20/06/2026
Revive BK1
Episode 10
The moment the connection to Sophie was severed, Arin felt it like a blade sliding through an invisible bond.
There was a sudden shift in the energy in the mansion.
The entrance to the mansion fell into a strange stillness, as if the mansion itself had sensed what was coming.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
His head turned toward the entrance of the mansion.
The air changed.
Cold. Heavy. Familiar.
Three presences.
Not guests.
Not allies.
Judgment.
The air near the doorway darkened slightly, folding inward as the space resisted what was stepping through it.
Then they appeared.
Three figures crossed the threshold of the entrance hall in unison.
They did not rush. They did not hesitate.
They arrived as though the world had agreed to make space for them.
Their appearance was a disturbing blend of eras-ancient authority fused with modern restraint, as if time itself could not decide what they were meant to be.
The first was a woman draped in layered ceremonial robes of deep ash and muted gold, stitched with old covenant sigils that shimmered faintly like wounded light. Over her shoulders rested a structured modern mantle reinforced with rune-etched plating. Her hair was braided into an intricate crown of silver cords, and her eyes glowed faint violet-unblinking, absolute.
The second was a man wearing a fitted dark coat tailored in modern form, but engraved across every seam were archaic bindings older than spoken language. Half of his face was covered by a bone-white judicial mask marked with fracture lines, as though it had once been shattered and reforged without mercy.
The third figure said nothing at first.
They were smaller in presence but heavier in implication-a hooded elder wrapped in layered fabrics that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Floating behind them were fragmented relic rings, slowly orbiting like restrained moons, each inscribed with clan verdict marks from civilizations long erased.
Three of them.
Not one faction.
Not one order.
But the surviving remnants of the ancient coalition that once ruled judgment over beings like Arin.
Rebecca's breath caught sharply.
Johnie's posture tightened immediately.
And Arin... simply watched them.
Recognition passed through his eyes-not surprise.
Memory.
The woman spoke first, her voice calm, controlled, and edged with something colder than anger.
"Arin."
A pause.
Then she corrected herself without emotion.
"The Bound One."
The masked man followed immediately.
"Or what remains of your containment."
The hooded third figure finally spoke, voice layered as though multiple elders were speaking through a single throat.
"You were not meant to breathe again in this world."
Silence pressed heavily into the room.
Rebecca stepped forward instinctively.
"Why are you here?"
The woman's gaze shifted to her slowly.
"And you."
Her lips curled faintly.
"Rebecca "
A bitter smile.
"Still playing protector to abominations?"
The man turned his head slightly toward Johnie.
"And the traitor who helped break the seal."
Johnie's expression darkened.
"We did what we had to do."
The woman let out a short, humorless laugh.
"No. You did what fools always do."
She raised her hand slightly.
"Release a catastrophe and call it salvation."
The woman continued.
The air trembled.
Arin's eyes narrowed-but he did not interrupt.
The masked man stepped forward slightly.
"You broke the covenant. You released what was condemned. That alone is treason."
Rebecca's expression hardened instantly. "Excuse me?"
Johnie scoffed. "We released someone who was literally saving your world."
The hooded figure responded softly.
"You released an abomination."
The word landed heavily in the room.
Rebecca's fists clenched.
Arin did not react outwardly-but the air around him subtly shifted.
The man's voice cut through the silence.
"You bound-breakers have always mistaken power for mercy."
He looked directly at Arin now.
"You were not meant to return."
Rebecca stepped forward.
"That's enough."
Her voice cracked with frustration, but held firm.
"We didn't bring him back for nostalgia. We brought him back because Kael-"
At the mention of the name, the elders stiffened.
Rebecca continued quickly.
"-because Kael has broken far beyond anything we've seen. He's using soul covenants. He's tied himself to the Cursed. If we don't stop him, he will unravel the seal completely."
The woman's expression did not change.
"We are aware."
Rebecca froze slightly. "You... are?"
The masked man replied flatly.
"We have been watching."
The man added coldly, "And we also know what he is becoming."
Johnie frowned. "Then why are you here threatening us instead of helping?"
The hooded elder answered.
"Because the greater threat has already returned."
All three sets of eyes shifted-slowly-toward Arin.
The room went still.
Rebecca's voice dropped. "So that's it. You didn't come to stop Kael."
The woman spoke softly.
"We came to ensure you do not remain in this world long enough to become the second disaster."...
