Kaelon stuck to the shadows as he walked through the slums. The way he saw it he had two choices. One was to leave the city and try his luck at surviving the wilderness. The other was to sneak into the higher districts and hide away until everything cooled down.

  Of the two, the latter seemed a lot more feasible. That he had done before and could do with relative ease. With that in mind Kaelon was moving towards a sewer opening in the area. The closer he got to his destination the worse the looming stench of the slums became.

  Everywhere he went Kaelon saw gang members fighting. Blood ran down the streets like rain as the conflict intensified. The smell of blood and stench of waste blended into a thick smog.

  He could see the pipe sticking out of a looming stone wall in the distance. Waste poured from it onto the slum floors. Kaelon sped up at the sight, soon he would make it out of these chaotic slums.

  But his eagerness to escape led him to make a mistake. One of the many gangsters fighting in the area spotted him as he ran. A menacing grin formed on the man's face. He disengaged from his already dead opponent and ran after Kaelon.

  "Where are you goin' boy?! Don't run!"

  Kaelon's face paled at the shouts. He looked back to find the man was already closing in on him. His eyes hardened as he made up his mind to fight. Kaelon ran into an empy alley, leading the man into a trap.

  Kaelon quickly stopped and pivoted back to face the man directly. His sword, already drawn, gleamed in the moonlight and reflected the subtle golden glow of his eyes.

  The man smiled seeing Kaelon's fighting spirit. His eagerness to fight only made breaking him better. He drew his curved cutlass with a wicked grin and brought it down on Kaelon.

  The cutlass loomed high over Kaelon and came down with severe weight. Kaelon forced his sword into position. His wound burned at the sudden movement but that only fueled his resolve.

  Kaelon instinctively instead of holding his sword straight out angled his sword. The cutlass clashed with his blades edge and slid downward. Kaelon, without even actually knowing what he was doing, parried the cutlass.

  The man's eyes widened in surprise but it was too late for him. Kaelon quickly took the opening and delivered a quick slash to the man's leg. His right foot was severed at the knee and he quickly came tumbling down.

  "AHHH!"

  The man scremed in pain and clutched his leg. Kaelon looked down at him and didn't hesitate. He drove his sword into the man's neck and ended his misery.

  With no time to spare Kaelon kept going towards the sewer. Only just as he left the alley a punch came flying into his face from the side. The man's loud scream had led someone straight to him.

  Kaelon flew down the street and rolled a couple times before he steadied himsleft. He struggled to stand, his face now bleeding. His sword shook slightly in his hands, a sign of how weak he was in this moment.

  Facing him was a smiling youth, about the same age as him. His gaze betrayed his murderous intent.

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  Kaelon looked the smiling youth up and down. He was slightly wounded, but better off than Kaelon. He took a step forward while drawing the sword on his hip. The smile on his face never faded as he stared Kaelon down.

  The tension between the two of them grew as their staring match continued. In the end it was the youth that made the first move. He swung his sword wildly at Kaelon, its trajectory elusive.

  Their swords clashed a few times as Kaelon recovered from the impact of the punch. The more he fought the more comfortable he was with the sword. It was like it was in his blood to pick up a sword and fight.

  Their clashes kept going as Kaelon blocked the youth's elusive sword. His opponent was clearly skilled, certainly more skilled than his last one. Their swords clashed repeatedly as sparks flew around.

  Kaelon took a step back to dodge the enemy's sword. His mind was completely empty in this moment. Kaelon had delved into a strange state of mind where all he saw were his and the enemy's sword.

  His hair began changing to a subtle red and hus eyes golden glow intensified. His grip on his sword tightened and he brought it parallel to his face.

  The youth in front of him saw his changes and took a step back. Kaelon moved quickly and stepped forward with his sword already in motion. He cut his abdomen, his sword cutting quite deep.

  The youth fell as his blood pooled under him. Kaelon stepped to the side to avoid the body and looked down at him.

  At the start of today Kaelon had never killed a man. Now that the sun was down, that had changed and he had killed 3 men. This reality came down on him as he looked at the youth's corpse.

  He reached down and closed the youth's eyes before reciting a prayer.

  "I cut your life short. Hopefully you live longer in the next one. May Nihil be kind to you as you move to the next life."

  Kaelon took a deep breath and a solemn silence lingered in the alley. After steadying himself Kaelon kept moving. This time he reached the sewer uninterrupted.

  Kaelon limped up to the pipe and climbed up. The city's sewer system was neglected in this area. Only the noble and higher class districts had working sewers. The slums were stuck with an outdated and inefficient system that had many ignored damages and issues.

  This pipe was one such ignored damages. It literally led to no where and just poured waste directly onto the streets. Not only that it had a gap in its grate, one that Kaelon worked very hard to hide since finding this place in his childhood.

  The gap let Kaelon sneak into the higher districts. It was access to better food, clean water, and most importantly safety. Whenever conflicts got out of hand like today, Kaelon would go and hide out in the higher districts.

  Kaelon climbed up into the pipe where he had to crouch to move effectively. The smell that assaulted his nose was one he had smelled before but hated regardless. No matter how many times he smelled sewer water he couldn't get used to it and ignore it.

  He staggered over tl the gap in the grate and began squeezing through it. He groaned in pain as the wound on his chest scraped against the wall. It hurt like hell but eventually he made it all the way through, leaving a streak of red on the wall.

  Kaelon headed deeper through the pipe to a larger area. Stepping out of the pipe Kaelon found himself in the main area of the sewer system. From here he could go pretty much anywhere in the city, but that came with its own dangers.

  The sewers were the Grate Lords territory, Kaelon was just using a route they were unaware of. If they found him he would be killed for sure. So he was extremely careful whenever coming into these sewers.

  Luckily the Grate Lords were busy attacking the slums right now. This let Kaelon move a lot more freely. He moved through areas that would usually be patrolled with no difficulty.

  In no time Kaelon had made it to his destination. A ladder that led up to the outskirts of the upped districts. The only thing close by this exit is the temple of Altan, the Sun God. The tall mountain it was on was the anchor of the wall separating the slums from the upper districts.

  Without hesitation Kaelon climbed up the ladder. He struggled with the lid because of his injuries but eventually he lifted it and finally emerged.

  Only as soon as he stuck his head out he found himself surrounded by paladins of Altan. The temple guard surrounded the sewer and their gazes locked on Kaelon with intensity.

  "Oh shit."