Ch-6 “Now Comes Your Story”

Kazuki's voice still echoed inside the throne room—low, calm, and steady, like a river pulling the listener deeper into its current.

Vareon didn't move.

He couldn't.Not because of any magic. Not because of any chains.But because of memory.

Kazuki had taken control of the battlefield not with weapons… but with the past.

One by one, he had peeled back the layers of those Vareon once called brothers—Darius, Raizen—until nothing was left but vulnerability. And just when the silence threatened to crack under its own weight—

[Backstory — The Legacy of Shang]

In the grand halls of history, one name echoed louder than most: Julius, the greatest monarch Ryehem had ever known.

And Shang? He was his blood.

Born into legacy. Drenched in reputation. From the moment he opened his eyes, the kingdom whispered:

"That boy will become the king of Ryehem."

While Darius was feared, Raizen respected, and Vareon questioned—Shang was revered.

Even as a child, he bore the pressure of expectation like a crown he was born to wear.

His strength? Undeniable.His charisma? Magnetic.His awakening? Legendary.

At the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, while others trembled in the hopes of earning an elemental or spiritual guardian, Shang's body pulsed with a blinding light—and from it emerged a Celestial Spirit, so radiant that the priests themselves bowed in disbelief.

And then came the spiritual force measurement. The orb meant to gauge one's potential glowed with such brilliance in his hands that it shattered—a feat that had happened only once in all recorded history.

He was a born genius. A weapon of fate.

His only weakness?

Academics.

Shang never enjoyed books, lectures, or memorization. He struggled to sit through theory-heavy lessons and often relied on Raizen for explanations. His teachers despaired at his grades, but no one ever dared look down on him. Because once he stepped onto a battlefield, there was no equal.

While others whispered behind Raizen's back, or shunned Darius in fear, they cheered when Shang entered a room.

Crowds gathered. Nobles bent their knees. Commoners lit incense in his name.He had everything—status, power, admiration.

And for a time, Shang was happy.

[Back to Vareon's Backstory – In the Classroom]

Young Vareon sat at his desk, eyes drifting away from Raizen, away from Darius... and landing on Shang.

Shang was laughing—his laughter echoing with carefree joy. A crowd of students gathered around him, hanging on every word. Teachers rarely scolded him, even when he ignored the syllabus.

He was the sun in that room. And Vareon… just another shadow.

[Back to the Present – Throne Room]

The vision faded.

The sunlight through the stained glass no longer seemed as bright. Kazuki stood in front of Vareon, his voice now low and close.

"So tell me, Vareon…" he whispered."What happened to you?"

But Vareon didn't reply.

Not because he lacked words.

But because deep down...Kazuki had just told his story too—without needing to say a word.

Kazuki spoke again.

"And now," he said, voice carrying the final blade, "comes your story..."

But before Vareon could react—before his tongue could find resistance—the world shifted again.