Kael sat slumped in a half-broken chair near the barricade, ribs screaming with every shallow breath.
The metal frame creaked under his weight—just like his body.
His right arm was a disaster. Twisted, bloated, held in place by torn cloth and hope. Honestly, it would've been easier to list what bones weren't shattered. As for his ribs—seven were broken, maybe more. His hip had cracked during the dive that saved his life. Every shift sent fresh lightning up his spine.
But he was alive.
Somehow.
And more than that—
'Level 10,' Kael whispered, almost in disbelief.
The words felt surreal. Hollow. But also… solid. Like a promise half-kept.
He leaned forward, wincing, and looked through the barricade—just enough of a gap between a desk and a boarded window to peer outside.
Smoke curled through the fractured air, drifting across the bloodstained courtyard like a funeral shroud. The horde had scattered, but a few still lingered—clawing at doorframes, dragging half-torn bodies across broken stone.
And through the haze, barely visible, Kael spotted him.
Ellis.
Wounded. Bleeding. Glowing faintly.
Still fighting.
The holy glyphs carved into his skin pulsed with each strike of his golden blade. Every movement radiated precision—measured, brutal, divine.
He fought like a tired athlete at the end of the line, barely standing but still deadly. The last of the horde crumpled to the ground with a final wet thud.
The courtyard fell still.
Then—applause.
A rough, weary cheer broke out from the dorm as students celebrated their hero. Ellis, the golden warrior, the divine blade. Their savior.
Kael exhaled slowly. The sound rattled in his chest like a rusted engine.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he watched Ellis make his way to the front entrance, basking in the praise of the survivors.
Using his strength, Ellis pushed the barricade open and stepped inside. His golden glyphs dimmed as their glow faded—no longer needed. His sword was sheathed, leaving only blood and the scars of battle to tell his story.
But he stood tall.
Unshaken.
A champion of the people.
Kael coughed, then smirked.
"Took you long enough, Golden Boy. I had time to make myself comfortable before you finished off those small fry."
Ellis raised an eyebrow as he stepped inside, the cheer of the students still echoing behind him. His boots thudded softly across the tile, golden glyphs along his arms dimming as his divine aura finally relaxed.
"You look real comfortable," he said, giving Kael's chair a once-over. "Is that blood pooling under you or just a bad paint job?"
Kael grinned. "Well, I was known for back in the day to be messy with my paint."
Ellis's half smile drops as he crouched beside Kael, his tone still light but his eyes heavy as they scanning the damage.
"Gods, Kael. Your arm looks like it got chewed up by a lawnmower and then politely handed back."
Kael tilted his head mock-thoughtfully. "Actually, I think the lawnmower was polite. It left the rest of me mostly intact."
Ellis snorted.
But the humor faded just a bit when he got a good look at the bloated skin, the twisted bone, the way Kael was holding himself like a cracked statue barely held together.
"You alright?" he asked, quieter this time.
Kael's smile falls.
"I've been better," Kael admitted, the humor fading from his voice. "I'm not bleeding out—Thick Skin's holding things together. But without a health potion or something soon, I won't be standing for the next fight. Let alone helping."
Ellis straightened, his eyes drifting back toward the courtyard.
"Yeah… that'd be a problem," he said. "Good thing we've got plenty of Soulshards to crack open."
His gaze swept across the battlefield—dozens, maybe hundreds of twisted corpses scattered across the stone. Glowing fragments shimmered among the wreckage like embers left behind by a dying fire.
"Well better get to it then ain't no way I'm getting them for myself." Kael says laughing at his joke only to wince as the pain of it hurts his body.
"Actually… how about you let us do that?"
Lily stepped forward from the edge of the room. Her hoodie was still blood-streaked from earlier, her boots tracking dried grime across the tile, but her eyes were sharp—clearer than anyone else's in the room.
She stopped between the two battered warriors and the crowd of stunned survivors, arms folded across her chest. Calm. Centered. In control.
"You both need to rest," she said, voice firm but level. "And besides…"
She turned to face the students huddled by the barricades and window slats, her gaze sweeping across them like a searchlight.
"I'm sure everyone here would be more than happy to help our heroes of the day."
Then, murmurs of agreement rippled through the room. A few students straightened. Someone gave a quick nod. And then—
"Yeah, we got it!"
That single voice sparked movement, bring along with it a rush of students put on a treasure hunt for Soulshards.
Lily turned her attention back to Kael.
"You shouldn't be cracking jokes, you idiot. What if you pierce a lung just from laughing?" she said, voice sharp with genuine concern.
