Aria turned to walk away...
A devilish smile ford on her face.
She opened her mouth to whisper, "Open porto."
But before she could finish, sothing surged from her shadow—fast and violent.
Pride erged.
Before she could finish, his hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her mid-word. With the other, he yanked her in close, holding her tightly.
She gasped, her word muffled. Eyes wide.
She froze. Not from fear, but instinct—like her body knew sothing was off. His touch burned. It felt hollow and unnatural.
Her eyes widened in horror.
From the shadow, a throne rose—silent and imnse.
Kael sat still, elbow on the armrest, cheek pressed into his knuckles—like a king who’d waited far too long to pass judgnt.
His eyes...
Sharp.
Burning with quiet rage.
He didn’t speak.
He just stared at her.
The air felt wrong—thick, still... like it was holding its breath.
"How?" she murmured, barely audible. Her voice cracked, trembling.
Kael didn’t answer right away. He simply lifted one hand—calm, precise.
He gestured toward Pride.
"Let her go."
Without hesitation, Pride obeyed.
She gasped, stumbling back a step.
"What are you doing, Kael? Why are you still here?"
Kael didn’t move. His eyes locked onto hers—sharp, unblinking.
"Cut the act, Aria..." he said, voice cold.
Flat. Final.
A pause. Then his tone dropped—razor-edged.
"Or should I say... Hero Lisa."
Her face changed instantly.
The softness vanished. Her eyes darkened, lips curling into sothing sharp—sothing predatory.
She didn’t say a word. Just lunged—fast, raw, desperate.
Her hand lit up in green glow, twisting mid-motion into sothing wicked—a glowing blade, curved like a crescent moon made of rage.
Like an assassin, she drove it forward.
And then—
She plunged her blade-like hand into Kael’s chest.
The impact echoed through the air.
She smiled maniacally, lips stretched wide in twisted delight—like she had waited for this mont her entire life.
So did Kael.
He smiled too. Calm. Knowing.
And then—his body dissolved into smoky shadows. Her hand passed clean through him.
Before she could react, she felt it.
Cold breath.
A shift in the air.
She turned—
And froze.
Kael was behind her.
He stood there, silent. His palm was open, resting calmly at his side.
And in it...
Her heart.
Still beating.
Still warm.
For a second, she couldn’t even move.
Her breath caught. Her eyes widened.
She didn’t know when he had struck.
Didn’t know how.
She didn’t even realize she was bleeding.
Her legs buckled. Then—nothing.
She collapsed, headfirst, limp—like soone had just cut the strings on a doll.
Kael stared down, his face blank.
Empty.
Then, without a word, he coated her heart in shadows.
The darkness tightened around it, sinking in like ink bleeding into skin.
He slipped it back into her chest—gentle, but without hesitation.
As his hand pulled away, her body snapped like it hit a current.
She gasped—sharp and sudden.
Her eyes shot open.
Air tore into her lungs—ragged, greedy, desperate.
Her chest rose like she was drowning and had only now broken the surface.
She clutched her chest, trembling.
Not from pain.
But from sothing deeper.
Like her soul had been ripped from the abyss—and shoved back into a body that barely rembered how to hold it.
Kael just stared at her, like God watching over the human.
"How...?" she muttered.
She didn’t understand it. Her heart had been pulled out. She should have stayed dead.
"How did you do that?" she whispered.
Kael snarked, voice laced with venom.
"I’m a god, you idiot."
He jabbed a finger against his temple like a madman, eyes burning.
"I rember everything."
There was rage in his voice.
But beneath it—sothing deeper.
Madness.
mory.
Power that had been buried for too long... finally clawing its way back.
"Why are you doing this, Kael?"
Her soft, gentle voice had returned—like the person she once was had briefly surfaced from the storm.
Kael tilted his head.
"Why, you ask?" he echoed, voice low.
He stepped forward and gently grabbed her face—his fingers cold against her skin, his touch both tender and terrifying.
"How could you forget your close friend?" he whispered.
His tone twisted—half mournful, half mocking.
Her eyes widened. Her breath hitched.
"Raphael..." she gasped.
Kael grinned.
"Bingo."
He gave a sharp salute like they were teammates again, then spun around theatrically—like the reveal had been part of so grand performance.
"Are you going to kill and avenge her death?" she asked, voice steady—but her eyes searched his for the truth.
