Blackout Ascension: Return of Primordial Heir-Chapter 58: Departure

The morning air in the capital was cold and sharp. It lacked the warm, inviting scent of roasted nuts and sweet bread that had filled the festival just a day ago. Instead, the Solaris courtyard smelled of polished iron, leather, and nervous sweat.

Kairos stood near the tall stone pillars of the palace gates, resting his hand on the hilt of Asteria. He crept his thumb over the smooth leather grip, his thoughts drifting back to the day Seyana had given it to him. It wasn’t just a weapon. It was a royal heirloom, a gift of trust, and a silent confession of her belief in him. When she placed it in his hands, she had looked at him not as a village boy, but as a hero.

Now, tracing the tiny, jagged chip near the tip of the blade through the scabbard, Kairos felt a heavy knot in his stomach. He had to be worthy of this sword. He could not just be a boy who relied on a magical system to freeze time whenever he was scared. If he was going to protect Seyana, he had to become a true master of the blade.

"Stop brooding, village boy. You are making the morning even more miserable."

Kairos turned. Ignis was limping across the cobblestones, his royal tunic left open at the top to make room for his thick medical bandages. Terravarous walked slowly beside him, his back stiff from the stitches the High Healers had given him the night before. Luna Zephyros trailed behind them. The Night Emperor looked drained. His usual arrogant, lazy attitude was gone, replaced by a slow walk. He kept his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his silver hair falling messily over his pale eyes.

"I am not brooding," Kairos replied, offering a faint smile. "I am just enjoying the quiet before it gets loud."

"It is already loud," Ignis complained, waving a hand toward the center of the courtyard.

The palace was preparing for war. King Raezon had not wasted a single minute. Battalions of armored Solaris soldiers were marching in rigid formations. Captains were shouting orders, supply wagons were being loaded with sharp steel spears, and messenger birds were flying out of the high towers to warn the distant border lords. The peaceful era was dead, and the preparations for the Great War had officially taken over the kingdom.

****

In the middle of this chaos there were two grand travel carriages.

One was pristine white with gold trim, bearing the crest of the Sylphyros Kingdom. The other was a sturdy, deep green carriage built from dense ironwood, marked with the emblem of the Zephyros Kingdom.

Velanor Banner stood near the green carriage, adjusting the leather straps of his travel pack. He wore a simple, durable brown tunic and heavy boots.

Velanor looked up as Kairos and the others approached. He offered his usual confident grin, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes today.

"Look at this," Velanor teased, crossing his arms. "The great Vanguard Generals came to see me off. I feel incredibly honored."

"We came to make sure you actually leave," Ignis shot back, folding his own arms and wincing as his ribs flared with pain. "The capital smells much better without you."

Velanor laughed softly. He crouched down and placed his bare hand flat against the cobblestone street. A faint hum vibrated through the ground. Unlike Terravarous, who used earth magic to turn his skin into an unbreakable diamond, Velanor’s earth affinity was all about precise manipulation.

A small chunk of stone separated from the street, floating into Velanor’s palm. With a few precise movements of his fingers, the stone shifted and molded itself like soft clay. Within seconds, it hardened into a smooth, heavy stone token carved with the symbol of a shield.

Velanor stood up and tossed the stone shield to Ignis.

Ignis caught it awkwardly. "What is this? A rock? Are you poor?"

"It is a reminder," Velanor said, his grin fading into a serious, steady look. "Try not to get thrown across any more balconies while I am gone, matchstick. Keep your guard up."

Ignis stared at the stone token. He opened his mouth to argue with a sarcastic insult, but he stopped. He closed his fist around the stone and slipped it quietly into his pocket. "Just don’t get lost on the way home, dirt boy."

Velanor turned to Kairos, holding his hand slowly. Kairos took it, gripping Velanor’s hand firmly. It was a warrior’s handshake.

"My elders are stubborn," Velanor said quietly. "They think the mountains will protect them from the shadows. I am going to have to shake the ground a little to wake them up, but when the fighting starts, I will be there. When the Fallen arrive, my magic will bury them."

"I know you will," Kairos nodded. "Train hard, Velanor."

"You too, Conqueror," Velanor smirked. He turned and climbed lightly into the green carriage, shutting the wooden door behind him.

As Velanor’s carriage began to roll out of the courtyard, Catherine Sylphyros stepped forward from the white carriage.

She wore a dark traveling cloak over her elegant clothes. Her silver-blue hair was tied back tightly in a gentle pony. Usually, Catherine looked at the boys like they were annoying children playing dangerous games. But today, her cold eyes held genuine respect.

She stopped in front of Terravarous and Ignis, offering a small, polite nod. Then she looked at Kairos.

"You proved your worth yesterday, Kairos," Catherine said, her voice crisp and clear. "My sister is alive because you refused to break. The Sylphyros Kingdom will not forget this debt. If Solaris falls under siege, we will ride to your aid."

"There is no debt, Princess," Kairos replied respectfully. "We protect our own."

Catherine offered a faint smile. She turned gracefully and stepped up into the white carriage, leaving Soltheia alone on the cobblestones with Luna.

The rest of the group quietly backed away, giving the couple a few moments of privacy. Luna stood with his hands in his pockets, staring down at his boots. He looked miserable. The magical hangover was bad, but watching Soltheia leave was much worse.

