Endless Evolution: Being Op With My Broken Affinity!-Chapter 34: The Choice

Kaelen POV

Kaelen stood in the courtyard of House Zephyr’s estate, his body still aching from the construct’s attack. The morning air was cool against his face, carrying with it the scent of jasmine from the garden walls. Three days of rest had done much to restore his strength, but the suppression poison still lingered in his veins, making his Aether magic sluggish and unpredictable.

Today was his father’s funeral.

He’d spent the past hour staring at the formal black clothes Aldwin’s servants had laid out for him. The tunic was fine silk, embroidered with silver thread in patterns that would mark him as nobility. A cloak of deep midnight blue completed the ensemble...House Zephyr’s colors, not Valerius crimson.

Going to the funeral would be suicide. Lyren would have guards positioned throughout the ceremony grounds. Salyer would have prepared traps. Even with House Zephyr’s protection, he’d never make it out alive.

But how could he not go? How could he let his father be laid to rest without bearing witness, without saying goodbye?

"You’re thinking about attending."

Kaelen turned to find Joanna approaching across the courtyard. She wore travel clothes...practical leather pants and a sturdy jacket that looked nothing like her usual clothes . Her expression was that of concern.

"I can’t just hide here while they bury him," Kaelen said quietly.

"You can, and you should." Joanna stopped beside him, close enough that he could smell the herb soap she favored. "Lyren wants you dead, Kaelen. This is exactly what he’s hoping for...that grief will make you reckless."

"I know." Kaelen’s hands clenched at his sides. "But he was my father. Whatever happened between us, whatever mistakes were made... I should be there."

"Your father wouldn’t want you to die for the sake of ceremony."

Before Kaelen could respond, one of Aldwin’s guards hurried into the courtyard. The man was breathing hard, his face flushed with exertion.

"Lord Zephyr requests your presence immediately," the guard said, bowing quickly. There’s been news from the northern villages."

They found Aldwin in his study, surrounded by maps and scrolls. The old lord looked tired, his face drawn with worry. Beside him stood Marius, along with two people Kaelen didn’t recognize...a middle-aged woman in dirt-stained traveling clothes and a younger man who wore the simple tunic of a farmer.

"Kaelen, Joanna ." Aldwin gestured them forward. "These are Mera and Tomis. They’ve just arrived from Millbrook, a farming village three days north of Luminis."

The woman...Mera...stepped forward. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her hands trembled as she wrung them together. "Please, my lord, we need help. The Blight... it came to our village four days ago. It’s spreading faster than anything we’ve ever seen."

Kaelen felt his blood run cold. "How many people?"

"Two hundred souls lived in Millbrook," Tomis said, his voice rough with emotion. "When we left yesterday to ride for help, maybe half were still alive. Maybe less now." He pulled a cloth from his pocket and unwrapped it carefully. Inside lay a twisted piece of plant matter, blackened and oozing with corruption. The wrongness of it made Kaelen’s skin crawl.

"This was a wheat stalk three days ago," Tomis continued. "Now look at it. The Blight turned our entire harvest into this... this poison. Then it started on the livestock. The chickens died first, then the pigs. The cattle are going mad, attacking people." His voice cracked. "My daughter... she touched one of the infected plants. Her hand turned black. We had to..." He couldn’t finish.

Mera put a hand on the young farmer’s shoulder. "We cut away the infected flesh," she said quietly. "She’ll live, but she’s weak. And she’s not the only one. At least twenty others have been touched by the corruption."

Aldwin’s expression was grave. "I’ve already sent word to the council, requesting they send combat mages and healers. But with the situation..."

"They’ll delay," Marius said flatly. "They’ll argue about resources while people die." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What about the city guard?" Joanna asked. "Surely they have protocols for Blight outbreaks."

"The guard is stretched thin," Aldwin replied. "Most of their skilled fighters are positioned around the city for Lord Valerius’s funeral. And even if they weren’t..." He shook his head. "The council would need to authorize a deployment. That takes time."

Time those people didn’t have.

Kaelen looked at the corrupted plant matter in Tomis’s hand. He could feel it from where he stood...a wrongness that made his Aether sense recoil.

"How far has it spread?" Kaelen asked.

