Kael always woke before the sun, not because he always wanted to, but because it was merely out of habit now. His days were a blur of repetition.
He sat up on the bed and exhaled. He didn't seem to exist in this house, not since he was five. He stood up from the bed and walked up to the old desk shoved against the wall. He sat down and lit the lamp on the desk, it tilted slightly to the left, like it had been discarded from the other rooms. A few worn pages laid open; Core Theory, Mana Disciplines, all outdated by nearly a decade.
Kael read them anyway. He did not read them because he understood them, he did because he wanted to kill his boredom. He traced the words with a fingertip, trying to make little sense from its content.
But then he heard a knock on his door. The door that seemed like it was part of the mansion's wall for years, now seen as an actual door. Kael froze at that moment.
"Young master Kael, the Duke summons you."
As those words passed on to Kael, the person walked away from the door and down the hallway. He did not rise from his chair instantly, but instead, he tried to understand why he was being summoned now.
Inside the Duke's study, the air was thick with incense and tension. Core-maps, each marked with the family's bloodline and the colors they bore, rested on the wall behind him.
The GrandDuke stood across from him, dressed in gold and blue regalia with his fingers resting on the hilt of a ceremonial blade.
"…have the binding reinforced. We can't have the seals weakening."
The Duke remained still behind his desk, rubbing his temple in frustration patiently listening to the GrandDuke's words. He had always endured these lectures every single month ever since something forbidden crawled into his bloodline.
"Father. We have reinforced the binding matrix. Her soul cannot stabilize in this realm. She is powerful, yes, but broken. It won't last."
The GrandDuke's posture hardened.
"Powerful? She transcended classification. A forbidden core awakening. A child of noble blood turned into a divine threat."
"And yet she sleeps," the Duke replied calmly. "We keep her beneath, as agreed. We even had her memories erased from the records, her name lost to all but the few in this room."
The Grand Duke exhaled through his nose, then nodded.
"Make sure it stays that way. The last thing we need… is a second..."
Kael stood quietly in the corridor, just outside the door, waiting to be called in. He heard footsteps, the heavy click of ceremonial boots, and then the door opened. The Grand Duke stepped into view.
A man of high bearing. Tall, impossibly still, eyes like a sword drawn halfway. He looked down at Kael like something foul had crossed his path. Kael bowed immediately, fixing his gaze to the floor.
The Grand Duke said nothing, he just studied the boy.
"Hmph."
And then he walked on. Still, Kael didn't look up until the heavy doors closed behind him. His heart wouldn't stop racing. The Duke had seen Kael outside the time the GrandDuke left.
"Enter."
With his voice sharp and clear, Kael stepped into the room quietly and closed the door behind him.
The study swallowed him in silence. The books, the maps, the glowing runes across the walls… none of them looked welcoming. Neither did the man behind the desk.
Duke Ronan Velthorn didn't look up at first. He continued reading through a scroll, dipping his quill with calculated precision. Only once the silence began to stretch did he speak again.
"You stood in that hallway like a statue. Eavesdropping?"
A pause. Then a dry, humorless snort.
"No. That would require initiative."
Kael responded with his head down, but his eyes peaked at the Duke.
"No, my lord. I simply awaited your word."
The Duke finally met his eyes. And the weight of that gaze was colder than Kael remembered.
"Ten years in this house. Five of them spent proving nothing. No color, no potential, no growth, not even aptitude for theory."
He set the scroll down.
"I've had stableboys with more merit."
Kael's hands remained steady at his side, but inside, a familiar numbness spread through him. He did not speak. There was nothing he could say that would change the outcome. The Duke rose from his chair.
"There will be a duel. Three days from now. Your siblings will fight for position, rank within the house before their academy assessments. And you…"
His mouth curled just slightly.
"You'll stand among them. For once."
Kael raised his eyes, not in defiance, but in confusion.
"I… am to duel?"
The Duke walked past him toward the window, arms clasped behind his back.
"You are to survive. Or not. Either outcome simplifies things."
A long silence followed. Kael dared not move.
"I expect you to have learned something, even the talentless can observe, mimic, and even adapt. You've done nothing else for years. You should at least be capable of losing with grace."
