Chapter 13. First Steps In a New Path.

  When Kael woke up he felt a pounding headache, he was still laying on the floor. He remembered everything that had happened in Limbo, and thought to himself... "Am i really a monster...? Is that how everyone sees me...?" Suddenly he felt something warm run down his cheek, it was a tear. He didn't know why he cried, he accepted himself didn't he? He accepted that he's a monster, a fucking disgusting piece of shit. But at least he has family right? Then why is he crying, he got up slowly from the floor. When he looked outside it was morning, it means that he was passed out all night long, even though it was a couple minutes. When he went outside his room, he saw nobody, no one was there. He thought Katrine went to school, and his father went to work, but where would Mediae go? It bothered him that she wasn't around, it was unusual. When he went outside his house, life was going as if nothing happened, people were chatting and everything else. But suddenly when someone looked his way, they screamed and ran for their lives. Kael didn't understand why, why would they... He's just a person right...? When he tried approaching someone else they had the same reaction, they screamed in pure fear and ran away... But why...? Suddenly he heard sirens approaching, and the police were closing in... But why? When they arrived, it wasn't any ordinary police... They were special forces, but why did they pull up to him? When Kael looked at them every officer was visibly trembling with fear, they shakily pointed their guns at Kael. Kael didn't understand why, when he outstretched his hand towards them, it hit him... He truly was a monster, his hand was covered in what seemed to be pitch black crystals and he had a blade that outstretched from his wrist. He didn't understand why... Why was he such a monster...? Suddenly he heard the officer yell at him.

  -"ST-STAY WH-WHERE YOU ARE, Y-YOU FUCKING ABOMINATION! PL-PLEASE JUST ST-STAY THERE, PL-PLEASE I-I BEG YOU!"

  His voice was trembling with fear and he had tears streaming down his face, Kael seeing this started crying himself... He truly was a monster... Suddenly his body moved on its own and lunged at the officer, before Kael could register what had happened, he saw that he cut the officer in half. When he tried to scream in pain of what he had just done, all that came out was an animalistic howl. Kael didn't understand what was happening, who was he, where he was... He knew... He had to kill... He had to kill to survive... That's when he realised, that's how others would see him, as a bloodthirsty monster... Suddenly he covered his face and rolled into a fetal position, he didn't want to be a monster... He wanted to be happy, to be a human... He started crying like a small child lost in a mall, he couldn't do anything else... He was crying and whining like his favourite toy had been broken... Suddenly he felt warmth on his arm, he didn't know where it was from, but this warmth was so familiar... So comforting... That's when Kael heard a soft feminine voice.

  -"Hey Kael... Wake up... Please... Stop crying... Please..."

  It was... It was Katrine, he's sleeping, or at least having a nightmare. The imposter's words probably got to him and now his mind was playing tricks on him with this nightmare. Kael tried to wake up, but nothing worked... That's when he remembered, he had to... Commit suicide to get out of this nightmare... He raised his arm high and struck down at his neck beheading himself, the pain was immense. But suddenly everything went black, and he felt something warm streaming down his cheek. They were his own tears, when he opened his eyes he saw Katrine sitting beside him, comforting and hugging him. He thought that when he had the nightmare he truly screamed and cried in reality, it'd be the only reasonable explanation of what was happening. Kael wanted to immediately get up, but his body refused, when he looked outside it was dark. Probably an hour or two passed between his stay in Limbo and then his nightmare. He felt his body was tired physically, all his muscles ached and refused to work. Even his mouth wouldn't open to say anything. He wanted to say he's fine, but he couldn't, his body refused to. Suddenly Mediae went into his room looking down at his unresponsive body.

  -"Lady Katrine, I think we should put the Master to bed... Whatever he went through, it's clear that it exhausted him mentally and physically... Please Lady Katrine help me."

