Kael lingered in the shadows of Elder Feng's pavilion. The air was thick with decay, its sharp tang mingling with the faint hum of Spire energy. Moonlight filtered through the wooden shutters, casting fractured patterns over relics cluttering the shelves—corroded helms, forgotten vials of bubbling liquid, and a skeletal hand clutching a fractured crystal. At the center of it all, Elder Feng cradled the Spire shard like a lover, its sickly amber glow painting his gaunt face in sickly hues. His fingers trembled as they traced the shard's edges, betraying a hunger far deeper than mere thirst.
Kael watched, unreadable. Feng's fear wasn't of him. It was something far darker.
A floorboard groaned under Kael's boot.
Feng spun, the shard flaring with a violent pulse. "Who's there?"
Kael stepped into the light, his gray eyes cold as stone. "You summoned me, Elder. Or does your ambition outpace your memory?"
Feng's eyes narrowed, his voice honeyed with mock politeness. "Curiosity killed many disciples, boy. Even clever ones."
"And ambition blinds many elders," Kael retorted, nodding toward the shard. "Yet here you are, hoarding corpses."
The air thickened. Feng's Qi unfurled, crushing the space between them with the weight of his Mid-Core power. Kael's knees buckled, his bones groaning, but he held his ground, his jaw clenched as blood welled at the corners of his mouth.
"What do you want?" Feng hissed, his voice a rasp, the shard pulsing with his rising fury.
"Truth." Kael's hand drifted toward a rusted dagger on the shelf, its blade humming with a void-black resonance. The sharp, frayed threads of causality beneath his skin stirred, drawn to its pull. "Why dig up Spire relics? They're ash. Dead."
Feng's laugh cracked like brittle parchment. "To fools, perhaps. But you…" He raised the shard, its runes writhing like maggots. "You feel it, don't you? The Spire's echo. Its hunger."
Kael's mind splintered for a moment.
The Spire screamed, and suddenly, Hesper's laughter echoed, her green eyes burning with void-light as the Spire crumbled around her. The shard tore itself free of Kael's grip, and the world unraveled—a thousand timelines collapsing, their threads snapping one by one. He was left stranded in the wreckage of possibilities.
Blood trickled from his nostrils as the image shattered. He staggered, barely keeping his footing.
"Ah." Feng's voice was low, almost affectionate. "It remembers you. You are the key."
The pavilion reeked of sandalwood and desperation. Kael sank into a chair opposite Feng, a chipped celadon teacup cooling in his hands. The shard lay between them, its hum a mockery. Feng sipped his tea, steam curling around his sly smile.
"Keys can be reforged," Feng said, tapping his nail against the shard. "Melted. Remade."
Kael's fingers brushed against the dagger hidden beneath his robes, its edge pressing into his thigh. "And if I refuse this… reshaping?"
Feng set his cup down with a clink. "You'll rot. Slowly. The sigil I carve into your soul will devour you from within." He leaned forward, his breath sour. "But help me, and your little mouse lives. Tao, yes? Sweet boy. Terrible liar."
Kael's face remained impassive. Tao was a tool, useful in the moment, expendable once he no longer served his purpose. Feng, however, had made a fatal assumption. The elder thought Kael's attachment to the boy was a weakness. It was not. It was leverage.
"What would you have me do?"
Feng unrolled a singed scroll, revealing a map of the Verdant Lotus Forest, marked with crimson sigils. He jabbed a finger at a jagged ravine. "A Spire fragment lies here. Buried beneath the Veilthorn roots. Retrieve it."
Kael studied the map, his eyes cold. The ravine was a death trap—Veilthorns drained Qi to their marrow, and spirit beasts prowled the depths, drawn to Spire energy. But Feng's greed had clouded his judgment. Kael had planted those thorns centuries ago, their roots soaked in the blood of traitors.
"Agreed."
