In the world of Eldrath, the sky had no mercy for the weak, and the heavens only favored those strong enough to seize them. It was a realm of floating mountains, sacred beasts, and ancient legacies carved into blood-soaked soil.
And at the heart of this cruel world stood the most elite training ground of them all:
Ninefold Heaven Academy.
A place where geniuses were forged, monsters were crowned, and legends either ascended—or died.
---
Kael Vorrin, by all accounts, was neither genius nor legend.
He stood alone in the lower courtyard, dressed in hand-me-down robes a size too large. His golden hair was dulled by dust, and his once-bright blue eyes were dim with the weight of failure. The copper plate at his waist—the lowest rank—gleamed like a brand of shame.
"Still pretending to be a cultivator, trash?" The voice echoed from behind him.
Kael didn't need to turn to know who it was. Drake Velian, a Flame Vein disciple from the mid-tier. Arrogant. Gifted. Cruel.
Before Kael could speak, a flaming palm slammed into his back, sending him crashing to the ground. The few scrolls he carried scattered like dry leaves, and laughter rang out across the courtyard.
"Maybe you'll ascend in your dreams, Copper," Drake spat, before walking away to the cheers of his friends.
Kael lay still. The pain wasn't new. The humiliation wasn't either.
What burned was the silence that followed—the silence of his so-called peers, who looked away as if he were a disease.
---
That night, Kael sat beneath a twisted spirit tree at the very edge of the academy grounds, where the glowing pavilions gave way to shadowed cliffs and cursed ruins. A place forbidden. Forgotten.
"Is this all I'll ever be?" he whispered to the night. "A name they mock until it disappears?"
No answer came.
Until… something called.
A pulse, not of sound, but of hunger.
It throbbed in his chest like a second heartbeat, pulling him toward a crumbled stone gate half-swallowed by roots and time. Past the veil of mist, Kael descended into ancient darkness.
---
Deep in the forgotten ruins, he found it.
A shattered altar cloaked in shadows, overgrown with black vines that pulsed faintly with void energy. And there, floating above it, a sphere of swirling darkness. It wasn't just dark—it devoured the light around it.
He stepped closer.
> "Do you seek power, Kael Vorrin?"
The voice was not spoken. It entered his soul, vibrating against his bones.
Kael stared at the orb. "Power?"
> "The power to consume. To rise. To rule."
He raised a hand, breath shaking. His fingers brushed the orb—
And the world collapsed into black.
---
Pain.
Endless, searing pain tore through every cell of his body. His veins screamed, his bones cracked and mended in the same breath. Visions flashed before him: ancient beasts devouring suns, shadow kings feasting on gods, a swirling vortex consuming entire planes.
> Devouring Core Awakened.
> User: Kael Vorrin. Status: Bound. Evolution: Initiated.
---
When Kael awoke, the first thing he noticed was silence. The birds had stopped singing. Even the air seemed afraid.
The second thing he noticed was his body.
His once-skinny frame was filled with taut muscle. Not bulky, but defined—like a blade honed by war. His skin carried a faint bronze glow, pulsing with vitality. His hair gleamed once more, and his eyes… they were no longer blue.
They were void-colored, like galaxies trapped in a storm.
Kael clenched his fists, and the air around him shivered.
> You are no longer prey.
---
He returned to the academy at dawn, silent as a ghost.
As students gathered in the martial court for their morning sparring, Kael took his usual place in the shadows. Drake Velian strutted in with his usual arrogance, eyes scanning the crowd.
Then he saw Kael—and grinned.
"Didn't get enough yesterday, Trash?"
The crowd hushed. Kael didn't move. Didn't speak.
Drake launched forward, fire coiling around his arm like a serpent. "KNEEL!"
Kael's hand snapped up and caught the flame mid-air. It died instantly.
A collective gasp echoed across the courtyard.
"What—" Drake blinked.
Kael's eyes met his.
"You're weak," he said. "And I'm hungry."
With a twist, he shattered Drake's wrist, sending the older disciple sprawling.
The silence that followed was different this time. It was fear.
---
By afternoon, the academy buzzed with rumors.
"Kael Vorrin… devoured Drake's fire."
"He didn't dodge—he stood still. And crushed it."
"No one's ever awakened like this…"
---
That evening, as Kael walked toward the dorms, a figure waited by the sacred stone steps.
She wore a robe embroidered with twin crimson wings, the insignia of a powerful faction. Her fiery hair flowed like a river of molten gold, and her eyes—bright ruby—gleamed with sharp intellect and pride. A massive sword hung behind her, its aura humming like a dragon's growl.
Lyria Flamewing, inner disciple of the Crimson Wing Pavilion. Second only to the sect master's heir.
"You've been busy," she said, tossing him a crimson token.
Kael caught it. Invitation: Crimson Wing Pavilion Trials—Three Days.
"You've caught the attention of the Pavilion Elders," she added. "And mine."
She walked forward, eyes scanning him. "You're not the same boy who used to scrape the kitchens. Something's changed."
Kael's gaze met hers. "Everything."
Lyria's lips curved faintly.
"I wonder," she whispered, leaning in. "Can you devour your way to the heavens too?"
---
Elsewhere… in a veiled tower above the clouds
Mistress Anavia Solari, the youngest instructor in Ninefold Heaven's history, stood watching Kael's silhouette through her crystal mirror.
He was taller now. Stronger. And no longer afraid.
> "What are you becoming, Kael Vorrin…"
She touched the glass, eyes distant.
> "And why… do I want to be near you again?"
---
End of Chapter 1