  Katrine hearing this slid Kael off of her and helped Mediae pick him up and lay him down onto the bed, they even tucked him in, which infuriated Kael. In his eyes this care was indeed nice, but being tucked in, in his opinion, was too much. He decided to savor the moment nevertheless, after he was tucked in, Mediae and Katrine quickly made their way out of the room. He was left alone, tired, muscles aching and slight pain in his head and abdomen. He thought it was finally time to rest, without any interruptions and nightmares. As he finally closed his eyes and what seemed like minutes had passed, he suddenly felt something warm on his face. When he woke up it was day outside, late morning even. He quickly got up from the bed and sat on the edge, he swore only a couple of minutes had passed, but it was this long? When finally got up he realised that indeed some time had passed, he didn't feel any pain or soreness from his muscles. He was well rested even though it seemed like a couple of minutes had passed, then he remembered, he also quickly got back into health after a Mag-Tech structure break-in. So he decided to ask Tenebrae.

  -"Oi Tenebrae, since I've been reborn in my darkness... I gained some new power, part of your soul, and similar... But did I also get faster physical regeneration?"

  Tenebrae hearing this stayed quiet for a while, it was true that Kael got some things from her, but she never gave him faster physical regeneration. It was because she didn't have it herself, Kael healed from a bullet wound in a span of 4 days, while back when she was still alive, a mere scratch would heal in around a week. She didn't understand it herself.

  -'I don't know kiddo, to be honest I didn't have sub-normal regeneration like you do. It took weeks for me to heal my severely wounded body, maybe days with the help of clerics and people specified in healing magic... But you? You're on a whole another level...'

  Kael understood what she meant, that it was his own ability that probably awakened when he was reborn in his darkness. Thousands of years ago everyone had some amount of magical power, and could create or use techniques to their liking. But from what he understood that Tenebrae said, only extremely skilled people could use healing magic, and it required a couple of them to help heal severe wounds. Him healing from bullet wounds in the span of days, all by himself, would be something that was probably the first time in history.

  -'Although I feel like your "regeneration" power will only grow along with you, who knows... Maybe someday you'll be able to suffer a shot to the head and regenerate in a span of seconds... Fuck I'd pay good money to see that hahahaha.'

  Kael thought about it, it was clear that he was growing at an abnormal rate, in the span of a couple of hours he could push Mediae back during their sparring. Of course she wasn't fighting with full power, but it was still strange for him to be able to do that so quickly. He decided to test something, he grabbed one of "The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness", and slashed his wrist slightly. He quickly bandaged it up and decided to check on it at the end of the day. He came up with an idea that every wound he suffers might speed up his regeneration, but for now he decided to announce the plans of breaking into the Eden Academy where the project "Eve" was held and conducted. As he walked out of his room he saw Katrine and Mediae sitting on the couch and discussing something in Ukrainian, he knew both Tenebrae and Mediae understood the language, probably because of some ability.

  -"Ви впевнен?, що це спрацю?? Це зовс?м соромно... До того ж, чому т?льки фартух? Х?ба я не можу одягнути щось п?д? Будь ласка, Мед??, скажи мен?i..."

  Mediae hearing Katrine's what seemed to be a question started nodding her head, Kael didn't know what these two were plotting, but he had a tingle it was something that may or may not be about him. Mediae responded calmly to Katrine's question.

  -"Так, я впевнений у цьому, ? я дуже впевнений, що Учителю це також сподоба?ться... Скаж?ть мен?, лед? Кетр?н, якому п?дл?тку не подоба?ться, щоб 16-р?чна д?вчина лише у фартуху подавала йому вечерю?"

  Katrine hearing him put on a thoughtful expression, Kael yet again didn't understand anything these two were talking about. He decided not to interrupt for now, since what they were talking about seemed important. But it wasn't too long, once Mediae saw him, she stood up and bowed slightly.

  -"I see you're awake Master, I feel like you have something important to announce. Please join me and Lady Katrine, we're willing to listen."

  Katrine, seeing this, quickly snapped her head around to look where Kael was, she knew he didn't understand Ukrainian, but still the thought of him hearing what they were talking about made her face slightly flush. Kael seeing the invitation quickly made his way to them and sat down on the couch, he took a deep breath. He figured out three possible plans to break into the Eden Academy, and none of these three was easy either mentally or physically.

  -"I've prepared three plans for the break-in... We need to pick one of those three, we can't integrate all of them into one, as it would take too much time and preparation. So we need to choose between those three..."

  Katrine and Mediae hearing this quickly put on serious faces and beckoned Kael to talk about what he planned. But knowing one of these three would have to be picked, made them question his reliability. Especially the part about those three not being able to be integrated into one, it made so little sense that it seemed stupid. Kael, seeing their doubts, took a deep breath and started explaining.