As Kael rose, Feng's hand shot out, his thumb pressing into Kael's forehead. Agony flared through Kael's skull, a sigil burning into his flesh, its jagged lines biting deep.
"Insurance," Feng purred, his voice like velvet. "Fail, and this mark will unravel you. Cell by cell."
-
Tao hovered nervously outside Kael's quarters, his fists clenching and unclenching. The moonlight carved shadows into his gaunt face, his robes hanging loosely on a frame built more for hunger than for strength.
"Senior Brother—"
Kael silenced him with a glance, stepping past the boy into the sparsely furnished room. The cot, washbasin, and narrow window framed only the distant pulse of the Spire shard's glow.
He tossed the map onto the cot. "You know this forest?"
Tao nodded eagerly, a spark of hope lighting his eyes. "My family foraged there. I can guide you through the Veilthorns, the Whisperbats, the—"
"Why?" Kael interrupted, his voice sharp.
Tao froze, confusion clouding his face. "You… you stood for me when no one else would—"
"Sentiment," Kael cut him off, nearly scoffing. The boy's loyalty was a threadbare rope—useful now, but only a means to an end. "Don't mistake that for strength."
Tao's shoulders sagged, but he nodded, the hope in his eyes dimming.
"Dawn. The western gate." Kael handed him a slip of paper. "Take this to the alchemy hall. Quietly."
Tao squinted at the list—herbs, nothing more. But it was a distraction. Feng's spies would be watching, and the innocuous list would muddy the elder's suspicions, steering his gaze elsewhere.
As Tao scurried off, Kael pressed his hand to the sigil burning on his forehead. The pain was constant now, a drumbeat echoing in his veins. He winced, but the agony was nothing compared to what was coming.
Feng thought he had Kael leashed, but Kael had fed the elder a viper, not a wolf.
The Verdant Lotus Forest swallowed them whole at dawn, its canopy a twisted tapestry of emerald and shadow. Tao hacked through thick vines with a machete, each stroke weaker than the last. His breath was ragged, and his frame trembled beneath the weight of their task.
Kael followed, his senses razor-sharp. The air smelled of damp moss and the earthy decay of centuries, the ground spongy with moss that pulsed faintly—a resonance of Qi leaching into the roots below.
"H-here," Tao panted, pointing to a gnarled tree, its twisted roots veiled in black thorns. "The ravine's just beyond. But the Veilthorns—they'll drain us if we touch them."
Kael crouched, brushing his hand over the moss. His fingers brushed the frayed causality threads in his veins, and they hummed with energy, resonating with the forest's hidden memories. His memories. He had planted these thorns centuries ago, their roots starved for the blood of traitors. And now they hungered for him.
"Stay close," Kael ordered, his voice flat, cold.
He pressed his palm to the earth, channeling a sliver of Qi. The moss recoiled, veins of light snaking out like cracks in glass. The Veilthorns shuddered, retreating to reveal a narrow path.
Tao gaped. "How did you—?"
"Move." Kael's voice brooked no argument.
The ravine yawned before them, its depths choked with mist. A low growl rumbled through the trees. Kael's hand twitched, instinctively reaching for his blade.
"Whisperbats," Tao whispered, his voice trembling. "They hunt in swarms. If they scent Spire energy—"
"Then don't bleed," Kael snapped.
They descended into the ravine, the mist hanging thick as cobwebs, muffling their every step. Kael's sigil burned, its constant gnawing pain a reminder of the elder's hold. Halfway down, Tao froze.
A Whisperbat hung above them, its wingspan wider than a man, its furless body translucent. Venom dripped from serrated fangs.
Kael's causality threads snapped taut, his mind focused.
The bat shrieked and dove—
only to veer sharply, impaling itself on a Veilthorn.
Tao stood, wide-eyed, as the thorn drank the bat dry, leaving only a withered husk behind.
"Luck," Kael said, his tone dismissive, as he stepped over the corpse.
