Three days passed.
The King's Guard left without further confrontation, but their shadow lingered. Whispers followed Kael in the streets—some of admiration, some of fear. Graymist was a small village, and secrets didn't stay buried long.
But Kael no longer cared to hide.
Each day, his training grew more intense. Edrin pushed harder. The runes in the Divine page grew more responsive. Kael could now feel threads of energy around him—like unseen rivers of magic flowing through the air, the trees, the very ground beneath his feet.
He wasn't controlling them yet, but he was beginning to listen.
Edrin handed him a rolled parchment one morning. "It's time."
Kael blinked. "Time for what?"
"You need real training. Real knowledge. We can't stay in this village forever—not with eyes from the capital watching."
Kael unrolled the parchment. It was a travel pass—sealed with a forged crest—and a map marked toward the city of Veloria, a bastion of knowledge and old magic.
"There's an academy there," Edrin said. "Not one for nobles, but… they take in wanderers, mercenaries, war survivors. I pulled some favors."
Kael looked up. "You're not coming?"
Edrin shook his head. "I'd draw attention. My face is known."
"Then when will I see you again?"
"When you're strong enough to survive without me."
Kael left Graymist before sunrise.
Lady Arienne met him at the edge of the forest.
"You could've told me," she said, arms crossed.
"I didn't want to make it harder," Kael replied.
She stepped closer, holding something out—a thin silver bracelet. "My mother gave this to me before she passed. Said it would protect me. Now… I want you to have it."
Kael hesitated, then took it gently. "I'll return it. I promise."
"You better." She smiled faintly. "Because if you die, I'll be very annoyed."
Kael gave her a rare, soft smile.
Then he turned—and vanished into the woods.
Three Days Later — Outside Veloria
Veloria was nothing like Graymist.
Towering spires, enchanted carriages, and bridges that floated above glowing rivers. Even the sky felt different—brighter, alive.
But it was the people that stunned Kael the most.
Elves with crystal armor, dwarves etched in metal runes, beastkin mercenaries, robed warlocks, and even creatures he'd only seen in storybooks.
He was an outsider.
A peasant with no name.
And yet—he felt something stir within him.
As if this city had been waiting for him.
He made his way to the Outer Ring Academy, a spire-like structure fused into the side of a cliff. Not as grand as the inner-circle academies of nobility, but still a place of real learning.
There, he met Instructor Rael, a grizzled war veteran with a scar across his jaw and an aura of quiet magic.
"You came from Graymist?" Rael asked, examining the papers. "Odd timing. You know the King's Guard passed through here asking about survivors?"
Kael said nothing.
Rael's gaze lingered a moment longer. "You're not here to play mage-boy fantasy, are you?"
"No," Kael said calmly. "I'm here to learn how to kill demons."
Rael's eyes sharpened—but he said nothing more.
That night, Kael sat alone in his assigned quarters, staring at the glowing page again.
The runes began to move, slowly forming a sentence in a language he did not know—but could somehow understand.
"When flame meets shadow, truth is revealed."
He felt a cold chill sweep the room.
Something was coming.
Not just trials. Not just training.
But them.
The ones who killed his family.
The ones who wanted the book.
He remembered what Arienne said—that the King's Guard suspected him.
But what if someone inside the royal court already knew?
Far away, inside the capital…
A hooded man knelt before a dark mirror.
"The boy has entered Veloria," he said. "Just as expected."
From the mirror, a deep voice answered.
"Let him grow. Let him believe he's free."
"And when the Divine Magic awakens…"
"We'll take it."
[To Be Continued in Chapter 6: Embers Beneath Stone]