I spent the next few minutes ineffectively attempting to wipe the blood from my clothes. With a sigh of resignation, I turned my gaze back to the double doors that beckoned me to the throne room and began towards them. Now that I’d confirmed this to be an assassination attempt, likely orchestrated by the King himself, I needed to understand why. He was an incompetent leader, but still not foolish enough to directly oppose me like this. No matter how many mice join the fight, they could never kill a lion.

Pushing open the doors, the room unfolded before me. A red carpet stretched out from the entrance, guiding my steps towards the opulent golden throne that sat at the back of the chamber on a raised dais. The wall behind the throne was adorned with a large glass window, giving an extensive view of the city beyond. Closed double doors stood on either side of the room, while an upper level balcony circled the room's perimeter. At first glance, the area appeared devoid of life, with only portraits of the previous Kings looking down on me.

My footsteps reverberated through the chamber as I approached the throne, my senses attuned to the myriad of concealed ether signatures in nearby rooms. Enforcing my body accordingly, I climbed the podium and settled naturally onto the throne.

“Quite an unexpected turn of events,” I announced to the silent room. “But I’ll welcome your deaths regardless.” I paused, savouring the silence, before unleashing my aura.

It spread like wildfire, filling every corner with a chilling blood lust. A small mental push and it burst from the room, rapidly engulfing the surrounding halls. The hidden signatures momentarily flickered under the immense pressure, but held firm.

Gradually, I sensed a growing resistance as the signatures countered with their own aura, like small bubbles bobbing in a raging sea. I tracked the signatures as they moved to the side doors.

A heartbeat later they burst open and a horde of heavily armed warriors surged into the room, their voices melding into a cacophony of battle cries as they charged toward me. I sensed a subtle flare of energy and flipped sideways off the throne as it was obliterated by bullets of condensed ether. 

The next few moments blurred as I became a whirlwind of annihilation. Limbs were severed, and crescents of crimson sprayed around me as I danced through the swarm, drawing golden arcs through the air that cleaved their bodies with lethal precision. The occasional weapon would graze my hardened skin, leaving a miniscule cut before glancing off. My wounds increased as the floor gradually turned into a macabre canvas of blood.

The reckless style of fighting was rapidly draining my ether reserves. It had turned into a battle of endurance and their strategy was clear—overwhelm me with enemies until I exhausted my core. Decreasing the reinforcement on my sword and body I carefully balanced my ether consumption. As if waiting for this, all the assailants backed away, and I sensed an intense surge of energy from the room's entrance.

Standing there was a large cannon, five warriors on each side emptying their core’s worth of ether into it. I had been too engrossed in fighting to notice it.

With no time to evade, I flooded my body with ether, pushing it to its absolute limit.

A fraction of a second later, an earth-shattering explosion erupted from the cannon. The epicentre of the blast hit my chest, crushing multiple ribs and hurtling me backwards through the window. Glass shattered, and I was cast out into the vast expanse of open air.

Time seemed to slow down as the throne room erupted before me in a colossal display of fire. Windows burst, and the fortress walls crumbled, engulfed in the inferno. I struggled to comprehend the scene unfolding before me as I soared through the air. My gaze caught sight of the setting sun as I flew, the radiant glow casting a rare blanket of light over the city, its beauty contrasted by the blazing inferno before me. Onlookers previously drawn from their homes by the fleeting sunlight, watched in terror at the unfolding spectacle. Their faces, illuminated in the sun’s rays, watched as the explosion tore through the castle and hurled fragments of debris over the cityscape. The destruction resonated through the air as all eyes turned to watch, powerless to interfere. Time resumed, and the force of gravity pulled me mercilessly to the earth below.

A rain of devastation descended as I and the remnants of the throne room crashed into the streets. Tearing through a building, I left a trail in the ground until finally coming to a halt amongst some rubble. This was the furthest I had ever been pushed. My core was almost empty, and my brain pounded relentlessly against my skull. A ringing noise filled my ears, drowning out the discord of screams and chaos that surrounded me. Thankfully, both the cannon and its operators would have been obliterated in such a blast.

Drawing upon the remnants of my ether, I channelled its power towards my injuries, using it to strengthen my broken body and temporarily restore some semblance of clarity to my aching mind. Gradually, the haze that clouded my vision dissipated, revealing a group of warriors marching towards me. Attempting to suppress the pain searing within me, I forced myself upright.

