Pain.
It came first—cold and endless.
Then came breath.
Then memory.
Kael Ardyn had died. He remembered the sword piercing his spine. The magic burning his flesh. The betrayal on his brother's face.
He had no talent for magic. No skill with a blade. No noble title worth anything. Just a useless third son in a world that worshiped power.
And yet—
He opened his eyes.
And The Moon was watching.
Above him stretched a shattered dome, its broken stones glowing faintly in pale silver light. The ruins of a forgotten temple. Dust. Silence.
And something else.
A faint blue flicker in his vision—cold and unnatural.
A voice in his head. No sound. Just presence.
[ System Initialization… Complete. ]
• User: Kael Ardyn
• Status: Restored
• Alignment: Moon-Draconic
• System Version: BETA — Unique Access Granted
Kael blinked. "...What?"
The interface faded quickly, leaving a quiet hum behind his thoughts—like something alive watching through his eyes.
His body felt… different. Stronger. Lighter. He sat up slowly, noticing his reflection in a cracked piece of obsidian near the altar.
Pale skin. Long silver-white hair. Eyes like moonlit opals. Not the weak, dirty face of the boy who had died.
This was not his old body.
It was something else.
"I'm not the same."
He staggered to his feet and stepped into a stream of moonlight that cut through the ruins.
Energy pulsed inside him. Ancient. Wild. Cold and burning at once.
And the moment he touched the light—
[ LUNAR ENERGY DETECTED. ]
» Passive Trait Activated: Moonblood
» Condition: Rebirth Complete
» Hidden Path: Unlocked (???)
The message vanished, but Kael felt the change ripple through him.
A sense of clarity. Of hunger. Of something immense buried beneath his skin, waiting to awaken.
Dragons.
The moon.
His soul was tied to both now.
And the world had no idea.
A sound broke the silence—footsteps scraping stone. Voices.
Kael's gaze snapped to the entrance of the temple. Soldiers? Mercenaries?
He didn't wait to find out.
He moved—silently, instinctively—blending into shadow behind a fallen pillar.
And without fully understanding how, he vanished in a blink of silver light.
[ Skill Acquired: Moonstep (Rare) ]
• Type: Stealth/Movement
• Effect: Blink up to 5 meters. Leaves afterimage (1.5s)
• Energy Cost: 10
• Cooldown: 8 seconds
He reappeared just outside the broken wall, slipping into the forest's edge.
The soldiers never saw him.
They scouted the temple, muttered curses, then moved on.
Kael waited until the sounds faded.
Then he moved deeper into the trees—free.
Alive.
Changed.
Hours later, as he reached a cliff overlooking the faraway lights of the capital, a faint hum returned in his mind.
The System whispered again. Not in words, but with intent.
Quests.
Paths.
Growth.
The pieces were being laid out.
And Kael… Kael was no longer playing anyone else's game.
"Let them chase ghosts," he murmured. "Kael Ardyn died in that temple."
"What lives now… is something greater."
The wind stirred his silver hair as moonlight bathed the world around him.
He smiled.