The morning fog rolled over the hills like ghosts crawling through the bones of the earth. Kael stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the plains that stretched far to the world toward the very heart of the Velkar Empire.
Somewhere out there, the people who had butchered his village lived comfortably, unpunished.
That would change.
Behind him, Aria emerged from the trees. She was dressed in a deep crimson cloak now, her silver hair braided with strips of black silk. She moved like a shadow soundless, inevitable.
"You've reached the limit of what I can teach you here," she said. "To grow stronger, you must walk the world, claim your destiny with fire and fury. And most importantly"
"I must be feared," Kael finished, without turning around.
"Feared, yes," Aria confirmed. "But also followed. Remember what I told you: no god rises without believers. And no emperor rules without loyalty."
Kael turned to face her. "I won't betray those who follow me. But I'll destroy anything that stands in my way."
She studied him, then nodded. "Then it's time to begin your conquest."
Before he left, Aria led him to the hidden catacombs beneath her cottage. The air grew colder with each step downward. The walls pulsed with ancient glyphs, and the flicker of blue fire danced across aged stone.
They stopped before a massive door of obsidian, marked with a circular seal.
"What's in there?" Kael asked.
Aria placed her hand on the seal, and it hissed open. Inside was not gold or treasure but a throne.
Not of metal. Not of wood.
But bone.
Thousands of bones, stacked and shaped into a dark, jagged seat. At its base was a pedestal, upon which rested a single black crystal orb.
"This is the Throne of Binding," she said quietly. "Those who sit upon it and spill their blood may forge a pact an oath to reshape fate itself."
Kael stepped forward.
"The first emperor of the dead once sat here. He ruled a kingdom where none could die unless he willed it. He failed because he ruled without heart. You... you might be something else."
Kael didn't hesitate. He walked to the throne, sliced his hand, and let the blood drip onto the pedestal.
The orb blazed with deep crimson light.
The bones groaned beneath him as he sat.
A voice, ancient and inhuman, whispered in his mind.
"State your oath."
Kael closed his eyes.
"I swear by blood and fire… that I will unite the Astral Continent under my banner. I will destroy the Velkar Empire. I will carve a throne from the ashes of kings. I will not rest until even the gods acknowledge me."
A silence followed.
Then, the orb pulsed once and disappeared.
Kael stood, changed again. A symbol burned across his back an imperial mark, invisible to the world but felt by all who approached him. His aura deepened. His magic grew heavier.
He was no longer just a student of war.
He was now a True Oathbearer a being the world would fear.
That night, Aria watched from the shadows as Kael departed into the world.
He didn't look back.
He was no longer the boy she had rescued.
He was a conqueror.
A future emperor.
And if the stars still held any memory of mercy… they now wept for the world.