---
Chapter 2 – The Stranger
Kaelen's heart pounded as the figure stepped closer, each movement deliberate, almost gliding over the forest floor. The cloak shimmered faintly, catching the light of the celestial storm above, and his eyes—bright, infinite, like stars suspended in darkness—locked onto Kaelen's.
"Who… who are you?" Kaelen managed to whisper, voice trembling more from awe than fear.
The figure's lips did not move, yet words resonated inside his mind. "I am a guardian… and you, Kaelen, are far more than you realize."
Kaelen stumbled back, hand instinctively rising to shield himself, though from what he wasn't sure. The air around him rippled, bending light and sound as if the world itself had grown fragile. A low hum thrummed through his body, responding to the presence of the stranger, and for the first time, Kaelen felt the energy within him surge, raw and untamed.
"Energy… what is happening to me?" he asked, voice barely audible over the crackling sky.
The figure extended a hand, palm open, and the sigil on Kaelen's arm flared brightly. A thread of blue light arced from his mark to the stranger's hand, binding them in a fleeting pulse. Knowledge, sensation, and visions flooded Kaelen's mind—realms of gods, battles older than time, celestial courts, and whispers of a power that bridged worlds.
"You are the Convergence Child," the voice continued, "born to walk between realms, to hold what no mortal or god should ever command. Your blood carries the essence of angels, gods, and elements long forgotten. You are awake… now you must learn to control it."
Kaelen staggered, mind reeling from the torrent of images and truths. A bolt of violet lightning cracked overhead, and instinctively, he raised his hand. Energy pulsed outward from his fingertips, crackling through the forest. The stranger nodded, and Kaelen realized with awe—and terror—that he had caused it. The lightning bent toward his will, obedient to the power surging inside him.
Fear, exhilaration, and wonder collided in a storm within Kaelen. The village below, the quiet life he had known—it felt impossibly distant now. The Convergence had stirred something ancient, something alive within him. And he understood, for the first time, that his life would never be ordinary again.
The stranger lowered their hand, the pulse of energy fading, leaving Kaelen trembling and wide-eyed. "Come," the voice said, "if you wish to survive… if you wish to understand… follow me."
Kaelen took a shaky breath. His village, his past, the life he had known—it all lay behind him. Ahead was a world of gods, realms, and powers he had never imagined.
And the threads of the Convergence were pulling him forward.
---