The first heavy drops of rain began to pelt the forest floor just as Leiya hauled Kota through the narrow mouth of the limestone cave. Inside the air was cool and smelled of damp earth and old stone providing a momentary sanctuary from the oppressive humidity outside. Kota collapsed against the jagged wall his chest heaving as the sickness continued to pulse with a low and rhythmic heat. Leiya did not waste a second. She quickly pulled a small clay vial from her pack and uncorked it releasing the sharp and medicinal sting of her latest brew.

  "Drink it all" she commanded her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "It will stabilize the leak before the townspeople or anyone else picks up the scent of the rot."

  Kota took a long and shuddering swallow. The liquid was thick and tasted of charred roots and iron coating his throat in a way that made him gag. He leaned his head back against the cold stone and closed his eyes trying to let the medicine dull the screaming energy in his blood. As the sound of the thunderstorm intensified outside the rhythmic drumming of the rain began to morph in his mind. The cold cave walls seemed to dissolve and the dampness turned into the dry and crisp heat of an autumn afternoon years ago.

  The training grounds of the Speedhardt estate were bathed in the crisp gold of that long ago day. It was a time of rare unity as the siblings gathered on the expansive field to showcase their progress before the high seats of the kingdom. Koma at fifteen stood with a brooding intensity already tall and commanding. The thirteen year old twins Hykee and Lokee pushed their limits in mock combat while Kova quietly experimented with controlled Void rifts nearby. Koa at twelve practiced aggressive fire and lightning strikes her movements focused and fueled by a desire to match the strength of her older brothers. Kaola darted through the air with her wind Yan and young Kana practiced simple fire bursts under a watchful eye.

  On the elevated stone platform Leona and Kalamity watched the children with pride mixed with a growing concern. Standing beside them was the head of the Jaeren clan who had brought his own children to witness the joint session. The Whiteflame children watched with critical eyes looking for any weakness in the legendary Speedhardt line. The air was thick with the scent of pine and the heat of competing energies as the two most powerful families in the realm shared the same dirt.

  "They grow stronger every day" Leona commented softly her grace evident even in her stillness. She leaned closer to Kalamity whispering so the guests could not hear. "Komas Blood Act is sharpening. It is a dangerous gift but he is managing the strain well."

  Kalamity nodded his voice grave. He had given Koma the rare permission to use the forbidden technique for this session to ensure the Speedhardt dominance was undisputed. "He must learn to command it now. But Kota... his sickness worries me more with each passing moon."

  Down on the field six year old Kota stood at the edge clutching a wooden training sword. He was small for his age but his eyes were unnaturally sharp as he watched Koma spar against the eldest Whiteflame son. The older teens encouraged him gently to join the fray. Koma even smiled faintly toward his youngest brother as he drove back the Whiteflame heir with a flurry of precise and punishing strikes.

  "Come on little brother" Koma called out as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Show us what you have learned in your private lessons. Show the Whiteflame children what a Speedhardt can do."

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  Koa paused her own practice nearby crackling with residual lightning as she gave a competitive grin. "Yeah Kota do not hold back! Let us see if you can keep up with us big kids."

  Kota stepped forward eagerly with a heart full of hope. He wanted to prove he belonged among the titans on the field. The moment he swung his tiny blade the atmosphere shifted with a violent jerk. The midday sun seemed to dim as his pupils leaked a thick black essence that swallowed the light. A wild and forbidden surge of raw Yen erupted from his small frame in dark waves of energy showing that Kota has some hidden power. The blast caught Koma across the left arm and chest tearing through his training tunic and carving deep gashes that spilled blood onto the dirt. The force threw Kota back leaving black sear marks across his own arms from the backlash.

  Koma staggered and hissed through gritted teeth as he collapsed to one knee. Under the strict permission of his father he finally unleashed the forbidden power he usually kept hidden. He instinctively channeled his Blood Act drawing on his life force to knit his flesh back together in a red haze. The wounds closed under the glow of his power but the skin remained puckered and silver. Those angry scars would stay etched across his chest forever as a permanent reminder of the day his brother broke him without even trying.

  Kota cried out in agony as the sickness overwhelmed his nervous system. His small body was suddenly jerked into a horrific and unnatural contortion as if something unseen was folding his bones like paper. Then his power activated a defense that froze everyone on the field. His form was violently swallowed by a swirling red and black Yen cocoon that looked less like a shield and more like a predatory mouth. The aura pulsed with a violent and ancient rhythm lashing out with dark tendrils that hissed as they struck the air before settling into a protective shell.

  His siblings and the Whiteflame children froze in shock. The Whiteflame heir stared at the black dome with a look of pure terror realizing his own legendary flames were nothing compared to this anomaly. Hykee stood wide eyed and Lokee reached out a hand in helpless silence. Kova stared at the pulsing shell with something unreadable in his gaze. Koa stood frozen mid stance with her hands still smoking from her fire bursts.

  When the cocoon finally cracked open minutes later a trembling but physically restored Kota emerged exhausted and confused. The scars and burns that should have marked him for life were gone as if they had never existed.

  "He just healed himself completely" Koa whispered in stunned awe as the lightning faded from her fingertips. "Like it was nothing."

  Her words hung in the air like a heavy weight. The unease was immediate. They had all spent years bleeding for every inch of progress but Kota had just manifested a god like restoration without a single day of true labor.

  Leona leaped from the platform to cradle him while Kalamity addressed the group with a voice like stone. "This power is too dangerous. Kotas birthright is unmatched but uncontrolled it endangers everyone. From today his training will be isolated. He stays in the secluded wing."

  The decision landed heavily on the spirits of the children. As the siblings were dismissed the seeds of resentment took root in the silence. Later that evening Koma stood alone in his room tracing the fresh scars in the mirror. His reflection hardened as jealousy burned like a slow poison in his veins.

  "Born with everything" Koma whispered to the cold glass. "A body that can house the Void and a sickness that guards him while he sleeps. I have had to fight for every scrap of my Blood Act while my own power feels like a stolen weapon that cuts me every time I hold it. But him? He does not even have to try and the world bends to protect him. He is a king who does not know he wears a crown while I am the one who has to build the throne."

  This moment crystallized his hatred. While the young servant Leiya was tasked by Leona to bring meals to the secluded wing and watch over Kota from afar Koma began to plan rebellious acts. Its nighttime and Koma needs to find Kova to ask for help.