Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

A Warborn took something that wasn't his… his own brother, at that.

No matter how many times these thoughts paraded through his mind, Kaden couldn't quite wrap his head around the revelation. Not because it was some Sphinx-level riddle or prophecy-tier mystery, but because it didn't match the image he had of his brother, or of a Warborn in general.

None of them would have stolen something. It wasn't in their nature.

None except him, of course, as he was certain he would, if necessary. But that was him. And once again, he was not the best example of a Warborn.

And fortunately — or not, depending on how you saw it — Dain was very far from being like him. He was a Warborn at his core.

He resembled their father too much, a man who preferred to sing the beauty and glory of honor through his weapon rather than write poems about the wonder of life. The kind of man who believed courage was a virtue and that honor was something worth dying for.

Taking all this into account, Kaden couldn't see a reason for his brother to steal. Maybe he had changed in the meantime because of an event that could have altered his character. Or maybe…

'Someone tricked him into it,' Kaden thought as he faced four beings. Two of them radiated power so overwhelming, so encompassing, that Kaden was certain these two were not human.

They couldn't be.

There was something about them that made him feel as though he were standing before stars…too hot or too cold to approach.

Doubtless, these two could give his parents a real challenge.

They were not alone, though.

The third, though only at Grandmaster rank, possessed an aura that made Kaden certain not even a hundred Steelbeast Laye combined could stand against him. And mind you, Laye himself was a Grandmaster.

The man's blue eyes glimmered with a cold arrogance that seemed carved into his bones. His ever-present smile on that disgustingly handsome face was painful to look at.

He was handsome in a way that almost made Kaden jealous.

The last was a girl he now knew all too well, the one he had nicknamed Golden Voice. She stood with an awkward stance, yet tried so hard to appear imposing.

She was cute, Kaden thought, amidst the situation.

Yes, Kaden was standing before the entire Asterion family inside their throne room.

It was magnificent and screamed of grandeur and wealth.

The walls were painted in gold so blindingly bright it hurt to look at them. Portraits of previous emperors, he assumed, and great figures adorned every corner. On the ceiling, the sigil of Asterion was painted boldly, shimmering with starlight that reminded Kaden of the starry night months ago.

The floor was covered by a golden carpet so soft he could feel it even through his boots.

Luminary and Mahina each sat upon their respective thrones high above — one with golden eyes, the other with blue — both gazes burning and freezing him at once.

Sirius stood nearby, smiling with amusement, his stare fixed on Kaden, while Sora clenched her fists tightly at her sides, struggling to keep her gaze steady on him, and not avert it in embarrassment.

Kaden stood in the center of the room, unchained. If none the wiser, people would believe he was here to seek the blessing of the parents of his beloved.

But they couldn't be more wrong. Kaden knew it didn't matter whether he was bound or not, two of the beings here could kill him as easily as a man swatting a child, and one would actually make him fight seriously.

By all logic, this was a situation Kaden should never have accepted to be in. But he had.

And for a good reason, at least to him.

He wanted to know more about the story.

And he wanted to find his brother.

So what if they found Dain with his help? He just needed the location. Then he would find a way to die and get there first, before any of them knew.

It was a plan only he could think of, and it required him to be as insufferable as possible.

So he smiled, staring back at the two pairs of golden eyes and two pairs of blue eyes fixed upon him.

"I guess," he began, crimson eyes flicking between them, "this must be an honor to meet the Asterion, rulers of the glorious Celestial Empire." His voice dripped with mock awe.

Sirius's smile widened, his blue eyes twinkling like a child discovering a new toy. He didn't speak, but it was clear he wanted to.

Sora's eyes widened at Kaden's audacity.

Mahina remained still, impassive.

Luminary, however, raised his flaming brows.

"A courageous fool, I see," he said, and Kaden felt the inside of his body heat up.

"Still, something quite expected from a Warborn."

'Bloody hell,' Kaden cursed inwardly, though his expression didn't waver.

Luminary and Mahina both took notice of that.

"Tell me, Kaden Warborn," Luminary started again, "do you know why you are here?"

"I do," Kaden retorted. "The Princess already explained all of that to me. Still, excuse my slowness, but I do not quite understand it."

"What's there to understand?" Mahina chimed in, her glacial blue eyes boring into him, as if threatening to engulf him in a storm of ice.

Once again, Kaden shrugged off the slight application of intent from her. He calmly looked at her, then spoke, "Everything, My Lady, if you allow me to call you that, of course." He continued, "You must already know us…if not, let me tell you something about us…" he paused once again, "…we do not steal. We have never been thieves and we won't be thieves."

