Reborn with a Necromancer System
Chapter 150: Kai’s Truths

Chapter 150: Kai’s Truths

Kai stood in Naia’s room, the candlelight flickering across the tense curve of her jaw. She hadn’t sat down. She hadn’t moved since he started talking.

He had told her everything: Firra’s imprisonment, the king’s grotesque dependence on draining her power, the underground auction that had sold Firra and broke Kleo, and the harrowing escape just hours ago. Every truth laid bare like a blade across the floor between them.

Still, Naia hadn’t said a word.

"You’re angry," Kai said, keeping his voice steady, even though her silence struck deeper than any shout might have. "I get it. But I wasn’t going to put you at risk unless I had to."

Naia’s jaw clenched. "You already did," she hissed, her voice raw. "Do you know what’ll happen if my father finds out? If the Inquisition hears that a noble’s daughter is sheltering a criminal and the King’s... magical battery?"

"I won’t let it come to that."

"You won’t let it?" She stepped forward suddenly, eyes sharp with betrayal. "You always say that. ’I’ll handle it.’ ’I’ve got a plan.’ But what about the people left behind when those plans fail, Kai? You’ve gone missing so many times already. You disappear, and we’re just supposed to wait? What if next time, you don’t come back? What if you’re not here when everything collapses?"

He didn’t speak.

Because she wasn’t wrong.

Naia’s breath caught as she looked at him, and when she spoke again, it was softer, trembling at the edges. "I like you. A lot. You were comfortable enough to tell me your real name, and that meant something. So I let you stay. I let you teach me magic, even when I thought it was too dangerous. But now... I don’t know what to think. I deserve the truth. All of it. What are you really trying to do? Who are you, really?"

Kai looked to Firra, still sleeping beneath Naia’s quilt, then to Kleo, seated beside her, watching him with tired but expectant eyes.

He stepped forward, letting the tension drain from his shoulders as he sat on the edge of the dresser. The wood creaked under his weight. For the first time since the escape, he let the weariness in.

"I owe you at least that much. You’re right. I wouldn’t have been able to save Firra or even have access to the palace without you." He took a deep breath and composed his thoughts. "Firstly... I’m trying to destroy all of the evils in the Citadel and turn them into my undead forces," Kai said flatly. "I’m a necromancer, Naia."

She blinked. "You’re what?"

He raised a hand, summoning Ralts with a flick of his fingers. The ghostly corpse stepped into the candlelight, her eyes glowing faintly in her decomposing skull.

Naia flinched. Just slightly. But she held her ground.

"I can reanimate the dead, control them, and even manipulate souls. Heck, now I think I can create sentient puppets, too."

Ralts gave a chipper smile. "What do you want, future husband?"

Kai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Enough of the jokes, Ralts. This is Naia. A friend."

"A pleasure to meet you, Naia, friend of my master," Ralts said with a curtsy that caused a bit of ribcage to shift.

Naia looked like she was about to be sick. "Nice... to meet you?"

"There’s more," Kai said, dismissing Ralts with a snap. The undead spirit melted into shadows.

"The Church," he continued, voice low, "killed my family. They brainwashed my brother and sister. They run this country through fear, blood, and lies. They silence anyone who questions them. And their divine magic? It’s not heavenly, or just. It’s just manipulation. A leash."

Naia’s voice was barely a whisper now. "And your solution is to kill them all? Turn them all into... living corpses?"

"No. Just the ones who deserve it," Kai said. "There will be exceptions. But the rot won’t be scraped clean with words and mercy alone."

Silence fell again, heavy as stone.

"Anything else?" Naia finally asked.

"I want to bring my parents back. And heal someone who’s dying because of their unfortunate bloodline. But to do that, I need Mari’s divine magic. I’ll need to practice my necromancy in some interesting ways and use Aliza for a test subject. Then, I have to defeat the Devourer. And for that, I need to go to Sala."

Naia froze. "Aliza? No, wait, Sala? But that means..."

"Yes. I’ll be gone for a while," he said. "I don’t know how long. But I need to do this. I will make sure you, Kleo, and Firra are okay before that, though."

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Remember when I told you we could flee the country together? That we could just leave all of this behind?"

"I remember," Kai said gently.

"We still can."

He shook his head. "You need to stay here. Learn from the professors at the academy. Be a good friend to Willam. Help Kleo. Help Firra. I’ll come back. I promise."

