The underground city was silent when Kael returned to his quarters. Shadows flickered along the walls, twisting unnaturally as if whispering secrets meant only for him.
His training with Shade had left him exhausted, but sleep refused to come. Something stirred in his mind—fragments of a past he could not fully remember.
Sitting on the stone floor, Kael closed his eyes and allowed the silence to take hold.
Then—a memory surfaced.
The Experiment
He was back in the cold, sterile chamber. The stench of blood and incense filled the air. Metal restraints bound his wrists and ankles to a stone altar. He struggled, but his body was weak—poisoned, drained.
Figures in dark robes circled around him. The Nightfall Syndicate. His former guild.
A man stood at the center, his voice cold and emotionless. "The ritual must be completed. He must become more than human."
Then—pain.
A blade sank into his chest, not to kill, but to mark him. A sigil burned itself into his skin, pulsing with unnatural energy.
Kael's screams echoed through the chamber. The pain was unbearable—like his very soul was being shattered and rebuilt.
The memory blurred, flashing forward. A massacre. Blood. Shadows moving unnaturally.
Then—darkness.
Back to Reality
Kael's eyes snapped open, his breath ragged. His fingers dug into the stone floor. That ritual… that was the moment everything changed.
He had been betrayed by the very guild he once called family.
And now he understood why the Keeper of Secrets had spoken of his "Eclipsed Bloodline."
They had tried to forge him into something unnatural. A weapon.
"But something went wrong," Kael thought. "I escaped."
But why? And how?
Too many questions. Not enough answers.
One thing was certain—the Nightfall Syndicate had created a monster. And now that monster was coming for them.
Kael rose to his feet, his expression cold.
"I need more information."
And he knew exactly where to start.
The Path Forward
The Obsidian Veil had knowledge of ancient bloodlines, lost assassins, and secret rituals. If anyone had answers, it was them.
His next move was clear: find the truth. Unravel the lies. And prepare for vengeance.
Kael stepped into the night, his resolve unshaken. The hunt had begun.
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