A mysterious figure gradually emerged from the shadows. Long, sharp talons caught the dim light, contrasting sharply with his distinctive green skin. Gently curving forward from his head was a pair of large ram horns.
Pip gasped in utter disbelief, "Y-You... you're an Upò?!"
Rubbing his nose with immense pride, the figure smirked, "Haha, you bet! I am indeed an Upò."
Pip was stunned. He never imagined he would encounter another member of his own race, let alone under such bizarre circumstances. The man then introduced himself with a theatrical flourish:
"I AM KAELLL! THE MOST HANDSOME MAN FROM THE CRESCENT MOON ISLAND OF KAZUNAAA!"
Pip's mind went blank. He stared at him, genuinely wondering if this guy had some sort of mental deficiency or had recently suffered severe head trauma. Feeling awkward but having no choice, Pip introduced himself, "Uh... well... I'm Pip. Nice to meet you."
Kael puffed out his chest, radiating unearned confidence. "Meeting me is a great honor for you, Hahahaha!"
"Is meeting in a pitch-black dungeon really something to be proud of?" Pip deadpanned.
The atmosphere instantly froze in awkward silence. Kael cleared his throat roughly, "Ahem... anyway, what brings you to this city?"
"I came here looking for a blacksmith who could repair my necklace, but then I got arrested."
Kael burst into a roaring, boisterous laugh. "AHHAHAH! You actually got locked up for something like that?!"
What on earth is he laughing so hard for? Pip thought, completely unamused.
Wiping away a tear after a literal belly laugh, Kael finally sobered up. He asked, "So, how's the island doing? I've been in this city for quite a while now, so I have no idea how everyone back home is faring."
Pip flinched. The words caught in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to say it, desperately wanting to spare Kael from the same devastating shock he had inflicted on Locus before. Yet, Pip managed to stammer out the brutal truth:
"T-The island... has been destroyed. I'm the only survivor..."
Kael froze. The playful grin vanished from his face instantly. Though no tears fell, Pip could sense the profound, agonizing heartbreak shattering the man deep inside upon hearing that their entire homeland had been wiped out.
Breaking the heavy silence, Kael asked quietly, "Are you... curious about why I ended up here?"
Not quite understanding the sudden shift, Pip replied softly, "I'm usually not the curious type... but if you wish to tell me, I will listen."
And so, Kael began to recount his past.
He was born and raised in a wealthy family back in Kazuna. He was the second son. His eldest brother was an absolute prodigy—outstanding in every aspect, from athletics to intellect. Kael, on the other hand, excelled at nothing. Everything he did was thoroughly mediocre, never rising above average. Crushed under the massive shadow of his perfect brother, his parents constantly forced him to fulfill their suffocating expectations. Whenever he failed to deliver, they would brutally beat him, curse him as a mistake that should never have been born, and lock him away in the dark basement.
Despite being the golden child, Kael's brother never looked down on him. Every single time Kael was thrown into that pitch-black basement, his brother would sneak down to rescue him. Because of this, Kael loved his brother dearly.
Then came the fateful day. Kael was playing out in the hallway, running and jumping around cheerfully. As he passed his brother's room, curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see what his brother was doing, so he cracked the door open and peeked inside.
What met his eyes was a horrific sight: his brother was being savagely beaten by their parents. His brother had refused an arranged marriage, boldly declaring that he would forge his own path in life. Terrified, Kael hid under a nearby desk. The moment his parents stormed out, he crept into the room. Seeing his brother crumpled on the floor, trembling in agonizing pain, Kael rushed to support him. Looking up at Kael, his brother offered a faint smile before losing consciousness.
That very night, his brother planned an escape from the family that sought to shackle his destiny. He asked Kael to keep watch and ensure their parents wouldn't notice. His brother tied a thick rope to a nearby pillar on the second-floor balcony, intending to climb down. Kael stood by the pillar, scanning the area for any sign of their parents, a knife gripped tightly in his small hand, ready to cut the rope once his brother made it down to ensure a clean escape.
As his brother successfully descended, Kael sliced the rope, granting him his freedom. But just as he did, his parents burst into the area, catching him red-handed. Remembering his brother's final instruction to hold the fort until he successfully fled the island, Kael made a choice that no five-year-old should ever have the malice to make. Clutching the knife he had used to cut the rope, he marched straight toward his parents. With chilling precision, he drove the blade into each of them once. They collapsed on the spot. Shortly after, he reunited with his brother, and together, they escaped Kazuna, fleeing to this massive city.
Upon arriving, Kael was utterly astounded by the city's sheer modernity. His brother happened to have a local acquaintance who offered them a place to stay and free meals. For a fleeting moment, Kael genuinely believed he had found a sanctuary where they could finally live a peaceful life.
