Koma stood in his darkened room his hands clenching and unclenching as the silence of the estate pressed against him. The hatred that had crystallized in the courtyard was no longer a cold weight it was a living heat that demanded movement. He could not stay within these walls listening to the muffled sounds of a household built on a foundation of lies. He knew Leiya was already in the secluded wing playing the part of the watchful shadow for Kota but her presence only reminded him of the special treatment his younger brother received. Every moment spent standing still was a moment wasted while the secrets of the Speedhardt bloodline remained hidden. He turned toward the heavy oak door his mind set on a single objective. He needed to find Kova. His younger brother was the only one with the specific spatial affinity required to bypass the wards and he knew Kova was likely tucked away in the library lost in his own quiet observations. Koma reached for the handle his breath hitching as he prepared to cross the threshold into open defiance.
He stepped into the torchlit corridor moving with a predator's silence through the shifting darkness. The estate felt different tonight as if the very air was aware of the treason he was about to commit. The shadows seemed to move with him stretching and bending as he navigated the long hall toward the east wing. He found Kova in the library hunched over a desk of ancient maps his fourteen year old face illuminated by a single flickering candle that cast long and distorted shapes against the rows of leather bound books. Kova looked up his pale eyes reflecting a cold curiosity as his older brother approached. The younger boy did not seem surprised to see him at such an hour as if he had been expecting the descent of this particular storm.
"They are hiding the truth from us Kova" Koma whispered leaning over the table the candlelight dancing in his eyes. "Look at what happened with Kota. They call it a sickness and lock him away but you saw that cocoon. You think that kind of energy just comes from a fever? Father and Mother are keeping the real secrets of our blood under lock and key while we starve for progress on the training field. There are scrolls in the inner vault that contain the true history of our house. Everything they refuse to teach us is sitting right beneath our feet."
Kova remained silent for a moment his gaze fixated on the flame. The silence grew heavy as he weighed the consequences of the words being spoken. "The vault is off limits for a reason Koma. To enter is to betray the House. If we are caught there is no coming back from that."
"We have already been betrayed" Koma countered his voice low and urgent as he gripped the edge of the mahogany desk. "They have made us into regulars while the baby manifests powers that defy everything we have been taught regardless of what sickness they claim he has. Are you content to spend your life practicing basic rifts while the real power is kept in a cedar chest? Help me open those doors. Use your Void to slip the locks and I will handle the rest. We deserve to know what we are."
Kova stood up and extinguished the candle with a quick pinch of his fingers leaving them in total darkness. The two brothers moved through the manor like ghosts slipping past the human guards who patrolled the hallways. They used the Void to bend the light around them moving through the blind spots of the weary sentries who stood like statues in the gloom. When they reached the heavy oak doors of the inner vault Kova used a refined Void rift to bypass the heavy physical locks the air humming with a localized distortion that silenced the clicking of the metal tumblers. Koma kept his hand on the hilt of his blade watching the darkness for any sign of his fathers presence. Inside the air was stale and smelled of ancient parchment and the weight of forgotten time. They found what they were looking for in a cedar chest wrapped in silk tucked away in the deepest corner of the room. They grabbed the brittle rolls of parchment and slipped back into the night their footsteps leaving no mark on the dust covered floors.
Safe within the shadows of Komas room they finally unrolled the first silk bound scroll. As Koma began to read the text by the dim light of a lantern his eyes widened and the silver scars on his chest began to itch with a phantom heat that seemed to burn from the inside out. The diagrams were not for simple techniques. They were anatomical maps of the human spirit showing pathways and energy centers that defied everything they had been taught since birth.
Stolen story; please report.
"So father and mother have more than one heart" Koma whispered his voice cracking with a mixture of awe and pure vitriol as he pointed to the illustrations of the Zen hearts. "Why haven't we been told this Kova? "wait Kova look here it says that some are also born with two hearts out of luck and to have three is also an extremely rare sight wait a minute the twins have two hearts" "My twins Hykee and Lokee have two each"
"And why is Void a Forbidden Act? They preach to us about the dangers of the Void but we were born with Void Yen according to father it's in our blood."
Kova scanned the text with clinical intensity. He stopped at a specific passage near the bottom of the scroll and leaned in closer the ink reflecting in his dull pupils like stars in a stagnant pool. "Koma look at this" Kova said his voice monotone but carrying a rare edge of intrigue. "It states that those with Zen hearts can live for hundreds of years. The strain on a single heart is what limits a mortal life but the multiple hearts cycle the essence so the body never truly decays." He looked up at his brother the blankness of his face now masking a deep realization. "Does that mean our parents are older than we think? If they have three hearts they could have been alive since before the founding of the kingdom."
Koma stood up straight his face contorted in an ecstatic and pissed off snarl. "Does Uncle Jaeren and the other founders have three hearts as well or just our parents? How come our family has the Void but they treat it like a disease? I feel like they have hidden so much from us. What is the Void power really? And why are the Blood Acts hidden away like a shame?" He slammed his fist into his desk the sound echoing in the silent room afterwards. "We have to figure out how to do these Demon Acts and unlock the Zen hearts.
"I can't believe the twins have two hearts"
Koma says
Kova chimes in and says
"we don't tell them right now not until we know for certain what this "Zen" power is."
This was their first true act of rebellion a silent declaration of war against the boundaries their father had set. They realized then that their parents were not just protecting Kota and his supposed sickness they were actively hiding secrets from all of them them. The tension finally boiled over shortly after the theft when Koma confronted Kalamity in the study. He questioned why Kota was being hidden away and why the rest of them were being denied the to know the power of their bloodline. Kalamity stood his ground his voice like iron as he spoke of responsibility and restraint. The response only deepened the rift. To Koma restraint was just another word for weakness. He could feel the stolen scrolls hidden nearby a secret power that made his fathers words feel like the ramblings of a fearful old man who had forgotten the taste of conquest.
Koma stormed out and found Kova waiting in the darkened corridor. The two brothers shared a long look that solidified their future alliance. They were no longer just siblings they were two forces beginning to align against a fate they had not chosen. Koma walked to his room and stood by the window looking out toward the secluded wing where the moon illuminated the silent stone walls.
"One day I will be stronger than the founders i'll be the strongest in the Kingdom the strongest in the World and go beyond those lights in the sky no one will ever suppress me ever again" Koma whispered into the dark his voice a promise to the void. "Especially him. Kota just wait that little power you possess you won't have for long.
In the present day Kota bolted upright in the limestone cave with a sharp gasp that tore through the stillness. The cold damp air of the cave hit his lungs as the violet light of the dream faded. His hand flew to his chest touching the smooth and unblemished skin where the burns had been years ago. The phantom pain of the memory lingered like a ghost. He looked over at Leiya who was watching him with wide eyes her hand on the hilt of her blade reflecting the low light of their dying fire.
"You were tossing and turning while sleeping" she whispered.
Kota did not answer immediately. He just traced the place where the scars used to be feeling the weight of the resentment that had started on that autumn afternoon. Miles away Kaola stood on a high branch and drew the string of her Void bow. There was no arrow but the bow hummed with a low and hungry vibration as it filtered the wind.
"The wind is heavy here" Kaola said to the twins as her eyes glowed with a faint light. "It tastes like old rot and medicine. There is a town just past the ridge. He is heading for a crowd to hide the scent but the bow does not lie. Move out."
