Jade had always felt a strange sense of distance from his older brother, the man known as Kael. Despite being only a few years apart in age, there was always an invisible wall between them, one that Jade couldn't quite break down. The relationship was complex, built on years of subtle differences that Jade couldn't fully grasp.
Kael was always the strong one—the protector, the one who people turned to when things got tough. He carried himself with a confidence that Jade had always envied, though it was a confidence tinged with something darker. Something Jade had never been able to pinpoint.
And yet, he was also the one who seemed to slip further away each day.
It was midday when Jade returned from the encounter with the masked figures, his mind still reeling from the battle. The world outside was still in chaos, but here, in the small cottage on the outskirts of the town, Jade found a semblance of peace. Or, at least, what passed for peace.
Kael was sitting at the worn wooden table, the sharp smell of alcohol heavy in the air. His face was tired, eyes bloodshot, but still sharp with a certain edge. A bottle of dark liquor sat beside him, half-empty, his fingers curled around the neck of it as if it were his only anchor in the world.
"Back already?" Kael's voice was thick, heavy with the weight of both exhaustion and something more—something Jade didn't understand but always felt. "Did they finally send you back for your next little lesson?"
Jade stood in the doorway, his heart pounding. He wanted to speak, to tell Kael everything—the battle, the power inside him, the danger looming on the horizon—but his voice was stuck, tangled in his throat.
Kael's gaze shifted to him, eyes narrowing. "Still mute, huh? Guess some things never change."
Jade flinched but didn't respond. The silence in the room was suffocating. It had been like this for as long as he could remember—Kael pushing him away, keeping his distance.
Jade had always felt like an outsider in his own family. His mother, always loving but distant in her own way, and his father, who seemed too caught up in the world to really notice him. But Kael, his older brother, had always been a mystery—a puzzle Jade couldn't solve, no matter how hard he tried.
But Jade knew something else about Kael. He wasn't just a drunk. He wasn't just someone who had given up on life. Kael was hiding something.
And Jade, despite the quiet, despite the distance between them, knew it.
"I'm not here for lessons," Jade finally managed to croak, his voice hoarse from the long silence. The words felt foreign, strange coming out of his mouth after all these years.
Kael's lips twitched in what could have been a smile, but there was no warmth in it. "Then what? You gonna tell me all about your big, heroic mission to save the world? Or are you just here to remind me that I'm not good enough to be part of your little story?"
Jade's eyes flashed. He hadn't come here to fight with Kael, but something about the older man's words stirred anger in his chest. Why did Kael always make him feel small?
But instead of lashing out, Jade felt a deeper resolve. Something inside him was shifting. The threads that had connected his past life were fraying, and in their place was something stronger—a need to understand, to find the truth about his brother.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kael," Jade said, his voice steady now. "But I know you're hiding something."
For a moment, the room was still. Kael didn't move, his eyes locked on Jade, sharp as knives. The air was thick with tension.
Kael set the bottle down with a soft thud, his expression unreadable. "You're wrong, kid. You think you know me? You think I'm just some drunk failure?"
Jade took a tentative step forward, the distance between them closing. "I think you're someone who's been carrying a burden. And I think you're scared."
Kael's hand clenched, his knuckles white. "You have no idea what you're talking about." His voice dropped to a near whisper, barely audible. "No idea what I've done. What we've all done. You think you're the only one with power now? You think that makes you special?"
Jade didn't speak. He just waited.
Kael's eyes flashed, as if fighting some internal war, before he finally stood. He swayed for a moment, his movements slower than they should have been. "You're not ready for this world, Jade. And neither am I. I may be the one who's drunk, but you're the one still blind to the truth."
Jade's chest tightened. What was Kael talking about? What truth?
Kael grabbed his coat from a nearby chair and swung it over his shoulders. "You'll figure it out. But it's going to hurt. You're going to lose people. You're going to face things you don't understand. And when it happens, remember—I'm not the one who abandoned you."
Jade reached out, his fingers brushing the sleeve of Kael's coat. "Kael..."
The older man stopped, turning back to face him. There was pain in his eyes—real, raw pain—but also something darker, something that made Jade's blood run cold.
"There's no coming back from what's coming, Jade. Not for you. Not for me." He turned his back to Jade, heading toward the door. "Take care of yourself. I've got my own demons to fight."
Jade stood frozen in the middle of the room, the weight of his brother's words hanging heavily in the air.
What did Kael know? What had he seen?
Jade's fingers tightened around the hem of his shirt, a feeling deep in his gut telling him that the truth was far more complicated than he'd ever imagined. The threads of fate—of his family—were tangled and knotted. And Kael's burden was just one more part of that mess.
Jade didn't know how to fix it, but he had to try. Because if Kael was right, the darkness was coming. And there was no way Jade would be left in the shadows this time.