CHAPTER 21

The village of Virestead faded behind them as Kael and Rynn traveled eastward, the rising sun at their backs. The land grew wild, untamed. Hills rolled into jagged cliffs, forests thickened into dark, whispering groves. Civilization dwindled until there was only the road — and even that soon crumbled into little more than an ancient, forgotten trail.

Rynn walked beside him, her twin daggers at her hips, her cloak pulled tight against the growing chill. She cast Kael sidelong glances from time to time, as if measuring the changes she sensed in him.

"You're different," she said finally.

Kael flexed his fingers absently, feeling the faint thrum of the Dragon King's blood still pulsing through him. "I feel it too. Stronger. Quicker. Like the world's moving slower around me."

"Good," Rynn said with a smirk. "We'll need every advantage we can get where we're going."

They traveled for days, passing through abandoned outposts, crossing bridges so ancient they seemed ready to collapse at a breath. On the fourth night, they made camp beneath a twisted old tree. The stars overhead seemed colder here, sharper, like shards of broken glass.

Kael stared at the sky long after Rynn fell asleep. He could almost feel the Valley calling to him, like a beacon drawing him onward.

The next morning, they reached the edge of the world.

The Valley of Shattered Stars spread out before them — a desolation of broken land and eerie silence. Great craters pocked the earth, filled with still, black water. Stone monoliths jutted from the ground at strange angles, inscribed with runes no living tongue could read. And hanging above it all was a faint mist, shimmering with the faintest hint of unnatural light.

Rynn swore under her breath. "This place... it's wrong."

Kael said nothing. The brand on his palm burned slightly, urging him forward.

Without hesitation, he descended into the valley.

The mist swallowed them almost immediately, muting all sound, warping distance. Shapes moved in the corner of Kael's vision — twisted things, shadows that didn't belong. He tightened his grip on Veyrion, ready for anything.

Hours — or maybe days — passed. Time felt strange here. They followed ancient pathways etched into the stone, guided only by the faint tug of the sigil on Kael's hand.

At last, they reached a clearing.

At the center stood a shrine, little more than a circle of broken pillars surrounding a single stone plinth. Upon it rested an orb of dark crystal, crackling faintly with energy.

Kael approached cautiously. The moment he stepped into the circle, a deep rumble shook the ground.

The mist coalesced before the plinth, taking the shape of a guardian — a being woven from shadow and broken starlight. Its form shifted constantly, part beast, part storm.

It spoke in a voice that was many voices at once:

"Who seeks the first awakening?"

Kael stood tall. "I do."

The guardian's eyes — if they could be called that — burned with cold fire.

"To claim the Dragon King's legacy, you must prove yourself. Strength alone is not enough. Will alone is not enough. Show me the storm within you."

It lunged.

Kael barely dodged aside, the creature's claws carving deep furrows into the stone. He activated Time Dilation, the world slowing as his reflexes sharpened to an unnatural edge. He moved like a blur, weaving past the creature's attacks, Veyrion flashing in swift arcs.

But every strike passed harmlessly through the guardian's body.

Rynn flung knives from the edge of the circle, but they too passed through without effect.

Kael gritted his teeth. This wasn't a foe he could simply cut down.

He called upon Shadowstep, vanishing and reappearing behind the guardian, but it seemed to sense him, twisting impossibly to swipe at him again.

Then he remembered Vaelen's words: "You must awaken the blood. Power alone is not enough."

Kael took a deep breath, lowering Veyrion.He closed his eyes.Reached inward.Felt the storm waiting within.

Lightning sparked across his skin. The mark on his palm blazed to life.

When he opened his eyes, they glowed faintly — gold rimmed with electric blue.

The guardian lunged again, but this time Kael didn't dodge.He met it head-on.

The impact should have crushed him, but instead, the lightning inside him erupted outward, a pulse of pure force. The guardian reeled, its form destabilizing.

Kael moved, not with physical speed alone but with will, intent. He became the storm. Lightning arced from his fingertips, slamming into the guardian and anchoring it to the earth.

He raised Veyrion high — and for a moment, the blade was wreathed in draconic flame and lightning both.

With a roar that was part human, part something far older, Kael brought the blade down.

The guardian shattered like glass, the mist dispersing into a thousand shards of light.

Silence fell.

Kael stumbled, breathing hard. The orb on the plinth pulsed, then floated into the air.

It spoke in a voice that resonated deep in his bones:

"First Awakening complete. Aspect granted: Stormheart."

The orb dissolved into pure energy, flooding into Kael.

Pain lanced through him — but beneath it, power.He felt his blood ignite.He felt wings of stormlight unfurl briefly from his shoulders, invisible but tangible.He felt the world open up, electric and endless.

When the light faded, Kael stood different.

Stronger.

Faster.

More.

Rynn stared at him, awe and a touch of fear in her eyes.

"You're glowing," she said, voice hushed.

Kael looked down at his hands, still sparking faintly with residual lightning."I feel... alive," he whispered.

From somewhere deep in the valley, a new sound rose — not hostile, but celebratory.

The winds sang.

The Valley itself seemed to acknowledge his awakening.

Kael turned toward Rynn, a fierce grin spreading across his face.

"Come on," he said. "We're just getting started."

But even as they left the shrine behind, Kael knew this was only the beginning.He had claimed the first piece of the Dragon King's legacy.More shrines awaited.More enemies lurked.

And the storm he was becoming would soon shake the very foundations of the world.