Back in Coalmarsh, Kael's eyes flickered open.
"Oh! You're awake!" the man said, relief and sudden brightness in his voice.
Kael squinted up. The man was scruffy, dark circles under his eyes, hands streaked with machine oil.
"W-who are you?" Kael croaked.
"I'm Magnus." He handed Kael a steaming cup of tea. "Found you inside that tower… unconscious."
Kael sat up slowly, head pounding. "What… happened to me?"
Magnus rubbed his palms together. "Can't say for sure. But when I found you, your veins were glowing. Your eyes… they turned green."
Kael froze. "No. That— that doesn't make sense."
Magnus gave a small, sympathetic smile. "I know it's terrifying, kid."
Kael's hands shook. "I don't understand what's happening to me."
"What's your name?" Magnus asked gently.
"Kael."
Magnus nodded. "Alright. Listen carefully. What happened to you… happened once before, long ago. Back then, Aetherveil wasn't divided. No outcasts. No separate classes. Aether was one, and everyone lived beneath it equally."
Kael frowned. "But… that's not what the Solflare scholars told us."
"Of course not. Those in power rewrite history to keep it." Magnus sighed. "Why would they tell the truth?"
Kael looked down at his trembling hands. "Then tell me yours. All of it."
Magnus inhaled sharply, pain flashing across his face. "Some wanted to control Aether completely. Bend it to their will. They believed only the strong deserved power. Everyone else… disposable. They called themselves Aetherion."
Kael shivered. "And they failed?"
"They did more than fail." Magnus's voice cracked slightly. "The Aether went wild. Cities vanished. People burned from the inside out. Like… watching a god scream."
Kael's stomach knotted. "Then… how did anyone survive?"
"The survivors realized Aether couldn't be controlled. So they split it into three channels: Rune Pulse. Primal Spirit. Elemental Seals. And for centuries, that held the world together."
Kael swallowed hard. "So… where do I fit?"
Magnus's eyes darkened. "Some bloodlines—very few—still react to the old, unified Aether. Their veins glow. Their bodies try to wield all three powers at once. They called them the Spark."
Kael's breath caught. "You mean… me."
Magnus didn't soften it. "Yes. And if I sensed your awakening… so did they."
"They? Who?" Kael whispered.
"The Luminary Order," Magnus said, voice low and urgent. "The true rulers of Aetherveil. They fear the Spark more than anything. They built Coalmarsh to hide people like you. To bury your bloodline. To kill you quietly if you awakened."
Kael felt a cold, crushing weight in his chest. "Kill me… like they killed my best friend?"
Magnus hesitated. "…Yes. And they'll come for you next."
A shadow flitted past the window. Magnus's eyes snapped into focus, deadly serious.
"We need to go. Now."
He grabbed Kael's wrist and pulled him toward a hidden trapdoor.
Footsteps thundered above. The Crimson Shadow had arrived.
The door under the floor was already wide open. But Kael and Magnus were gone.