"When we left, it had consumed maybe a third of the village," Mera said. "The eastern fields are completely gone...nothing but black corruption as far as you can see. We tried to contain it, burned firebreaks around the infected areas, but the Blight just... jumped the gaps. Like it was alive and hunting."

"It is alive, in a sense," Joanna said quietly. "The Blight is corrupted , twisted into something that devours natural life force." She looked at Kaelen. "Standard Essence magic can slow it, but it takes powerful purification rituals to actually cleanse Blight corruption. Rituals that require multiple mages working in concert."

"And those mages are all here in the city," Marius said, "preparing for a funeral."

The silence that followed was heavy with implication.

Kaelen’s mind raced. Going to the funeral would accomplish nothing except potentially getting him killed. But Millbrook... those people needed help now. The Blight wouldn’t wait for political maneuvering or council approvals.

"Can you do it?" Aldwin asked, looking directly at Kaelen. "Can your Aether magic fight the Blight?"

Aether is the opposite of corruption...it’s pure life force, creation rather than destruction." He thought about the way his power had responded during the trial, how it had surged to protect him. "If the Blight is corrupted Aether, then I can purify it"

"But you’re still recovering," Marius interjected. "The suppression poison, the injuries from the construct...you’re not at full strength."

"I’m strong enough to try." Kaelen looked at Mera and Tomis. "If I can help your people, I will."

Mera’s eyes filled with tears. "Thank you. Thank you. I know what you’re risking, coming out of hiding like this. But those are good people in Millbrook. Farmers, craftsmen, children. They don’t deserve to die ."

"No one deserves that," Kaelen said.

Aldwin moved to one of his maps, spreading it across the desk. "Millbrook is here, three days north by horse. But if we push hard and use the river road, we might make it in two."

"We?" Kaelen asked.

"You’ll need support," Aldwin said firmly. "I’m sending Marius and a squad of my best guards."

"I’m going," Joanna said immediately

"What about the council?" Kaelen asked

"The council be damned," Aldwin said, his voice hard. "I’ve already declared my position by sheltering you. What’s one more transgression? Besides, saving a village from the Blight is hardly a crime...even Corvain can’t twist that into heresy."

Kaelen wasn’t so sure about that, but the old lord had a point. This was bigger than political maneuvering or family grudges. People were dying.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"Within the hour," Marius said. "I’ll gather the guards and prepare supplies. We’ll travel light and fast."

Tomis straightened, some hope returning to his exhausted face. "I’ll guide you. I know every road and path between here and home."

As the others began making preparations, Kaelen moved to the window. In the distance, he could see the great temple where his father’s funeral would be held. Nobles would be gathering already, dressed in their finest mourning clothes. Lyren would give speeches about honor and legacy. Salyer would weave his political webs.

And Kaelen would be riding north, away from it all.

The guilt was sharp, like a knife between his ribs. But beneath it was something else...certainty. His father had died trying to protect him. The best way to honor that sacrifice wasn’t to walk into Lyren’s trap. It was to do what his father would have wanted: use his gifts to help people who needed it.

"I’m sorry," Kaelen whispered, pressing his palm against the window glass. "I’m sorry I can’t be there.Thank you for saving me."

The city bells began to toll in the distance, marking the hour. The funeral would begin soon.

But Kaelen Valerius had a different calling to answer.

They rode out through House Zephyr’s northern gate, a party of ten mounted on swift horses. Marius led the way with five guards, all veterans who wore light armor and carried both swords and crossbows. Joanna rode beside Kaelen and serenya who was a bit pale, her saddlebags bulging with books and medical supplies. Tomis and Mera brought up the rear, urgency evident in every line of their bodies.

The city streets were crowded with people heading toward the temple district. Kaelen kept his hood up, his face hidden, but he caught snippets of conversation as they passed.

"...heard the new Lord Valerius will speak..."

"...shame about the exile, attacking his own father..."

"...my cousin says it wasn’t like that at all, says there’s more to..."

The voices faded as they left the city proper, taking the river road north. The day was clear, the sky a brilliant blue, but Kaele

n felt darkness gathering ahead of them.

The Blight was waiting.

And one way or another, he would face it.