The great hall of the castle echoed with ancient chants. Torches lit the walls covered in sacred symbols, and at the center of the summoning circle, the Five Heroes gleamed with a golden light that seemed to dispel every shadow.
But Kael was not there to shine.
He was a mistake. An anomaly.
His eyes opened with difficulty, blinking against the blinding light of the ceremony that had excluded him. Around him, the chosen ones received blessings and promises of glory. Kael only felt cold. The coldness of being invisible in a world that did not expect him.
"Who dares to disturb the ritual?" —a voice roared behind him.
Kael turned his head and saw a figure emerging from the ground, a spiritual guardian with blazing eyes and a sharp spear. There was no time for questions.
The attack was swift. The spear pierced his chest and the pain was a freezing fire that stole his breath. But then, something changed.
The world seemed to stop. A voice, deep and ancient, echoed in his mind:
—Anomalous authorization verified.
Activating Thanatós Protocol: Existential Nullification.
The guardian did not scream. He did not fall. He simply ceased to exist. As if reality itself had corrected an error, erasing the intruder from the equation.
Kael fell to his knees, gasping. In his chest, a cold void expanded, and a dark presence within him whispered with delight.
He was not a hero. He was not chosen. He was something different. A forgotten fragment in the design of fate. And with that forbidden power pulsing in his veins, Kael knew his story was only just beginning.
While the Five Heroes rose in glory, Kael stood up in the shadows, ready to defy a world that wanted to erase him.