But that very night... BOOM!
A deafening explosion jolted him awake. He opened his eyes to find the entire house engulfed in raging flames. His brother grabbed his hand, dragging him through the choking smoke to escape. Just as they reached the front door, a heavy, calloused hand lunged out of the smog, violently grabbing his brother's shoulder and wrenching him backward.
It was the homeowner—the very man who had worn a warm, benevolent smile during the day. He roared like a rabid beast, "How dare you set fire to my house?!"
Despite being pinned down, his brother's eyes held no fear, only pure, unadulterated disgust. He spat back, "You wretched scum... you only know how to beat and rob innocent citizens of their money!"
As it turned out, beneath that generous facade, the man was actually a ruthless gang leader who extorted the elderly and children to build his lavish two-story home. Driven by the unyielding righteous blood of the Upò race, Kael's brother had secretly stolen back every single coin of that filthy money, distributed it back to the impoverished victims, and set the criminal haven ablaze.
"YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS!!!" the landlord shrieked in madness.
He violently dragged Kael's brother back into the smoke-filled room. Slash! Stab! The sickening sound of a blade plunging into flesh echoed through the air. One strike, two strikes, three strikes... Crimson blood splattered violently against the wooden door.
Kael stood frozen in terror. The sheer horror suffocated his lungs, causing him to lose all grip on reality. But right in that abyss of despair, a freakish, volatile surge of mana violently awakened, coursing wildly through the five-year-old's veins.
By the time Kael rushed into the room, his brother had already collapsed into a pool of his own blood, riddled with dozens of stab wounds. A feral, vengeful scream tore from Kael's throat, triggering his newly awakened ability: The power to move through reflections.
Swish! Swish!
Kael's small silhouette blurred frantically, leaping from one shattered mirror fragment to another glass pane, moving at a speed far too fast for the human eye to track. Before the killer could even comprehend what was happening, Kael materialized directly out of a reflection... and lunged straight into the man's eyes!
Desperate, agonizing pleas for mercy echoed through the room, but it was far too late. One eyeball tore away, then the other... The man was plunged into eternal, agonizing blindness before Kael's cold blade cleanly severed his final breath. That night, a tiny demon was born from the ashes. Kael ruthlessly slaughtered more than ten remaining henchmen inside the building before quietly vanishing into the city's shroud of darkness...
The inferno that night consumed everything, turning both the corpses and the mansion into ash. The city authorities quickly concluded it was nothing more than a tragic accident.
Carrying a fatal wound to his soul, Kael wandered alone into the deepest, darkest alleys of the modern metropolis. Before long, his starving stomach forced the young child to steal a loaf of bread, leading to his temporary arrest by the city guards. At that time, the city's legal system was incredibly flawed, lacking any clauses or regulations regarding immigrants from foreign lands like the Upò race. Consequently, an order to release Kael was issued shortly after.
However, a thoroughly hilarious twist of fate occurred.
Looking at the cell—which, despite being cramped, came with a proper wooden bed, a clean toilet, and most importantly... three delicious meals served straight to him every single day completely free of charge—Kael's eyes lit up. For a child who had just lost everything and had been forced to hide in the freezing streets, this dungeon was practically a 'five-star hotel'!
Thus, no matter how hard the prison guards tried to kick him out, Kael stubbornly clung to the iron bars, shamelessly throwing a tantrum and refusing to leave the prison.
Hearing the conclusion of the tale, Pip stood frozen for a long time. The way he looked at Kael had completely transformed. It was no longer the gaze reserved for a bizarre, eccentric freak, but one of profound respect mixed with a deep, silent empathy shared between two sole survivors of the same bloodline.
Pip cleared his throat softly, trying to alleviate the suffocating gravity of the room. "So... you've basically been staying here, eating free prison food, since you were five years old?"
Kael instantly shed his somber demeanor. His ram horns perked up proudly as he effortlessly reclaimed his ridiculously self-absorbed persona. "You bet! Go out there and see for yourself—finding a place with free room and board and top-notch security like this is no easy feat! But..."
Kael cast a sly glance at Pip's strange necklace, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Eating the exact same menu for all these years gets a bit repetitive, even for the most handsome man on Kazuna Island."
Kael snapped to his feet, dusting off his pants before stepping toward the iron bars. He gestured for Pip to come closer. "You said you came here to find a blacksmith to fix that necklace, right? I happen to know a crazy old man who can help you out. But first, let the most handsome man show you how we 'check out' of this five-star hotel!"
Pip blinked in confusion. "How? The doors are locked tight."
Kael didn't answer. Instead, he raised a single finger tipped with a sharp talon, gently tapping the reflection of his own silhouette in a puddle of rainwater collected on the dungeon floor.
A deep, dark-blue mana began to ripple outward...