Kael smirked, despite the blood drying on his lip.
"Relax, Lil. I'm not that fragile. And besides, laughing's medicine for the soul. Pretty sure I need the dosage."
Lily just shook her head. "You've always been like this. Stubborn roach."
Kael grinned. "Your favorite roach, I might add."
She rolled her eyes. "Just sit there and look ugly for all I care."
She turned, nodding toward Ellis. "Anyway… thanks."
Ellis shrugged modestly, wiping dried gore from his wrist.
"Yeah, no problem. I'm sure if you could've, you'd have done the same."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Putting my body on the line for a bunch of people I barely know?"
She paused, then smirked. "Yeah, I don't know about that. But regardless of what you think—you really did save the day today."
Her tone shifted—genuine, serious.
"I'll make sure you get all the Soulshards you need. Consider it our thanks."
"Speaking of Soulshards," Ellis said, nodding toward Kael's lap, "you might want to open that before everyone's eyes get nosy."
Kael blinked, then looked down at the faintly glowing shard nestled in the folds of his jacket. "Oh yeah. This thing."
He held it up, tilting it in the light. The hue was strange—a pale green glow shot through with jagged lines of darker emerald, pulsing slow and steady like a heartbeat.
"Open, please," Kael said, his tone mock-sweet, almost sing-song.
The Cube pulsed once—then again.
Then, with a soft hiss, it cracked.
A pulse of green vapor curled into the air. From within the fractured light, something took form—dense, heavy, familiar. Kael watched as the mist thickened, twisted, and dropped into his lap with a dull clunk.
An armguard.
Dark as charred steel, veined with faint golden etchings that shimmered like heat mirages. The surface looked warped, almost scorched, yet it pulsed with something… alive. A low, slow thrum—like a heartbeat buried in metal.
Kael stared at it.
It didn't shine like Ellis's radiant sword. It didn't glow with divine purity.
He picked it up with his good hand and turned it over, eyes narrowing as a familiar shimmer rippled across his vision.
[Item Acquired: Vowguard of the Fractured Flame – Tier 2 (Sparkborn Variant)]
— Forged from the soul-memory of a fallen Gravecursed and reshaped by forbidden flame.
— Bound to the Pactbearer. Grants durability, stagger resistance, and retaliatory force when wounded.
— Passive Effect: Pact Reinforcement – Reinforces Kael's dominant arm under pressure, greatly reducing limb damage at low health.
Kael let out a slow breath.
"Jackpot."
Feeling the warmth of the armguard Kael, felt like his hand was almost burning, but the good kind. Like the one you feel as the hot tub rubs your sore muscles making you feel the ache go away.
Taking the armguard he slid it onto his forearm.
The fit was perfect.
Wrapping along the full of his arm covering both the outside and inside of his arm.
A soft click locked the plates into place, and the runes along its surface flared once—silver-grey, tinged in violet. His flame. Seraphiel's mark.
The ache in his arm dulled.
Not healed. But quieter. Like the pain had been acknowledged... and absorbed.
Kael flexed his fingers.
"Okay," he muttered. "That's actually kind of nice."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You get a magical arm brace and that's your reaction?"
Kael looked down at the guard, then back up with a crooked grin. "What, you were expecting tears?"
Ellis stepped closer, arms crossed. "Looks like it's made for you."
"It better be," Kael said. "Damn thing probably costs more than my tuition."
Before either of them could say more, the sound of footsteps broke the conversation.
A student stumbled through the front entrance, out of breath and splattered in dried gore, cradling four grey Soulshards in his arms. They pulsed faintly—soft flickers of inner light, like coals waiting to catch.
"Here," he rasped.
Lily nodded and took the shards, then handed them over to Ellis. "Crack 'em. Let's see what we're working with."
Ellis raised an eyebrow. "Grey shards, huh? Don't expect anything too fancy."
He crouched down and started opening them, one by one.
The first cracked with a soft hiss, releasing a swirl of grey vapor—and left behind a small, round vial of red liquid.
Kael blinked. "No shot."
He stared at the vial. It looked exactly like the potion he'd given away not so long ago.
Ellis picked it up, turned it in the light, then gave a low whistle.
"Well I'll be damned," he said, handing it over. "Looks like you got your meds."
Before Kael could even read the System popup, he uncorked the vial and downed it in one clean chug.
Immediately, the pain Kael felt began to fade, bringing a rush of clarity to his mind.
"Ahh," Kael exhaled with relief. "That's the good stuff."