As Kai rushed through the city streets, the few cityfolk who were out and about stared at him. A five year old boy in the middle of the night Kai's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night as he fled into the city. The shouts from the Hall of Sorcery lessened the further he ran. The shimmer from the barrier enclosing Ylthara warped the light of the moon across the land.
His breath came in ragged gasps, the snowy night air burning his lungs as his feet pounded against the wet stone streets. He struggled to stay upright as he glided over the icy mounds of compacted snow.
Warning bells rang out from behind Kai, echoing throughout the city. The barking of dogs followed.
The light of divine magic flickered in the distance, chasing after him like a predator hunting its prey. They wouldn't stop until they caught or killed him.
'Keep moving. Keep thinking.'
His mind raced through possibilities.
'I still have Troy's mana, well, his life essence. Could I use that to break through the city's barrier?' Kai looked at the barrier. 'No, I can't try that yet. I don't know enough about the barrier and I don't have the leeway to experiment. I need somewhere to hide. I need somewhere to think.'
A sudden burst of light lit up the area behind Kai. The density of the mana around him shifted, making way for something.
Kai shifted his body, barely managing to dodge a golden spear of energy that shot past him. It struck the ground where he had been a second ago. The impact sent a shockwave through the alley, cracking stone and shattering nearby windows. The air smelled burnt.
"Damn it," he huffed, forcing his legs to move faster.
He darted through winding alleys, the sounds of pursuit fading behind him. He didn't know where he was going—only that he had to keep moving.
'Where can I even go? Everybody will probably be looking for me.'
Kai spied over, through the moonlight, to the slums of Ylthara.
Rough hands wrapped around his mouth and chest.
Before he could react, someone yanked him sideways into a narrow alleyway. His heart slammed against his ribs as he struggled, but his body was weak, battered from the chase and the battle.
"Shh." A voice whispered in his ear. "You want to get caught?"
The grip eased slightly. Kai twisted his head enough to see his captor.
An older girl, barely in her mid-teens, with dark, sun-kissed skin, brown eyes, and a mop of tangled black hair.
She looked street-worn, but not cruel.
Kai staggered forward as the girl released him. He steadied his breath, scanning his surroundings.
Two smaller figures stood behind the girl, viewing Kai from the ragged folds of the girl's clothes. The girl walked down the alley and Kai followed.
'Better to stick with her than those hunting me down.'
They turned down several dilapidated streets until they came to a larger opening.
The space was surprisingly cramped, littered with makeshift sleeping spots made from old cloth and wooden crates, with rickety shelters above them that barely held together. It was clear these children had lived here for a long time.
"Who…" Kai started, but his voice came out hoarse. He swallowed and tried again. "Who are you?"
The girl crossed her arms. "Should be asking you that."
"Kai." He hesitated. "Just… Kai."
The girl studied him for a moment before giving a small nod. "Rhea." She jerked her chin toward the others. "And this lot? We're the discarded. The forgotten stains of Ylthara."
Kai frowned, her words eerily close to what Aldric had said before reaching the Halls of Sorcery. The other children stepped closer, their small faces filled with curiosity rather than suspicion.
"We're the ones no one wants," Rhea continued. "The orphaned, the problems, the 'variants.' The city doesn't care about us. So we don't care about it."
Kai swallowed, his mind racing.
'Variants? Was she talking about those with unusual magic? Or something else entirely?'
He kept his expression neutral, not wanting to give away too much. He didn't know how they'd react if they found out what he was.
One of the younger kids, a girl no older than seven, tugged on his sleeve. "You're all beat up. Did the enforcers get you?"
"Something like that," Kai muttered.
"Were you in the Hall of Sorcery?" another boy, maybe ten, asked. His eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Did you see the big stone thingy?"
"Did they give you a rank?"
Rhea's sharp gaze flicked between Kai and the kids, catching every detail. He had to tread carefully.
"I didn't stick around long enough for that," he falsely admitted.
'I shouldn't tell them anything about my rank or specialisation.'
The children laughed at that, and some of the tension in his chest eased. For now, they weren't questioning him too deeply.
Rhea, however, wasn't so easily convinced. "People don't just run from the Hall. What did you do?"
Kai hesitated. He wasn't ready to explain. Not yet. Instead, he knelt down and called to Shade. The shadowy creature slithered from his feet and solidified, shifting into the form of a small inky-black fox, its eyes glinting like twin stars.
Gasps of delight rippled through the children.
"You have a spirit animal?" a boy asked, eyes wide.
"Sort of," Kai said vaguely. "Watch this."
With a thought, Shade twisted into the shape of a long snake, then a small dragon, then a massive, exaggerated version of the ten-year-old boy who had asked the question, making the others burst into laughter.
The children clapped and cheered as Shade pranced around, shifting between shapes in an exaggerated, playful manner. Even Rhea's guarded expression softened, if only slightly.
"So," Rhea started, "what is it?"
"I call him Shade. He's a shadow creature that I can control. It protects me when I need it, but it doesn't exist outside of my thoughts and actions. He's like a weapon."
"So, if you're here, will he protect us as well?"
"If I'm being honest, unless I want him to, probably not."
"And do you want to?"
"I don't know, yet. I don't know any of you."
Kai exhaled. At least, for now, he had a place to rest. He didn't know what would come next, but one thing was certain, he was not alone in the depths of Ylthara's slums.
On top of that, if the city had truly discarded these children, then maybe, just maybe, he had found something worth protecting and something that would protect him in kind.
'I need all of the friends I can get right now, even if they're children.'
As soon as the adrenaline wore off, Kai's body seized due to the searing pain all over his body, and he lost consciousness.