After that fight the bullying still remained though it was less apparent. They weren't too confrontational but still kept shooting mean glares every now and then. It was like living under a constant storm cloud always there, always threatening, but not always raining down on them.
When they made it to lunch they sat at their usual table in the corner. The one nobody wanted. Clara poked at her food with her fork, moving it around her plate without really eating anything.
"You think I'll ever be able to make friends here?" Clara said in a hopeful tone, though her voice wavered slightly.
Kael just kept eating while thinking, chewing methodically. "Maybe, depending on if you can find someone who doesn't hold prejudice." He said after swallowing.
She thought about this and he was definitely correct but is there anyone here who doesn't hold prejudice? The whole school seemed to have decided they were monsters before even meeting them.
"Hey Clara, throw something at me." Kael spoke quickly, his eyes suddenly alert.
Clara looked at him weirdly. "Why?" She was confused, her fork stopping mid-air.
"Because I want to test something." He said, his tone completely serious.
She raised her eyebrow but complied, getting a random piece of paper from her pocket and balling it up and launching it at him. It wasn't a hard throw, just enough to reach him.
"Catch it or it will start a fight." A voice rang out inside of his head, clear as day. And without another thought his body moved—he grabbed the piece of paper without a second thought, his hand shooting out with precision.
"What was that for?" Clara asked, confused by his strange behavior.
But suddenly Marcus walked by with his food tray, heading toward a table on the other side of the cafeteria. He shot them a cold glare but still walked past them, his shoulders tense.
Kael was shocked. If he hadn't caught that paper, it would've sailed across the table and hit Marcus directly in the back. And a fight might've broken out. A chill ran up his spine. The voice had known. Had seen what would happen.
"I have to investigate this more." He muttered to himself, staring at the crumpled paper in his hand.
"You're acting really strange right now. Tell me what's up." Clara was a little scared, leaning forward with concern written all over her face.
"I'll tell you later. Just eat right now." He said, not meeting her eyes.
Clara frowned but picked up her fork again, though she kept glancing at him worriedly.
Kael's mind was racing. It's weird. It seems that this voice in my head can either see the future or some possibilities of the future. Why doesn't it always go off? And can I speak to it?
"Hello?" He said inside of his head, focusing intently. But nothing was heard. Just silence.
Weird. Does it only go off when I'm attacked or in danger? The voice seemed selective, only speaking when something bad was about to happen. Like it was protecting him specifically.
But from what? And why?
Also, he had to get more information on these oaths. People kept mentioning them—in class, in the hallways, whispered conversations about who had one and who didn't. Clara had asked him about it yesterday, but he didn't have any answers.
He would go ask Nurse Hadra about this. She always seemed to know more than she let on.
After school, Kael made his way back to the orphanage while Clara went to try (again) to talk to some girls from their class. He didn't have high hopes for her, but he didn't say that.
The orphanage was quiet when he arrived. Most of the younger kids were still at their schools or playing outside. He found Nurse Hadra in her office, filling out paperwork.
"Nurse Hadra?" He knocked on the open door.
She looked up, surprised. "Kael? Is everything alright? Did something happen at school?"
"No. I have questions." He said, walking in and sitting down in the chair across from her desk without being invited.
Nurse Hadra set down her pen, giving him her full attention. "Questions about what?"
"Oaths." Kael said simply. "What are they?"
Nurse Hadra's expression shifted, becoming guarded. She leaned back in her chair, her fingers drumming on the armrest. "That's… a complicated topic."
"I want to know." Kael insisted, his eyes steady on hers.
She studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "Why the sudden interest?"
"People keep mentioning them. And I heard some students talking about abilities and oaths. I want to understand." He paused. "Also, people keep calling us 'otherworlders.' Why?"
Nurse Hadra's face became even more serious. She seemed to be debating something internally, her jaw working like she was chewing over difficult words.
"These are… sensitive topics, Kael." She said finally. "I'm not sure you're ready to hear all of this."
"I'm ready." Kael said flatly. "I need to know."
Nurse Hadra looked at him for another long moment, then seemed to come to a decision. She stood up and closed the office door, then returned to her seat.
"Alright. But you have to promise me you won't do anything rash with this information." She said, her voice taking on a tone he'd never heard from her before almost pleading.
