The morning sun crept over the mountains like molten gold spilling across the sky. The air was thin and cold, each breath crisp with the scent of pine and stone. For twelve long years, the mountains had been home—a fortress of solitude, a place where time seemed to pause. But today, everything felt different.
The stillness wasn’t peace anymore. It was anticipation.
Kai stood before the cave entrance, his white hair catching the first rays of dawn. His eyes—deep, amethyst reflections of another world—glimmered faintly with power as his hand hovered in front of his face.
“Let’s see if I’ve perfected it…” he murmured.
A ripple of mana pulsed from his palm. The air distorted like water under sunlight, wrapping around him in shimmering waves. Slowly, his features began to shift. His hair da