"And yet…" Sirius finally spoke, voice utterly amused, "…your brother still stole something from us, little Warborn." He said, making Sora give an inward scowl at him.

"How did he steal it?" Kaden then asked, tilting his head. "How could my brother, who I am sure was not above Grandmaster rank, steal something important enough to the Glorious Asterion to the point of kidnapping me?"

He shook his head.

"Tell me, are your defenses weak enough for a Grandmaster to enter your territory and steal and escape safely?" Kaden scoffed. "Big brains might not be our strongest weapon but we have enough battle instinct to smell bullshit when we get the chance to sniff one." He said coldly, glaring at the Asterions.

Sora's heart stopped, her eyes widened in horror. She pivoted toward her father to plead for Kaden, expecting him to burn in fury and turn Kaden to golden ashes.

But none of that happened. At least not what she expected.

Luminary remained seated calmly, his golden eyes fixed on Kaden, whose skin flushed like steel in an inferno. Steam escaped his body in waves, shrouding him in a hazy embrace, leaving only his crimson eyes visible through the pain.

"Father!!" Sora shouted in alarm, only to be silenced by a single glare from him.

Luminary looked down at Kaden, whose very blood seemed to burn at a slow, terrible pace. The pain was unbearable, but Kaden made no sound. His face didn't even twist, he merely coughed, opened his mouth, and licked his dry lips.

His saliva had been burned away.

His crimson eyes stared at Luminary impassively, which made them all look at him with varying degrees of surprise.

Luminary, however, was barely impressed.

"You have high Will, annoying brat, I'll give you that," Luminary said. "Though it wouldn't protect you if the temperature is too hot, is it?"

"Is that so?" Kaden's voice was as dry as cotton.

Luminary's smile curled. "Maybe you'd fancy the idea of testing it if you have any doubt?"

Kaden chuckled coldly. "That's an interesting proposal. And I would take you on that any day, though today…"

His body began to recover slowly, making him crack his neck and flex lazily.

"…I would first like to hear about my brother. Isn't that why you abducted me?"

Sirius suppressed a loud laugh. He was loving this, it was more entertaining than he expected.

'Is this guy Dain's brother? Gods, how different are they!' he exclaimed inwardly.

'Blackmailer…' Sora whispered in her mind, unsure whether to be impressed or worried about Kaden.

'For a master, his Will is too high,' Mahina remarked inwardly, her blue-moon eyes narrowing slightly.

Only Luminary revealed nothing, his feelings were already written plainly across his face.

He smiled, then spoke again. "For your suspicions about your brother being guilty…" he said. "Why would an innocent man disappear?"

"Now," Kaden said, "who said he disappeared? Or even if he did, that he did it on purpose?"

"Let's take into account all possibilities, shall we?"

"So you believe in your brother's innocence?" Mahina asked.

Kaden turned his head slowly and looked at her. "Of course I do. My brother would never steal anything from you, even if it were something he needed."

"Because in that case he would challenge you openly to a duel and take it from you fairly." His eyes cooled. "So once again," he glared at them all, "My brother. Did. Not. Steal. Anything. From. You." He enunciated each word with measured intensity.

Sora looked at Kaden in sudden realization, his words made sense.

Sirius only smiled, finding the exchange entertaining.

"If you believe so strongly in him," Luminary said, "then be a good lad and give us a drop of your blood to locate him."

"And if he indeed didn't steal anything from us…" he paused, then continued, "…then compensation will be made. But if he is guilty of what we accuse him of, then he will bear the punishment for taking what is not his."

He paused, letting his words settle.

"And what would that punishment be?" Kaden asked in return.

"The only fitting one for taking what's not his," Mahina interjected coldly. "He will die."

Kaden didn't react. He only glanced at her and smiled, amused.

"You are quite a funny one, My Lady."

Mahina's face twisted into a thin, unreadable smile. "Am I?"

The world became immediately painted in blue. Kaden's body reacted faster than his brain, his stance shifted with perfect clarity and speed beyond understanding. He raised his right hand, palm facing forward, causing a sword to appear in it, then pivoted his body, swinging in a wide circle.

CLANK—!

Sparks burst from the impact of Reditha against a thin ice needle.

Kaden staggered backward from the unexpected recoil, only for his right foot to freeze against the cold. Wordless, his leg ignited, but it was already too late.

