The following day
Nighttime in Kyle's chambers
The candlelight flickered against the heavy curtains as the Marquess of Raventhorne stepped quietly into his son's chamber.
He had been surprised to hear Sebastian say that Kyle asked to see him. He never did that. It was odd. And so, here he was.
The room was silent, save for the occasional breeze wafting in through the open window.
Kyle was seated by the open window, looking out at the moonlit courtyard. The gentle wind stirred the black strands of his hair.
He turned at the sound of the door.
"Sebastian said you asked to see me?"
"Father," he greeted calmly, rising to his feet. "You didn't have to come all the way here. I was going to come to you once you were done with your duties."
The Marquess waved a hand. "Nonsense. You're my son. I should have come earlier."
Kyle smiled faintly and returned to his seat by the window. The Marquess walked in slowly, his sharp eyes observing him.
There was something... different about Kyle.
He didn't know how to put it. But it was in the way he carried himself.
His posture. Straighter. His shoulders no longer slouched inward as they once did.
His hands rested calmly on his lap. His voice carried quiet strength, not the trembling nervousness of before, while addressing him.
And his eyes. They were clearer now. Sharper. Like the haze clouding him had cleared now.
Even though he knew what troubled his son before, he could not do anything about the situation.
He's almost like a completely different person. He thought.
"Do you… Still not remember anything from the attack?" the Marquess asked, folding his hands behind his back.
Kyle frowned slightly, then shook his head. "No. Nothing useful. Just… shadows. Blurred shapes. Pain. Then darkness."
The Marquess nodded, his lips tightening slightly. That had been the expected answer. But the changes in Kyle's demeanor were not expected.
Still, he said nothing of it. He would let Kyle speak when he was ready
Instead, on an unfamiliar whim, he reached for a chair near the bedside table and pulled it close to the window.
"Mind if I sit?"
Kyle blinked, a bit surprised, then shook his head with a soft smile. "Not at all."
The Marquess sat with a quiet sigh. The night breeze brushed their faces. A moment of silence passed between them before he asked, "How have you been feeling?"
"Better," Kyle said honestly. "A bit sore sometimes. But I've been walking around more since yesterday morning. Reading a little."
"What have you been reading?"
"A bit of history… mostly about the old founders of the domain. I wanted to understand more of our legacy. What it really means to rule."
That earned a curious glance from the Marquess.
Kyle continued, "And… I've been thinking about everything. About my place in this house. What I can do."
The Marquess didn't answer immediately. Then he smiled, faint, but sincere.
"You sound more like a Ravenshade than I ever imagined."
Kyle gave a low chuckle. "I suppose something changed after the attack."
They sat there for a long while, the conversation easing into something lighter.
Their conversation shifted.
They laughed about Kyle's younger days, how he used to cling to his mother's skirts and cry when he couldn't find her in the halls.
"She used to sneak into the kitchens with you," the Marquess said with a distant smile. "Let you eat cream buns before dinner."
"She always made me promise not to tell you."
"I knew," the Marquess said with a chuckle. "I just pretended I didn't."
The warmth in the room dimmed slightly as silence followed.
Both of them glanced at the fireplace.
Her absence filled the air like mist.
"I miss her," Kyle said softly.
The Marquess's eyes dropped. His voice was lower now. "So do I."
A few moments passed before he stood.
"I shouldn't have brought her up. I spoiled the mood," he muttered, adjusting his coat. "Forgive me… for that, and… for everything."
He turned to leave.
"Father."
The word stopped him at the doorway.
He looked back.
Kyle's expression was calm, and his voice held weight.
"You don't have to apologize. For anything."
The Marquess stared at him for a long moment.
"Thank you… for checking on me," Kyle added.
There was silence once more. Then, the Marquess nodded slowly.
He said nothing else, only offered a final glance, one filled with something rare and unfamiliar.
Pride.
"...." Kyle hesitated; he was debating whether to tell his father about the changes to him.
How am I going to explain this? Deciding not to let the moment linger, Kyle decided.
If I cannot trust my own family, who am I supposed to trust? He decided the benefits outweighed whatever trouble came with telling him.
"I actually have something to tell you, Father." He suddenly said.
"What is it?"
"I can feel the Qi in the air now, I can feel my dantians, my meridians. Father... I can cultivate now."
"....!" Time seemed to stop for Cassian Ravenshade. The noise around him dimmed into nothing; he did not even hear the last bits of Kyle's words.
His eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop from his skull.
Kyle let the silence stretch on, waiting for his father to say something. Eventually, he managed to let the words out.
"Ar...Are you serious right now? Are you certain?" He asked.
Kyle nodded...
His father's eyes widened, stunned disbelief etched across his face. For a heartbeat, he simply stared, unmoving, unblinking, as if the world itself had tilted on its axis.
Then his breath hitched.
Tears welled up in his eyes, unbidden, threatening to spill, but he forced them down.
He swallowed hard, steadying himself. And then, slowly, pride bloomed across his face like the rising sun after a long storm.
"My boy…" he whispered.
With no more words, he stepped forward and wrapped Kyle in a strong, fierce embrace.
Not one born of formality or restraint, but one full of raw, unfiltered love. For a long moment, they stood like that, father and son, the gap between them closing in a single instant.
A genuine, heartfelt silence passed between them; it was warm, grounding, and impossibly rare.
Then, gently, his father placed a palm on Kyle's chest. A faint pulse of Qi left his hand and sank into Kyle's body.
There it was.
Qi!