Kael's trek brought him right into the core of the Frostwood, an expanse of forest in which the trees stood in a line, their snow-covered boughs creating an overhead roof, shading out the sun. The air was crisp, every breath a cloud of frostiness, and his feet made the ground sigh with each step. The Starforged Blade lay across his [his back], its soft light a prophecy of the wars that lay ahead.
Despite the serenity of his surroundings, Kael's thoughts churned like a storm. The voice of the Veil Enforcer in the ruined village still ringing in his ears. Do you think you've accomplished anything by disrupting our plans? The rifts are beyond your control. The Order of the Veil was not just a threat—they were working on something far grander than Cael realized and was just beginning to comprehend.
[Alert: Anomalous energy detected. Proximity: 800 meters. Source: Unstable dimensional field. Recommendation: Exercise caution.]
Kael exhaled sharply. "Another rift. Of course."
He shifted the grip on the hilt of the Starforged Blade and pressed on in the deepening woods as he went in the direction of the source of the disturbance. The system chimed again, its tone unusually measured.
[Observation: Host fatigue levels elevated. Recommend rest before engagement. Prolonged strain may impact synchronization efficiency.]
"I don't have time to rest," Kael muttered. "Not while they're out there."
The system didn't respond, its silence more unsettling than its clinical observations. Kael dismissed the idea and concentrated on the job at hand.
The clearing emerged out of nowhere, an opening in the woods to a vast clearing of snow. At its center stood the rift, a swirling mass of violet and black energy that pulsed like a living thing. Right off the bat from horizon to horizon all the snow had been washed out, the ground bare, cracked. Yet it was not the rifting itself that caught Kael'eye but the human who was standing beside the rifting as will be described next.
A woman, in red, silver hair glittering in the light of the chasm. She clutched a staff fashioned from blackened wood, its point pulsing a weak light of runes that Kael did not understand. Her aura was dominant, her posture, that of a skillful authority.
"A lost soul," she stated without movement, and her voice echoed through the clearing as a cutting edge. "Do you came to die, or are you stupid enough to think you are ready to prevent it?"
Kael drew the Starforged Blade, and its starry energy hummed to life. "I've stopped others before. You won't be any different."
The woman spun, and her stare with her piercing amber gaze meeting his. For a brief second, Kael thought she could see right into him, ridding the inner layers of thought and feeling. She grinned wickedly a smile that made his back hit the wall.
"Bold words," she said. "But words won't save you. The Order's work is beyond your understanding, boy."
Kael stepped forward, his grip tightening on the blade. "Then help me understand. Or are you too afraid I'll stop it?"
The woman laughed, a cold, hollow sound. "Afraid? No. Amused, perhaps. But I'll humor you. Do you know what a Veil Nexus is?"
Kael's voicelessness first exposed his its paucity of knowing and afterwards the woman's smile deepened it.
"I thought not," she said. "The chasms you've seen—I mean the little rips in the colon—are nothing to what will follow. The Veil Nexus is a confluence where the realms are most permeable. We will release it all and if we do, in this world it will become greater."
"You mean something broken," Kael snapped. "You're tearing the world apart."
The woman shrugged. "Change always requires sacrifice."
Kael didn't wait for her to say more. He ran and the Starforged Blade buzzed with energy as it flew at her. The woman raised her staff, dark energy coalescing into a barrier that deflected the strike. The impact made a shockwave in the form of a shock wave that travelled through the clearing and scattered snow and other debris.
[Threat assessment: High-level Order operative. Specialization: Rift-channeling. Recommendation: Disrupt focus to weaken defenses. Caution: Barrier regeneration detected.]
Kael pressed the attack, his strikes relentless, but the woman countered with precision, each movement deliberate. Latent tendrils snaked from her staff, compelling Kael to duck and weave in the midst of trying to create a spot to get in.
"You fight well," she admitted, her tone almost approving. "But you're out of your depth."
Kael gritted his teeth. "We'll see about that."
He feigned to the left, pivoting sharply to strike at the base of her staff. The impact sent a crack running through it, the glowing runes flickering for a moment. The woman hissed in annoyance, retreating a step as she reinforced the staff with dark energy.
[Synchronization increased by 2%. Celestial Pulse available for activation.]
Grains of power flooded through Kael's body, the feedback mechanism within the system increased his level of awareness. He carried the Starforged Blade aloft and poured its power into a touchstone stroke. The Celestial Pulse rippled outward, a golden beam that broke whatever anchored the woman up and sent her flying.
For a moment, there was silence, and with a moving pulse, this clearing is bathed. The woman pushed herself to her feet, expression no longer smug but full of rage.
"You'll regret that," she snarled. "This isn't over."
Before Kael could interrupt, she drove her staff into the earth. Dark energy came rushing around her, then ensnared her form, and finally just vanished through the fissure. When the light went off, she was gone and left Kael to stand amongst the swaying trees all alone in the clearing.
Kael tiptoed toward the rift slowly, the Starforged Blade still hummed faintly. The system chimed in his mind.
[Recommendation: Stabilize rift to prevent further dimensional damage. Warning: Host energy reserves nearing critical threshold.]
"I'll manage," Kael muttered, raising the blade. He focused, channeling the celestial energy into the rift. The vortex mass fought back at first, its tendrils whipping around, but Kael stood fast. Having one last rupture, the rift closed upon itself, resulting in only an absence of sound.
Kael staggered, his vision swimming as exhaustion threatened to overtake him. He dropped down to one knee, holding the blade for support.
[Alert: Host energy critical. Immediate rest required to restore functionality.]
"Yeah," Kael murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "I got it."
He sank to the ground, the cold snow a welcome relief against his overheated skin. At the conclusion of the series his breathing failed and empty thoughts returned to him, messages of the woman, its rather chaotic mixture of time and prophesies. The Veil Nexus, the Order's plans—whatever was coming, it was bigger than anything he'd faced so far.
But Kael wasn't about to give up. Not now.
Not ever.