Dawn came in quiet silver.
Kael stood atop a ridge overlooking the camp, the wind tugging at his cloak, shadows coiling lazily around his feet. He hadn't slept since the trial. He couldn't.
The name the system had given him — Nameless One — echoed in his thoughts.
He didn't just abandon Aserion's name.
He abandoned his own.
But now, someone else remembered it.
---
> "Kael Valen."
The voice was calm, androgynous, and unhurried.
Kael turned.
A figure in pale traveler's robes stood behind him — faceless, hooded, their presence unnatural. Not magical. Worse.
Familiar.
---
> "Who are you?" Kael asked, shadows rising defensively.
> "A Witness."
The figure raised their hand, revealing an obsidian ring — the same ring worn by the Elders of the Order of Silent Flame.
An organization Kael once infiltrated. And burned from the inside out.
Or so he thought.
---
> "You're supposed to be dead."
> "You of all people should know," the figure replied gently, "that death is a matter of perspective."
> "You were given a new identity… but it was not the first time your name was taken."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
> "What do you mean?"
> "You were not born Kael Valen. That was the name given by the System. But your real name—"
> "—was carved in fire."
---
Kael felt the world tilt.
> "What is it, then?"
The Witness stepped closer, shadows parting before them like mist.
> "Do you want the truth, or the peace that comes from forgetting?"
> "Truth."
The figure lowered their hood.
What Kael saw wasn't a face — but a reflection.
Of himself.
Not as he was now, but as a child.
Wearing a royal crest burned into tattered robes.
---
> "You were born in the Ashen Empire. Ninth son of the exiled bloodline."
> "Your name was Ren Verradin."
Kael staggered.
He didn't remember the name.
But he remembered a dream — a burning palace. Screams. A mirror breaking.
The Witness continued.
> "You were hidden by the Shadow Sect after your empire fell. Groomed to be the heir of nothing. A weapon without history."
> "Aserion found you. Fed you a new name. Made you forget."
Kael clenched his fists.
> "Why are you telling me this now?"
> "Because the Ashen Sigil has awakened."
> "And someone else is claiming the throne you never knew was yours."
---
> [Shadow System Notification]
Hidden Quest Unlocked: Ashes of the Forgotten Crown
Description: Investigate your forgotten lineage. Determine whether to reclaim, destroy, or abandon the ashes of your past.
Reward: Unknown
Risk: Everything
---
Kael looked up. The Witness was already walking away.
> "Wait. What are you?"
They paused.
> "Just another shadow."
And vanished.
---
Back at the camp, Lyra found Kael staring at his reflection in a basin of water.
He didn't speak.
Until he did.
> "My name wasn't always Kael."
> "I had another life… before even Aserion."
Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder.
> "Do you want it back?"
He didn't answer.
He wasn't sure yet.
But in the reflection, he didn't just see Kael Valen.
He saw Ren Verradin.
---