Mahina appeared behind him faster than he could follow. Her hand, glowing with a sharp blur of light, snapped toward his head like an arrow. It touched the back of his skull, ice sang to life and pierced through his mind, freezing his brain in an instant. Kaden collapsed into unconsciousness, about to fall to the floor, only to be caught by Mahina in a strangely gentle manner.

Sora and Sirius watched in surprise, not understanding what had just happened.

Luminary observed the exchange with arrogant calm, his golden eyes drifting down to Mahina's blue ones.

He sought an explanation.

Mahina offered one. "We needed his blood. Now we have it," she said. "No need to waste time talking with him."

"Mother!" Sora said, her voice trembling with dread. "What are you doing to him?"

Mahina didn't look at Sora, her gaze remained fixed on Luminary, though she still answered. "This young man has great Will. And during the time it will take to find his brother…" she paused, then gave a slight, cold smile,

"…he will be sent to the Madhouse's Enclosure. The only place capable of containing his Will."

Luminary raised an eyebrow at his wife's decision. "Now," he started, "why?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

Sirius's eyes curved slyly.

Sora was lost, unable to follow properly.

Mahina stared at her husband. "Do I need your permission to act now?"

"You do, Mahina," Luminary retorted. Unconsciously, the temperature rose further. "Or have you become the ruler of this empire without my knowledge? Please, do me proud and tell me."

He leaned back in his chair, looking like a god born of the sun's purity, his eyes alone could kill a Grandmaster with a single glance, as he glared at Mahina.

Mahina simply stood there, holding Kaden's unconscious body in her arms with cold indifference. "I only acted for your sake. The sun does not always stay high in the sky, and the time of its shine is not infinite."

She smiled. "So I cut short this unnecessary talk and won you time. As for my decision to send him to the Madhouse, this boy's Will is strong as I said. Only the Madhouse can contain him without him using it to cause trouble."

"But…" she smiled coldly, "…if you have better alternatives, go on, Sun." The last word dripped with sarcasm.

Sirius suppressed a smile.

Sora, meanwhile, felt as if she were standing between blazing fire and sterile frost. Her mind reeled from everything happening at once.

This was not what she had promised Kaden. And if this continued, she would lose her only chance to prevent him from becoming her enemy. So with all the strength she could muster, she spoke to her mother.

"This was not what we agreed on," she said in a defiant tone.

Mahina didn't spare her a glance, still looking at Luminary. But Luminary didn't bother looking at his wife either, he turned his golden eyes toward his daughter.

His meaning was obvious, and Sora continued, knowing there was no turning back.

"The way you acted, Mother," she continued, her voice trembling, "closely resembles someone guilty trying to silence the evidence."

Sirius cackled. "Accusing our mother now, sister? Gods, am I dreaming?" His words were relaxed, but his cold blue eyes were threatening enough to make Sora take a step back. But in that instant…

"Sirius." Luminary's voice echoed, and Sirius's body froze in dread. He mechanically turned his head toward his father, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of those golden sun eyes.

They were rotating madly.

"First and last warning. Use your intent on my daughter again, and you will taste mine."

Sirius smiled crookedly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Sun, it was just a jest between siblings." His voice was as sarcastic as his mother's.

The tension in the room was unbearable. It was as if both Sun and Moon had decided to rise on the same horizon, their clash unbalancing the world itself.

"You have no other alternative, do you?" Mahina spoke again, calm and composed.

Luminary spared her a glance, then said, "I don't know what you're planning again, Mahina. But this boy had better be in good condition when I see him again."

"Are you threatening your own wife now?"

"It's because I know my wife that I am doing it. Don't make me act."

Sora couldn't accept it. "Father! No, we should keep him with us!" she said, pointing at Kaden with her shaking finger. "It's safer!"

Sirius made a shhh gesture toward her, pressing a finger to his lips. "Silence, sister. The adults are talking."

Sora gave him an open scowl this time. "Mind your business. I'm not talking to you, Sirius."

The latter only blew her a kiss.

Sora growled and turned her attention back to the unconscious Kaden, cradled like a child in her mother's arms, her heart in her throat. She was about to speak again to her father for help…

'You handled it poorly, my daughter,' Luminary's voice echoed inside her mind. Sora flinched instinctively.

'Let that be your first lesson when dealing with a sly person.'

Then…

"You can go." Luminary dismissed the meeting, making Sora freeze in disbelief.

Mahina gave Luminary a faint smile, then in unison with her son said…

"As you will, Sun."

—End of chapter 293—