That made Rebecca pause.
Johnie frowned.
A beat.
Then the woman spoke again, softer-but more dangerous.
"That does not justify releasing him."
She nodded toward Arin without looking away from Rebecca.
"An unbound primordial is not a solution."
"It is an extinction event waiting to happen."
A pause.
Then colder:
"One uncontrolled primordial is already too many."
Silence followed.
Arin exhaled slowly.
Rebecca's voice rose.
"So your answer is to do nothing?"
"Our answer," the man said, stepping forward, "is the law of the old covenant."
His gaze locked onto Arin.
"If the prison is broken, the consequence remains unchanged."
The woman finished it without hesitation:
"Death is the price for freeing the sealed."
So that was the truth beneath all of it.
Not ignorance.
Not misunderstanding.
Fear.
Rebecca stepped forward again, voice sharper now.
"You're still calling him a weapon instead of a person after everything he's done to protect this world?"
The masked man responded immediately.
"We do not classify catastrophes as persons."
Johnie muttered, "That's... terrifyingly consistent with you people."
The hooded elder lifted both hands slightly.
And the air shifted.
Subtle runes began forming across the floor beneath Rebecca and Johnie.
Drain seals.
"Stop."
The woman responded calmly.
"This is not negotiation.And now that you have committed that violation..."The woman lifted her hand again.
Energy began pulling from Rebecca and Johnie instantly.
Their strength siphoned into the runes like water into sand.
Their strength dimmed.
Rebecca gritted her teeth.
"Johnie-!"
"I know," he snapped, struggling against the draining force.
The man's voice was almost bored.
"You should have remained loyal to the seal."
Arin finally moved.
A single step forward.
The air shifted.
The siphoning slowed.
Then cracked.
The runes flickered violently as if something inside them had been stared into submission.
The woman's eyes narrowed sharply.
"So it is true..."
She looked directly at Arin now.
"...you are not fully bound."
Arin's voice was quiet.
"Stop this."
The man scoffed.
"Or what?"
A pulse of magic surged outward.
Arin sighed once.
And released a fraction of his presence.
Not power.
Just presence.
The effect was immediate.
The sanctum groaned.
The siphoning circles shattered like glass.
The elders were thrown back a step-not from force, but from pressure, like reality itself refusing to contain him.
Rebecca and Johnie collapsed slightly, catching their breath as the drain ceased.
The woman's expression finally shifted.
Not fear.
But certainty.
"This is why you should have stayed sealed."
Arin looked at them both, calm but firm.
"If I wanted you gone, you would already be gone."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Even the man did not respond immediately.
Then Arin continued.
"You came here expecting an abomination."
A pause.
"I am not your enemy."
The woman's voice sharpened.
"You are the reason civilizations died."
A flicker of something passed through Arin's eyes-but he did not deny it.
Instead:
"The past is not what matters."
"What matters is Kael."
Rebecca stepped forward again, forcing herself upright.
"He's right. We need all clans working together. If you keep clinging to the old judgment, there won't be anything left to protect."
The woman's gaze hardened.
"We do not negotiate with uncontrolled primordial entities."
The man added flatly:
"We cast them out."
A pause.
Then, final:
"You are already a mistake we corrected once."
Rebecca clenched her fists.
"You're still calling us traitors after everything-"
The woman cut her off.
"Because you are."
Johnie muttered under his breath, "Unbelievable..."
Arin lifted a hand slightly.
Enough.
The room quieted.
His voice lowered.
"Leave."
The man frowned. "Excuse-"
Arin's eyes flickered silver.
"Leave."
This time, it was not a command.
It was a boundary.
The sanctum responded.
The air itself pushed outward.
The three elders hesitated-just for a fraction of a second-then stepped back toward the doorway.
But the woman paused at the threshold.
Her eyes locked on Arin.
"This world will not accept your return."
Arin met her gaze evenly.
"Then it will learn to survive me."
A tense silence.
Then they vanished into shifting runes, leaving behind only the echo of old hatred.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Rebecca exhaled sharply.
"They're still insane."
Johnie rubbed his forehead. "That went better than expected. Somehow."
Arin didn't respond immediately.
His gaze lingered where they had stood.
"They are not wrong," he said quietly.
Rebecca frowned. "About what?"
Arin's voice lowered.
"The world fears what it cannot control."
A pause.
