The next day in Etheris dawned bright — too bright.
Golden skies. Floating gardens. Singing towers.
Beauty designed to blind.
Luv stood at the edge of a balcony carved from white jade, now dressed in the robes of a Sky-Trainee — the lowest rank among the upper class.
He had stolen the identity from a sleeping mind.
A minor noble's son named Kael Lioren, known for skipping training and gambling in dream-taverns. No one missed him.
"I'll wear his name like a mask," Luv thought. "And smile like a good little sky-child."
His divine powers were still sealed. Even his soul projection flickered sometimes, barely held together by will alone. But the black dagger at his waist — forged of divine scrap and will — remained hidden beneath the robe.
That, and his mind, were his only weapons now.
He entered the Grand Training Hall with the others.
Sky-Trainees wore robes of silver and blue, their heads held high, fed lies since birth. Most didn't even know where Etheris drew its power from.
But some did.
And Luv planned to find them.
A voice echoed through the hall.
"Line up! Eyes forward!"
An instructor — tall, armored in white metal, eyes glowing faint gold — strode across the marble floor.
"Today, you'll be tested on soul-conduction techniques. Fail, and you'll be reassigned to energy farms."
Murmurs followed. Everyone knew what that meant — shoveling corpses, separating usable souls from the "rotten ones."
Luv kept his expression neutral.
He had already seen the farms.
Last night, under the cover of mist, he had slipped between walls and shadows. What he found made his chest burn with rage.
Children crying, chained to pillars, their essence drained slowly.
Mothers trapped in crystal pods, screaming silently.
Fathers reduced to flickering lights trapped in stone.
And guards laughing.
He didn't save them. Not yet.
He couldn't.
Not without exposing everything.
But he swore he would return.
After class, while the others sparred, Luv moved to the observation decks, pretending to study.
A voice spoke beside him.
"You're not from here."
He turned.
A girl — about his age. Bright red eyes. Hair like woven light. Her expression unreadable.
"And you are?" he asked casually.
"Name's Aira," she said. "Daughter of Sereth. One of the Judges of Etheris."
Judge, he noted. One of the rulers.
She stared at him a second longer. "Kael Lioren doesn't read. He drinks dreamwine and chases illusions. You're not him."
Luv smiled faintly.
"You're observant."
"I'm dangerous."
"I know."
They held eye contact. The wind shifted.
Then she looked away. "Whatever you're here for… just don't get caught. This city doesn't forgive mistakes."
She walked off, vanishing into the corridor.
Luv exhaled slowly.
"She's sharp. Either an ally… or a threat. Or both."
He turned back to the edge of the deck and stared down at the city below.
The laughter. The luxury. The lies.
This was the city that stole mothers from children and burned souls for light.
"Heroes ask for truth," he thought. "Villains get results."
His eyes darkened.
He didn't care if they cursed his name.
He didn't care if they called him demon.
He would free the prisoners beneath Etheris — even if it meant setting the whole sky ablaze.
The curse twisted his chest, stabbing through his heart like a thousand burning wires. He fell to the floor, gasping, biting down on a cloth to keep from screaming.
Visions struck him — again.
Torture.
Execution.
Mothers dying with their children's names on their lips.
He saw one soul's final moment — a boy no older than ten, being tossed into a soul furnace.
Luv's hands shook.
His breath came in broken gasps.
But through the pain, he whispered to himself:
"You may burn my flesh.
You may bind my truth.
But you will never chain my purpose."
And in the silence, the curse calmed.
Not vanished — but obeyed.
He stood up, wiped the sweat from his face, and returned to the window.
Below, Etheris slept.
Above, the stars watched.
And somewhere in the heart of this city, hundreds of souls waited to be saved.
He would not fail them.
Even if he had to wear the devil's mask to do it.
Even if he had to become a lie that changed the world.
The night was silent, but the silence was unnatural — like a held breath before a scream.
Luv moved through the compound's dim corridors, unlocking prison cells one by one. Every click of the lock echoed like thunder. The prisoners — soldiers, villagers, rebels, even children — stared in disbelief.
"You're… freeing us?" one whispered.
"Quietly," Luv said. "Take your people. Wait for my signal. When the gate breaks, run and don't look back."
"But who are you really?"
Luv didn't answer.
He was no longer Kael Lioren — the name he borrowed, the mask he wore to infiltrate this wretched place. That man had died a coward. Luv had only stepped into the corpse's shadow and turned it into a blade.
As the captives scattered through the tunnels, preparing to flee, some guards stumbled upon the broken cells. Shocked and disoriented, they panicked.
"Kael?" one shouted. "Is that you?!"
Another spat, "No way. That good-for-nothing couldn't pull this off. He wouldn't even fight a dog, let alone lead a prison break."
"He's not Kael. Someone else is hiding behind that name."
The truth rippled faster than fire.
The higher-ups were alerted. Sirens wailed across the facility. Searchlights swept across the courtyard. Horns blared. Panic erupted.
And yet, like shadows in smoke, the captives ran.
Luv stood atop the wall, holding one of the stolen compound blades in his right hand — not divine, not powerful, but enough. His sealed powers remained dormant, caged by his own choice. He had promised himself not to awaken them… unless there was no other way.
But now, the way was crumbling.
As the prisoners reached the outer gates, elite soldiers surrounded them. Sky-castle enforcers descended from above, eyes glowing with contempt. The children screamed. Old men dropped to their knees. And the crowd parted as one of the High Judges of the Sky City stepped forward.
"You." The Judge pointed at Luv, voice like molten rock. "You deceived us. You stole the identity of one of our own. You're not Kael."
Luv stepped forward calmly, raising his voice.
"I never needed a name. I only needed an opportunity."