  -"First one is we follow along with the homemade explosive idea, the second one is 'High School Sweetheart's', me and Katrine would pretend to be the students of Eden Academy on a date. We would distract the guards and slip in... The third one is painful for me... I called it 'The Classic', I know a spot where a working abandoned truck is located, getting fuel for it will be easy... But I wanted to restore it someday, but priorities are called..."

  He knew all three were possible to pull off, he personally was behind the homemade explosive one, but he wanted to hear what they had to say. After all they were a team for this, and they'd go in and out together. First to voice her opinion was Mediae.

  -"I personally support 'High School Sweetheart's' Master. It's the least suspicious thing with the least amount of planning, besides we have everything ready... I know that you can get a female Eden Academy uniform quite easily, so I stand behind this plan."

  Kael nodded in approval, this plan has its ups and downs, and Mediae states the obvious upsides of it. But the downsides were also there, they would be easily spotted, their identities wouldn't be covered and it'd be embarrassing as fuck for him and Katrine. Kael then turned his head to Katrine to hear her opinion.

  -"I personally think 'The Classic' one is better, it may be loud and all... But it's supposed to serve as a distraction after all, right? It'd work better than the explosive one, besides we'd have a sure hit from it. Your makeshift explosives may not work after all."

  She was correct, this plan was supposed to create a distraction, but the downsides were destroying the truck and getting fuel to run it. The opinions were divided between those three, all had different opinions and different thoughts about the plans. All also voiced upsides of their chosen plan, and downsides of others. Kael took a deep breath, he thought that their opinions wouldn't be split so hard and they'd agree on one thing, but he was wrong. He leaned back on the couch and covered his face in his hands, he wanted to break-in tomorrow yet they didn't have a plan chosen. Time was running out.

  -"Well it seems we can't agree on a plan... Fuuuuuuuuuuck, I guess I'll think of something else. After all we need a plan that we all can agree-"

  Before he could finish Tenebrae interrupted him by clearing her throat, it was clear she wanted to voice her opinion as well. Although Kael thought it was pointless as she would partake only in the form of "The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness", and besides she'd be in his head. So there was no way she'd be so vital to it, but Kael thought that he was there thanks to her. With a nod of his head he beckoned her to state her opinion, she then spoke from the sword's.

  -'I second Mediae'

  That's all she said... Not even explained why or anything... She just said that... Nothing less, nothing more... Kael hearing this smashed his head on the table, he knew exactly why she second Mediae and it infuriated him. He decided that the voting was now done and he had no choice but to accept the terms presented before him, he took a deep breath and steeled his resolve.

  -"Very well, we'll follow with that one. I'll contact my classmate for a female school uniform... But Katrine... I need your, ekhm... Exact sizes, because the uniforms from Eden Academy are made personally for each student, so if yours is too tight or too loose it'll be suspicious immediately."

  Katrine hearing this blushes slightly but nodded approvingly nevertheless, after all they were supposed to be a pair on a "date". The preparations were set into motion as well, the plan of the break-in was set tomorrow in the middle of the day. It was probably the stupidest thing they could think of, but also the one that made the most sense. He decided he needed to prepare himself. He thought about bringing the clothes he wore during mag-tech structure break-in to conceal his identity after coming inside, but it would be difficult due to him also carrying "The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness" in the sport's bag. Time was ticking quickly, every minute seemed to be a single second for him. He wanted to train a bit more, but there was no time. So he decided to mentally prepare himself for killing someone, he killed before when Tenebrae took over his body, but now he'd do it himself. It wouldn't be like killing the imposter or the scarred warrior, it'd be different, he'd kill a living, breathing human being with consciousness, family and friends… It seemed strange for him, because when he thought about a scenario of killing someone in his head... He felt nothing... Like it was just another number to the overall count, it made him scared. Was he losing his humanity...? He knew soldiers and warriors killed for the sake of something seemingly greater, and besides they were ordered to do so. But he'd do it for a selfish reason, he'd be no better than just a murderer… He decided to test his theory, he quickly packed the swords into a sports bag and decided to go out. It was still relatively early, but he could do some... Hunting... He left the house unnoticed only leaving a note behind saying that he'll be back late, he needed to test if he truly didn't feel anything when he killed someone. He quickly made his way to the slums just outside the city, he quickly put on the hood over his head to cover himself. Even though the city has been relatively advanced due to mag-tech power, the slums were still there. Roads filled with druggies and prostitutes, it was truly a pathetic sight to Kael. Suddenly Tenebrae spoke to him.