The ravine floor was littered with bones, the remnants of past seekers. Kael knelt and brushed aside the dirt, his fingers brushing against the jagged edge of a Spire fragment. Its runes pulsed faintly, synchronizing with his heartbeat.
"We found it," Tao breathed, relief flooding his voice. "Elder Feng will—"
A twig snapped.
From the mist, three disciples emerged, their robes emblazoned with Feng's sigil. The leader, a hawk-nosed man with a scarred lip, smirked.
"The elder sends his regards."
Kael's eyes narrowed, recognizing the trap. Feng had expected him to be watched. These disciples were nothing but a backup plan—Feng's true insurance.
The leader's grin widened. "You won't leave with that fragment."
Tao stepped back, his hands trembling. "S-Senior Brother—"
Kael rose slowly, the shard cool in his grip. "You're here to ensure I don't stray. Or are you here to bury me with the fragment?"
The leader shrugged, nonchalant. "Does it matter?"
Kael's gaze flicked to the Veilthorns overhead. "No."
He crushed the shard.
The explosion of Spire energy shattered the stillness. Whisperbats erupted from the mist, their screeches deafening. The disciples stumbled, swiping at the swarm as thorns lashed down, spearing flesh.
Kael grabbed Tao, hauling him behind a boulder. "The fragment was a decoy. The real one is over there." He nodded toward a crevice veiled in roots.
"You… you knew they'd follow?" Tao asked, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"All pawns are predictable."
Tao paled, his face drawn tight with fear. "Am I?"
Kael's gaze lingered, his eyes hard and cold. "He has sentiment. That can be used."
-
The true Spire fragment lay nestled in the roots, its surface etched with runes only Kael could read—his runes. A message from the past.
"To the one who remembers: Break the cage."
Kael seized it, the fragment searing his palm. Its energy surged through him, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. The sigil on his forehead flared in response, agony ripping through him as the two forces clashed within his veins.
Tao's eyes widened in horror as blood trickled from Kael's eyes. "You're dying!"
Kael's voice came out in a rasp, but it carried no trace of panic. "Quiet."
The sigil's chains frayed beneath the Spire's assault, but they were far from breaking. Not yet. Not enough.
Footsteps echoed behind them.
The surviving disciple from Feng's earlier ambush stumbled into view, his face mangled and bloodied, his blade raised with unsteady hands. "Give… the fragment…"
Kael turned slowly, his grip tightening around the shard. "You want the fragment, or do you want to die with it?"
The disciple staggered toward him, the weapon wavering. "Give… it…"
Kael didn't wait for him to come any closer. With a sharp motion, he drew the dagger hidden at his side and flung it with precision. The blade buried itself deep in the disciple's throat, cutting off any words. The man gurgled as he collapsed, his body twitching, before he died in a bloody heap at their feet.
Tao stood frozen, mouth agape. "I… I couldn't—"
Kael shot him a hard glance. "You will."
Tao swallowed, his knees shaking. The fight had drained whatever bravery remained in him. But Kael had no use for weakness.
"Up. Now."
They scrambled to their feet, the ravine trembling beneath them. The Veilthorns withered, their Qi siphoned into the fragment now clasped in Kael's hand, the roots trembling in resonance with its power.
Tao lagged behind, his breathing ragged. "Feng will know you lied."
"Yes," Kael said, his voice cold as stone. "But it won't matter."
"What happens now?" Tao's voice was barely a whisper, laced with dread.
Kael glanced over his shoulder, his eyes flecked with a dark, almost golden hue from the shard's influence. The sigil on his forehead burned like a brand, but the Spire's power was beginning to overwhelm it. The chains were loosening.
"Feng will learn what a viper's bite feels like," Kael said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in a semblance of a smile.
Tao could only nod, his fear thick in his throat. The forest stretched ahead of them, dark and foreboding. But Kael moved with purpose, as always, unshaken and relentless in his pursuit.