The giant sword crashed toward Kael with enough force to split the mountain.

He threw himself to the side just as the blade struck the ground.

BOOM!

The entire cave exploded with dust and flying rocks. A massive crater appeared where Kael had been standing only a second earlier.

The surviving students screamed as the shockwave knocked them off their feet.

Kael rolled across the ground and grabbed his sword. Before he could stand, the giant warrior was already in front of him.

“Too slow,” the creature said calmly.

Its armored fist struck Kael in the chest.

The impact sent him crashing through three stone pillars before he finally stopped against the cave wall.

Pain spread through every bone in his body.

Blood filled his mouth.

For several seconds, he couldn’t move.

The giant walked toward him with slow, confident steps.

“I waited a thousand years,” it said. “I expected the next heir to be stronger.”

Kael forced himself onto one knee.

“I’m… not your heir.”

The giant stopped.

A faint laugh echoed beneath its helmet.

“You carry the Void’s power. Whether you accept it or not, your fate has already been decided.”

Behind the giant, the instructors finally recovered.

“Attack together!” one shouted.

Fire, ice, and lightning spells shot through the cave at the same time.

The explosions swallowed the giant in brilliant light.

For a brief moment, everyone believed they had won.

Then the smoke cleared.

The giant stood exactly where it had been.

Not a single scratch marked its black armor.

It slowly turned toward the instructors.

“You humans never learn.”

With one swing of its sword, a wave of black energy tore across the battlefield.

The cave walls shattered.

The instructors barely escaped by diving behind fallen rocks, but their weapons were destroyed instantly.

Fear spread through the cave.

No one could stop this monster.

No one…

Except Kael.

He stared at the giant, remembering his mother’s words.

“Strength isn’t given. It’s earned.”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m not fighting because of destiny.”

He stood.

“I’m fighting because everyone here will die if I don’t.”

The shadows around his feet began to move.

They spread across the ground like black water.

The giant smiled.

“That’s the spirit I wished to see.”

Kael rushed forward.

The giant swung its sword.

Instead of retreating, Kael leaped onto the blade itself.

Using the enormous weapon as a bridge, he sprinted toward the giant’s shoulders.

The students watched in disbelief.

“Is he insane?”

Kael reached the giant’s helmet and drove his sword toward the narrow gap near its neck.

Clang!

The blade shattered.

Only the broken handle remained in his hand.

The giant grabbed Kael before he could escape.

Its enormous fingers closed around him.

“You possess courage,” it said.

“But courage alone cannot defeat me.”

The pressure became unbearable.

Kael struggled to breathe.

His vision blurred.

The darkness inside him stirred once again.

A whisper echoed through his mind.

“Do you seek power?”

Kael remained silent.

“Power always demands a price.”

Another voice joined it.

“Accept the Void… and survive.”

The giant tightened its grip.

Bones cracked.

Kael knew he had only seconds left.

His thoughts drifted to his mother.

To his dream of becoming a Hunter.

To the people still trapped inside the cave.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

“…If this power can save them…”

“I’ll accept it.”

The moment those words left his lips, the air froze.

The giant’s eyes widened.

“What…?”

Black flames erupted around Kael’s body.

The shadows beneath the cave rose like thousands of living hands.

Ancient symbols appeared across Kael’s arms, glowing with dark silver light.

The giant immediately released him and stepped backward.

For the first time since appearing…

It looked afraid.

“No…”

Its voice trembled.

“It cannot be…”

Kael slowly landed on the ground.

When he opened his eyes again…

One eye remained its natural blue.

The other had become completely black, with a silver ring surrounding the pupil.

The cave fell silent.

Even the monsters hiding in the darkness stopped moving.

The giant whispered a single name.

“…The Void King.”

Kael looked at his trembling hands.

He had no idea what had just awakened inside him.

But deep beneath the mountain…

Something far older than the giant had sensed his presence.

Inside an ancient stone throne room hidden in the abyss, twelve enormous statues opened their glowing eyes at the same time.

A voice echoed through the endless darkness.

“The King… has returned.”

Far away, in the capital city of Astravia, every magical alarm began ringing at once.

The High Council’s crystal tower lit up with black light.

An elderly man wearing golden robes stared into the sky.

His face turned pale.

“It has begun…”

He immediately turned toward the royal guards.

“Seal every gate.”

“Send word to every Hunter Guild.”

“And whatever you do…”

His voice shook with fear.

“…find the boy before the Shadow Cult finds him first.”

Outside the cave, black clouds gathered over the kingdom.

A storm unlike any in history was about to begin.