  -'You really wanna do this Kael? I mean what you're going to do will be-'

  Before she could finish, Kael put a finger to his mouth urging her to stay quiet. He didn't want to be distracted now, he needed to focus. It wasn't so rare to hear about rape cases or murders that happened in the slums, and he decided that'll he'll lift some weight of the police's shoulders... It didn't take him too long to find a seemingly ordinary alleyway, he thought about passing by it, but when he heard a woman scream he quickly changed his mind and walked into the alley. It was full of trash, the stench of excrement and trash was strong. He decided to reach into his sports back now and pull out "The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness", he decided to deal with whatever was happening quickly. When he walked further into the alley he saw a dead end, there was a woman pressed into the wall surrounded by a couple armed men. It was clear she wouldn't make it out without a scratch, even if she made it out alive...

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  -"PL-PLEASE I SWEAR I PAID HIM! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO PAY WITH ANYMORE PLEASE, PLEASE I'LL DO EVERYTHING!"

  As she finished speaking she lunged at one of the armed men wrapping her arms around him, she was begging for mercy. Kael knew slums weren't forgiving and nobody comes here often, and police usually dismiss the cases from here as they're too dangerous to carry out.

  -"I HAVE A DAUGHTER TO FEED, PLEASE SPARE ME! I'LL DO EVERYTHING, YOU WANT MY BODY!? TAKE IT PLEASE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!"

  Kael hearing this clicked his tongue, for him it was slightly annoying that someone would offer their body to spare money. But he quickly remembered that the woman said she had a daughter as well, Kael thought that this would go further so he turned around and decided to leave, but as he was about to he heard a sound of fabric being ripped apart. When he looked back he saw the woman was covering herself, those bastards ripped her clothes apart...

  -"Daughter ya say? I hope she's as tight as her mother... Right boys!? HAHAHAHAHAH!"

  Kael, hearing this was stunned, the woman looked no older than 30, which meant her daughter could be... He just couldn't stay there and watch it happen, he approached the group of armed men, "The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness" in his hands... He decided to tap one of the swords continuously against a wall to potentially intimidate the armed men and make them go away without a fight, as he tapped the sword, the empty metal clangs and sparks lit up the alleyway. Suddenly the laughter from the men died down as they turned around, Kael was wearing a dark jacket that went down to his ankles, along with a hoodie that covered his face. He truly looked like something straight out of a nightmare, and he was worse than any nightmare could be. Suddenly he stopped the tapping and stood in front of the armed men, it was a small group, around 10 of them. They were all armed with either knives or machetes, suddenly one of them stepped closer to Kael, he probably was the de-facto leader.

  -"Who are you...? You don't look like you are from around here are ya? OHHHH I GET IT! YOU'RE SOME RICH KID THAT WANTS TO PLAY A VIGILANTE!? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH-"

  Before he could finish speaking he felt something cold, when he looked down he saw his abdomen was cut open. All his intestines spilled onto the ground with a disgusting meaty sound, he fell to the ground crying out in pain. Kael stood there, blood dripping from one of his swords, as if nothing happened...

  -"AGHHH EVEN IF I DIE HERE, YOU WON'T LEAVE THE SLUM'S ALIVE! YOU HEAR ME!? THE BLACK HOOK GANG WON'T LET YOU LEAVE-"

  There was a sudden metal cling and then silence... The man's head rolled onto the ground, Kael just killed someone consciously... But that someone deserved death, that "human"... He needed to die in Kael's eyes, it wasn't that bad in his eyes to kill him… The other men stared in shock, they couldn't register what just happened. The most scared one was the woman, she didn't know if Kael would kill her too. She's seen similar people before, they'd even kill the victims. All she could do now is pray for mercy to whatever god she believed in, suddenly the tense silence was broken by Kael.

