Eleven months had passed.
During its unconscious time, the Dark Spiritual Lotus absorbed something from the environment.
Pure spiritual energy.
It wasn't food. It wasn't breast milk.
But it was enough to keep his body from wasting away.
The void.
It was the only thing Kael felt.
The cold, damp stones of the ancient altar surrounded him, and silence pressed against him like an endless abyss.
Until he finally awoke.
He was alive.
But he was alone.
There was no sign of his mother. He couldn't feel his father's presence. Only the emptiness stretched endlessly around him.
His mind, sharp even in the fragile body of a child, pieced together the truth. His parents were dead. His enemies thought him gone as well.
And if he left this place unprepared, he truly would die.
Kael closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. The stillness of the altar hid something deeper. The world wasn't silent.
Far from it.
The Forest of Eryndor.
One of the oldest and most mysterious places in Lumora. Here, spiritual energy didn't just exist—it lived, flowing through the trees, the soil, the very air itself.
Kael felt it.
Every leaf, every whisper of wind, every drop of dew on the altar's stones pulsed with energy.
And then he noticed something else.
The Dark Spiritual Lotus inside him was absorbing that energy. Slowly, but steadily.
That was why he was still alive.
But energy alone wouldn't be enough.
He had to move. He had to leave.
His body, small and weak, strained as he crawled forward. The rough stone of the altar scraped against his fragile hands and knees, but he didn't stop.
And when he finally pulled himself free, he saw the world for the first time.
The light was faint, but it was enough to make him blink as his eyes adjusted.
The landscape stretched out before him like a dream. Towering trees with leaves that shimmered in hues of blue and gold reached into the heavens. A dense mist hugged the forest floor, and glowing spirits flitted through the air like fireflies, vanishing and reappearing in playful arcs.
But Kael wasn't distracted by the beauty.
His instincts screamed at him.
The danger was everywhere.
He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there—predators, ancient and bloodthirsty, lurking just beyond the mist.
This wasn't a home.
It was a hunting ground.
And he was the prey.
Kael refused to die. Not now. Not after everything that had happened.
Without hesitation, he crawled forward, searching for a place to hide.
Night fell, and the temperature plummeted.
Kael dragged himself beneath the gnarled roots of a massive tree. The space was small, but it shielded him from the cold wind and the prying eyes of the predators that prowled the forest.
The sounds of the night were terrifying.
Distant roars echoed through the trees. Branches cracked as something heavy moved in the darkness.
Kael pressed himself into the shadows, his breathing shallow. He couldn't sleep. Sleep would mean death.
And then, he heard the voice again.
That same voice from the day his parents died.
"Do you want to live?"
Kael didn't answer. He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath.
"Then learn to hunt."
His body was still weak. Helpless. But his mind was not.
And when he opened his eyes again, something inside him had changed.
Kael understood three things that night.
Fear wouldn't save him.
If he wanted to survive, he would have to kill.
The weak were devoured, and the strong became hunters. He would not remain prey.
And the Dark Spiritual Lotus inside him wasn't just a source of power. It was a weapon.
Kael wasn't a victim.
He was a predator...
...a predator who didn't yet know how to hunt.
But he would learn.
And when he did, the world would learn his name.