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Chapter 76 - Awakening

Kael awoke with a start, his breath coming in shallow gasps as his eyes snapped open. He was lying on the ground, his body sore, but the feeling of the wilds pressing in on him had faded. He took a moment to steady himself, his mind racing to catch up with his surroundings. His spear was still in his hand, but it felt... different, as though it had become a part of him.

The air around him was heavy, thick with the scent of earth and decay. He was no longer in the stone structure, nor was he in the wilds he knew. This place was unfamiliar—dark, cold, and alien.

Kael stood slowly, wiping the sweat from his brow as he surveyed the area. The ground was uneven, the soil black and brittle. The trees were twisted, their branches reaching toward the sky like skeletal hands. It felt as though he had stepped into a nightmare, a world at the edge of existence.

"What is this place?" he murmured to himself.

His hand went instinctively to his chest, where he could still feel the faint pulse of the wilds within him. It was stronger now, more intense, as though it had taken root in his very soul. He had become something else, something more.

But what? What had happened to him? And what was he supposed to do now?

As he stood there, contemplating the path ahead, a shadow moved in the corner of his vision. He turned quickly, his hand tightening around his spear, ready for anything. But the figure that emerged from the darkness was not an enemy. It was someone—or something—familiar.

"Kael," the figure said, its voice cold but undeniably... comforting.

It was the Wanderer.