Chapter 5: The Emperor’s Wrath

The Weight of Authority

Kael stood motionless, his golden eyes locked onto Captain Ralven. The weight of the Imperial Presence still lingered in the air, invisible yet suffocating.

Ralven, despite his years of experience, shifted uncomfortably. His hand gripped his sword tighter, but his stance wavered. He could feel it. The shift in power. The change in Kael.

"This is impossible…" Ralven muttered, eyes narrowing. "You were nothing but a rotting prisoner a few days ago. What sorcery is this?"

Kael tilted his head slightly, his smirk unreadable. "No sorcery. Just inevitability."

Ralven scowled. "Enough." He turned to his two knights. "Kill him. Now."

The knights hesitated. They weren't sure anymore.

Kael saw it—the flicker of doubt in their eyes.

Good.

Authority wasn't always about power. It was about belief. And right now, they were beginning to doubt who held the true power in this room.

Kael took a slow step forward. The knights tensed.

Then he spoke, his voice carrying a weight that went beyond his physical strength.

"Kneel."

It wasn't a request. It was a command.

For a brief moment, the air seemed to hum, charged with unseen force.

The knights flinched, their grips tightening around their swords. Their bodies wanted to obey, even as their minds resisted.

Ralven noticed their hesitation and snarled. "What are you waiting for?! He's weak! Kill him!"

Kael sighed. So be it.

The first knight lunged.

Kael moved.

He sidestepped the attack with minimal effort, his body adapting faster than before. His Imperial System was still weak, but it was working. His muscles responded more fluidly, his mind processed their movements with greater clarity.

The knight swung again, aiming for Kael's chest.

Kael caught the blade mid-swing with his gauntleted forearm, deflecting it just enough to throw the knight off balance. Before his opponent could recover, Kael drove his knee into the knight's stomach, then twisted and slammed his elbow into the man's jaw.

A sickening crack.

The knight collapsed.

The second knight hesitated—too long.

Kael grabbed the fallen knight's sword and, without pause, threw it.

The blade spun through the air, lodging itself deep into the second knight's throat. His eyes bulged as he collapsed, blood spilling onto the cold stone.

Ralven's confidence shattered.

Kael turned to him, wiping the blood off his hands. "You were saying, Captain?"

Ralven stumbled back, eyes darting for an escape. "Y-You don't understand. House Valorin—"

Kael closed the distance in a single step.

Ralven barely had time to react before Kael grabbed his throat, lifting him slightly off the ground.

"You threw me in the dark to die like a rat," Kael murmured. His fingers tightened around the man's throat. "You should have made sure I stayed dead."

Ralven gasped, his hands clawing at Kael's iron grip. His feet kicked against the ground. "P-Please…"

Kael stared into his terrified eyes.

Then, slowly, he smiled.

"This is mercy," he whispered.

And snapped Ralven's neck.

The captain's body crumpled to the floor.

Kael exhaled. His hands were shaking—not from fear, but from the raw thrill of dominance. His strength was returning. His presence was returning.

The empire had cast him aside.

They had forgotten who he was.

That would change.

Starting now.

---

A Prince No More

Kael stripped Ralven's body of valuables—his armor, his coin pouch, and more importantly, his insignia.

A captain's badge.

He could use this.

Slipping it into his pocket, he turned to the passage behind him. The hidden escape route.

It was time to leave this prison.

But not before leaving a message.

Kael dipped his fingers into Ralven's spilled blood, then walked to the wall.

With slow, deliberate strokes, he marked a single symbol in crimson.

A dragon's eye.

The ancient seal of the Imperial Bloodline.

The empire thought the last of its dragon emperors was gone.

They were wrong.

Kael Drax was back.

And the world would kneel before him once more.