As Shino struggled to stay conscious, Kaelen explained further.
"All magic comes with a price. The more power you use, the more you risk losing control. Your body can only handle so much before it begins to break down—muscle fatigue, mental strain, and in the worst cases, complete physical collapse. It's a trade-off that every mage must understand. When you push too far, the magic pushes back."
Shino's vision blurred as Kaelen's voice faded in and out. Her mind raced with his words. She had never been told this—no one had warned her that abnormal magic could turn against its wielder like this. She had always believed that as long as she trained, she could control it. But now, it was clear that magic had limits, and she had crossed them.
With a trembling hand, Sara reached into her satchel and pulled out a small vial, filled with a shimmering blue liquid. "This will help stabilize her," she said.
Uncorking it and bringing it to Shino's lips. "But it's only temporary. She'll need rest, and time to recover."
Shino drank the potion, feeling a cool sensation spread through her body, easing the searing pain in her chest. Slowly, her breathing steadied, and the crushing pressure began to lift. But the weight of Kaelen's words remained, heavy and inescapable.
As the effects of the potion took hold, Shino's thoughts drifted. She had always known that magic was powerful, but she had never considered that it could be dangerous to her, not like this. The fight with the Jormundra had demanded everything she had, and it had nearly killed her. The cost of her power was turning out to be far steeper than she ever imagined.
Kaelen stood up, his face shadowed with the weight of what they had all been through. "This is why mages must understand their limits. Power like this isn't something you can just tap into endlessly. Even for someone as skilled as you, Shino, there's a threshold. And once you cross it…" He glanced down at her, his expression filled with a kind of sorrow.
"The magic takes more than it gives."
Shino struggled to sit up, her limbs still weak, but determination flickered in her eyes. "I didn't know," she whispered, her voice rough. "But now I do. I'll learn… I'll be better."
Sara glanced between them, her face still pale from the battle. "Is this permanent? Will she always face this… recoil?"
Kaelen nodded, his expression grim. "Yes. It's the price all powerful mages pay when they push beyond their natural limits. The more you overdraw, the more severe the consequences. Some mages become so addicted to power that they burn themselves out completely. They lose not just their ability to wield magic, but their very lives."
The words hung heavy in the air, but Shino didn't flinch. Her body ached, her head still swam from the battle, but her resolve was hardening. The path she walked was dangerous—perhaps more than she had realized—but she wasn't going to let it stop her.
"I won't let that happen to me," she said, voice firmer. "I'll learn to control it."
Sara nodded in agreement. "We'll figure it out. Together."
Kaelen looked at the two of them, his gaze softening for a brief moment. "You both did well against the Jormundra. That beast was no ordinary enemy—it's said to be the very embodiment of chaos, a force of destruction older than the world itself. You faced it, and you survived. That alone is a victory."
Shino shivered at the memory of the battle—the immense size of the serpent, the way its scales gleamed like obsidian in the moonlight. Its eyes had burned with ancient fury, and its breath had turned the forest floor to ash. They had fought with everything they had, pushing their powers to the limit.
But at what cost?
"I've read about the Jormundra before," Kaelen continued, his voice quieter now. "Legends say it's the serpent that lies beneath the world, destined to rise during the end times. It was thought to be a myth—just stories passed down through generations. But what we fought… that was real."
Sara wrapped her arms around herself, still trying to process the enormity of what they had faced.
"We barely made it out alive," she muttered. "If we had known about this arcane recoil, we might have been better prepared."
Kaelen gave a slow nod. "Yes. From now on, we'll need to be mindful. Every spell, every surge of magic, comes at a cost. Too much power, too quickly, and you won't be able to stand. You'll be vulnerable in ways you've never imagined."
Shino clenched her fists, her gaze steely. "I won't make the same mistake again. If magic has a price, then I'll pay it. But I'll be in control."
Kaelen studied her for a moment, seeing the fire in her eyes. "Good," he said. "Because the Jormundra may not be the last of its kind. Your kingdom is filled with similar creatures, and the deeper you go, the more you'll be tested."
Shino nodded, a silent understanding passing between them all. They had survived, but just barely. Now, they knew the stakes—and they knew the cost of pushing themselves too far.
But with that knowledge came strength. They would learn to balance their powers, to wield them with precision, knowing full well that every spell could be their last if they weren't careful.
And as the wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it the faint scent of ash from the battle they had just fought, Shino, Sara, and Kaelen stood ready to face whatever challenges had been left in store for them.
For now, they still don't have the full depth of how gods have been able to spread their veins. Every mythical beast on earth was an angel sent by the gods. Kokabiel, an angel who could watch the continents as a dream, had a problem, a certain forest called cedar was out of his reach, he couldn't see what lay within its trees neither the gods could send an angel there, the guardian trees fights their opponents like a mirror, the strong a being is, the strong the guardians are, at the beginning they thought there was tree with magical attributes, but the truth is: it was movses staff protecting itself, the mystery around the nyxveil relics remains unknown.
The staff and the seal are two powerful relics, from ancient times, not like the ark of convent. Those two relics were made by a far stronger deity.
A deity was more powerful than the gods and the exes.