Ryuko came at winter’s end.

Kael was drilling Swiftwind Slash in the courtyard, his blade a silver blur, when the gates exploded inward.

A girl stood amid the debris, her hair a shock of crimson against Aerath’s pale sky. She wore no armor, only a black tunic and a smile sharp enough to flay skin.

“So this is the Arbiter’s pet?” she said, eyeing Kael. “I’ve seen scarecrows with more spine.”

Lira stepped forward, sword drawn. “Ryuko Shirazi. You’re trespassing.”

“And you’re boring.” Ryuko flicked her wrist. A whip of coiled light snapped out, disarming Lira in a single strike. “I’m here for the runt.”

Lord Veyth emerged, his expression unreadable. “The Shirazi heir. To what do we owe this… honor?”

Ryuko pointed at Kael. “A wager. I win, he’s mine for a month. You win…” She tossed a Voidspawn core at his feet. “You get this.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The core throbbed, darker than any Kael had seen.

“Done,” Lord Veyth said.

—

The duel was a humiliation.

Ryuko fought like a storm—all fury and no form. Her whip crackled with electricity, each strike leaving burns on Kael’s skin. He stumbled, Swiftwind Slash faltering as a memory flickered: Emily’s lotus hairpin, crushed under wheels.

[RESONANCE XP +5%]

[WARNING: MEMORY BANK CRITICAL—EMILY’S FACE AT 2%]

“Pathetic!” Ryuko snarled, pinning him with her boot. “You fight like you’re already dead.”

He spat blood. “Why do you care?”

She leaned close, her breath hot. “Because the Arbiter didn’t choose me.”

—

That night, the Voidspawn attacked.

Kael’s first real battle was a haze of screams and spectral claws. The creature emerged from a farmer’s nightmare—a serpent of shadows and fractured glass, its maw dripping liquid regret.

“You failed her,” it hissed in Emily’s voice. “You’ll fail them all.”

Kael froze.

The truck’s headlights. The screech of metal.

[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: SOULGUARD STANCE ACTIVATED]

His body moved on its own. Steel met shadow. The Voidspawn shattered, its core dissolving into his blade.

[RESONANCE XP +15%]

[EMILY’S FACE—MEMORY PURGED]

Ryuko found him afterward, kneeling in the ashes.

“You hesitated,” she said. “Why?”

He touched his chest, where his heart should be. “I don’t know.”

She tossed him a soul ember. “Then you’ll die. And I’ll laugh.”