Baran The Rise Of Azrael

Baran was a natural in magic.

But the dagger... the dagger was different.

Cold metal was nothing like warm magic.

Magic flowed. A dagger cut.

And cutting required more than just feeling.

He trained for hours every day.

He memorized techniques from parchment scrolls.

He watched Katlein.

He replayed the moments her body became one with the dagger.

But it wasn't enough.

He could form mana threads—but he couldn't make them dance with the blade.

In the end, he swallowed his pride and asked Katlein for help.

She didn't answer.

She only turned and looked him in the eyes.

"We're going to duel," she said.

"And no, that wasn't a request."

---

The next morning, Virion arrived in silence.

There was a familiar look in his eyes:

"This boy will either die… or become a real warrior."

Baran gripped his daggers.

The memory of the first lesson—Katlein's cold blade against his throat—still lingered at his neck.

Not this time.

He focused his mana into his eyes.

The thin threads of mana that wove through the world became visible again.

But he still didn't fully know what to do with them.

"Begin," said Virion.

Katlein struck without warning.

---

Baran fell into defense—but Katlein was different.

Her attacks weren't learned.

They were instinct.

Not a dance—an execution.

Mana threads surrounded her body.

They wrapped around her, adding force to every movement.

Baran couldn't move.

His defense collapsed.

In a last desperate effort, he summoned his magic.

"Krell Thar!"

A fiery explosion pushed Katlein back.

Smoke lifted ashes into the air.

But it only bought him a second.

Katlein stepped forward, eyes burning with anger.

Mana threads coiled around her like chains.

Before Baran could react, he was on the ground.

Defeated. But it was a defeat that taught.

---

Katlein stepped away.

Baran lay there, breathless.

He closed his eyes.

He began replaying every move.

His fall, his resistance, the vibration of mana.

He wasn't memorizing anymore.

He was internalizing.

In that moment, he understood.

To learn from this woman… he had to fight.

Katlein turned her back and walked away.

Virion stood nearby, watching.

He didn't smile.

But there was a spark of light in his eyes.

"There's no need for me to say anything," Katlein said.

Virion gave a slow nod.

---

Baran opened his eyes.

He was still in the arena.

His skin was cold. For a moment, his chest didn't rise.

But then he felt the pain—radiating through every part of him.

And with it, he knew he was alive.

"I didn't land a single hit."

The words left his lips like a punch to his gut.

He had let himself down.

Maybe he had overestimated who he was.

Fury drove him to his feet.

He grabbed the daggers from the ground and slashed, screaming out his frustration.

But no—

The blade still wasn't like it was in Katlein's hands.

In her grasp, it was part of her body.

In his, it was just metal.

Mana threads...

He still couldn't integrate those intangible bonds into his attack.

He remembered how Katlein used them even in defense—

Without ever losing balance or power.

Baran stopped.

He took a deep breath.

> "If it's abstract... then I must make it tangible."

---

He gathered thick ropes from the training grounds.

He tied them between his daggers and key points on his body—

His wrists, arms, shoulders...

Then he returned to the metal pillars.

Strike after strike...

With each blow, the ropes stretched, snapped, were retied.

He pushed himself.

When the ropes began to move with his body,

he slowly began to understand what mana threads really were.

Power wasn't just movement—

It was connection.

---

Weeks passed.

At first, it was only pain and failure.

But one morning, as he swung his blade—

the metal pillar split in two.

Baran had done it.

The dagger dropped from his hand, clattering to the floor.

But a boyish joy lit up Baran's face.

For the first time,

he truly felt like he had achieved something.

He wanted to share this feeling.

With the only person he trusted in the Keep: Virion.

He ran.

The beat of his heart merged with the rhythm of his steps.

He reached the door and didn't hesitate.

Click—

It opened.

Inside, only Katlein stood.

> "Where's Virion?" he asked, breathless.

Katlein didn't turn.

Her eyes were fixed on some distant point.

> "He was summoned to the royal capital," she said briefly.

Baran paused.

A flicker of disappointment surfaced—

But his inner fire still burned warm.

He wanted to share his victory.

> "I did it, Katlein," he said.

"I can cut through the metal pillars now… I did it."

Katlein slowly turned her head.

Her gaze swept over Baran's joy like a cold wind.

> "Well done, Baran," she said.

That was all.

As if… she didn't care.

Baran's heart tightened.

Something felt wrong.

The tension in the air.

The silence.

Baran stared at her.

> "Did something happen to Virion?"

Katlein didn't reply.

But in that moment,

the shadow in her eyes pierced Baran like a shard of ice.