  -"Silence…"

  That single word made all the other men tremble, they killed before in cold blood, but they did it for money and pleasure. He didn't do it for either, he just killed because he felt like it... Suddenly one of the men screamed.

  -"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DUMB CUNTS WAITING FOR!? IT'S JUST A ONE FUCKING TEENAGER AND THERE'S NINE OF US! KILL HIM FOR FUCKS SAKE, KILL HIM AND DO WHATEVER TO MAKE HIM SUFFER!"

  Kael didn't care nor was he scared, suddenly one of the remaining armed men rushed towards him. He wielded a machete, he swung it high at Kael expecting an easy kill. His attack was blocked by one of the swords wielded by Kael, suddenly Kael brought his other sword up and cut off the man's arms. He howled in pain, he couldn't do anything, for the first time the thug felt true fear... When he looked into the eye of Kael he saw nothing, bare wasteland covered by cold intent to kill. Suddenly Kael brought his other sword down and cut off his legs. As the man was about to scream in pain, his throat was stabbed by Kael.

  -"Pathethic..."

  He was counting them like mere cattle to slaughter, a predator that didn't care about his prey. The rest of the thugs seeing this started trembling even harder, cold sweat poured down their foreheads. This seemingly ordinary teenager just killed two of them and didn't care, suddenly three of the remaining armed men rushed towards Kael. They swung their knives and machetes clumsily, Kael didn't struggle to block their attacks. Suddenly Kael dropped down and cut all of their abdomen open, their blood and intestines spilled onto the ground. Kael, not wasting a second, stabbed them into their hearts one by one...

  -"Scum... Weak... Disgusting..."

  The woman looked into Kael's face, it was covered by a hoodie and his left eye was covered by an eye patch... But what she saw made her jump back and curl into a fetal position... It was death, the purest, rawest and most brutal form of it... The remaining five armed men didn't know what to do, rushing in mindlessly would get them killed like their friends. So they decided to devise a strategy, suddenly one rushed behind Kael and tried to attack him from behind with his knife, while the other rushed Kael from the front with his machete. Just as they were about to land a sure hit, Kael dropped his swords... Before they knew Kael grabbed their throats and lifted them off the ground, they could barely breathe.

  -"PL-PLEASE LET US AGHH GO... WE'LL NEVER DO THIS... AGAIN PLEASE..."

  One of them pleaded with tears in his eyes, when Kael looked onto the other one, he had tears in his eyes too...

  -"Pl-please... I have a son... I was forced to do this... Please let us go... We swear on our families lives we'll never do it again..."

  Kael hearing this loosened his grip on their throats, just as they were about to celebrate their small victory... A sickening crunch echoed through the air, Kael not only did crush their windpipes, but also their necks. He dropped the lifeless bodies to the ground as if they were both more than just trash.

  -"I don’t care who you have… You don’t deserve them after your actions…"

  The remaining three men dropped onto their knees and threw away their weapons. They knew they couldn't do anything but beg for their pathetic meaningless lives... They pleaded and cried for their lives before Kael, suddenly they stopped. When the woman looked up she thought that Kael spared them, but suddenly their heads slipped from their bodies and dropped to the ground with an empty thud. She screamed in terror, she saw gangs executing people before, but never in such a cold and calculated manner... Suddenly Kael approached her, she didn't know what to do... Her clothes have been ripped apart, she's too weak to fight back... She thought he'd just have some fun with her and leave her there... But when she looked up and saw his hand outstretched to her, she expected something different from him... She shakily accepted his hand, suddenly she was pulled up to her feet. She didn't know how to thank him or what to say.

  -"Thank you so much... You probably saved mine and my daughter's life... Who... Who are you...? I'm Lilith... If you wanna know..."

  Kael, hearing her turn to look at her, it was clear she was slightly malnourished. The many bruises on her skin didn't help, it was clear she gave up everything she could, even her body. To save her daughter and allow her to live on. Kael seeing this had something in his heart melt, although he just murdered a couple thugs in cold blood... He suddenly pulled out his wallet and gave her around 1000 dollars... It was an astronomical amount in the slums, barely anyone made 100 dollars month to month, and she just received 1000… Suddenly Kael spoke to her in a low dangerous tone, he tried to cool off after this fight, but the rage lingered...

