⚔️ **CHAPTER 12 — When the Seal Screamed**
The eastern grounds of Valenhold were forbidden.
No cadet trained there. No instructor lingered. Ancient stone towers rose half-buried in earth, wrapped in glowing chains of runes that pulsed like a heartbeat barely alive.
And now—
They were breaking.
Kael stood at the edge of the evacuation line, white cloak snapping violently in the wind. The bell had stopped ringing, but the air still trembled, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
*It's calling to you.*
Aurelion's words echoed in his mind.
"You don't have to go," Liora said, gripping his arm. Her fingers were cold. "Let the Masters handle it."
Kael looked ahead.
The cracked seal glowed a sickly gold, light leaking out like blood from a wound. With every pulse, Kael felt something inside him respond—*answering*.
If he turned away now, it wouldn't stop.
It would only find another way.
"It already chose me," Kael said quietly. "Just like before."
Before Liora could reply, the ground split open with a deafening crack.
Runes shattered.
Chains dissolved into ash.
And from the broken seal—
**a voice emerged.**
Not loud.
Not furious.
Ancient.
Tired.
Certain.
> "At last… the vessel walks willingly."
Kael's vision darkened. Pain lanced through his chest as the borrowed power surged, reacting violently. He dropped to one knee, gasping.
"Kael!" Liora shouted.
The air twisted, forming a silhouette of light and shadow—humanoid, but wrong. Its face shifted constantly, as if struggling to remember what it once was.
"You were never meant to live this long," the entity said. "You were a bridge. A delay."
Kael forced himself to stand. "Then why am I still here?"
The being tilted its head.
"Because the one you replaced refused to disappear."
The words struck deeper than any wound.
A sudden flood of memories slammed into Kael's mind—
Hands reaching out.
A promise broken.
A boy screaming as the world chose survival over him.
Kael cried out, clutching his head.
Inside the storm of borrowed memories, he finally heard it clearly.
Not a whisper.
A voice.
*I'm still here.*
Kael froze.
"You're—" his voice shook. "You're alive?"
*Bound. Trapped. Watching you live my life.*
The entity laughed softly. "Two souls. One body. An unstable miracle."
Aurelion stepped forward, staff blazing with light. "Enough. This experiment ends now."
The Master unleashed a sealing spell, runes forming rapidly in the air.
But Kael raised his hand.
"No."
Everyone froze.
"I won't be your weapon," Kael said. "And I won't be his cage."
The borrowed power roared in response—not in anger, but in agreement.
The ground exploded outward as light surged from Kael's chest, not tearing—but *sharing*.
For a brief moment, the silhouette behind him became clear.
Another boy stood there.
Same face.
Different eyes.
Calm. Sad. Resolved.
The seal screamed.
Not in rage—
But in fear.
The entity began to dissolve, its form unraveling. "This was not foreseen—!"
"Then learn," Kael said, voice steady. "Just like I had to."
With one final pulse, the ancient presence vanished, dragged back into the void it came from.
Silence fell.
Kael collapsed to his knees, exhausted but alive.
The second boy faded—but not completely.
*This isn't over,* the voice said gently. *But for now… thank you.*
Kael smiled weakly.
Liora rushed to his side, tears in her eyes. "You idiot," she whispered. "You could've died."
"Yeah," Kael said softly. "But for the first time… I chose."
High above them, unseen by all—
The broken runes reformed into a new pattern.
Not of containment.
But of **judgment**.
And far beyond Valenhold, something older than the seals opened its eyes.
The world had noticed Kael Ardyn.
And it was no longer patient.
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