The first thing Kaelen felt when he woke up wasn't the sunlight filtering through the cracked wooden shutters of the orphanage, nor was it the distant, ominous hum of the energy barrier that protected the city of Oakhaven.
It was eyes. Intense, unblinking eyes.
Kaelen opened his own eyes to find a pair of amethyst irises merely inches from his face. Strands of silver hair tickled his nose.
"Good morning, Onii-sama," Elara whispered, her voice a velvety purr that sent a shiver down his spine. She was kneeling by his bed, fully dressed in her combat academy uniform, her hands clasped tightly as if in prayer—or restraint. "I've been watching you breathe for forty-two minutes. Your rhythm was slightly off today. Are you anxious?"
Kaelen sighed, sitting up and gently moving his sister back. technically, they weren't blood-related—both were war orphans collected from the ruins of the Borderlands ten years ago—but in this harsh world, the bond they shared was thicker than blood. And in Elara's case, that bond was a heavy, suffocating chain of obsession.
"I'm fine, Elara," Kaelen said, rubbing his temples. "Just thinking about the Awakening Ceremony today."
"You don't need anyone else," Elara's eyes darkened, the amethyst turning to a deep, bruised violet. Her hand shot out, gripping his wrist with terrifying strength. "You don't need a Partner. You have me. Even if the Academy assigns you someone else... I'll remove them."
Kaelen looked at her calmly. He was a man of two lives. Before he was Kaelen, the orphan of Oakhaven, he was a tactical genius and engineer from Earth. He had died working on a quantum reactor and woke up here, in the world of Aethelgard.
In Aethelgard, biology was magic.
Females awakened "Aspects"—raw, destructive talents ranging from elemental control to physical augmentation.
Males acted as "Anchors." Without a male to stabilize their flow, a female using high-level magic would go insane or explode (Mana Deviation).
But Kaelen had something no other male had. A translucent blue screen flickered in his vision.
[System: The Sovereign's Covenant]
User: Kaelen
Unique Trait: Absolute Domination.
Ability: You do not merely stabilize Aspects. You evolve them.
Condition: The target must accept a Soul Bond (Slave/Master hierarchy).
Current Contracts: 0/∞
"Elara," Kaelen said, his voice dropping an octave. He placed a hand on her cheek. "I won't leave you. But the Voidborn are getting stronger. To survive, to protect us, we need power."
Elara leaned into his touch, her expression bordering on ecstasy. "Power... yes. As long as I am your sword, Kaelen. As long as I belong to you."