  -"Make sure you and your daughter will survive off of this money... I'll give you money regularly, so you won't have to sell your body... But if you spend it on something else like drugs... I'll take more than I gave you... And my name... Just call me… A Heir..."

  Heir... It suited him in Lilith's eyes, with a last glance at his covered face she nodded and quickly ran off. Kael felt something being lifted off of his shoulders, he put the swords back into the sports back and slung it over his shoulder. He could kill without any remorse, his test was successful... Suddenly Tenebrae spoke to him in a surprised tone, she knew that people could do many things when influenced by rage... But this was something different, she doesn't remember the last time she saw such a cold killing... No not killing, a massacre would be a better word...

  -'Damn Kael, you changed a shit ton... Not even a month ago you were scared to even talk to me, and now? You just killed 10 guys in cold blood and saved some random sluts and her daughter's life... I don't know if i should be surprised positively or negatively...'

  Kael stayed silent, he agreed with Tenebrae... He changed so much in such a short span of time, he decided to check on his cut that he made on his wrist to test his possible regeneration ability... What was left of the cut was a nearly healed wound, his theory was correct...

  -"Oi Tenebrae, since I can't do that myself necessarily. Please, can you analyse my magical power flow through my body and find out why I regenerate quicker than anyone else?"

  He was genuinely curious, even though he got some abilities since he got reborn in Tenebrae's darkness, a regeneration ability wasn't there. It means his body must have developed itself.

  -'Fine kiddo, I guess I'll do my best to try to do that, so leave it to your best partner... But yea your regeneration is truly something unusual, besides i feel something malicious... Don't worry...'

  Her telling him not to worry, made him worry even more... Something malicious, he has dealt with enough shit up until now and he's tired. Besides they're breaking into Eden Academy tomorrow to stop the project "Eve", he needed rest, not more stuff to worry about. He decided to make his way back from the slums, but as he did so he remembered what one of the thugs said. Something about the Black Hook Gang, he didn't care as if someone even dared to get close to his family... They'd pay the ultimate price... He didn't mind killing anymore, but he decided to make a small moral compass for himself. He would not kill children, but everyone else who deserves to die, is fair game... It was a brutal and one sided one, but in his eyes, it was the only right one. As he got out of the slums he noticed that there was an unusual amount of activity around him, more people he didn't recognise were staring at him. It was clear that something or someone was lurking in the shadows ready to strike when he would expect it the least, but if it truly did, he'd kill whatever it would be. After a while he arrived at his home, it was noon by now. He didn't see Katrine or Mediae in the living room, nor his father, so he decided to make his way to his room and change clothes. The jacket, hoodie and pants along with the boots he wore were stained with crimson blood. It made it look somewhat beautiful in his eyes, so he decided to not wash it off for now. As he put on some comfortable clothing he went into the living room, he saw there was a note. The handwriting was clearly of his father. "Me along with Mediae and Katrine went shopping, we'll be back late :*. There's dinner in the refrigerator." Dinner huh? He made his way to the refrigerator and pulled out the dinner, it was simple grilled chicken along with some rice. He quickly ate it and decided to take a shower, as he went into the bathroom and was preparing for the shower he heard Tenebrae again.

  -'Oi kiddo, good and bad info. Your regeneration is a curse of some sorts, it's not made to help you, but to keep you alive. And besides your wounds regenerate faster if they're in the dark... It's unusual for me, I don't know a being that has such curses...'

  A curse huh? But it helped him nevertheless so he didn't mind, even if it was there not to help him, but just to keep him alive. It wasn't that bad in his eyes, and it was rather a blessing than a curse, but the part about faster regeneration in the darkness... That's what bothered him.

  -"I don't know Tenebrae, if it helps me I don't care... What truly matters to me is that it keeps me alive and that's it, so if you're worried, then don't be... It's nothing major right?"

  His tone was quite playful and carefree, he truly didn't care about Tenebrae's warning. It frustrated her, that this kid that she cared the most about didn't care about an obvious curse.

  -'You'll regret it someday Kael Riggs…’

  Kael, hearing this got stunned, Tenebrae never called him by his full name... He didn't know how to respond, but seeing how she told him about the curse, it means that someone or something keeps him alive for some purpose...

