The last sovereign

The undercity was quiet in the dead of night, its usual chaos replaced by an eerie stillness. Max sat cross-legged in the corner of the hideout, the stone resting in his palms. Its faint glow painted his face in shades of violet, a stark contrast to the dim yellow light from the single flickering bulb overhead.

His heart raced as he focused on the pulsating energy within the stone. The sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced—raw, infinite, and untamed. It called to him, whispering promises of strength and power, but also warnings of danger.

"What are you?" Max whispered.

The stone offered no answers, only the rhythmic hum of its energy.

"Are you going to stare at that thing all night?"

Max turned to see Tessa standing behind him, her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.

"You should be asleep," Max said, his tone soft but firm.

"So should you," Tessa shot back, plopping down beside him. Her eyes darted to the stone, filled with the unguarded curiosity of a child. "It's pretty. Can I touch it?"

"No," Max said quickly, slipping the stone into his pocket.

Tessa pouted. "You're no fun."

Max chuckled despite himself. "Fun doesn't keep us alive."

Tessa tilted her head, her expression turning serious. "Do you think it can help us? The stone, I mean."

Max didn't answer immediately. "Maybe," he said finally. "But it's not just about us anymore. That thing... it's dangerous. People will come for it."

"Then you'll protect us," Tessa said confidently.

Max smiled, but the weight of her words pressed heavily on him.

In the upper districts of Velarion, a dark meeting was taking place. The room was lavishly furnished, with gilded walls and velvet drapes, but the atmosphere was suffocating.

At the head of a long table sat a man draped in a black cloak, his face obscured by shadows. His voice was cold and sharp as he addressed the gathered figures.

"The stone has been found," he said, his words sending ripples of tension through the room.

"By whom?" one of the figures asked.

"A boy," the leader replied. "An orphan. He doesn't yet understand its power."

"Then it should be easy to take," another figure said.

The leader's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Do not underestimate him. He has already defeated one of our agents. Send a retrieval team. I want the stone, and I want the boy alive."

Back in the undercity, Max ventured into a secluded alley to experiment with the stone's power. The encounter with the hooded attacker had awakened something within him—a connection to the Aether that he barely understood.

He closed his eyes and focused, his breath steady. Slowly, he extended his senses, reaching out to the energy around him. The world shifted, becoming a tapestry of glowing threads, each one pulsating with life.

"This... is Aether," Max murmured.

He raised his hand, and a faint stream of violet energy coalesced in his palm. It was wild and unstable, crackling with raw power.

"Control it," Max told himself, his voice steady. "Focus."

The energy wavered, then solidified into a small orb of light. For a brief moment, Max felt a surge of triumph—only for the orb to explode, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Max muttered, wiping soot from his face.

As Max dusted himself off, a voice echoed from the shadows. "You've got potential, kid."

Max spun around, his makeshift blade in hand. A figure emerged from the darkness—a tall man with a lean build, his sharp features framed by a mane of silver hair.

"Who are you?" Max demanded.

"Relax," the man said, raising his hands. "Name's Kael. I'm not here to hurt you."

Max didn't lower his guard. "What do you want?"

Kael smirked. "Let's just say I'm interested in that little trick you just pulled. You're not the only one who can use Aether, you know."

Max's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

Kael chuckled. "Am I? Look, kid, you're playing with fire. If you don't learn to control that power, it'll consume you."

"And you're offering to help?" Max asked skeptically.

Kael shrugged. "Maybe. But first, you're gonna have to trust me."

Kael led Max to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the undercity. The building was filled with broken machinery and rusted metal, the perfect place to train without attracting attention.

"First lesson," Kael said, tossing a small sphere to Max. "Catch."

Max barely had time to react before the sphere exploded into a cloud of smoke, obscuring his vision.

"Lesson two," Kael's voice echoed from the shadows. "Always be ready."

Max felt a rush of wind and instinctively dodged to the side as Kael's blade slashed through the air.

"What the hell are you doing?" Max shouted, coughing on the smoke.

"Teaching you," Kael said with a grin.

The training session was brutal. Kael pushed Max to his limits, forcing him to rely on instinct and his fledgling connection to the Aether. By the end of it, Max was battered and exhausted, but he had also taken his first steps toward mastering his new power.

As Max and Kael returned to the hideout, they found the door ajar. Inside, the room was in disarray, and Tessa and the boys were nowhere to be seen.

"They've been taken," Kael said grimly.

Max clenched his fists, his heart pounding. "By who?"

Kael's expression darkened. "The Black Syndicate. They want the stone."

Max's grip tightened around the stone in his pocket. "Then they'll get more than they bargained for."