The arena was silent, save for the low hum of charged aether and the faint vibrations left from the last duel. At just five years old, Kael stood barefoot in the center, the soles of his feet pressed into the cold stone, attuned to the energy that pulsed beneath him. His face was unreadable, his posture relaxed, though his fingers twitched with faint anticipation.
Across from him stood Coran Vorian, smirking as he twirled a curved blade glowing with unstable spatial energy. The air around it fractured in jagged, translucent lines. At seventeen, Coran had already bonded with a Tier 3 star and entered the Starseed Realm. He was taller, broader, and honed by years of harsh training.
Kael, by contrast, had yet to begin formal cultivation. His dantian remained sealed. He wielded no star essence.
The elders watched from the stands in silence. This was not a lesson in fairness. It was a measure of survival.
Coran vanished.
A ripple of distorted space marked his movement. In the next breath, he reappeared behind Kael, blade arcing toward his back.
Kael didn't flinch. He stepped to the side.
His hand moved, gathering ambient aether with unnatural precision. He struck Coran's chest, the sound of impact like stone cracking under pressure. Coran's breath fled his body as his ribs caved inward. He hit the ground, bouncing across the arena floor as hairline fractures splintered the stone.
Gasps broke the silence.
Kael didn't pause. He closed the distance in three strides, caught Coran by the collar as he struggled to rise, and drove his knee into the boy's gut. The second strike lifted Coran into the air, hurling him like a ragdoll. He crumpled in a heap, unmoving.
The crowd stared in stunned silence.
A child with a sealed dantian had defeated a cultivator in two strokes. The impossible had happened before their eyes.
Coran spat blood, face contorted with disbelief and shame. "I was beaten by someone who looks like a courtesan."
His friends sneered.
"That face belongs in a brothel, not an arena."
"A pretty little plaything thinks he can lead us?"
Kael turned.
He didn't rush. He moved with purpose. And they didn't see it coming.
His fist shattered a jaw. An elbow cracked a rib. One boy raised a spark of star essence before Kael twisted his arm behind his back and drove his face into the ground.
When it ended, Kael stood over their broken forms, blood on his knuckles. He wiped it away with calm detachment.
"Remember this pain," he said quietly. "Next time, show respect or I will remind you again."
He walked away, leaving groans and shattered pride behind him.
Later that evening, the injured boys were summoned. There was no healing, only a warning.
"He is the clan's heir," said Elder Rhys Vorian, his voice colder than winter. "His power exceeds anything you can comprehend. If you insult him, he is within his rights to punish you. The dignity of the Vorian Clan is not to be questioned."
One boy dared to object. "But he—"
"He is what the heavens have decreed," the elder cut in. "And you are nothing. His gender and looks are not your concern. You should fear his power more than you envy his face."
That night, Elder Rhys led Kael to the gravity chamber.
Astralis, three times the size of Earth's sun, already possessed a crushing gravitational force. The chamber magnified it to unbearable levels.
As Kael entered, the weight slammed into him. His knees hit the ground. Each breath felt like a dagger down his throat. Blood dripped from his nose, ears, and lips.
He crawled, inch by agonizing inch, hands scraping the stone. The aether around him whispered, feeding him just enough strength to keep going. Then, something changed.
A shift deep in his bones.
Power unlocked within him. His marrow burned. His muscles screamed.
He rose, trembling, barely able to stand.
The pressure that had threatened to destroy him now moved through his body, forging him anew.
Outside the chamber, the elders nodded.
"Again tomorrow," one said. "He will walk. Then he will run. He cannot leave until he can move as if it is weightless."
Kael heard them. His eyes were bloodshot, and his legs trembled, but he said nothing.
The next morning, he sent out a call for followers. A tournament would be held. The strongest would become his generals.
A maid soon arrived, requesting his presence.
He followed her to his father's study and entered with a respectful bow.
"You summoned me?"
Lysandros, the clan patriarch, regarded him fondly. "Kael, as the heir, you are entitled to your own shadow guards. I've selected someone from a branch family to lead them. She is yours. Use her as you will."
A girl stepped forward. She looked about seven, two years older than Kael. She bowed deeply.
"Greetings, young master. My name is Astoria. It is an honor to serve."
Kael nodded. "Rise."
He looked to his father. "Thank you. I love the gift."
Lysandros smiled. "Anything for my little star."
Kael flushed and took his leave, eager to speak with Astoria privately.
He teleported to the Spiritual Herbs Mountain using a talisman, intending to test her abilities.
Upon arrival, his attention was immediately drawn to a commotion.
A boy with violet eyes and pale, moonstone-like skin was pinned against a wall by three older youths.
"Poison-blooded freak," one sneered. "Think your Sirenai mother will save you?"
Another laughed. "Careful touching him. You might catch something."
Despite their mockery, their steps were hesitant. The Sirenai were masters of poison. Who knew what this boy might carry?
The boy glared but made no move. His eyes darted, calculating. He had no non-lethal options. Killing a clan member, even in self-defense, carried a death sentence.
Kael stepped forward.
Two seconds later, the bullies lay on the ground groaning.
The boy blinked up at him. "You're Kael."
Kael tilted his head. "You could have handled it. You weren't panicked. Why wait?"
"I didn't want to kill anyone," the boy said. "I just moved here. I lived in the Sirenai lands with my mother. My poisons are all fatal. I didn't have any safe ones."
"What's your name?"
"Lior. I have a poison physique. My blood can kill, but it also heals. I'm skilled in alchemy."
"Perfect," Kael said. "Want to be my alchemist?"
Lior blinked. "Just like that? No tests?"
"You're in Vorian territory. Where would you run?"
Lior shrugged. "My father's here. I can't go anywhere."
"Good. I like you. Walk with me."
Kael winked at Astoria, signaling her to check Lior's background.
After escorting Lior home, Kael headed to the Time Garden.
There, he encountered a boy with golden skin and crystalline eyes. The air around him rippled.
"Chrono physique," Kael observed.
"And you frighten the elders," the boy replied.
Kael almost smiled. "Name?"
"River. My father is Elder Silas."
"Impressive lineage. Want to follow me?"
River studied him. "I want to walk beside you."
"Then prove you can keep up."
Kael's smile dazzled. River blinked, momentarily stunned.
Kael turned and disappeared deeper into the garden.
His final general sat on a ledge, weaving spatial threads into a vault the size of a coin. A girl in blue, white eyes glowing with focus.
"You're staring," she said.
"You're impressive," he replied.
"I know."
"Name?"
"Sen. I fold space. Create spatial tools. Compress."
"Join me. I'll give you a lab."
Sen smirked. "You're prettier than I expected."
"I'm a man. Handsome, not pretty."
She laughed. "Intersex, handsome, pretty. It's all the same. Haven't your parents had the talk?"
Kael ignored her and walked away.
That night, he sat alone in his chambers, gazing at his reflection in the polished obsidian wall.
Fox demon. Seductive freak. Vessel.
He was five. He should have looked innocent. But his beauty had weight. It made people angry. Desperate.
He pressed his palm to the cool stone.
Why does beauty provoke cruelty?
He thought long and hard.
Because they feared what they could not possess. What they could not control.
He was the heir. Above them. Untouchable. They whispered to drag him down.
He closed his eyes and stepped into his inner world, a realm of stars and shifting landscapes.
Mountains rose. Rivers carved themselves. Canyons split the earth.
Then he reversed it all.
Time folded backward. Everything erased.
And he began again.
Not just to grow stronger.
But to master creation, destruction, and the will to reshape the universe.
The stars pulsed above, ancient and eternal.
Watching.
Waiting.