  -"Tenebrae... I feel like something might want to snatch my body from me someday in the future... Don't you feel like too? I mean, it's just a feeling, but still... Fuck..."

  Tenebrae stayed silent, she didn't respond to him. She decided to ignore Kael for the meantime since he annoyed her by dismissing the curse as a blessing rather, she had few ideas which beings would want to take his body. Unfortunately Kael would probably be long gone before they'd make a move, and if he did get to the desired power quicker than expected, then she'd stand up for him. Suddenly she heard Kael speak again, she ignored him so she didn't get what he said before.

  -"OI TENEBRAE YOU OLD PERVERT WAKE UP! THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU!? I ASKED YOU A QUESTION AND YOU DIDN'T ANSWER!"

  His voice was full of anger and accusation, she felt some guilt, but she quickly brushed it off because in her mind Kael deserved to be ignored for a while. But something snapped inside her suddenly, it was something like a motherly instinct. Although Kael was "reborn" in her darkness, she didn't feel any deeper connection between herself and him. She thought at first he may be a distant relative of hers, but it wouldn't make sense, since she didn't have siblings nor children.

  -'I'm here you dumb fuck, jeez you always have to be so loud? And yes you were correct, something is keeping you alive to potentially snatch your body, but i don't know what that thing is. Don't worry if everything we'll overcome together, and besides your bride Katrine will be with you hahaha...'

  Kael instead of getting frustrated at the bride teasing, laughed at himself. He partially missed this part of Tenebrae, but he knew that after what he had done in the slums... It'll never be the same, he's got blood on his hands that will never come off. He decided to finish the shower quickly and dry himself off, as he finished he put on some clothes and got out of the bathroom. It was quite late and his father along with Katrine and Mediae didn't come back yet. It made him worry slightly, but then he remembered that Mediae is his Royal Guard, and she served in countless battles thousands of years ago. It made him worry slightly less. He decided to make himself something quickly, he went into the kitchen and pulled out the old toaster. As he was cooking his toast he heard something strange, footsteps from his room... It would be impossible since he's alone in the house, he quickly grabbed a knife from the counter and pressed himself to a wall. He put the knife slightly away from the wall to look in it's reflection, he saw a man dressed in all black with a gun in his hand. He thought it was a normal burglar, and since he dispatched 10 armed men before, one shouldn't be an issue. He walked away from the wall and towards the armed man confidently.

  -"And the hell you’re doing here? Lost? Or maybe you’re seeking to avenge your dead buddies huh? C’mon, tell me… And maybe I’ll spare you…"

  The armed person seeing this laughed, in his eyes Kael was just an ordinary teenager that had balls bigger than his brain. When he blinked... Kael was gone from where he was... Suddenly he felt something cold in his shoulder, when he looked around he saw Kael with a knife stuck in his shoulder. He howled in pain dropping his gun and then falling onto his knees clutching his shoulder. Kael, seeing this, gripped the knife and slashed it down the man's back.

  -"Too bad... I wanted to question you a bit... But now I have to kill you... Should have shot when you had time... Too bad, truly too bad…"

  The cold laughter made the man not only tremble in pain, but in fear too. He was just supposed to stalk that guy named "Reaper" back home and kill him in his sleep, not fight some insane teenager. He wanted to say something but he felt like his fear grabbed his throat and made him unable to speak, suddenly he felt as Kael grabbed his leg and threw him into a wall. It made the pain shoot through his body, as he slid down the wall, he left a blood stain from the knife wound on his shoulder. Suddenly Kael approached him and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up with relative ease. The man having both to do, decided to snitch and apologise.

  -"I-I'M SORRY I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE, SPARE ME, I'LL DO AND GIVE YOU EVERYTHING! I WAS SENT BY THE BLACK HOOK GANG TO KILL THAT HEIR CUNT! PLEASE SPARE ME! YOU'LL SPARE ME RIGHT!?"