"I promise." Kael said, though he wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
Nurse Hadra took a deep breath. "First, about otherworlders. There are two types of people in this world, Kael. Abyssal-born and otherworlders."
"What's the difference?" Kael asked.
"Abyssal-born are people who were born here, in this realm. Their ancestors have always been here. Otherworlders are… different. They came from somewhere else, a long time ago. Nobody knows exactly when or from where, but they came through something called the Royal Sweep ."
"The Royal Sweep?" Kael repeated, the term completely foreign to him.
"It's an event that first happened centuries ago. A mass migration of people from another realm or dimension the stories vary. These otherworlders brought knowledge, abilities, and chaos with them. There was a war, Kael. A terrible war that nearly destroyed everything. Royal sweeps still happen every couple years but the babies that come out usually die or are really weak. And the reason we don't just kill every otherworlder is because of the captain"
Kael processed this information, his mind working through the implications. "And we're otherworlders?"
"Yes. You can tell by the birthmarks." Nurse Hadra said, gesturing vaguely. "Every otherworlder has one. Clara has hers on her face that small mark under her left eye. You have yours on your shoulder."
Kael unconsciously touched his shoulder where he knew a strange mark resided. He'd always wondered about it, but nobody had ever explained it before.
"That's why people hate us?" He asked, finally understanding the hostility at school.
"Partially." Nurse Hadra admitted. "There's a bad stigma because of what happened during the Royal Sweep. Otherworlders are seen as… dangerous. Unpredictable. And after what happened at your school, with you two being the only survivors…" She trailed off.
"They think we're connected to the creatures." Kael finished.
"Yes." Nurse Hadra said softly. "I'm sorry, Kael. It's not fair, but that's how people think."
Kael sat in silence, absorbing this. It explained so much the stares, the whispers, the instant hostility. They weren't just survivors of a tragedy. They were otherworlders, marked as different from birth.
"And oaths?" He asked, returning to his original question.
Nurse Hadra's expression became even more reluctant. "Oaths are… complicated. And dangerous."
"Tell me." Kael pressed.
She sighed again, running a hand through her hair. "An oath is a binding contract with the Abyss itself. It grants power, abilities beyond what normal people can achieve. But the process of obtaining one is incredibly difficult and dangerous."
"How does it work?" Kael leaned forward, his interest piqued.
Nurse Hadra seemed to struggle with how to explain it. "There are three steps. The first is to connect with the Abyss to let its energy flow into you. But you can't let it corrupt your soul. You have to tame it, control it. That's where most people stop or fail. The Abyss is… overwhelming. It wants to consume you."
Kael nodded, committing this to memory.
"The second step," Nurse Hadra continued, her voice grave, "is to go inside your own soul and grasp the Abyss within you. This part is really hard. You will see visions, feel things that are unimaginable, indescribable. The raw energy from the Abyss drives people insane. Many people who make it past the first step lose themselves in the second."
"And the third step?" Kael asked, not deterred by her warnings.
"The third step is to pledge an oath. It can be any oath, anything you truly commit yourself to. But here's the thing the more ambitious your oath, the more power you gain, but also the more dangerous it becomes. If your oath is too much for you to handle, like saying 'I pledge an oath to be the strongest,' you will either die or go insane because you can't handle the recoil of pledging an oath that ambitious. Also you can't really choose what you pledge it's just the strongest will in your heart. So if you want to become a police man you will pledge to become a police man. You'll figure out everything else when you get an oath."
"So you have to aim for something manageable." Kael said.
"Exactly." Nurse Hadra confirmed. "The oath has to be something meaningful to you, something you can actually pursue. Otherwise, the Abyss will destroy you for making an empty promise."
Kael thought about this carefully. An oath. A binding promise to the Abyss itself, in exchange for power.
"Does Clara have an oath?" He asked suddenly.
Nurse Hadra blinked, surprised by the question. "I… I don't know. I've never tested her. Why?"
"I want to check." Kael said, standing up.
"Wait, Kael—" But he was already heading for the door.
He found Clara in the common room, sitting alone on the couch and staring at a book she wasn't really reading. Her eyes were red she'd been crying again.
"Clara." He said, approaching her.
