VEIL OF DESTINY :THE HIDDEN HEIR ASSERT

Ochieng's body felt weightless, suspended in the void between life and death. His mind drifted, memories flashing—his father's last breath, the betrayal, the throne he had fought for.

Then, a whisper. Soft. Sinister.

"You are not ready."

A sharp breath. His eyes snapped open.

---

He wasn't in the city anymore. The air smelled of incense, the faint rustling of silk echoing in the dim chamber. A temple? A prison? His wounds were bandaged, but a deep ache pulsed beneath his ribs.

A shadow moved.

A woman stood before him.

Tall. Cloaked in black. Eyes like the night itself.

"You should be dead."

Ochieng pushed himself upright. His head swam. "Yet here I am."

She studied him, unreadable. "Because I allowed it."

A pause.

"You were careless. The Grand Masters do not play fair."

Ochieng clenched his fists. He had underestimated them.

"Who are you?" he asked.

A smirk. "A ghost from your past. And perhaps... your only chance at survival."

---

The days blurred into nights. He wasn't allowed to leave. The woman—his captor, his savior—offered no name, only lessons.

"You rely on power." She struck without warning, a blade slicing the air. Ochieng barely dodged. "But power means nothing if you cannot control it."

Every movement, every breath became a lesson. His body adapted, his instincts sharpened.

Weeks passed.

Then, one night, she led him to a hidden chamber. At its center—a single scroll, inked in ancient symbols.

"This is the path of the true Grand Master."

Ochieng stared. "You expect me to follow it?"

Her lips curved. "No. I expect you to master it."

---

The city had not stopped moving. The war had not paused for him.

When Ochieng stepped out of the shadows, back into the world, he was no longer the man who had fallen.

He was something else.

Something terrifying.

And this time, the Grand Masters would learn:

A lion does not bow to wolves.

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