Chapter 3: A Blade in the Dark

Kael moved before his mind fully caught up with his body.

The first bounty hunter lunged with a broad, rusted blade, his swing clumsy but heavy. Kael sidestepped, the Voidfang Dagger humming in his grip. Shadows coiled around the blade as he struck forward, a swift, controlled movement.

The dagger cut through the man's armor like silk, sinking deep into his chest.

[Voidfang Effect: Life Essence Consumed – 1%]

A chill ran down Kael's spine. He felt it—something being drained from him. But the bounty hunter stumbled backward, eyes wide, veins turning black as the dagger's curse took hold.

He fell. Dead.

The second bounty hunter hesitated, stepping back in sudden fear.

Kael didn't.

He surged forward, pressing the advantage, his mind now razor-sharp. This was a game, wasn't it? Then play it like one.

His next strike was clean, slicing across the second man's throat before he could raise his weapon. Blood sprayed the cobblestones as the body dropped, and Kael spun to face the last attacker—

Too slow.

A sword came down hard, aimed straight for his skull.

Kael barely dodged, the blade grazing his cheek as he stumbled back. Too reckless. He wasn't invincible.

The bounty hunter grinned, confidence surging at Kael's momentary fumble. "The prince fights like a cornered rat," he sneered, raising his weapon for the kill.

Kael's grip on the dagger tightened. A new notification blinked in his vision.

[New Skill Acquired: Fractured Counter]

[Effect: A perfect counterstrike at the cost of temporary vision loss.]

Kael's mind processed it in a flash. A cost. Always a cost. But he had no other choice.

He activated the skill.

The world went black.

For a single heartbeat, he was blind. But his body moved on its own, reacting to the attack with unnatural precision. The dagger met flesh, and when his vision returned, the bounty hunter was already on the ground, lifeless.

[Fractured Counter Used: Vision Impaired – 3 seconds]

Kael wiped the blood off his dagger, chest heaving.

Three bodies. Three kills.

And yet—he could feel the fractures creeping deeper into him. His hands trembled, and his breath came in short gasps. How much could his body take before it broke?

There was no time to dwell on it. More patrols would come. He needed to move.

Sheathing the cursed dagger, Kael sprinted deeper into the city's underbelly, where the real monsters lived.

The Price of Power

Kael slipped through the maze-like streets of the capital's lower district. This was the slums—where the city's filth gathered, where the law held no meaning. If there was anywhere he could hide, it was here.

His mind raced.

His Fractured Sovereign System was unlike anything he had seen in Blood & Ashes Online. It didn't just give him power—it forced him to make hard choices. Every skill had a price. Every action left a scar.

And that dagger…

Kael flexed his fingers. He could still feel the Voidfang's presence, as if it were leeching something from him even now. He'd have to be careful.

A noise in the alley ahead snapped him back to reality.

Two figures stood in the darkness, watching him.

One was a man cloaked in tattered robes, his face hidden beneath a hood. His stance was relaxed, but Kael could sense the danger radiating from him.

The other was a woman. Tall, silver-haired, and too composed for someone in a place like this. She wore dark armor, a blade resting against her hip. Her violet eyes locked onto Kael's, unreadable.

"Prince Kael," the hooded man said, his voice amused. "I was wondering when we'd finally cross paths."

Kael's grip on his dagger tightened. "And who the hell are you?"

The man chuckled. "Someone who's been watching you. You're making a lot of noise, Sovereign."

The woman beside him took a step forward, tilting her head. "That power of yours," she murmured. "It's… breaking you, isn't it?"

Kael stiffened.

How did she—

The hooded man smiled. "Come with us, and we might just help you survive your own curse."

Kael's instincts screamed at him. This was a trap. Or worse—something far more dangerous than the bounty hunters he'd just killed.

But if they knew about the fractures…

His mind raced. He had a choice.

Trust them—or cut them down and run.