Kael nodded slowly.
"I will not bring shame to your house."
The Duke turned, eyes narrowing, he was definitely not impressed, not moved, but merely tired.
"You are the shame, boy."
Kael bowed once more. He did not flinch at the words, he had heard a lot more behind his door. From siblings, tutors, even from a few servants who forgot he could hear.
"That is all. You may go."
Kael turned to leave. But just as his hand reached the door—
"Kael."
He froze.
"You may not bear a colored core… but you bear my name."
A long breath.
"Try not to make it look like a mistake."
He nodded and then left the room as quietly as he entered, closing the door behind him. The Duke exhaled heavily as he turned back to look out the window and then he walked back to his desk.
Kael met no one on the way back to his room. He closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the stiff mattress, the same one he had slept on for five years in silence. His face buried into the blanket, muffling the sound of his breath. His chest was tight, his throat ached, his eyes blurred. He just hadn't cried in a long time until today after hearing Duke's words. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
Why am I this worthless? Why was I the only one left behind? This is too much for me… Mom.
Kael couldn't help remembering his mother who died when he was three. The memory twisted inside him. It had always been clear to him: his father's disdain was merely the echo of her final breath, a punishment for the life he'd taken.
Deep in thought, he did not notice a new presence.
"Hello brother."
Kael's body jolted like he had been struck. He sat up sharply, his eyes scanning the room.
"Who—?"
That's when he saw her standing in the faint light from the window, barefoot on the cold floor, wearing a white dress that shimmered faintly at the edges—like moonlight woven into fabric though it was sunny. Her silver hair spilled down her shoulders, and her eyes…
"K… Kira?"
His voice cracked. His legs nearly gave out.
"You're dead. They said you were—you—"
Kira laughed softly, like a child trying not to wake a sleeping parent.
"Shattered? That's dramatic, even for them."
Kael blinked. The light around her seemed too soft, too unreal.
"Then what are you? A ghost?"
She walked forward with that same teasing smile she always wore when they were little.
"No, I am not a ghost. Just somewhat sealed away, beneath the mansion, actually, which is quite rude, really. But I'm learning to visit again… in this spirit form you see."
He stared at her with wide eyes and trembling hands.
"What do you mean sealed? Why are you sealed? Why now? How are you here?"
She stopped beside his bed and crouched, resting her hands on her knees.
"I broke another limit. One the elders said wasn't possible. It lets me project my spirit."
She tilted her head. "I wanted to see you."
Kael opened his mouth—then closed it again.
"You're real?"
"I am."
"But how—why didn't they tell me?"
Her eyes softened.
"Because they're afraid, Kael. Afraid of me.They wanted me forgotten. And you…"
She looked at his worn robes. His sunken shoulders.
"You were the perfect nobody to bury me with."
Kael looked down, embarrassed. The heat in his chest burned hotter than his tears.
"They would have been right to bury me. I'm nothing."
Kira's face changed. The teasing was gone.
"They're wrong, Kael. You're not nothing. You're mine."
Kael looked up.
"You're like me, well… just… sleeping."
He couldn't answer. His thoughts were spiraling.
"You want to change that? Let me help you."
"Help me how?"
She smiled again.
"Three days from now, you have a duel, right? I heard the Duke mention it."
"On that day… Tell me what you want."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"And you'll… make it happen?"
"I'll try. But I need you to trust me."
There was a long pause. Then Kael nodded—barely.
"I'll try."
Kira stood again, the light around her dimming slightly.
"Sadly, I can't stay much longer. This form—it's new to me. I still need to rest."
"Wait—where are you going?"
"Back to where they sealed me. Deep below. But I'll be watching and listening."
She turned.
"Oh," she added with a wink, "You're going to do great. Just remember—you're not alone."
Kael watched as her form slowly faded, like sunlight through mist. And then he was alone again, but this time, he wasn't afraid.
That night, as Kael stared at the ceiling, he remembered the day she was taken.
Her scream, her fight. The way she reached for him—
But the strange thing was… he had always thought she was crying at that time. Now, he remembered the truth.
She wasn't crying, instead, she was smiling.