Chapter 37 — Shadows of Youth
The storm had passed over the Echo Grove, leaving a fragile calm in its wake. But Kai's mind was elsewhere, pulled into memories he had tried to bury—memories of a home he had left long ago.
He remembered the sun streaming through the windows of the training hall, glinting off the polished floors where he and Kevin had sparred endlessly.
"Ha! You're slow!" Kai shouted, lunging with a wooden sword. Kevin blocked it effortlessly, glaring.
"You're reckless!" Kevin snapped back. "If you swung like that against real enemies, you'd be dead before you could blink!"
They clashed again, their sticks striking sparks as if they were more than wood, more than play—they were already children of power. Every movement of Kevin's felt precise, every strike of Kai's unpredictable.
Lyra wasn't there yet—this was before she had entered their lives—but the bond between the twins was palpable even then.
Kai grinned, circling his brother. "Come on, Kevin! You're too stiff! You've been training for centuries already, but I'm catching up!"
Kevin rolled his eyes, flipping backward to dodge a swipe. "Centuries? We're twelve, Kai! You don't even know the meaning of control yet!"
The two of them were constantly in motion, racing across the hall, leaping over obstacles, shouting and laughing, scowling and teasing. Their competitiveness wasn't just sibling rivalry—it was a spark that shaped them both.
But beneath the laughter was tension. Kevin's eyes often darkened when Kai grew reckless, when Kai ignored the rules of discipline for the thrill of testing his limits. And Kai… Kai felt suffocated by Kevin's constant caution.
"You never let me do anything my way!" Kai shouted after a particularly hard clash.
"And you never think before you act!" Kevin snapped back, chest heaving.
The headmaster had watched from a distance, sighing. "Two halves of a storm," he muttered. "One day, they will either destroy each other or save everything together."
The Day Everything Changed
The memory shifted to a quiet evening. Kai had just lost yet another spar with Kevin, frustration and pride battling in his chest.
"I'm tired of being second!" Kai shouted, throwing his sword to the side. "I'm never going to beat you if I stay here!"
Kevin's expression hardened. "Then maybe you shouldn't stay here at all."
Kai's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Kevin's jaw tightened. "You think I don't know why you're reckless? You run, Kai. You've always run from rules, from control, from the weight of the Crown."
Kai's chest hurt. "I… I just wanted—"
"You just wanted to prove yourself at my expense!" Kevin interrupted. "You left me to carry everything alone because you couldn't face responsibility. Do you know how heavy that is? Centuries of training, centuries of patience, and you throw it all away like it's nothing!"
Kai's hands shook. "Kevin, I didn't mean—"
"You always mean well," Kevin said bitterly. "But good intentions don't lift the weight of destiny."
Kai's eyes filled with tears—not from pain, but from helplessness. He had always loved his brother, but he couldn't bear the pressure of constant comparison. He wanted freedom, a life without the endless expectations.
"I… I have to go," Kai whispered.
Kevin's eyes burned with a mixture of anger and hurt. "Go? You're leaving me? You're leaving everything you were born to protect?"
Kai looked down at his hands. "I… I don't know how else to survive."
And that was it.
Kai ran away that night. He left the training hall, the home, and Kevin behind, vanishing into the darkness. Kevin had tried to chase him, but the boy was too fast, too desperate. And when the gates of their home closed behind him, Kevin was left standing alone, trembling with fury and heartbreak.
That night, Kevin swore he would never rely on anyone again. He would master the Crown, he would protect the realms, and he would never let anyone—especially Kai—disappoint him again.
The Seeds of Resentment
Years passed. Kevin trained endlessly, mastering techniques beyond comprehension, pushing his body and mind to godlike levels. Every time he felt weakness, he remembered Kai running away, leaving the weight on him alone.
And yet… there was always a part of him that ached for his brother.
Kai, meanwhile, wandered, learning, growing, discovering his own strengths—but every time he faced danger, every time he needed support, he thought of Kevin. Of the silent twin he had left behind, of the immense power and responsibility he had abandoned.
The flashback ended with the two of them in their childhood training hall—silent, exhausted, sitting across from each other after another spar.
Kevin had said nothing for hours. His eyes had softened for the briefest moment.
"You'll regret leaving," he whispered to the empty hall. "One day… you'll see why I stayed."
Kai didn't hear it. He was already running.
Present-Day Weight
Lyra's hand on Kai's shoulder brought him back to the present. The memory lingered, a painful echo in his chest.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Kai looked at her, eyes haunted but determined. "Yeah… it's just… Kevin. All of this—he's not just powerful. He's… perfect. He's terrifying, and he resents me for leaving him."
Lyra squeezed his hand. "He may resent you, but you're still his brother. You still have a bond that even centuries can't break."
Kai let out a shaky breath. "I hope so… because if we can't reach him, we won't just lose him. We might lose everything."
Lyra pressed her forehead to his, just like she had during battle. "Then we'll reach him. Together. And maybe… together we can finally heal what was broken."
Kai wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. The storm outside the Grove mirrored the storm inside him—the past, the present, the future—but Lyra was a tether, a calm in the chaos.
And for the first time in centuries, Kai allowed himself to hope that he could face Kevin—not as a rival, but as a brother—and finally confront the twin shadows of their youth.