Kai's Point of View
The morning air smelled like smoke and silence.
Aria stood barefoot in the clearing, arms crossed, her silhouette outlined by the pale gold of dawn. Behind her, the trees whispered. Above us, crows circled—not cawing, just watching.
It had been two days since the Champion's trial.
Since I lost control.
Since I… awakened.
My body still carried the aftershocks—my blood felt hotter than it should, like it hummed with embers. But more than that, it was my mind that hadn't settled. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flame. Not wild, not vengeful.
Just… waiting.
"I'm not ready," I said.
Aria didn't look at me. "You weren't ready then. You still survived."
"Barely."
"Barely means you're still breathing."
She tossed me a wooden staff. I caught it clumsily. It buzzed against my skin.
"Magic-carved," she said. "Just enough to hold back your fire. If you lose control, it breaks. And if it breaks—"
"I lose everything?"
"You burn everything."
I exhaled slowly and took my stance. The clearing was wide, ringed with ash and snow. Burn marks from our last session still scarred the tree trunks.
"Begin."
We circled.
She moved like water—graceful, coiled, quiet. I tried to mimic her steps, but I was all tension. My arms ached from yesterday, my thoughts even more.
She struck. I blocked. The staff groaned.
Again.
Again.
And again.
Each time I parried, I felt the pressure building in my spine. Like my body was trying to tell me I wasn't meant to restrain this power. Like it wanted out.
"Let go of your shoulders," Aria said. "You're fighting like a human."
I looked at her, sweat dripping from my brow.
"I am human."
"You were raised human. That's not the same."
I pushed forward, frustration boiling. "So what does that make me?"
She parried easily, slapping my staff from my hands. "Exactly the question Heaven wants answered."
I stepped back, heart pounding.
Aria looked at me—not cruelly. Not like a soldier. But like someone who was choosing her words carefully.
"Do you know why Heaven sent the Champion?"
"Because I'm Lucifer's son?"
"Wrong," she said. "They don't know for sure who you are. That's the danger."
I blinked. "What?"
She walked to the center of the clearing, and sat cross-legged in the snow. "Heaven isn't reckless. They're bound by laws older than time. They don't move unless they're afraid."
I joined her slowly, the staff resting beside me.
"They felt your power," she continued. "Something half-born. Not divine. Not damned. But... awakening. And they couldn't place it. That's what scares them."
I clenched my hands. "So the Champion was sent to… test me?"
"To trigger you," Aria said softly. "And see what rose from the fire. If you became a beast, they'd have a reason to end you."
"And if I didn't?"
"They'd watch you. From above. Waiting for the excuse."
I sat in silence.
Something cold settled in my stomach.
I wasn't even real to them.
Just a possibility.
A weapon.
Or a threat.
Aria leaned forward, plucking a charred leaf from the ground.
"Heaven may speak of justice," she murmured. "But they're governed by fear. You frighten them because you are unclaimed. Neither Hell's nor Heaven's. If they knew the truth…"
She trailed off.
"If they knew I'm Lucifer's son?"
Aria hesitated.
"Yes."
I looked at her then. Really looked.
And I saw it.
The fear in her. Not of me—but of something else. Something worse.
She stood suddenly. "Again."
We trained for hours. Until my legs buckled and my vision blurred.
The staff cracked twice but didn't break.
My control slipped more than once—but I pulled it back each time.
Aria didn't praise me.
But she didn't stop me either.
And for her, that was something.
By the time the sun began to set, I was lying in the snow, eyes on the fading clouds, trying to slow my breathing.
Aria sat nearby, polishing one of her blades.
"Hey," I said.
She didn't look up.
"What happens if I can't control it? Ever?"
She paused.
Then, finally:
"Then I won't be the one to stop you."
I sat up slowly. "Then who?"
She looked at the horizon, expression unreadable.
"There's someone I used to know. A beast. From another time. He once walked beside Lucifer."
I blinked. "You mean… a demon?"
She shook her head.
"Worse. Smarter. Loyal only to fire. He was called Cerberus."
My blood stilled.
"The hellhound?"
She nodded.
"He guarded the Gate. Until Lucifer vanished. Then he exiled himself from Hell. Refused to serve. Disappeared into the mortal world."
I leaned forward. "You think he's still alive?"
"I don't think he dies easy," Aria said. "He wasn't just a hound. He was His hound. Lucifer trusted him more than anyone."
"And you want to find him?"
"I want to ask if he'll train you."
I swallowed.
"…and if he won't?"
"Then we keep fighting."
She stood, dusting snow from her coat.
"But if he will…"
She glanced back at me.
"…then you'll learn what it means to wield fire that doesn't consume."
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Not because of fear.
But because of curiosity.
What kind of creature chooses exile?
What kind of beast would rather walk among humans than rule among demons?
And if he served my father…Would he recognize me?