Rain poured over the city of Eryndor like the sky itself had finally decided to break.
Water hammered against the broken warehouse roof, dripping steadily through the cracks and splashing onto the concrete floor. Outside, thunder rolled across the skyline, followed by jagged flashes of lightning that lit the city in brief, violent bursts.
Inside the warehouse, the battlefield had gone silent.
The hunters were gone.
But the tension they left behind still clung to the air.
I leaned against a rusted metal crate, breathing slowly as the adrenaline faded from my system. Every muscle in my body felt heavy. My side still stung where the hunter's blade had grazed me earlier.
But the real weight sat deeper.
Inside my chest.
The bloodline pulsed steadily, like a second heartbeat.
Stronger than before.
And far more awake.
Across the room, Kael wiped his blade clean with a cloth before sliding it back into its sheath. His movements were calm, controlled, like the fight had barely cost him any effort at all.
I shook my head.
"You know," I said, "most normal mentors would probably say something encouraging after a fight like that."
Kael glanced at me.
"You survived."
"That's not encouraging. That's the bare minimum."
"It is still an achievement."
I exhaled and sat down on a nearby crate.
Rain drummed against the roof above us.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been nagging at me since the fight ended.
"Were you really one of them?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
He simply walked over and stood beside the shattered warehouse entrance, looking out into the storm.
Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the wet streets beyond.
"Yes," he said finally.
I blinked.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
I rubbed my face.
"You used to be a hunter."
"Yes."
"And now you're training the guy they're trying to kill."
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"You're not very talkative about your past, are you?"
Kael crossed his arms.
"The past is rarely useful."
"Feels pretty relevant right now."
The storm outside grew louder.
Rainwater ran down the cracked floor toward the door.
After a long moment, Kael spoke again.
"I joined the hunters when I was younger."
"Why?"
"Because I believed they were protecting the world."
I frowned.
"Protecting it from what?"
Kael looked at me.
"From bloodlines."
That answer hung in the air between us.
"So their whole mission is basically hunting people like me."
"Yes."
"And you were okay with that?"
"At the time," Kael said quietly, "I believed it was necessary."
I leaned back slightly.
"What changed?"
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
"I saw what they were really doing."
"And that was?"
"Control."
Lightning flashed again, briefly lighting the warehouse.
"The hunters do not simply destroy bloodlines," Kael continued. "They capture them. Study them. Turn them into weapons."
My stomach tightened.
"Like the guy said earlier."
"Yes."
The memory of the hunter's voice echoed in my head.
A weapon.
I clenched my fists.
"So they weren't lying."
"No."
I looked down at the shadows pooling faintly around my boots.
"They wanted me alive."
"Yes."
"For experimentation."
"Yes."
I groaned and ran a hand through my hair.
"That's somehow worse than just being killed."
Kael didn't disagree.
Silence returned for a few minutes.
The storm continued to rage outside.
Finally, I stood up and walked toward the broken entrance.
The rain was colder than I expected when it touched my face.
The city lights reflected off the wet streets, turning everything into a blurry ocean of color.
Eryndor looked different tonight.
Darker.
More dangerous.
"Kael," I said quietly.
"Yes?"
"How many bloodlines are left?"
Kael hesitated.
"Very few."
"Define 'very few.'"
"Less than a dozen."
I turned to face him.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"What happened to the rest?"
Kael's voice was grim.
"They were hunted."
The weight of that answer settled heavily on my shoulders.
"So basically," I said slowly, "I've inherited one of the rarest powers in the world… and now every assassin organization out there wants me dead."
"That is a fairly accurate summary."
"Fantastic."
Kael stepped closer.
"But you are not alone."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Pretty sure the hunters disagree."
Kael shook his head.
"That is not what I mean."
He looked toward the shadows gathering along the warehouse walls.
"The bloodline itself is alive."
I frowned.
"That sounds creepy."
"It is also true."
The shadows shifted slightly as if responding to his words.
"Your power is not simply energy," Kael continued. "It is an ancient force tied to something far older than this city… older than the hunters… older than most civilizations."
I blinked.
"Wait."
I pointed at the shadows around my feet.
"You're telling me this stuff has… history?"
"Yes."
"How much history?"
Kael's gaze hardened slightly.
"Thousands of years."
I stared at him.
"You're just casually dropping that now?"
"You were not ready to hear it before."
"And I am now?"
"No."
That made me laugh.
"Wow. Your motivational skills are incredible."
Kael ignored the comment.
"The truth is coming whether you are ready or not."
Thunder cracked loudly above us.
The storm intensified.
Something about the atmosphere changed.
The shadows around the warehouse walls began moving again.
Slowly.
Uneasily.
The bloodline pulsed harder in my chest.
I frowned.
"Kael…"
"Yes?"
"Are the shadows supposed to do that?"
He looked around the room.
His eyes narrowed.
"No."
The shadows along the walls stretched upward like reaching fingers.
My pulse quickened.
"That feels bad."
The darkness pooled near the far corner of the warehouse.
Then it thickened.
Condensed.
Forming a shape.
A tall silhouette slowly emerged from the shadows themselves.
Not a hunter.
Not human.
Something else.
Something older.
The air inside the warehouse turned ice cold.
I stepped back instinctively.
"Kael…"
His voice was tight.
"I see it."
The figure's glowing eyes opened within the darkness.
And a voice echoed through the warehouse.
Deep.
Ancient.
"You carry the blood of the first shadows."
Every instinct in my body screamed danger.
I swallowed slowly.
"Okay," I whispered.
"That's definitely new."