The l!e

Note: previous chapters from 5-10 are the chapters showcases the past of kael.

[Present of 937AD]

"Make your choice, Kael. Will you be the prey? Or will you become the predator?" 

As the dreams set in, Kael's chest rose and fell heavingly as he looked for for air in his restless sleep. Although there was silence in the area surrounding him, chaos dominated his thoughts.

Visions snagged him, drawing him into a dark and red clouded world. With the black sword in his hand and its symbols gleaming dimly in the weak light, he stood in the mist.

He saw the blood dripping from the edge of the cursed blade, thick and dark, falling on the ground. The strong, overpowering smell of metal assaulted his senses. The echoes of screams, the clash of steel, and the eerie wail of a woman's voice brought a deep anguish to his chest, and his heart raced as the disjointed memories rushed forth.

His surroundings became hazy, turning into the red sky he had previously seen, with blood splattering beneath his feet. His spirit was pierced by the chorus of screams that twisted into the guttural laughter of the troops who had destroyed his life.

Then he saw the face. The man responsible for his mothers death.

His mother’s screams echoed in his mind, her voice broken and fading. He saw the black sword in his hands slicing through the air as he charged forward. With each swing, the symbols engraved on the weapon seemed to come to life, consuming his anger and becoming brighter.

Blood splattered across his face as the sword cut through flesh, cutting the man’s head cleanly from his body. The chopped head rolled to the ground, eyes wide in a horrible expression of fear. Gazing down at the dead body, Kael's grip tightened around the blade, his knuckles turning white. Everything around him was red-stained as the blood seeped into the ground like rivers.

His heart thumped with rage and pleasure, and his breathing became rapid. Then the symbols appeared, their patterns evolving into something unrecognisable as they shifted and twisted, burning brighter. They blazed its spirit into his very existence, carving itself into his memories.

The mist grew larger, swallowing the world around him. The faces of the slain; flashed before him, each one still in a moment of pain and fear. Warm and sticky, their blood held on to his hands and was unable to wash off.

The voice reappeared, dark and mocking, across it all, all over the area. "Kael, you made your decision."

Kael jolted awake, his chest heaving, his body soaked in sweat. Automatically, his hand went to the spot next to him, where the cursed blade should have been. His fables was still fresh in his thoughts as he sat up, his heart pounding.

The signs. The blood. The cries.

He could never get rid of them because they were now carved on him, can't escape from that fate. 

The campfire had burned low, its embers casting faint, flickering shadows across the forest clearing.

He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms until the pain grounded him. But the memories clung to him like a second skin, vivid and unrelenting.

He looked down at his trembling hands. 

How many lives had these hands taken? How much blood had they spilled? And yet, no matter how many battles he fought, no matter how many enemies he killed, he could never erase the image of his mother lying lifeless at his feet.

He wiped the cold sweat from his eyebrow. He moved to the middle of a huge, dense forest, covered by a light fog, making it partially visible. The only sounds in the air were the wind's whispers and the distant crackling of dry leaves

His heart pounded as he experienced the weight of being watched, a presence that stayed just away. There was a shadowy figure standing in the distance. It was merely a shadow against the dark shadows of the trees. 

Kael started running without thinking, his boots thumping the soft ground as he got closer to the mysterious figure with each step. The figure stayed slightly ahead.

As he came to the edge of a cliff once the person who is in front of him is noware now, seemed like he vanished, all he could hear is the sound of the flow of water comming from the river which is perpendicular down to the clift beside there was a river flowing heavily.

As Kael moved forward, his felt strange. He stopped at the edge of the clift, scanning his surroundings. The figure was gone, no sign of movement.

Before he could react, a voice came from behind him, low and teasing.
“I never thought you would be off guard.”

Kael's eyes narrowed, couldn't move but responded. “It’s not the proper way to speak, attacking from behind makes you a coward.”

The figure smirked, “Does it mean letting your back unguarded makes you foolish?”

The words felt familiar, Kael turns slightly to get the view of the mysterious person.

"Master..." Kael mumbled staring towards the person.

The guy stood still. The silence was broken after a moment by the master's voice.

"Long time no see, Kael. Seems like you've forgotten the spirit of the fight after these four long years." His voice was a mix of laughter and disappointment.

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[2028 AD]
[cyber Unit of EL]

There was a low-light in the cyber unit of EL. Alexei's fingers moved across the keyboard smoothly. His surroundings were cold and filled with the dismantled parts of robots. The holographic panels around him were the only source of light.

navigating through a network of encrypted data. When the coordinates he had been searching for finally showed up, his brow furrowed. A small beep confirmed the location had been pinpointed; its a compleately isolated area from the data set of their territory.

 Alexei smirks looking at the pinpoint, "place where the lowly rats crawl... no government, no food. Just filth and despair. Perfect for them to hide."

He looked at a little communicator that buzzed softly at his wrist. He forwarded the message to the person.

The notification was straightforward: "Target verified. The coordinates are 68.144W, 47.983N. "

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[937AD]

With a note of enjoyment in their voice, the Master remarked, "I see, Still sharp with your tongue."

"Seems like you’ve made some things worse, haven’t you?" The Master spoke in a smooth, almost informal tone, but something felt off.

