The rain fell softly atop Riverborne's old astronomy tower. Jayden stood, drenched, holding the crimson gem that now glowed beneath his shirt.
Behind him, Comfort approached — barefoot, afraid.
"Why do they call you Jayden?" she whispered.
Jayden didn't turn.
"My name… wasn't always that."
Comfort stepped closer, watching as lightning danced across his face. In that flash, he looked like someone she didn't know. Someone older… someone feared.
---
Years ago — a dusty village in the forgotten corners of the Riftlands. A midwife carried a child wrapped in starlight cloth. The name on his birth scroll?
Ochieng.
A Luo name. One that meant "born during daylight" — though he came screaming into the night.
Ochieng was his father's name. A legend in underground circles. A man who made kings kneel in shadows. But when he died protecting a secret vault, Ochieng's name was blacklisted, hunted — banned in every major registry across the seven nations.
To protect the boy, his mother renamed him in exile:
Jayden — "Grateful and merciful."
He grew up unaware.
Until now.
---
In a sealed archive buried beneath the Riverborne library, Jayden discovered a rusted scroll — sealed with his mother's blood and a royal insignia.
Inside:
"Let it be known that the child Ochieng, son of Nyakio and heir to the Crimson Veil, shall henceforth be known as Jayden, son of shadows."
Beneath it: two rings. One gold. One bone.
A name reborn.
A legacy ignited.
Jayden Ochieng.
---
The campus glittered. Lights. Silk. Rose-scented air.
But as students posed in tuxedos and backless dresses, a golden limo pulled in.
From it stepped a woman in a slit red gown, holding a snake-like clutch. Her eyes scanned the crowd.
"She's here," whispered one girl.
"Who?"
"Neriah — the heiress of the Mombasa Trillionaires. She buys nations."
But Neriah wasn't looking for fame.
She was looking for Jayden Ochieng.
---
Jayden — now dressed in an all-black tux with a crimson rose — walked down the stairs.
All eyes turned.
Gloria dropped her champagne glass.
Comfort froze.
But it was Zaria, the masked girl, who took his hand for the first dance.
As they twirled under the chandelier, she leaned close and whispered:
"Jayden Ochieng... you weren't just born for war. You are the war."
---
As the music died, a woman walked onto the stage with a silver cane and gray veil.
She lifted the cane and slammed it to the floor.
"Let the record show," she announced, "that Jayden Ochieng is legally bound to be wed to Princess Kessia of Tzaland. The marriage contract was signed when he was three."
Jayden's eyes widened.
Comfort's heart broke.
And in the balcony, Lucien laughed quietly.
Because this was just the beginning of the chaos.
---