The wood groaned under Kael’s boots as he stepped onto the docks. The air, for once, didn’t smell like blood. Just salt and rain.

  Off in the distance, a crowd of seekers stood not far down the docks. Seekers who survived the Sea of Souls. No one looked like they knew what to do next.

  Neither did Kael. He took one slow breath as he walked. His legs ached as he moved towards them.

  Someone screamed his name.

  “Kael!”

  A small shape broke through the crowd. Barefoot and soaked in the rain. The little girl sprinted toward him with all the force her tiny frame could muster.

  Kael didn’t move. Couldn’t. His body prepared for something he didn’t understand.

  And then she collided with him.

  Her arms wrapped around his waist, clinging like she would never let go. Her face was buried in his soaked shirt. She said nothing. Just sobbed. Her whole body shook against his.

  Behind her, a sharp voice cut through the noise.

  “Junnesa!” Yoan’s voice. Stern, protective. He pushed through the crowd, sword still strapped to his side. His eyes found her—then Kael.

  He stopped.

  Lira stood beside him, eyes wide. Eyrk and Mara followed closely behind, their expressions caught between confusion and disbelief.

  All of them stared.

  “You’re alive,” Mara whispered.

  Yoan said nothing. His hand hovered near the sword at his side—until it didn’t. His gaze softened. Watchful. Wary. Relieved.

  Kael didn’t answer. He just placed a hand gently on Junnesa’s head.

  Junnesa clung to Kael like she was afraid he would vanish again. Kael kept his hand on her head, unsure of what to do.

  Yoan stepped forward, slow and careful. “She’s been asking about you. Nonstop.”

  Kael didn’t look up. “I wasn’t sure I was coming back.”

  “No one did,” Yoan said quietly. “You jumped. We all thought you had died.”

  Lira looked between them, eyes flicking to the girl, then back to Kael. “How the hell are you still alive?”

  Kael didn’t answer. He didn’t have any.

  Eyrk gave a low whistle. “Man jumps into a sea of blood and crawls out with a kid clinging to him like a miracle. Spine’s got a twisted sense of humor.”

  They stood in a loose circle now, the sound of the city beyond the docks growing louder. There were footsteps, shouting, and laughter. Civilization.

  Junnesa finally pulled away just enough to look up at him. Her eyes were puffy and red. “You came back.”

  Kael managed to nod.

  Then, movement caught his eye.

  Towards the edge of the crowd, two seekers were talking. One was an unfamiliar older man in his thirties with a scar across his lip. The other was the young boy whom Yoan slammed into during the tutorial.

  “Just tell us your True Name,” the older man said, friendly. “No tricks, no harm. The Spine gives it for a reason, yeah? We’ve got to know each other’s strengths.”

  The boy hesitated, fidgeting. He glanced around, hoping someone would help him.

  No one did.

  “It’s how we form bonds here,” the man said with a disarming smile. “Trust me. We’re all in this together.”

  Kael watched closely. Something felt wrong. The older seeker’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  Finally, the younger one gave a shaky nod. “I... I think it was…”

  The Almost Fallen

  The moment he said it, the air around him rippled, like a stone dropping into a lake.

  The older man’s eyes lit up. “There it is.”

  He raised a single finger and pointed it at the boy’s chest.

  “Sit.”

  The younger seeker dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

  Junnesa flinched.

  Kael froze.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “Stand,” the man said, and the boy stood—rigid, blank-faced.

  The older seeker chuckled under his breath. “Tutorials are always so generous. You’ll do nicely.”

  The older seeker leaned in and whispered something into the boy’s ear. The boy nodded, silent.

  Then, without another word, the man turned and walked into the mist beyond the docks. The boy trailed after him like a dog on a leash.

  Mara whispered, “What the hell…”

  No one answered her. No one had to.

  Junnesa pressed tighter against Kael’s side. Even Lira looked rattled; her usual sharpness was dulled.

  “What did he do to him?” Eyrk asked quietly.

  Yoan answered, voice low, “He bound him.”

  “Bound?”

  “To his True Name,” Yoan said. “I don’t know how… he controlled him.”

  Mara looked pale. “What kind of place is this?”

  Lira crossed her arms. “One where telling someone your True Name can turn you into their puppet, apparently.”

  “Why didn’t the Spine warn us?” Eyrk said.

  “The Spine doesn’t care,” Kael replied, almost too quickly.

  That silenced them.

  For a moment, the only sound was the ocean.

  Then, Junnesa spoke. “What’s your name, Kael?”

