Chapter 1 - Before the Storm

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📜 Chapter 1 — Before the Storm

Jinno Kingdom — Northern Region, Mountains of the Shadow Stag

Dawn stretched over the frozen slopes, gilding the peaks with a soft glow. In the cold lands of the north, where the wind was as sharp as a finely forged blade, stood a towering fortress carved into the very mountain. From its towers and walls black as onyx, the banner of the Kareth Clan fluttered—home to the Sura, masters of both dark magic and the blade.

There, in the heart of the fortress, walked Kefraim.

Tall, with long hair tied into a ceremonial bun, he wore a deep blue haori with silver edges, swaying gently with every step. His skin, marked by arcane rituals, revealed centuries of discipline, war, and accumulated power. But it was his eyes—deep, alert, ever calculating—that commanded true respect. These were the eyes of a man who saw the world not as it was, but as it should be.

— "It's far too cold for outdoor meditation, brother," — said a light but firm voice.

Kefraim turned. At the top of the stone stairway, arms crossed and smirking, stood Rael, his younger brother.

He dressed less ceremonially, in training garments dyed in wine and black. There was a lightness in him that contrasted with Kefraim's rigidity. Still, his eyes—though gentler—held the same fire as the blood they shared.

— "If you wish to keep your mind sharp, you must learn to ignore the cold," — Kefraim replied with a half-smile.

— "Or I could learn to beat it. With hot wine and thick blankets," — Rael quipped, walking down the steps.

They both laughed. It was rare to see Kefraim relaxed, but around his brother, the weight of centuries seemed to melt away, if only for a moment.

The Kareth Clan

That morning, the clan halls were filled with celebration. The Three Borders Treaty — mediated by Kefraim — was on the verge of being signed. The wars between the northern Sura and the Eastern Kingdoms had drained generations in blood and magic. Finally, the promise of peace felt tangible.

Kefraim walked among allied leaders: generals, warlords, emissaries of powerful guilds. All bowed to his presence. He was respected not just for his strength — feared on the battlefield — but for his strategic mind.

Nick Fury in cunning, Madara in ambition, and Cecil Stedman in duplicity, Kefraim knew exactly what to reveal… and what to conceal.

Rael, on the other hand, treated the allies like brothers-in-arms. He trained soldiers, drank with mercenaries, laughed with the monks of Hwang. He was the heart of the clan. Where Kefraim was the sword and the mind, Rael was the soul.

And because of that... he was vulnerable.

The Council

That same afternoon, the clan council gathered in the Hall of Mirrors, where enchanted walls reflected not faces, but intentions.

— "Peace is a façade," — Kefraim said, staring into the warped reflections. — "The Eastern Kingdoms retreat only because they fear what we are. If we lower our guard, we'll be devoured."

— "Peace isn't surrender, brother," — Rael countered. — "It's opportunity. With allies, we can build. Leave something more than ashes."

— "You speak as if the world were fair," — Kefraim retorted. — "But the world is shaped by those who impose their will."

The councilors watched in silence. Some feared Kefraim's growing harshness. Others admired it. The truth was many owed their lives to him. But Rael was different. He didn't fear Kefraim. He challenged him.

— "If you go too far," — Rael said quietly, "you'll be the one who destroys what you swore to protect."

For a moment, Kefraim's eyes wavered. But then he turned away, impassive.

— "And if that's the only way?"

The Betrayal

The following night, during the truce banquet, the fortress was attacked.

Not by an army — but by a handful of dark assassins, conjured from the forgotten ruins of the Shadow Nation, a sect of exiled Sura banished for forbidden heresies. They did not seek war… they sought Rael.

Kefraim fought like a god. Blades flew, corrupted lightning tore through the sky above the wall. But the enemy was already inside. The betrayal had come from within the council.

Rael was captured before his brother's very eyes. And though Kefraim defeated the invaders, the poison left in his brother's body was irreversible.

The Last Glance

In the crystal chamber, Rael lay dying atop a ritual pyre, surrounded by seals of magical containment. Kefraim knelt beside him — no armor, no mask. Just a brother beside his brother.

— "You... were right, Kef..." — Rael whispered with a faint smile. — "They used... our own hope against us…"

— "Silence. Save your strength," — Kefraim ordered, though his voice faltered.

— "No... listen... don't become... what they wanted you to be…"

Silence fell.

Rael squeezed his brother's hand one last time. And passed on.

Rebirth

That night, the skies over Jinno darkened. Ancestral statues cracked within their temples. Rael's blood was used in an ancient dark transcendence ritual — one forbidden even among the Sura.

Kefraim disappeared for seven days. When he returned, he was changed. His left arm was covered in living runes, and his eyes now glowed like eternal embers. The aura around him became a vortex: pulling all into fear and submission.

The council was dissolved. The traitors, executed without trial. The allies… became subordinates.

And the Kareth Clan? It became a hidden empire.

Chapter Epilogue

From that day on, Kefraim no longer sought peace. He sought control. An absolute order where no one would suffer as he had. Where betrayals would be punished with oblivion. And where, one day, he could shape the world in his image — perfect, orderly, free of human flaws.

But in his quietest moments, when the flames of vengeance momentarily dimmed… he still heard Rael's voice. The final spark that kept him from becoming a complete monster.

For now.

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