  Kael hearing this went quiet, so they knew now where he lived... It put him and his family at danger, letting this man walk away would be the biggest mistake. Kael started chuckling, he got the attention of one of the gangs in the slums, it meant that new routes are to different materials and information has been unlocked. After all, fear is the greatest payment in the slums. The burglar seeing this started crying. Not only did this teenager stab him in the shoulder and threw him around like a common piece of trash, he was now laughing at his predicament. Suddenly Kael stopped laughing and looked at the burglar, straight into his eyes. When the burglar looked at Kael's right eye, he saw the same thing that Lilith saw previously, a wasteland with cold intent to kill. Suddenly Kael said to him.

  -"Well... Look how the tables have turned aye?"

  As he finished speaking he crushed the man's neck and threw him on the ground like he was disgusted with him, he just killed another person that begged for his life... Kael didn't bother with cleaning up the body, letting it lay there. When he looked at his hands, they were covered in crimson blood. Suddenly he felt a disgusting urge to lick the blood off of his fingers, as he reached with his hand to his mouth, he suddenly snapped out. Tenebrae also warned him.

  -'It seems the curse of your swords is growing stronger... Fuck. I thought that sealing myself in them would slow it down, listen Kael, the curse of the swords is growing and you’re growing an urge to kill and slaughter... Please Kael, try to resist as much as possible...'

  Her voice was soft and full of care, Kael brought his arm back to his side. If that's the curse of the swords, it means he just has another weight added to his shoulders. Suddenly he heard a noise, he got into attack mode immediately, he was ready to pounce like a wild animal. What he saw was Katrine, Xavier and Mediae laughing. When Katrine saw the scene, she screeched in fear. She didn't know what happened and who did it, but seeing the blood on Kael's hands, she came to the conclusion quickly... Xavier was the first one to speak up.

  -"KAEL! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE!? WHO THE HELL IS THAT GUY!? PLEASE TELL ME AT LEAST YOU'RE SAFE!"

  Kael hearing this sighed, he knew that they didn't know about the curse of the swords and him succumbing to it. It hurt him, hurt him deeply... He decided to quickly explain what happened, he didn't want to leave out a single detail.

  -"I went to the slums earlier to test if I could kill... I found a group of guys that wanted to rape a woman, and then threatened to rape her daughter as well... I killed them and came back home, this guy here is an assassin sent by that gang..."

  As Kael finished speaking he pointed to the body that was laying on the floor, it had a mangled neck and stab wound in its shoulder. When Katrine looked at the body she puked on the spot, it was too much for her. The only person that wasn't moved by the whole situation was Mediae.

  -"I see that the Master has taken care of the intruder... Did you take any information from him? Name's? Who sent him? Where does he belong? Such information is vital to the case Master..."

  Kael, hearing Tenebrae remembered who sent the assassin, after being lost in thoughts for a while he took a deep breath and answered Mediae.

  -"Black Hook Gang, from the slums. The bastards I killed and told you about previously, belonged to the same gang. So it seems I've made us some enemies... Hah, ironic... A month ago I wouldn't even think about hitting a fly, and now I'll be taking a whole gang from the slums by myself..."

  Both Katrine and Xavier were stunned hearing this, only one who remained calm was Mediae. She knew about the curse that the swords applied to the wielder, she decided to reveal it to both Xavier and Katrine.

  -"Father of Master, Lady Katrine. The part of the curse about 'The Dual Cursed Swords of Darkness' is a disgusting curse... It makes the wielder go into full on killing intent and bloodlust whenever they fight, I don't know how Master will turn out during fighting... So please stay by me if needed."

  Katrine and Xavier hearing this nodded slowly, the one who was hurt the most was Xavier. Kael was his son after all, and any parent no matter how hard they are, would break when their child would suffer from such a disgusting curse. He couldn't hold it back in anymore and dropped on his knees beginning to cry, his last remaining family and last child suffered from such a disgusting curse. He wanted Kael to live a normal life and not get entangled in something like, suddenly he felt a warm touch on his cheek. It was Kael, he had a gentle and warm look in his eye. Xavier swore he saw his son when was younger and didn't have any scars and wasn't missing a left eye, it made him cry harder. Kael, not having a choice, looped his arm around his father and pulled him up, since he was a lot stronger than any ordinary human being, it wasn't a huge challenge for him. He helped his father carry him to his bedroom, once he laid down his father he came back to the living room. Katrine was still clearly in shock, she suddenly fainted... Kael quickly grabbed her and laid her down on the couch, and said to her.

  -"на добран?ч.”