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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 - The Girl, the Blades, and the Warning

Days in Castle Umbra had become ritualized—each one a sharpening of power, mind, and body. Kaito tested spells born from imagination, danced with flames, and drilled Ryuu in combat that was no longer play, but prophecy. The baby dragon's crimson scales gleamed harder, its fire sharpened into deadly arcs. Together, they were becoming a force beyond reckoning.

And yet, nothing could have prepared him for the night she arrived.

No alarms sounded. No guards stirred. Even the spells maintaining the castle's defenses seemed to pause. Reality itself bowed as she stepped across the obsidian floors of the grand hall.

Kaito appeared in a shimmer of shadow, sword drawn, every instinct screaming.

A girl stood there. Barefoot. Raven-black hair cascading over a cloak that flickered like smoke at dusk. Her eyes—dark, familiar, yet etched with pain—locked onto his.

"Kaito…" Her voice cracked. "…You're alive."

He didn't lower the sword. "Who are you?"

She stepped forward cautiously. "Aria. From Earth. We… were in the same school. Summoned together. They hid me. Erased my existence."

His gaze sharpened. "I don't remember you."

"They erased it all. They said I was unfit. But I saw what they did to you. I've been looking for you ever since I escaped."

"Why come now?" he asked, voice low.

"Because they know you survived," she said. "The Empire… they've sent assassins."

The Shadows Strike

No sooner had the words left her lips than the castle quaked. Shadows tore through the air, rifts splitting open like wounds in space. From them poured dozens of assassins, cloaked in black, blades glinting with anti-magic enchantments designed to kill even gods.

They encircled Kaito and Aria like wolves surrounding prey.

"Orders from the Holy Empire," one hissed. "Kaito the Unchosen is to be eliminated for defying the Will of the Light."

Kaito didn't flinch. He didn't blink.

"Let me show you what defiance looks like."

He vanished.

In the next heartbeat, the air itself seemed to scream. Limbs fell. Blood scattered like crimson petals caught in a storm. Ryuu leapt into the fray, flames spiraling in synchronized fury. The assassins' cries turned to ash before they could even scream their fear.

Aria stumbled back, watching, heart hammering, as the man cast aside by a corrupt empire moved with godlike precision and monstrous grace.

Within minutes, silence fell. Smoke curled from the shattered floors. The hall was empty of life, save for Kaito and Ryuu.

He emerged atop Castle Umbra's outer wall, hair dark as night, cape flickering with ethereal flame.

The World Hears His Voice

From his palm, a spell of amplified divinity bloomed. His voice thundered—not to one, but to all: the Empire, its cities, and the farthest reaches of the kingdoms.

"I am Kaito. The one you left to die. The one you called worthless. You've made a mistake that will end your Empire. This is your first and only warning: stay away, or witness the collapse of everything you cherish. I am no longer just a man. I am the storm that comes after silence."

Every city paused. Every ear strained. Every heart felt the tremor of his power.

Enter the Hero

Cheers and screams erupted across the Empire—but one voice cut through them all.

Aurelius. Clad in holy armor that gleamed like starlight, he stepped into the public square, surrounded by worshippers and soldiers alike. His eyes burned with unrelenting contempt.

"Kaito… you miserable shadow," he spat. "You were discarded for a reason."

A portal opened beside him, broadcasting his image directly to Castle Umbra.

"You think your power makes you untouchable?" he growled. "You're still a mistake. And I, Aurelius, the Chosen Hero of the Empire, will cleanse this world of your filth."

He raised his sword high, sunlight catching the blade, making it a spear of divine justice aimed at the heavens.

"I challenge you, Kaito. One-on-one. Before the eyes of the world. If you have even a shred of courage, face me."

Kaito's face remained calm, unreadable. A shadow curled around his lips, a smirk that promised fire and ruin.

"So be it."

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