Firra stirred, her lips parting in a faint, breathless murmur. Kleo gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, her eyes filled with something that teetered between hope and mourning.

Naia exhaled harshly and rubbed her temples. "Fine..." she muttered, before looking at Firra. "Well, she’s not staying in my bed. That’s final. I do like you, Kai, but not enough to start sharing my sheets with near-corpses."

Kai allowed a smile. "There’s my bed in the attic. I don’t sleep anyway. I’ll move her there."

Naia turned and jabbed a finger at him. "You’re sleeping where I can keep an eye on you tonight, then."

"I wasn’t planning to sleep."

"Good. Because I’m going to ask you a lot of questions. And I want answers, Kai."

She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Her footfalls echoed down the hall.

Kleo stifled a laugh. "She’s got fire, that one."

"You have no idea," Kai muttered.

Kai carried Firra to the attic just before the steward’s rounds. The morning light bled through the eastern windows now, casting long beams through the dust. He reinforced the attic door with powerful barrier magic.

Even though nobody had entered the attic since he resided there, he couldn’t take the chance.

He lowered Firra to his narrow bed and tucked a blanket around her thin frame. Her face was slack.

Pale.

But alive.

That was enough for now.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. Kleo took the opposite side. Neither of them spoke.

"You saw what they did to her," Kleo whispered eventually. "How could they do that to someone? To my sister?"

Kai flexed his hands, then curled them into fists. "She didn’t mean anything to them. Just... utility. That’s what we all are to them. Tools. Weapons. Assets. The prince wants to use my gifts. The king drained who knows how many just to stay alive. The Church tells everyone what they’re doing is for the heavens, that it’s justice, but it’s really just control."

"She didn’t say a word the entire way here," Kleo whispered. "Not even a thank-you. It’s like..." Her voice cracked. "It’s like she’s still trapped in that room."

"She is," Kai said. "But she’s breathing. And she’ll keep breathing. That’s the first step."

Kleo looked down at her lap. "I thought I lost her. I felt like she was already dead. Every night, I told myself it was too late. That I should give up, just move on."

He looked over. "And yet you kept going."

"Because of you."

Kai blinked.

Kleo rose slowly and stepped toward him. Her gaze held steady, but there was something softer behind it now. Fragile.

"You don’t see it. But you pull people in. Even when you push them away. Even when you act like a cold, stubborn ass. People still follow you."

"I’m not leading anyone," Kai murmured.

"You’re wrong," she said. "You already are. People look up to you. Respect you. Some of us..." Her voice dropped. "...love you."

That caught him off guard. He looked away.

Out the window, he could see the edge of the palace district. The banners still fluttered, even after all he’d done. The guard would be hunting him by now. Hunting shadows.

’They’ll find a corpse. They’ll think it’s Firra.’

But it would soon come to light. The blame will be passed onto him. First the princess, then a king. The prince would be protected more than ever as the last living member of the crown.

Staying at the Eldridge estate, even temporarily, would bring unwanted attention.

"...staying here would only draw danger to all of you," he muttered, barely audible.

Kleo didn’t respond right away. She moved beside him, crossing her arms. The moonlight caught her hair and cheekbones, her grief wearing thin enough to see her resolve beneath.

"You always think you’re alone in this," she said quietly. "But you’re not. Not anymore."

He didn’t meet her gaze. "That’s the problem."

"No. That’s your fear. Not a problem."

She turned and walked back to the bed, carefully tucking the blanket tighter around Firra. Her sister hadn’t moved again. Still lost in a dreamless dark.

Kleo leaned in and whispered something.

A prayer?

A promise?

Then she turned back. "So... You said you’re going to Sala?"

Kai nodded. "They know something about the Devourer there. If I don’t face it, it’ll spread. I need to cut it out before it touches anyone else I care about."

"And you’re going alone?"

"I have to."

"Then don’t die, Kai." Her voice wavered. "Not before you finish what you started. Not before you come back."

She didn’t try to stop him, or tell him it’s foolish.

How could she?

He just saved her sister, and fulfilled his promise to her. More than possibly anyone else had ever done for her in her life.

He forced a tired smile. "You planning to haunt me if I do?"

"No," she said, sharp but quiet. "I’ll learn necromancy, bring you back, and slap the stupidity out of your corpse myself."

That earned his first real laugh of the night.

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