She smiled.
A devilish one.
Slow. Twisted. Almost too confident.
"They’ll co for her," she said, chin raised with confidence.
"He already sent the ssage... the one you let go."
Kael laughed. Loud and sharp.
The sound echoed like it didn’t belong in the world.
He stepped closer, shadows curling at his feet.
"That’s the point," he said.
"It’s because I let it happen."
He paused—his fingers lifting her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"I only need you... for my plan."
His voice dropped lower—cold and precise, like a blade sliding into place.
A sword rose from the ground—slow and deliberate, forged from his own shadow.
Kael reached for it without hesitation.
His fingers wrapped around the hilt.
He raised it high—aiming it straight at her heart.
She didn’t fight.
Her eyes squeezed shut, breath held like she already knew what ca next.
But the strike never ca.
Kael stood frozen, the blade trembling slightly in his grip.
His jaw clenched.
Muscles tight.
He stared at her—at the face of soone who should have been his enemy.
But he couldn’t do it.
His hand refused to move.
"I can’t kill you," he said softly, his voice barely more than a breath.
His eyes stayed on her, but sothing in them had shifted—just slightly.
A flicker of the past.
Of what used to be.
"You were her best friend..." he murmured.
Then, quieter—almost to himself,
"My close friend."
The sword in his hand began to fall.
Slowly, it lowered, and the shadows coating its blade slipped away like lting ink, dripping into the earth.
"I’ll let you live..." he whispered.
His tone shifted—growing colder, sharper, like frost forming on steel.
"Because I know exactly how much it will hurt Liz."
A pause.
The silence stretched, heavy and cruel.
He didn’t look away.
"I forgave you for betraying ," Kael said, stepping closer.
"But tell Lance—I will never forgive him for what he did."
He paused.
His voice was quieter now—like the edge had been dulled by sothing deeper than rage.
"We were good friends," he said.
"A team."
His gaze dropped—not toward the floor, but sowhere deeper.
Inward.
Like he’d stumbled into a mory no one else could touch.
"So why... would she hurt so many tis?"
The question hung there, unspoken—but heavy.
Like a blade that missed, yet still managed to cut sothing on the way down.
Lisa—
No.
Aria.
Her knees buckled beneath her as the weight of his words broke sothing inside her.
She fell.
"I’m sorry, Raphael..." she whispered, voice cracking as her head bowed, sha curling around her like a second skin.
His voice didn’t rise.
But every word struck like iron.
Heavy. Unshakable.
His tone was softer this ti—almost quiet.
But there was pain buried in it, raw and unspoken.
"We would’ve died for you."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Aria couldn’t speak.
Her lips moved, but no sound ca out.
Her hand shook at her side. The fingers curled in, soft—like they were reaching for sothing that should’ve been there... but wasn’t.
"I didn’t want this," she said. Barely audible.
Her voice was thin, like soone else had spoken it through her.
Kael didn’t answer right away.
When he did, his voice cracked—just once.
"I watched her... over and over again."
He paused. Swallowed hard.
"Watched her die."
His words hung there, bleeding into the silence.
Then he looked at Aria—one last ti.
His eyes were tired.
Not angry.
Not cold.
Just... done.
He turned away.
And as he walked, his voice ca one last ti—quiet.
"Next ti we et... I’ll forget we were ever friends."
He stepped through the rift.
On the other side, the others were waiting.
Chiron t them at the gate, arms crossed.
"You’re back early," he said.
Confused, Kael frowned.
"What do you an? We were gone for days."
Chiron raised a brow.
"Not quite. You were only gone for 24 hours."
Liz, Kael, and Caius looked at each other, stunned.
Their bodies ached.
Their armor was broken.
They were starving.
"Did you find any other demigods?" Chiron asked.
They shook their heads.
"No, sir."
"Well... rest up. We’ll ask questions when you’ve healed."
They walked back to the Academy.
Students and teachers lined the halls, clapping as they passed—treating them like heroes.
Kael said nothing.
They reached their rooms.
Kael waved Liz goodnight.
He and Caius walked toward theirs.
When he finally laid down on his bed, he stared at the empty ceiling.
The room was quiet, but his mind wasn’t.
So much had changed.
So much had been lost.
He clenched his fist and whispered to himself,
"This is just the beginning. I need to get ready."
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