The fire crackled in the still night air, its orange glow casting flickering shadows against the walls of the makeshift camp. Kain sat cross-legged near the flames, the faint warmth brushing against his face as he absentmindedly poked the embers with a stick. Sera sat a few feet away, wrapped in a patchy blanket, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes darted between Kain and her own hands, where faint traces of her Eidon shimmered and fizzled out like dying sparks.
They hadn't spoken much since leaving Norhold. Kain wasn't one to press for conversation—he figured the girl needed space to process everything that had happened. But the silence was growing heavier, filled with unspoken questions.
Finally, Sera broke it. "Are you… like me?"
Kain glanced up from the fire, his brow furrowing slightly. "What do you mean?"
She hesitated, twisting her fingers nervously. "Do you… have one? An Eidon, I mean."
Kain set the stick down and leaned back on his hands. The firelight caught his expression, turning it into a mixture of warmth and melancholy. "Yeah," he said softly. "I do."
Sera's eyes widened a little. "What is it?"
"'Vermillion Veil,' they call it," Kain replied. He stretched out his arm, palm facing upward, and with a subtle flick of concentration, a soft red glow began to emanate from his skin. The air around his hand rippled faintly, like the surface of a pond disturbed by the wind. "It lets me absorb energy. Attack me, and I can take that force and redirect it somewhere else. Or I can create barriers to protect myself or others."
The glow faded as quickly as it had appeared, leaving his hand bare once more.
"That's… amazing," Sera murmured. "Why don't you use it more?"
Kain's lips curved into a wry smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Because I've seen what happens when people like us rely on power too much. It starts as a way to protect, but it doesn't take long for it to turn into something else." He looked at her meaningfully. "Destruction. Fear. Control."
Sera frowned, hugging her knees tighter. "But what else can we do? I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I almost—" She cut herself off, her voice trembling. "If you hadn't been there, I might've hurt them. Or worse."
"You didn't," Kain said gently. "That matters."
"But next time…"
"There doesn't have to be a next time," Kain interrupted, his tone firm but kind. "Your Eidon is part of you, Sera, but it doesn't have to define you. You control it, not the other way around."
She looked at him skeptically. "It's not that easy."
"No, it's not," Kain admitted, leaning forward. "But that's why you learn. That's why you take it one day at a time. You're not alone anymore."
Sera stared at him for a moment, the tension in her small frame easing ever so slightly. "How did you learn to control yours?"
Kain's gaze drifted toward the fire, and for a long moment, he didn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, tinged with something heavier.
"It took time. And pain. More than I care to admit."
The next morning, they left the campsite early, the first light of dawn painting the horizon in pale pinks and oranges. Sera followed Kain closely, her steps quick but nervous as they wound their way along the dirt road.
"Where are we going?" she asked after a while.
"North," Kain replied simply.
"Why?"
Kain hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Because I need answers."
"About what?"
He didn't respond immediately. His mind flickered back to the ruins of Velstrine, the rubble and ash that had swallowed his family, and the towering figures of the Syndicate heroes who had caused it all.
"About why things are the way they are," he said at last. "And how to change them."
Sera frowned. "You think you can change the world?"
Kain chuckled softly, though there was little humor in it. "Maybe not the world. But I can change something. And that's enough for me."
Sera didn't press further, but Kain could feel her skepticism hanging in the air between them. He didn't blame her.
They reached a small crossroads town by mid-afternoon. It was little more than a cluster of shacks and stalls surrounded by farmland, but it was busy, the streets filled with merchants hawking their wares and travelers passing through. Kain and Sera kept their heads low as they walked through the market square, weaving between carts and crowds.
"Stay close," Kain murmured to Sera, his eyes scanning the area. It wasn't Syndicate territory, but he knew better than to let his guard down.
They stopped at a food stall where an old woman was selling fresh bread. Kain pulled a few crumpled coins from his pocket and handed them over, receiving two small loaves in return.
"Here," he said, passing one to Sera.
She took it eagerly, biting into it with a hunger that made Kain realize how long it had probably been since she'd eaten a proper meal. He watched her for a moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
But the moment of quiet didn't last.
A commotion broke out near the edge of the square, drawing the attention of the crowd. Kain's smile faded, and he turned to look. A man in ragged clothes was being dragged through the street by two armed enforcers, their Syndicate-issued uniforms gleaming in the sunlight. The man struggled against their grip, shouting something incoherent, but it was no use. The enforcers were too strong.
"What's going on?" Sera whispered, her voice tinged with fear.
"Stay here," Kain said, his expression darkening. He moved closer to the crowd, blending in as he watched the scene unfold.
The enforcers hauled the man onto a wooden platform at the center of the square, where a Syndicate officer stood waiting. The officer was tall and imposing, his armor polished to a mirror-like sheen. His expression was cold, indifferent, as he addressed the crowd.
"This man," the officer said, his voice carrying easily over the murmurs of the onlookers, "has been charged with harboring a rogue Eidon user. By decree of the Hero Syndicate, such acts of treason are punishable by death."
Kain's stomach twisted.
The man on the platform shouted something, his voice raw with desperation, but the officer ignored him. One of the enforcers stepped forward, drawing a blade that shimmered with faint energy—a weapon designed to disrupt Eidon abilities.
Kain's hands curled into fists at his sides. He felt the familiar, faint tug of his own Eidon stirring within him, but he forced it down. This wasn't the time.
Beside him, a voice whispered, "Help him."
Kain turned sharply to see Sera standing behind him, her eyes wide with fear and urgency.
"You have to do something," she said, her voice trembling.
Kain's jaw tightened. "If I step in, it'll only make things worse. We don't even know if—"
"They're going to kill him," Sera cut in, her voice rising. "You can't just stand there!"
Kain's chest tightened. She was right. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to move, to stop what was about to happen. But he knew how the Syndicate worked. If he revealed himself, if he used his Eidon here, he'd be marked—and so would Sera.
The officer raised his hand, signaling the enforcer to strike.
Kain took a step forward.