Kael’s brow furrowed, his is confused His voice was unsure and low as he whispered, "What…?"

The Master chuckled briefly and without humour as his sharp eyes met Kael's. With slow, deliberate steps that echoed gently in the silence.

"Wake up, man." The Master’s tone changed, his voice carrying a hint of urgency. Standing motionless yet commanding. "You’re being manipulated. Are you unable to see it? Look inside yourself."

Kael's mind was spinning with shards of memories and feelings as he tightened his hands. He turned to face the Master

"Manipulated? By what means? By whom? " Kael yelled, his voice rising as he tried to make sense of the mysterious accusation.

The Master's face remained fixed. He cocked his head, looking at Kael. He continued, "You’re blind, Kael," in a softer, almost pitying tone. "You think every step you’ve taken, every decision you’ve made, was yours?"

Kael’s jaw tightened, with frustration. "What are you talking about?"

The Master was standing in front of Kael, his sharp eyes fixed on him. Suddenly, he put a hard hand on Kael's chest.

The Master said, "See within you, what’s real and what’s fake," in a steady yet commanding voice.

Before Kael could react, the Master shoved him backward with surprise force. Kael lost his balance and fell into the cold swift river below. As the Master's words replayed in his head, the cold water engulfed him and pulled him down into its depths.

As Kael sank deeper into the river’s cool embrace, the world around him began to fade. Memories dissolved within the emptiness created by darkness creeping into the corners of his vision.

He saw visions of Liora—her kind smile, her resolve, the way her voice carried faith even in the darkest of circumstances. Over the past ten days, they had experienced many things together, from calm nights under the stars to dangerous battles. She had served as both his purpose and his guide.

But then, the memory changed.

Kael saw the destroyed ruins of a village, smoke still curling into the air. Liora lay there, collapsed and lifeless, her once-bright eyes now dull. he couldn't believe those moments

He said to himself, "No," but the incident continued.

Her body had been crushed in the midst of the devastation that day, her life fade out while her hand clung lightly to his. "hey," she had muttered, her voice shaking, with the last of her breath "save them. Save the spirits…."

Kael clenched his fists, as he recalled those moments. He had buried her there, beneath the remnants of her village, marking her grave with the only piece of unbroken stone he could find.

But then… what had happened?

As he floated in the lap of the river, the truth pulled at him.

The one who is with him all thime wasn’t Liora.

It had never been Liora.

The time they spent together, the support she provided, the advice she gave—all of it was a lie. A cruel trick. In order to push him further, one of the manipulated spirit that had deceived him had assumed her shape and was entangling himself in memories.

Now he saw flashes: the empty echoes in her laughter, the way she avoided talking about somethings, the brief glimpse in the corner of his eye of the spirit's actual shape. He had been too consumed by guilt and sorrow to notice.

As the river pulled him deeper, Kael screamed silently, the sound swallowed by the cold waters. His fists thrashed at the water, but no resistance came, only the suffocating truth pressing down on him.

The true Liora had vanished. That day, she had passed away.

Additionally, the spirit posing as her had used him as a pawn, taking advantage of his suffering and need for sacrifice. His entire journey had been planned out.

As the memories of those ten days split like ash, he suddenly experienced an awful clarity. The false Liora’s voice rang in his ears, filled with honeyed lies: "You must save the spirits, Kael. Together, we can restore balance."

That was the trap set by the manipulated spirit to manipulate him, for whatever reasons they had.

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[2028AD]

A few hundred meters from the target location, the convoy stopped. As the engines slowed, dust blew around the hard matte-black cars. In the gloomy twilight, the ruins of broken skyscrapers appeared , making the region desolate. The slight smell of rust and decay was carried by a chilly wind that blew across the desolate condition.

With her boots crunching on the cracked road, the Agent Rylin [commanding force officer of CBDA] got out from the car. Her left eye, which was cybernetic, flashed softly as it adjusted to the dim light and looked for a movement on the horizon. Her group of private agents, carefully unloaded their gear behind her.

Agent Kevin stepped out of the truck as the door opened, his boots crunching on the cracked roadway. While he was walking, the sound of metal clanging could be heard, as if his limbs were made of metal.

“This is it,” he murmured, his voice sharp and low.

Behind Rylin, the crew unloaded equipment and prepared their weapons with the accuracy. Each agent was dressed in black tactical gear, with masks and helmets covering their faces.

Rylin said, "Give me eyes inside, Vance."

The team's tech specialist, Vance, knelt next to the car and turned on his console that was positioned on his wrist. Skittering out of a container, a group of tiny, spider-like drones scattered towards the building, their multi-lens eyes flashing dimly.

As his fingers moved across the interface, Vance remarked calmly, "Drones deployed." “Mapping the interior… okay, got something. The third floor. Three heat signatures gathered together. No movement. No automated defenses detected. Building’s a mess, though—one wrong step and the whole place could come down.”

Rylin nodded, her expression hardening over time. “Minimal resistance, then. We enter silently. Keep the comms clean. Move out."

With a sharp and commanding voice, Rylin said, "Set up perimeter recon." "Even though this place is dead, we can't be sure it's empty."

// To Be Continued.....