She looked up, quickly wiping at her eyes. "Oh, Kay. Hi. I didn't hear you come in."
"I want to test something." He said, sitting down next to her.
"Another test?" She asked, managing a weak smile. "Last time you had me throw paper at you."
"This is different." Kael said. "Hold out your hand."
Clara looked confused but complied, extending her hand toward him. Kael took it, closing his eyes and focusing. He tried to sense something, anything that might indicate an oath or connection to the Abyss.
But there was nothing. Just Clara's small, warm hand in his.
He opened his eyes. "Nothing."
"Nothing what?" Clara asked, pulling her hand back.
"You don't have an oath." Kael said simply.
"What's an oath?" Clara's face scrunched up in confusion.
"I'll explain later." Kael said, standing up. "I need to ask Nurse Hadra something else."
"Kael, wait—" But he was already walking away, leaving Clara sitting there with more questions than answers.
He found Nurse Hadra still in her office, looking like she'd been expecting him to return.
"Do you have an oath?" He asked without preamble.
Nurse Hadra's expression became unreadable. "Yes." She said quietly.
"Show me." Kael demanded.
"I can't." She said firmly. "My oath is personal, Kael. And showing you would be… dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because some oaths have effects that activate when witnessed by others. Mine is one of them." She said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Kael accepted this, filing it away. "How do I get one?"
Nurse Hadra's eyes widened. "Absolutely not. Kael, you're too young, you don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." Kael interrupted. "I want an oath. How do I get one?"
"Kael—"
"How?" He pressed, his voice harder now.
Nurse Hadra stared at him, her expression conflicted. Finally, she asked, "Are you sure?" Her voice was serious, more serious than he'd ever heard it.
Kael looked back at her, his face calm and determined, though without much visible ambition in his eyes. It was just… a decision he'd made. Simple as that.
Nurse Hadra studied him for a long moment, then sighed in defeat. "Okay." She said quietly. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
She took him to the camp. It was on the outskirts of the city, a large compound surrounded by high walls. Kael could see armed guards patrolling, and training areas where people were practicing combat and abilities.
"This is the city's defense force." Nurse Hadra explained as they walked through the gates. "They keep us safe from the monsters."
"Monsters?" Kael asked.
"The creatures like the one that attacked your school. They're called Shnuma or Shnumas, plural. They originate from the Abys. This camp exists to fight them."
Kael absorbed this information, his eyes scanning the camp. There were dozens of people here, all looking tough and battle-hardened. They looked at him as he passed, and their expressions were hostile not quite as bad as the students at school, but close.
They didn't say anything though, because Nurse Hadra was there.
She led him to a large building in the center of the camp. Inside, a man was studying a map on a table. He looked up as they entered, his eyes narrowing.
Kael recognized him immediately. The man who had come to his old school after the attack. The one who had destroyed the Shnuma.
"This is Captain Xylem." Nurse Hadra introduced. "Xylem, this is Kael. He's—"
"I know who he is." Xylem interrupted, his voice gruff. He was tall, with scars covering his visible skin and gray streaks in his black hair. His eyes were sharp, assessing. "The otherworlder survivor."
"He wants to pledge an oath." Nurse Hadra said quietly.
Xylem scoffed, a harsh sound. "He's not ready."
"And who are you to tell me that?" Kael said flatly, meeting the captain's gaze without flinching.
Xylem raised an eyebrow, then shrugged his shoulders. "Your funeral, not mine." He said, though there was something almost amused in his expression now.
He stood up from the table and gestured for them to follow. "Come on then. Let me show you what you're getting into."
Xylem showed him around the camp, pointing out the different areas. There was a training ground where soldiers practiced hand-to-hand combat. An armory filled with weapons. A medical bay. Barracks where the soldiers slept.
"We exist for one purpose," Xylem explained as they walked, "to keep the Shnumas from overrunning the city. They appear randomly, from rifts in the Abyss. Sometimes one at a time, sometimes in groups. We hunt them down and eliminate them before they can kill civilians."
"How many people die?" Kael asked.
Xylem glanced at him. "Too many. Even with oaths, even with training, the Shnumas are powerful. We lose soldiers regularly."
"But you keep fighting."
"We don't have a choice." Xylem said grimly. "Someone has to."
