Snow drifted gently down from the mountain peaks as the wind carried the last embers of Kael's soulflame into the sky.
The mark on his chest pulsed quietly—no longer seething with chaos, but alive with balance. The power was still there. Fierce. Untamed. But now, it listened to him.
Kael knelt before the old man, his breathing steady.
"You've taught me more than I thought I was capable of learning."
His voice was hoarse. But resolute. "You gave me time to become something more than a weapon."
Elric leaned on his staff, eyeing the young man in front of him.
"I gave you time. You made it mean something."
There was silence between them—deep, respectful.
Kael rose, snow crunching underfoot. He looked out across the range. The sky had broken into color—gold streaked with fire, like the soulflame itself had lit the dawn.
He closed his eyes.
And for the first time in a long, long while—
He smiled.
Not because he had won.
Not because he was done.
But because he finally understood who he was.
Not a cursed boy.
Not a vessel.
Not a monster.
Just Kael. Still walking.
Still rising.
---
Later That Day
Kael packed his things in silence. His blade, reforged through battle. His coat, worn with a year's worth of wind and blood. And the pendant Rui once gave him—still tucked near his heart.
Elric stood at the cave entrance, watching.
"Where will you go?"
Kael tightened the straps on his pack.
"Back to the world. Back to the fire."
Elric nodded. "Then go with both eyes open. You've mastered the mark… but the world will never stop testing you."
Kael gave him one last glance.
"Then I'll keep walking. And if the world comes for me—"
His soulflame shimmered faintly around his hand.
"—I'll burn brighter than it ever expected."
He turned toward the path, sun behind him, future ahead.
And as the old man watched him disappear into the light, he whispered—
"Let's see how far you rise, Kael Morric."