  All eyes turned to him.

  Kael froze.

  Lira inhaled sharply.

  Yoan stepped forward, hand on Junnesa’s shoulder. “Not here,” he said quietly. “Never ask that here.”

  Junnesa shrank back. “Sorry. I just—”

  Kael knelt in front of her. “It’s okay,” he said gently. “But some names… aren’t safe to say out loud.”

  She nodded, eyes wide. She didn’t understand, not really. But she understood enough.

  Yoan gave Kael a subtle nod of approval.

  Further down the docks, a line had formed. Dozens, no, hundreds of seekers were being herded forward. Some limped. Others clutched wounds wrapped in makeshift bandages.

  A checkpoint had been set up at the massive gate where the docks met the city walls.

  The gates were built of worn but strong black stone. They had dark root-like spires that twisted upward.

  And standing in front of the gates were people who didn’t look like seekers.

  They were figures all wearing the same crimson coats. Each wore black gloves, metal-threaded collars, and masks shaped like featureless faces.

  Not one of them moved. Not one of them spoke. They simply watched. Hands clasped behind their backs.

  “What… are those?” Mara asked under her breath.

  “Guards?” Eyrk guessed.

  “No,” Lira said, uneasy. “I don’t think so.”

  Kael studied their eyes. Not blank like the bound boy. Not bored like a city watch guard. Just… still.

  Too still.

  The line of seekers snaked slowly forward. There were no pickets, no visible lock or handle on the gates. It was a black stone with silver runes that shifted. Each time a seeker passed through, the runes pulsed softly.

  Kael and the others joined the back of the line.

  “Do we even know what we’re waiting for?” Mara muttered.

  “No idea,” Eyrk said. “But if this is a city, someone’s gotta let us in.”

  “Stop,” she commanded.

  The woman stood perfectly still, her face covered by a featureless white mask.

  “You stand before the gates of the First Floor,” she said. “To enter the city, you must forfeit your True Name.”

  The seeker blinked. “Forfeit it?”

  “Your True Name binds you,” she said. “It grants you strength, but it makes you vulnerable. Until you prove yourself, it is a liability.”

  “What if I don’t want to give it up?”

  Another redcoat beside her stepped forward, taller.

  “Then you are welcome to stay in the docks.”

  A tense pause.

  “How?” the seeker asked. “How do I forfeit it?”

  The woman gestured to the tablet in her gloved hand. “Place your palm here. You will receive a temporary designation until the Spine deems you fit to reclaim your name.”

  The seeker hesitated, then obeyed. The stone tablet glowed faintly beneath her palm.

  [Temporary Name Issued]

  [Designation Accepted: Glass-Hollow]

  The gate shimmered.

  “Proceed,” she said.

  The seeker vanished through the arch.

  Kael shifted.

  The line crept forward. The seekers approached the masked figures one by one. They placed their palms on the tablet and then disappeared through the gates. Most didn’t ask questions. Some hesitated. One girl cried. But they all did it.

  None of them had a choice.

  “They’re taking our names,” Lira said. Her voice was low but not soft. “And giving us labels. Like livestock.”

  Junnesa tugged at Kael’s hand. “Do we have to?”

  He looked down at her. Her eyes were still red from crying, but they were clear now.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “But it’s the only door.”

  Another seeker stepped forward. The tablet lit up. The voice rang out:

  [Designation Accepted: Hollow-Tide]

  The gate shimmered again.

  They were next.

  The masked woman tilted her head toward them. “Step forward.”

  Yoan moved first.

  He didn’t speak. Just stepped up, placed his palm on the stone. Light flared.

  [Designation Accepted: Flint-Vow]

  He passed through the gate without hesitation.

  Mara was next.

  [Designation Accepted: Thorn-Bright]

  Then Eyrk grumbled under his breath.

  [Designation Accepted: Mire-Echo]

  Lira hesitated. Her hand hovered, fingers curled as if she wanted to punch the tablet instead of touching it.

  Kael heard her whisper, almost too soft to catch: “Fuck this place.”

  [Designation Accepted: Pale-Scythe]

  She vanished through the gate.

  Kael stood with Junnesa at his side. The masked woman said nothing. She didn’t need to.

  Kael placed his hand on the tablet. It was cool to the touch and smooth like a polished mirror.

  It burned slightly. He felt his chest burn in response.

  Then, the words appeared.

  [Designation Accepted: Stone-Heart]

  The gate opened for him.

  He stepped through into the city beyond.