They reached a building at the far edge of the camp, isolated from the others. Xylem pushed open the door, revealing a small room. Inside was nothing but a chair in the center, surrounded by complete darkness.
"This is where you'll pledge your oath." Xylem said. "If you survive."
Kael looked at the chair, then at Xylem. "Why is it dark?"
"Because it's easier to enter your soul with complete silence and darkness." Nurse Hadra explained, her voice tight with worry. "You need to remove all external distractions."
"How long does it take?" Kael asked.
"Depends on the person." Xylem said. "Could be minutes. Could be hours. Could be never, if you fail."
"What happens if I fail?"
"You die." Xylem said bluntly. "Or worse—you go insane and we have to put you down."
"Kael, you don't have to do this." Nurse Hadra said, her hand on his shoulder. "Please, reconsider. You're so young—"
"I'm doing it." Kael said, shaking off her hand and walking toward the chair.
He sat down, the chair cold and uncomfortable beneath him. Xylem and Nurse Hadra stood at the doorway, watching him.
"Last chance to back out." Xylem said.
Kael didn't respond. He just closed his eyes.
"Good luck, kid." Xylem said, then closed the door.
The darkness was absolute. Kael couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything except his own breathing. He focused inward, opening his mind like Nurse Hadra had described.
At first, he didn't feel anything. Just the chair beneath him and the darkness around him.
Then, slowly, something began to change. He felt… something. A presence. Like cold water dripping into his consciousness, one drop at a time.
Then it became a stream.
Then a river.
Then a flood.
Kael's body jerked violently as the Abyss poured into him. It was wrong, all wrong—like his insides were being filled with ice and fire simultaneously. He felt a weight on his mind, crushing down, trying to break him.
His thoughts scattered, fragmenting under the pressure. "Can't… handle…" He couldn't even form complete sentences in his own head.
The weight increased, crushing, suffocating. Kael's body convulsed in the chair, his fingers digging into the armrests.
But before it could fully crush him, before his mind could shatter completely—
His birthmark flared.
The otherworlder mark on his shoulder burned hot, and suddenly the pain washed away like it had never been there. The crushing weight lifted, replaced by… nothing.
Kael gasped, able to think clearly again. "What was that?"
But before he could process what had happened, everything went dark.
Not the darkness of the room—that was different. This was a void. An absolute absence of everything.
Kael opened his eyes and found himself floating in nothingness. Just black. Infinite black extending in all directions.
"Where…?" He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Then his head exploded with pain.
"AHHHHH!" He screamed, clutching his head with both hands. It felt like his skull was splitting apart, like something was trying to claw its way out of his brain.
He felt his ears bleeding, warm liquid dripping down his neck. His heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst from his chest. His body felt like it was going to tear itself apart from the inside.
"Make it stop!" He screamed into the void. "Make it STOP!"
But then, through the agony, he heard something.
"Can you hear me?"
A voice. The same voice from before, but clearer now. More present.
Kael forced his eyes open, tears streaming down his face from the pain.
And he saw visions.
Two figures standing, one with a sword thrust through his chest, blood pouring from the wound. The figure looked at Kael with empty eyes.
The scene shifted.
A girl with no legs, crawling toward him across broken ground, reaching out with desperate hands. Her mouth opened in a silent scream.
Shifted again.
His own body, torn apart, pieces suspended in the air. Then string thin, silver string began weaving through his body parts, stitching him back together like a puppet.
"AHHH!" Kael screamed in pure terror and agony.
He couldn't handle this. Couldn't process what he was seeing. His mind was breaking, fragmenting under the weight of these impossible visions.
This was it. He was going to die here. Or go insane. Or both.
And then it all suddenly stopped.
Complete silence. Complete stillness.
Kael found himself back in the chair, sitting upright. But he wasn't in control anymore.
His lips moved on their own, speaking words he didn't choose:
"I pledge an oath to the Abyss, an oath that is unbreakable, an oath that is eternal. This oath will ring through my heart and soul forever."
A pause. Then:
"I pledge to protect Clara."
The words echoed in the darkness, resonating with power. Kael felt something lock into place inside him, like a door closing and sealing shut.
And then he passed out.
When he woke up, he was lying on a cot in the medical bay. Nurse Hadra was sitting beside him, her face pale and worried.
