The pain from the mutation subsided, leaving Kael drenched in sweat, his body trembling with the aftermath of the transformation. His heart raced as he stared at the stone, now cold in his hand, as if it had absorbed some of the energy he had just experienced. It was clear to him now—the stone wasn't just a key, it was something more, something that seemed tied to his very essence.
The wanderer stood at a distance, watching Kael with a sharp, knowing gaze. There was no pity in his expression, only the weight of what was to come. He had seen this before, he knew the cost of this kind of power, and he was waiting for Kael to fully understand that cost.
"You're not ready yet," the wanderer said, his voice steady but firm. "But you will be. You just need to learn how to control it. The mutation you're experiencing is part of a larger awakening—a piece of the puzzle that will make you stronger, more in tune with the forces at play."
Kael gritted his teeth and stood up, feeling the stone pulse in his hand. "Control? How? I can barely control myself when this happens. It's like something is ripping through me."
The wanderer took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. "Because you're fighting it. You're trying to contain something that was never meant to be contained. You need to learn to harness it, to use it instead of letting it use you."
Kael shook his head, struggling to come to terms with the idea of submitting to something so foreign, so primal. He had always been a warrior—a hunter, a protector—but this... this was different. The power inside him was more than he could handle, and he didn't know if he could trust the wanderer's words.
"Why are you helping me?" Kael asked, his voice low with suspicion. "What's your end game? You talk about stopping some larger force, but I don't even know who you are. You've kept your identity hidden all this time."
The wanderer's gaze softened for the briefest moment, a flicker of something Kael couldn't quite place. But then, just as quickly, his face became unreadable again.
"Patience, Kael. You'll understand soon enough. I'm here because I've seen what's coming. I know what you're capable of, and I know the choices you'll have to make. You don't need to trust me completely. You just need to follow my guidance until the time is right."
Kael clenched his fists, trying to make sense of it all. There was no denying that he was being pulled deeper into a web he didn't fully understand. But the urgency in the wanderer's voice, the gravity of the situation, was undeniable.
He took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "I'll do what I can. But you need to be straight with me. No more riddles."
The wanderer studied Kael for a moment, then sighed. "The time will come when you'll have to choose your path. The stone is part of a larger design, one that involves both you and the beasts. What's coming is bigger than anything you've faced. And your mutation is just the beginning. There's a storm on the horizon, Kael. And you will have a choice to make when it arrives."
With that, the wanderer turned and began to walk deeper into the wilds, leaving Kael standing at the edge of the unknown, the weight of the stone in his hand growing heavier with every passing second.