Kael Varos crouched low in the shadows of the alley, his sharp gray eyes locked on the scene in front of him. The slums were a maze of filth and desperation, but tonight, the main thoroughfare was alive with the glow of lanterns and the heavy steps of armored beasts. A tamer patrol had come through again, their presence suffocating and undeniable.
Three tamers strode down the street, their beasts towering beside them. The leader, a man clad in dark leather armor with gold trims, held the leash of a hulking Stonehide Rhino, its heavy footsteps cracking the ground beneath it. The other two tamers followed close behind, their beasts a sleek Wind Serpent and a squat Ember Toad casting menacing shadows against the buildings.
The slum-dwellers scurried out of their way like cockroaches, their eyes fixed firmly on the ground. No one dared to meet the tamers' gaze, not even from a distance. A single wrong look was all it would take to provoke punishment.
Kael didn't look away. He didn't flinch, didn't hide. He studied them.
The tamers' beasts did all the work: clearing debris from the path, shoving people aside, and exuding an aura of fear. The tamers themselves barely paid attention to their surroundings. To them, the slums weren't worth a second glance.
"They're nothing without those monsters," Kael muttered under his breath. He'd watched tamers for years and analyzed their every movement. What they called power wasn't their own it was borrowed, a crutch for their weakness.
The Wind Serpent, its scaled body shimmering faintly under the moonlight, paused mid-slither. Its forked tongue flicked the air, tasting the scent of something nearby. Kael's body tensed as its glowing eyes turned in his direction.
"Move," he whispered to himself, slipping deeper into the alley.
The serpent hissed, but its handler gave a sharp tug on the chain, forcing it to follow. Kael exhaled quietly.
He wasn't afraid not of the tamer and certainly not of the beast. But getting caught would ruin everything. Kael was patient. He wasn't ready to act yet.
When the patrol had passed, Kael returned to the rooftop where he'd spent the last few hours. The slums stretched below him, a maze of flickering lights and choking darkness. Beyond the slums, the fortified inner city stood like a monument to privilege.
Kael hated it.
The slums were nothing more than a breeding ground for despair. The tamers ruled with their monsters, their power unquestioned, their corruption unchallenged. The people in the slums bowed and scraped, clinging to life.
But Kael was different. He didn't bow, and he never would.
He wasn't just another victim of the system. While the others in the slums fought over scraps, Kael had spent years watching and learning. He'd memorized the patrol routes of the tamer squads, the way their monsters moved, and the blind spots in their defenses. He didn't just survive he thrived, and he did it by using his mind.
Kael reached into the small satchel slung across his chest and pulled out the crumbling notebook he'd scavenged months ago. Its pages were filled with notes his notes detailing everything he'd observed about the tamers and their beasts. The Wind Serpent's strike range, the Stonehide Rhino's turning speed, and the Ember Toad's tendency to hesitate before launching its fireballs. Every detail mattered.
He flipped to a blank page and began sketching the street layout where the patrol had passed. His hand moved quickly but precisely, his mind cataloging every point of interest: the narrow alley where he could hide, the rooftop vantage point, the merchant stall where a well-timed distraction could create chaos.
Kael didn't just want to survive. He wanted to dismantle the system.
"You're up here again," a familiar voice said behind him.
Kael didn't turn. "You shouldn't sneak up on people, Eren. Especially not here."
Eren Alden climbed onto the rooftop, his face flushed from the effort. "If you didn't want me sneaking up on you, maybe you shouldn't be hiding like a rat."
Kael closed his notebook and slipped it back into his satchel. "What do you want?"
Eren dropped a sack onto the roof beside him. "Food. For us. You're welcome."
Kael glanced at the sack, then back at Eren. "You've been stealing again."
Eren shrugged. "What else am I supposed to do? Not all of us can spend our days watching tamers and writing in a notebook."
Kael's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Eren flopped down beside him, leaning back to look at the stars. "You know, normal people don't spend all their time thinking about tamers. They don't... obsess over them the way you do."
"Normal people are weak," Kael said coldly.
Eren turned his head to look at him. "You believe that, don't you?"
"I don't just believe it. I know it."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The distant howls of Rift Beasts echoed through the night, a chilling reminder of the chaos that lay beyond the city walls.
"You ever think about leaving?" Eren asked quietly.
Kael raised an eyebrow. "And go where?"
Eren gestured vaguely toward the wilderness. "I don't know. Somewhere. Anywhere but here. Maybe there's a place where tamers don't rule everything, where we don't have to scrape by like this."
Kael scoffed. "You think the world outside the walls is any different? Out there, the monsters don't care about money or titles. They'll kill you without a second thought."
Eren sighed. "I guess."
Kael didn't tell him the real reason he stayed. The slums were a prison, yes, but they were also a crucible. Every day was a test of survival, every challenge an opportunity to grow stronger. Kael had no interest in escaping. He wanted to rise above it all, to wield power that no one could take from him.
He wanted to be untouchable.
"Do you ever feel anything?" Eren asked suddenly.
Kael frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
"I mean…" Eren hesitated as if searching for the right words. "I've known you for years, and I've never seen you get angry. Or sad. Or… anything. It's like nothing gets to you."
Kael turned to him, his gray eyes cold and unblinking. "Feelings are a weakness."
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?" Kael's voice was sharp now. "What good has 'feeling' ever done for you? Has it gotten you more food? Kept you safe? Made the tamers care about us?"
Eren opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He looked away, staring at the horizon instead.
Kael stood, brushing the dust from his ragged clothes. "Go home, Eren. It's late."
"What about you?"
"I have things to do."
Without another word, Kael climbed down from the rooftop, disappearing into the shadows below.
Kael spent the rest of the night moving through the slums, gathering supplies and information. He bartered for a small pouch of herbs that would dull a beast's senses, traded stolen trinkets for a sturdier dagger, and slipped into the ruins just outside the city walls to study the patterns of the monsters that roamed there.
Every action was calculated, every step part of a larger plan.
He didn't care if the other orphans thought he was cold. He didn't care if Eren thought he was emotionless. Emotions were for the weak, and Kael had no intention of staying weak.
As dawn broke over the slums, Kael returned to his shack and slipped the dagger under his pillow. He lay down on the thin mat he called a bed, his mind still racing.
One day, he thought, the tamers would look at him the way they looked at their monsters. One day, they would fear him.
But not yet. Not today.
Kael closed his eyes, the faint sounds of the slums lulling him to sleep. His time would come.