The village of Elden had survived the night.
Barely.
Smoke still drifted through the streets as the first rays of sunlight appeared over the eastern mountains.
Several houses had been damaged.
The village gate had been torn apart.
The bodies of the Shadowfang Wolves lay scattered outside the walls.
But the people were alive.
That was what mattered.
Kael stood near the village square, staring at the remains of the creatures he had fought.
He could still remember the strange feeling that had filled his body when the system activated.
Strength.
Speed.
A strange power that seemed to grow every time he fought.
He raised his hand.
A translucent blue screen appeared before him.
**[ETERNAL SOVEREIGN SYSTEM]**
**Host:** Kael Ardyn
**Age:** 18
**Level:** 2
**Cultivation:** Mortal
**Strength:** 11
**Agility:** 10
**Vitality:** 11
**Spirit:** 8
**Skills:**
* Shadow Step
**Bloodline:** Unknown
**Physique:** Unknown
**Soul:** Sealed
**Voidheart:** Fragmentary
Kael stared at the final two entries.
"Bloodline unknown."
"Physique unknown."
"Soul sealed."
He frowned.
"Why can't you tell me anything about me?"
The system remained silent.
Kael sighed.
"Of course."
He had discovered something else during the night.
The system wasn't all-powerful.
There were things it couldn't analyze.
And that worried him.
A voice came from behind.
"You've been staring at nothing for several minutes."
Kael turned.
Garrick stood there.
His adoptive father looked exhausted.
There was a cut across his forehead, and his old iron sword hung loosely from his hand.
Kael immediately walked toward him.
"Are you hurt?"
"Nothing serious."
Garrick smiled.
"You're the one who should be asking that question."
Kael looked down.
There were several scratches across his clothes.
"But I'm fine."
Garrick studied him.
His expression changed.
"You really have awakened."
Kael became still.
"You know what happened to me?"
Garrick didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the mountains.
"Come with me."
They walked away from the village.
Neither spoke.
Eventually, they reached a small hill overlooking Elden.
Garrick sat beneath an old tree.
Kael remained standing.
"What are you going to tell me?"
Garrick looked at him.
"The truth."
Kael waited.
Garrick reached inside his coat.
He pulled out a small silver pendant.
It was shaped like a broken star.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Where did you get that?"
"It belonged to your mother."
Kael froze.
"My mother?"
Garrick nodded.
"You've asked me about her many times."
"And you always told me you didn't know anything."
"I lied."
Kael's expression hardened.
"Why?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
Garrick looked directly into his eyes.
"Of what would happen if you remembered."
The wind passed through the branches above them.
Kael slowly took the pendant.
The instant his fingers touched it—
**BOOM!**
Pain exploded inside his head.
He stumbled.
Images flooded his mind.
A woman with long silver hair.
A burning city.
A sky filled with countless stars.
A man holding a newborn child.
And a voice.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Desperate.
*"Take him away."*
Another voice answered.
*"If the Heavenly Court discovers him, they'll kill him."*
The vision changed.
The woman was crying.
She placed the baby inside a strange silver capsule.
*"You must promise me."*
*"I promise."*
*"No matter what happens, don't let them find him."*
The vision shattered.
Kael fell to his knees.
"Kael!"
Garrick grabbed his shoulder.
Kael gasped for air.
His hands were trembling.
"Who was she?"
Garrick was silent.
"My mother."
"Yes."
"What was her name?"
Garrick closed his eyes.
"Elara."
Kael repeated the name quietly.
"Elara..."
The pendant suddenly became warm.
A faint black symbol appeared across its surface.
The system activated.
**[Ancient artifact detected.]**
**[Item: Starfall Pendant]**
**Grade: Unknown**
**Origin: Celestial Era**
**Special Property: Soul Recognition**
**Warning:**
**Artifact contains a sealed memory fragment belonging to the Host.**
Kael stared at the message.
"So my memories are sealed inside this?"
"Apparently."
Garrick looked confused.
"You can see something?"
Kael hesitated.
He wasn't ready to explain the system.
"Just... strange memories."
Garrick nodded slowly.
"There is more you need to know."