Then softer:
"And I was never meant to be controlled."
Silence returned.
Johnie straightened slightly, forcing a lighter tone.
"Well... on the bright side, not everyone wants you dead."
Rebecca shot him a look.
"That's your bright side?"
He shrugged.
"It's a small club."
Despite everything, Arin's lips curved faintly.
"Your optimism remains unchanged."
Johnie smirked. "Somebody has to balance your existential dread."
Rebecca exhaled, then crossed her arms.
"So what now?"
A pause.
Arin's gaze sharpened slightly.
"We find Lyra."
Both of them looked at him.
Rebecca blinked. "Your sister?"
Arin nodded once.
"She is the only one who can shift the clans without starting a war."
Johnie frowned. "The gift of deception."
"And persuasion," Arin added quietly.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have reached her through our subconscious bond. Every member of my family shares that connection. Distance has never mattered to us."
His expression dimmed.
"But the centuries I spent bound between worlds have fractured those links. I can still sense faint echoes of them... but I can no longer reach them."
Rebecca was already turning away.
"Then I'll contact Benjamin. He's my only reliable connection to the Velmorian family. He can pass the message to Lyra. I'll tell him to be discreet-I don't want the rest of the family finding out just yet."
Johnie let out a weary sigh.
"I doubt they're still unaware. If those three elders sensed Arin's return, the Velmorians probably have too."
Somewhere deep within an abandoned estate hidden in the middle of a dense forest, Kael had made the place his temporary sanctuary. Once an elegant mansion, it had long been forgotten by the world, its cracked walls swallowed by creeping vines and towering trees. But beneath its decaying appearance lay something far more terrifying.
Shadow magic clung to every inch of the estate.
Layers of forbidden enchantments surrounded the property, twisting the very space around it. Anyone who wandered too close would unknowingly turn back the way they came. Tracking spells dissolved the moment they touched the barrier, scrying magic revealed nothing but endless darkness, and anyone who dared force their way through would find themselves trapped in an illusion with no escape. To the outside world, the manor simply no longer existed.
Satisfied that no one-not Rebecca, Arin, nor anyone else-could reach them, Kael lowered his hand. He couldn't help but admire Arin's strength. Despite having only recently awakened, he had somehow managed to subconsciously reach Sophia. The connection had been brief, almost insignificant, but it was enough to surprise him.
He's recovering faster than I expected.
Pushing the thought aside, Kael walked back into the bedroom.
He sat beside Sophia and gently brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.
She stirred.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open.
The moment she realized she wasn't in Rebecca's house, panic flooded her expression. She quickly backed away until her shoulders hit the headboard, her eyes darting frantically around the unfamiliar room.
"W-Where am I?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"Who... who are you?"
Kael slowly raised both hands.
"Calm down, Soph. I know you have a lot of questions, and you're probably wondering what's going on. But I promise you..." His voice was calm, almost comforting. "I mean you no harm."
"Where am I?" I asked again.
"Where's Rebecca?"
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Ah... the little witch."
"What?" I frowned.
"You deserve to know everything," he said. "The truth. The truth about who you really are. About your mother. About everything those who claimed to protect you have kept hidden."
He held my gaze.
"Have you never wondered why your own mother tried to kill you that night? Or why you've always felt like something inside you didn't belong? Like something has been calling to you... waiting for you?"
My heart skipped.
"How do you know that?" I whispered.
"What do you know about me?"
Kael took a slow step closer.
"Nothing you know is the truth," he said quietly. "You've lived your entire life believing a carefully crafted lie."
He extended his hand.
"If you want... I can show you who you truly are."
His voice was strangely compelling, each word slipping effortlessly into my mind, feeding the curiosity I had buried for years.
"I want to know everything."
A slow smirk spread across his face, his crimson eyes glinting with quiet satisfaction. It wasn't the smile of someone who had won-it was the smile of someone whose plan had unfolded exactly as he intended.
Without another word, he closed the distance between us.
He gently cupped my face.
The instant his hands touched my skin, darkness seeped from his fingertips like ink in water. It coiled around us in slow, twisting ribbons before erupting into a violent storm.
The room dissolved into blackness.
I gasped.
The shadows howled as though carrying voices from another lifetime.
Then everything lurched.
It felt as though time itself had begun to unravel, dragging us backward through memories that had been buried long before I was born.
NEXT Episode IN BOOK 2