Soltheia stepped closer to him. She gently reached out, pulling his hands out of his pockets and holding them tightly in hers. Her blue eyes were swimming with unshed tears, but she kept a brave, bright smile on her face.

"You look terrible," Soltheia whispered.

"I feel terrible," Luna admitted, looking up at her. "I should go with you. I can protect the Sylphyros borders. I can cast a gravity field around your entire palace."

"No," Soltheia shook her head firmly. "You cannot protect my entire kingdom alone, Luna, and you cannot fight an army of the Fallen if you are exhausted. You need to stay here in Solaris. You need to train with Kairos and Terravarous. You have to get stronger."

Luna’s jaw tightened. "I hate training. It requires moving."

"I know," Soltheia laughed softly, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "But you promised me, remember? No more being the lazy tragic hero. I need you to be the strongest general in the world. Because when the dark sky breaks again, I am going to need you to come find me."

Luna looked into her eyes. He thought about the terrifying power he had felt when he touched the Cosmic Lock. He thought about the crushing weight of the black mist. He had spent his entire life avoiding hard work, relying on his natural genius. But that genius wasn’t enough to keep her safe anymore.

He gently pulled his hands free and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a tight hug. He buried his face in her shoulder.

"I will be the strongest," Luna whispered fiercely into her ear. "I swear on my life. I will tear the shadows apart with my bare hands before I let them touch you."

Soltheia hugged him back just as tightly, burying her face in his silver hair. They stood there in the middle of the busy, chaotic courtyard, ignoring the marching soldiers and the shouting captains. For a brief minute, they were the only two people in the world.

KNOCK!! KNOCK!!

Finally, Catherine gently knocked on the wooden frame of the carriage window. "Soltheia. We must go. The road is long."

Soltheia pulled back. She kissed Luna softly on the cheek, her hands lingering on his chest for just a second before she turned away. She hurried into the white carriage, not looking back, afraid she would stay if she did.

The driver cracked his whip. The white horses neighed loudly, and the carriage lurched forward.

Kairos, Seyana, Ignis, Terravarous, and Luna stood in a line near the gate. They watched in silence as the white carriage crawled out of the iron gates of the palace, turning down the main road and slowly disappearing into the morning mist.

CRANKKK!!

The heavy iron gates clanged shut behind them with a loud, final thud.

The silence that followed was heavy. The group had split. The comforting safety of their large, chaotic team was gone. The reality of the Great War was a physical weight pressing down on their shoulders.

Ignis rubbed his bandaged chest. "It is too quiet now."

"We should return to the academy," Terravarous said, his voice somber. "We have a week of medical leave before the King expects us back on active duty. We need to rest."

"You guys go ahead," Luna said softly. He didn’t turn away from the closed iron gates. His silver eyes were blank. "I am going to the royal training grounds."

Ignis blinked in shock. "The training grounds? Luna, you can barely walk. The healers said your core is drained. You can’t lift a pebble right now."

"I don’t need magic to swing an iron sword," Luna replied coldly, turning around, and the sheer, chilling determination in his pale eyes made even Terravarous take a step back. The lazy Night Emperor was gone. "I have a lot of catching up to do."

Luna walked away, heading straight for the military wing of the palace without looking back.

Terravarous and Ignis exchanged a worried look before slowly following him, knowing they couldn’t stop him once he made up his mind.

Kairos stayed behind. He stood near the fountain, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, that sky was a black dome raining ash and death.

Seyana walked up quietly and stood beside him. She didn’t wear a royal crown today, just a simple silver hairpin that caught the sunlight.

"They are gone," Seyana said softly.

"They will be back," Kairos promised her. "When the real fighting starts, they will be here."

Kairos closed his eyes and focused his mind inward. The familiar interface of his System flared to life in the darkness of his thoughts. He looked at the shimmering panel listing his stats, his skills, and his powerful titles. He looked at the flashing golden letters of the ’Conqueror of Time.’

It was a god-like power. It was the ultimate cheat code. But it was a trap. If he relied on it when mana was low, the system would eat his life force until there was nothing left but dust. He couldn’t freeze time forever. The soldiers of The Fallen were already strong enough to chip a divine sword. When the true master of the shadows stepped out of the dark, Kairos knew that a ten-second frozen time wouldn’t be enough to save anyone.

He dismissed the title screen. He opened his base physical attributes panel instead.

[Strength

Agility

Endurance]

These were the numbers that mattered. He needed raw, undeniable power. He needed his own muscles to move faster than the shadows, and his own bones to strike harder than iron. He needed to become a monster in his own right.

Kairos opened his eyes. He looked at Seyana.

"I need a favor," Kairos said, his voice steady and filled with sheer resolve. "I need you to tell the palace quartermaster to fill a training room with the iron weights he has, and I need a dozen dull training swords." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Seyana looked at him, her amber eyes softening with understanding. "You are going to break yourself, Kairos."

"I have to break myself first," Kairos replied, resting his hand on the hilt of Asteria. "So The Fallen can’t."

He turned away from the sunny courtyard and walked toward the shadows of the training halls. The time for resting was over. The time for relying on miracles was done. The Great War was coming, and Kairos was going to be ready.