Kael's body ached, but his mind was the real battleground. The Mental Endurance Test had been grueling, and although he had passed, it hadn't come without consequences. For the first time in weeks, he felt the full weight of the power that lay dormant within him. The Ecliptine energy was still there, thrumming under his skin, but it was wild, unpredictable. He could control it only in short bursts, like a flame he was desperately trying to keep contained.
He didn't belong here, not in the Citadel, not in this world of constant tests and trials. Kael wasn't like the others who fought for prestige, for recognition. He wasn't like them at all. They saw the Citadel as a place of growth, a way to climb the ladder of power. But Kael had learned long ago that power, unchecked and uncontrolled, could destroy everything in its path. That was the lesson his father had taught him before his death. Kael had learned that lesson too well.
It was late in the evening when Kael found himself standing on the balcony of the Citadel, gazing out into the vast, darkened horizon. The twin moons hung like pale sentinels in the sky, their dim light casting long shadows over the land. The city below was quiet, the hum of the machinery in the distance barely audible. There was a strange calm in the air, but it didn't soothe Kael. It only made him feel more out of place.
He wasn't meant to be here forever. He knew that deep down. The Citadel was a temporary stop on a journey that had begun long before he had arrived. He had a purpose, and it was something beyond the confines of these walls.
Instructor Rian had warned him that he couldn't stay here forever, that his time at the Citadel was coming to a close. Soon, Kael would be forced to choose a path, to decide who he would become. But what if the path he was meant to walk didn't exist here? What if there was more beyond the Citadel's walls, a world full of untapped possibilities?
Kael closed his eyes, letting the wind whip through his hair. He could feel the Ecliptine energy within him, thrumming in his chest like a second heartbeat. He could control it, just barely, but it was slipping from his grasp. The longer he stayed in the Citadel, the harder it was to hold on.
His father had been a Beast Slayer, a legendary warrior who had died in pursuit of honor. Kael had been raised to follow in his father's footsteps, to become a warrior of renown. But Kael was no ordinary warrior. His father's power had been contained, focused, while Kael's power was wild, untamed, and unpredictable. The Beast Slayer path wasn't for him. It never had been. Kael could feel it in his bones—the pull of something greater.
A noise from behind interrupted his thoughts. He turned to find one of his fellow students approaching, her footsteps soft on the stone floor. It was Lira, a classmate from his year, one of the few people who had managed to earn his respect. Unlike most of the others, Lira wasn't obsessed with gaining power or glory. She understood the weight of their abilities, the responsibility that came with them.
"You look lost," Lira said quietly, her voice barely louder than the wind. "I've been watching you. You've been quieter than usual."
Kael didn't respond immediately. He didn't know how to explain the gnawing emptiness that had taken root in his chest. He wasn't even sure he understood it himself.
"I'm fine," he finally said, his voice distant.
Lira didn't believe him, but she didn't press. Instead, she stepped closer, her eyes scanning the horizon. "You know," she began, "most people would be celebrating their success after the Mental Endurance Test. But you're still here, still thinking about what's next, aren't you?"
Kael glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What's next?" he echoed, the question feeling almost foreign. "I don't even know if I want to finish my time here."
Lira raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you leave?"
The question hung in the air, and for a moment, Kael considered it. Could he just leave? Walk away from the Citadel, from everything that had been expected of him?
The truth was, Kael wasn't sure. But as the wind blew through the balcony again, ruffling his hair, a part of him wanted to find out. To step outside the walls, to seek something beyond the limits of the Citadel's teachings. To become something more, something different.
"I don't know," Kael admitted, his voice low. "Maybe I don't know what I'm supposed to be."
Lira gave him a knowing look. "Then maybe it's time to stop following the path others have set for you and find your own."
Her words hit Kael like a lightning bolt, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe it wasn't the Citadel's walls that were holding him back. Maybe it was the idea that he had to follow a predetermined path. He didn't have to be what everyone expected him to be. He didn't have to be a Beast Slayer.
His gaze drifted back to the horizon, to the world beyond the Citadel. There was a whole world out there, waiting for someone to reshape it.
"I think I need to leave," Kael murmured, mostly to himself.
Lira smiled faintly, stepping away. "I thought you might say that."