"Kael?" She said softly when she saw his eyes open. "How do you feel?"
Kael tried to sit up, but his body felt heavy. Exhausted. "What happened?"
"You did it." Nurse Hadra said, her voice a mixture of relief and concern. "You pledged an oath. Xylem said you were in there for three hours."
Three hours? It had felt like an eternity.
"What was your oath?" She asked carefully.
Kael remembered the words his lips had spoken. "To protect Clara." He said quietly.
Nurse Hadra's eyes widened. "That's… that's actually perfect. A personal oath, something achievable but meaningful." She seemed relieved. "It could have been so much worse."
Kael didn't tell her about the visions. About the terror he'd felt. About how his body had moved on its own at the end.
"Can I go now?" He asked.
"Kael, you should rest—"
"I want to go." He said firmly, swinging his legs off the cot.
Nurse Hadra sighed but helped him stand. His legs were shaky, but he managed to walk.
As they left the medical bay, Xylem was waiting outside, leaning against the wall.
"So, the kid survived." He said, looking Kael up and down. "Impressive. Most people your age don't make it past the first step."
"What now?" Kael asked.
"Now?" Xylem pushed off the wall. "Now you learn to use your oath. Train your abilities. Get stronger." He paused. "Unless you'd rather go back to being a normal kid getting bullied at school."
Kael thought about this. About the voice in his head that had saved him during the fight. About the visions he'd seen. About the oath he'd just made.
To protect Clara.
"I'll train." He said.
Xylem grinned, a sharp expression. "Good answer, kid. Welcome to hell."
Later that evening, back at the orphanage, Clara cornered him in the hallway.
"Okay, I've been patient all day." She said, hands on her hips. "But now you have to tell me what's going on. Where did you disappear to? And why do you look like you got hit by a truck?"
Kael looked at her really looked at her. At the otherworlder mark under her eye that he'd never understood before. At her worried expression, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her shirt like they always did when she was nervous.
"I pledged an oath." He said simply.
Clara blinked. "A what?"
"An oath. To the Abyss. It's a binding promise that gives you power." He explained, then added, "You should probably sit down. This is going to take a while to explain."
They sat in the empty common room, and Kael told her everything. About otherworlders and Abyssal-born. About the Royal Sweep and why people hated them. About oaths and the Abyss and Shnumas.
Clara listened in stunned silence, her eyes growing wider with each revelation.
"So we're… we're not even from here?" She whispered when he finished. "Our ancestors came from somewhere else?"
"Apparently." Kael said.
"And that's why everyone hates us? Because of something that happened centuries ago?"
"Yes."
Clara was quiet for a long moment, processing. Then she looked at him. "And you pledged an oath? What was it?"
Kael hesitated, then said, "To protect you."
Clara's eyes filled with tears immediately. "Kael…"
"Don't cry." He said, uncomfortable with the display of emotion.
"I'm not crying!" Clara said, even as tears streamed down her face. "I just… why would you do that? Why would you risk dying for an oath about me?"
Kael thought about this. He didn't really do it for her. He did it for himself but the oath he pledged was to protect her did that mean somewhere deep inside of him he wanted to protect her?
"Because you're my friend." He said simply. "And I think… I think that matters."
Clara launched herself at him, wrapping him in a tight hug. Kael sat there awkwardly, not sure what to do with his hands.
"Thank you." She whispered into his shoulder. "Thank you, Kael."
"You're welcome." He said, finally patting her back hesitantly. "But you're getting tears on my shirt."
Clara laughed, pulling back and wiping her eyes. "Sorry. I'm just… I'm happy. And scared. And confused. But mostly happy."
Kael stood up. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."
"Wait!" Clara grabbed his hand. "What happens now? With your oath?"
"I train." Kael said. "At the camp. Xylem said I need to learn to use it properly."
"Can I come?" Clara asked hopefully.
"I don't think—"
"Please? I want to help. And maybe… maybe I can learn something too?" Her eyes were pleading.
Kael considered this. "I'll ask." He said finally.
Clara beamed. "Thank you!"
As Kael walked to his room, exhausted beyond measure, he thought about everything that had happened. The oath. The visions. The voice in his head that had saved him twice now.