Kael looked at him.
"Tell me everything."
Garrick took a deep breath.
"Eighteen years ago, I was returning from the northern border."
"That night, a meteor fell near the mountains."
"I went to investigate."
"What I found wasn't a meteor."
Kael's heartbeat quickened.
"What was it?"
"A silver vessel."
Garrick looked at the pendant.
"And inside that vessel..."
He paused.
"...was you."
Kael said nothing.
Garrick continued.
"You were only a newborn."
"There was no village nearby."
"No parents."
"Nothing."
"Except that pendant."
Kael looked down.
"Why did you take me?"
Garrick smiled sadly.
"Because you were crying."
Kael looked at him.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Garrick laughed quietly.
"I wasn't some hero."
"I didn't know anything about celestial beings or cultivation."
"I saw a helpless child."
"So I brought you home."
Kael looked away.
For years, he had wondered where he came from.
Now he had an answer.
But somehow, it only created more questions.
"If I came from that vessel..."
He looked toward the mountains.
"Who sent me?"
Garrick didn't know.
Kael's system suddenly flashed.
**[Main Quest Updated]**
### **The Truth of the Fallen Star**
**Objective:** Discover the identity of your biological parents.
**Progress:** 0%
**Reward:** Unknown
Kael stared at it.
Then another notification appeared.
> **[Hidden Quest detected.]**
### **Unlock the Sealed Soul
**Objective:** Recover the first memory fragment.
**Requirement:** Reach Body Tempering Stage 1.
**Reward:** Unknown.
Kael smiled faintly.
"So that's what I need to do."
Garrick looked at him.
"What?"
"I need to become stronger."
Garrick's expression became serious.
"Kael, listen carefully."
Kael looked at him.
"The creatures last night weren't ordinary beasts."
"I know."
"They came because of you."
Kael's expression changed.
"How do you know?"
Garrick pointed toward the sky.
"Because the moment that star fell, I felt something."
"What?"
"Pressure."
"Like something enormous had awakened."
Garrick looked toward the distant mountains.
"And it wasn't the only thing that awakened."
Kael remained silent.
Then he asked:
"How strong are cultivators?"
Garrick laughed.
"Stronger than anything you've ever imagined."
"Then I'll become stronger than them."
"You don't even know how cultivation works."
"I have a system."
Garrick frowned.
"What is a system?"
Kael paused.
"Something that helps me become stronger."
Garrick stared at him.
Then sighed.
"I don't understand half of what you say anymore."
Kael smiled.
For the first time since the night began, the tension between them disappeared.
Then Garrick's expression became serious again.
"There is a place you should go."
"Where?"
"Azure Wind City."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"What's there?"
"An academy."
"An academy?"
"Yes."
"You want me to study?"
"I want you to survive."
Garrick stood.
"The world beyond Elden is dangerous."
"If you stay here, eventually someone will come looking for you."
"And when they do, I won't be able to protect you."
Kael looked at his adoptive father.
"You protected me for eighteen years."
"I did."
"You think I can just leave?"
Garrick smiled.
"I think you're finally strong enough to choose your own path."
Kael looked toward the mountains.
The black crack in the sky was gone.
But he could still feel something watching him.
Something ancient.
Something that had recognized him.
He closed his hand around the Starfall Pendant.
"I'll go."
Garrick nodded.
"Then prepare yourself."
"For what?"
"Your eighteenth birthday was yesterday."
Garrick looked toward the rising sun.
"Today is the first day of the life you were meant to live."
Kael smiled.
But deep inside his soul, something whispered.
**Not your first life.**
Kael froze.
The voice was
different from the system.
It was faint.
Almost like a memory.
He closed his eyes.
For a brief moment, he saw the same woman from his vision.
Silver hair.
Tearful eyes.
She looked directly at him.
And whispered:
**"My little star... forgive me."**
Kael opened his eyes.
The vision disappeared.
He stared at the pendant.
Then at the distant mountains.
His journey had begun.
And somewhere beyond the mortal world, something ancient had already noticed his awakening.
Something that had been waiting for him for ten thousand years.
**To be continued...**