The silence in the neighborhood was a bad omen. Kael knew it when he felt the coldness of the air clinging to his skin like a mute warning. In the alleys, murmurs of terror spoke of children disappearing without a trace. At first, no one dared to say it aloud, but the furtive glances and hurried footsteps confirmed it: something dark lurked in the city.
Kael remained alert. He knew how to move in the shadows, knew how to avoid trouble. But fate is not usually so merciful to those who have been marked.
The night he was caught, everything happened in the blink of an eye. A quick, calloused hand closed over his mouth, and a sharp blow to the head plunged him into unconsciousness. When he awoke, the world around him had changed.
He was no longer in the squalor-infested alleys, but in a temple hidden in the bowels of the jungle. The walls were covered with ancient inscriptions and strange engravings that seemed to move in the torchlight. The air smelled of dried blood and incense.
All around them, other children cowered in fear. Some sobbed silently, others simply stared with glazed eyes, resigned to their fate. It didn't take him long to understand: they were there to be sacrificed.
Men and women in ceremonial robes walked around the room with solemn steps. They wore masks carved from obsidian and jade, representations of ancient gods and mythological predators. Their voices chanted in a language Kael did not recognize, but somehow felt he understood deep inside.
As they dragged him to the altar, his heart pounded frantically. The clutches of fear gripped him as he saw the ritual knife glow in the firelight. But then, something changed.
The voices in his head returned, but this time they were clearer, more insistent. The image of the woman of his dreams came into view, her intense gaze riveted on him.
"Wake up," she whispered.
And in that instant, something inside him snapped. Or broke free.
Chaos erupted. An unknown power surged from his body, shaking the temple as if the earth itself were roaring in protest. The torches went out, the priests screamed and the children began to run.
Kael, his lungs burning and his mind clouded, staggered toward the exit. He did not understand what had happened, but he knew for certain: there was something in him, something ancient and forbidden.
Something the gods wanted back.