My sword lay in the nearby dirt, its blade snapped in half. Limping over, I scooped it up and infused the broken weapon with ether, covering the break in golden energy to form a small point. Though considerably shorter, the sword was usable. I could still fight. Without further hesitation I turned towards the oncoming horde of enemies and charged in to meet them.

What felt like an eternity later, with barely a slither of sun left on the horizon, I stood amidst the ruins of battle at the castle’s base. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. The wreckage of the surrounding buildings concealed most of the corpses littering the area. Over forty dead warriors. Despite the near limitless soldiers in the kingdom, there were only so many that had a core, making it unlikely they could afford more sacrifices in this futile endeavour.

I had temporarily spared one assailant, a wounded woman lying at my feet. “Why did the King turn against me?” I spat, my voice dripping with malice.

She hesitated before responding, her voice strained. “He was forced to. He had no choice.”

“You dare lie to me?” I hissed, driving my sword deeper into the wound in her stomach. “Only I could force the King to do such a thing.”

“There is someone else, another like you,” she yelped desperately, her body trembling. “I don’t know who they were but the King obeyed.”

I widened my eyes, her words sending a shiver down my spine.

My power stemmed from a rare birth affliction, one that caused my core to overflow unpredictably with ether. As far as records went, I was the sole survivor of this illness, the only individual to have harnessed and controlled the influx in energy. This made me unrivalled; it didn’t make sense for anybody to be my equal.

I watched the sun disappear past the horizon’s edge. If this individual did exist, they would almost certainly act now. Heart pounding, I scanned the surrounding ruins, my breath quickening. Within the shadows, I sensed a presence.

He emerged from the fog, cloaked in a black robe that concealed his face. His movements were eerily smooth, veiled by the darkness, a hand resting gently on the hilt of a sheathed sword. I couldn’t perceive his ether signature, a realisation that sent a wave of unease through me. Either he had no core, or his control far surpassed my own.

I swiftly slashed the dying woman's throat before levelling my sword with the cloaked figure. “Who are you?” I demanded. He remained silent, unsheathing his blade in response.

My reservoir of ether had significantly dwindled, and if he proved as formidable as anticipated, I had to end this quickly. Channelling the last of my ether, I infused it into my blade, causing it to radiate with a brilliant glow. Raising the broken sword high above my head I concentrated on solidifying the image in my mind. In a single, resolute motion, my blade descended in a mesmerising arc of golden light. The energy peeled off my sword, forming a crescent that sliced through the air with lightning speed. The figure, recognising the imminent danger, raised his sword to defend as the attack struck him. Its devastating impact sent shockwaves reverberating through our surroundings, engulfing the area in a haze of dust.

That was the strongest attack I could muster. However, to my astonishment, a shimmering black blade that seemed to eat the surrounding light sliced through the cloud of dust, and the cloaked figure emerged unscathed, darting at me with inhumane speed. 

Struggling to block the initial strike, I found myself on the defensive as his relentless assaults rained down upon me. Beneath the hood, I could faintly discern a manic grin as he pushed me further and further back. His blows grew stronger, overpowering my defenses until I couldn’t withstand them. The final strikes pierced through me, just below the sternum. I had lost.

Blood poured from my lips as he withdrew the blade, and I crumpled to my knees. “H-how?” I managed to utter, my voice growing weak.

A manic laugh rang out from under the hood, as though he enjoyed my confusion. Raising his sword and swinging it horizontally, he released a surge of darkness that struck the crumbling castle behind me. The fortress, already teetering on the verge of collapse, surrendered to the impact of his final strike and began to fall.

Sheathing his blade, he turned to face the direction he’d come. “I’ll see you on the other side, Zephyr. Although I’m sure you’ll go by another name when we next meet.” Pulling the hood of his cloak further over his head, he strode away into the enshrouding darkness, his crazed laughter echoing through the ruined city as the castle’s remnants cascaded down upon me.

In the darkness of night, the castle succumbed to its demise. Thousands of pounds of debris broke free and hurtled toward the earth. The crushing weight of the collapsing stronghold bore down upon me, and my world was engulfed in an intense, suffocating darkness that numbed my entire body.

An untold time seemed to pass until, amidst the ominous void, an array of sounds emerged—whispers, movement, a baby’s cry. However, it quickly ended, leading to a delicate silence. Cutting through the quiet came a sweet and caring voice that sounded the dawn of my new reality.

“Welcome to the world, Kane.”