Silence.
Blood dripped onto the stone floor of the alley. Zorin's sword, now powerless, fell from his hand. His body collapsed slowly, as if time itself hesitated to accept him.
Aria held Kael tightly against her chest, her face streaked with tears.
Zorin... was dead.
Her husband. The man who had protected his family with everything he had.
Dead before her eyes.
But there was no time to grieve.
The Spirit Hunters were still there.
"What a waste of time," Rhoric muttered, blood dripping from his lips as he stood, wounded but alive. "If you'd just run, maybe you could've saved your woman and the boy."
Aria trembled, but her eyes no longer held fear. They burned with hatred.
Kael, wrapped in her arms, felt her body trembling against him. He could sense everything—the metallic scent of blood, the oppressive tension in the air, the faint sound of blades being readied for another attack.
Even in the frail body of a newborn, his mind was sharp. He understood. His father had died for them. His mother was terrified, standing between him and men who would leave no survivors.
But what stirred within him was something primal, something hungry. A whisper echoed faintly in his mind, urging him, Release me.
Aria clenched her teeth and reached for Zorin's necklace.
The pendant pulsed faintly as she gripped it tightly. It was his most precious possession.
She held Kael close and whispered, "Hold on."
In the next instant, the pendant flared with light.
BOOM!
Her body shot forward, propelled by a burst of silver energy. The narrow alley blurred around her, buildings whipping past as the cold night air stung her face.
But Spirit Hunters weren't prey that could be escaped so easily.
"After her," Rhoric growled, clutching his wounded chest. "If that child gets away, we're as good as dead."
Three shadows vanished from the alley, their movements impossibly fast as they pursued her across the rooftops.
Aria felt them closing in. The pendant had given her a head start, but the burst of speed wouldn't last forever. She could feel the energy fading with every step, and the Hunters were relentless.
Ahead of her, a tall figure appeared, blocking her path.
Her heart stopped.
The man was waiting for her.
The leader of the Spirit Hunters stood with his arms crossed, his black cloak billowing slightly in the breeze. He was tall and broad-shouldered, his crimson eyes glowing with a predatory light.
"You run well," Thane de Vorakis said with a faint smile, his voice low and mocking. "But this is as far as you go."
Aria froze, clutching Kael tighter. Her mind raced. She couldn't defeat him. The other Hunters were catching up. Her only chance... was to protect Kael.
Her eyes darted to the side, where a ruined building leaned precariously against the shadows of the alley. Inside, she spotted an ancient stone altar, cracked and overgrown with moss.
She made her choice.
Her breath hitched as she held Kael closer, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead.
"Live," she whispered, her voice breaking.
Summoning the last remnants of her spiritual energy, she hurled Kael into the altar. The ancient structure shuddered as it absorbed him, wrapping his small body in a barrier of shimmering light.
Kael disappeared, his presence vanishing entirely.
Thane frowned, his eyes narrowing. "What the—"
Before he could finish, Aria turned and lunged at him.
She knew she wouldn't survive.
But if she could buy even a moment for Kael to escape, it would be enough.
Her body glowed with silver light, spiritual energy surging around her as she channeled her final technique.
Thane's eyes widened as he recognized the dangerous energy condensing around her.
"Damn it—!"
BOOOOM!
A blinding silver explosion consumed the narrow alley.
When the dust settled, there was no trace of Aria.
Thane stumbled from the wreckage, his left arm scorched and his cloak shredded. He coughed, brushing the rubble off himself as his sharp eyes scanned the ruined altar.
There was nothing. No trace of spiritual energy. No sign of the child.
"Tch."
The other Hunters appeared behind him.
"Is it over?" one of them asked hesitantly.
Thane's gaze lingered on the horizon, where the last remnants of the eclipse faded into the night.
"...Yes," he said flatly.
But something gnawed at him. A strange unease settled in his chest, a cold whisper of doubt.
He couldn't explain it, but he knew this wasn't truly the end.
He didn't realize it yet, but he was right.
Kael was alive.
Hidden within the altar, he lay still, his mind racing as his tiny body struggled to comprehend the chaos around him.
The warmth of blood. The shock of the explosion. The emptiness left behind.
And above all else... the rage.
The deaths of his parents burned within him, searing themselves into his soul.
And for the first time, something within him stirred fully awake.
A black lotus bloomed deep within his spirit, its petals unfurling one by one.
The Dark Spiritual Lotus had awakened.
The barrier around him shimmered, cloaking him entirely from detection. But the power of the lotus seeped into him, marking his very soul.
Kael faints but the memory of what happened would not disappear. he wouldn't forget.
And neither would he forgive.
Thane's name was etched into his being, a permanent scar and a promise of vengeance.
The Spirit Hunters believed the child was gone, erased from existence.
But the world didn't know...
The true monster had just been born.