In the room that had nothing but dimly lit candles on golden chandeliers Kael stood motionless as the memory fragment pulsated in his palm. It was like a living heartbeat, urging him to absorb its truth. He closed his eyes, and in that moment, the world around him seemed to fade. The stillness that had surrounded him seemed to quieten the more, the air grew heavy with silence, and his body was drawn into the memory.
The first thing Kael felt was the warmth of the sun on his face, the hum of life in the air, a simplicity he had almost forgotten. He was no longer Kael, the being who wielded the abyssal powers of the fallen Azazel and the extreme light from the Demi god of light. He was Kaanan, a mere boy of sixteen, standing on the threshold of a future that was far from clear.
He found himself standing beside an elderly woman, his grandmother, Teadra. Her silver hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her sharp eyes, though old, carried the weight of untold secrets. Beside her were two men, his uncles, whose presence seemed strange and imposing.
"Come, Kaanan," Teadra's voice rang clear, like a bell in the stillness. "You must meet your uncles."
Kaanan looked up at her, confusion evident in his young eyes. Since he grew to an age of awareness he had never seen his parents nor any relative except from the woman before him who seemed to never age beyond the way she looked, she had never told him anything about his family or lineage neither have he heard of uncles before, and their dark robes and stern faces only added to the unease that bloomed in his chest.
"They've come from a faraway place," Teadra continued, her tone almost distant. "They carry a task that is tied to your bloodline, though you may not understand it yet."
Kaanan took a hesitant step forward, his bare feet brushing against the warm earth. He studied his uncles—tall and imposing, with eyes that seemed to flicker with a strange intensity. One of them, the older of the two, gave him a stern look, as if evaluating him.
"I trust the boy will be ready," the older uncle said, his voice deep and resonant.
The other uncle, a younger man with piercing eyes, glanced at him with a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Time will tell."
Teadra's gaze remained steady as she spoke, her voice carrying a weight of authority. "They've come to help guide you. You may not know it now, but maybe sometime in the future you'll have to help with the task your grandfather gave to them"
She smiled gently while stroking his smooth dark hair.
Kaanan stared at his grandmother, his young mind grappling with the words. "But… what does that mean for me? I don't understand a thing"
Teadra's expression softened and her voice came out soft and calming, though there was still a hardness to her eyes. "Your bloodline, Kaanan, is more than just a name. You'll understand when the time comes, and then you'll be ready to help your uncles"
"Yes mama, I'll definitely help them and make grandma and grandpa proud" Kaanan said enthusiastically .
Kaanan felt a knot form in his stomach. For some reason he felt like there was more to this situation than his grandmother was telling and she made it obvious that she was hiding somethings , the question was why?. His uncles remained silent, observing him, as if waiting for something to unfold.
Days passed, and Kaanan found himself increasingly troubled by the mysterious mission his uncles had hinted at. He saw less of them, as they spent their time discussing things with Teadra in hushed tones, and he was left to wander the vast grounds of his grandmother's home.
------
A few years later.
"Kaanan," she began softly, her gaze unwavering as she looked at her grandson. "You are no longer a child. It is time you know the truth of your origins."
Kaanan swallowed hard, his heart racing. "The truth?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
Teadra sighed deeply, her eyes growing distant. "You were born into a very powerful bloodline , and even grandma herself is a very powerful person but you don't know it yet". She said with a small smile hanging on her lips . "Those uncles of yours, who came to guide you have abandoned their mission. They were once entrusted with a sacred task to eliminate the fugitives of heaven, to destroy the remnants of those who once opposed the heavens and your grandfather cleansed them but a few escaped, and to cleanse their bloodline they were entrusted with this task. But instead of fulfilling that task, they sought to rebuild the realm that once belonged to this fugitives. They grew weak, and in their arrogance, they thought they could restore something that was never meant to be."
Kaanan shook his head, confusion wrinkling his brow. "But… they're my uncles. They've been kind to me. Why would they lie?"
"They didn't lie," Teadra replied, her voice heavy with sorrow. "They believe they are right. But they have forgotten what they were meant to do. You are the last hope of your bloodline, Kaanan. You must awaken the Emperor Dragon's power within you to stop them, or they will undo the balance of all that was meant to be."
Kaanan's eyes widened with shock
"Em..em..mperor what??!!!"
His grandmother stared at him calmly, and also seeing that his grandmother wasn't joking around he calmed down and his gaze became serious.
Kaanan's world spun as the weight of her words settled in. He looked at his grandmother, struggling to understand the magnitude of what she had just told him. "But… how? I don't even know where to begin."
Teadra's eyes softened with affection as she took his hands in hers. "You will find the strength, Kaanan. Your first taste of power awaits you in the heart of the volcano. A place named Kīlauea , located in Hawaii .There, deep within the fiery core, lies the true essence of your bloodline. You must go there and awaken the power within you."
Kaanan's heart raced. A volcano? A core? Power??
His head spun for sometime but the curiosity was also getting the best of him, he had read a lot of books, his grandmother had tons of books with lots of interesting stories so he knew what all those things meant but he never imagined the fantasy he read would actually catch up to him in reality.
Before he could speak, Teadra stood, her expression hardening once more. "This is your destiny. The uncles who have abandoned their duty will not stop you. They think they can control what they've forsaken. But you are the one who must restore the balance, though you do have a choice. You can choose to abandon this mission and live your life as a normal human being or you can choose to retrieve the lost glory of your family and reunite with your parents once again, the choice is yours, but do remember that whichever choice you make, there would be no turning back."
The memory flickered like a dying flame, and just as Kaanan—no, Kael—felt himself being pulled back to the present, Teadra's voice lingered in his mind.
"Remember, Kaanan. Kīlauea . There your first awakening awaits. The Emperor Dragon's blood calls to you."
As the memory fully absorbed into Kael's being, he gasped, his body trembling from the weight of it. This memory fragment also gave a location, but the major thing now was he now knew a little bit of his origins.
Kīlauea… the place where his bloodline's true power awaited him.
He would go there but first, there's somewhere he had to go first...