: that intervention could only have been divine will.

Meanwhile, the kingdoms continued to go into debt. Banks around the world granted gigantic loans to reinforce defenses. The empires knew that, from now on, no one would ever take war lightly again. The commoners celebrated. Villages rejoiced in survival. For the first time, common people could become part of the armies. Experienced adventurers were recruited with high pay and elevated to the rank of national heroes. Every king, every emperor, swore never again to yield a single inch to the darkness.

Meanwhile, Kai continued to work in silence. He had multiplied. His copies traveled through entire countries, searching for lingering Heralos or warlocks who...

Attempted to open new portals. He found nothing. The threat had been eradicated… for now.

In parallel, the formation of his bank began in the kingdom of the mercenaries. One of his clones even performed military service. Kai was entering, slowly but surely, the world of business and silent power. But fate was not yet finished with him.

Years later, one hundred and eleven figures would appear on the world's chessboard. And each one of them would forever change the destiny of the powerful knight.