Chereads / Oryndor: Veil of the Unknown / Chapter 2 - Marked as Forsaken

Chapter 2 - Marked as Forsaken

The campfire crackled as Kai stared at the book on his lap. Around him, the scavenger camp had settled for the night. Lena sat nearby, poking idly at the fire with a stick, while the others shared hushed conversations or nursed their wounds from the day's expeditions. Yet, all Kai could think about was the glowing text that had burned itself into his memory.

Forsaken Status Granted.

What did it mean? The book had gone completely dormant since his encounter in the void. No glowing pages, no mysterious voice—just an ordinary-looking leather cover and blank pages. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something inside it was still... awake.

"So," Lena's voice broke his thoughts, "are you going to tell me what happened back there?"

Kai's grip tightened on the book. "Nothing. Like I said, just junk."

Lena shot him a skeptical look. "Right. You're a terrible liar, Kai. You came back looking like you'd seen a ghost, and now you're clutching that thing like it's your lifeline."

Kai opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, the book warmed in his hands. He looked down just as faint lines of glowing text appeared on its cover.

Quest Updated:

Objective: Survive the first trial.

Time Limit: Immediate.

Reward: Activation of Forbidden Skill: Phase Break.

His stomach dropped. Immediate?

The air around the camp suddenly shifted. The light from the fire dimmed, and a low hum began to resonate through the ground. Kai's eyes darted around as the other scavengers fell silent, their conversations cut short by an unspoken sense of dread.

"Do you feel that?" Lena whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for the dagger at her belt.

Before Kai could respond, the shadows at the edge of the camp began to move. From the darkness emerged a figure, tall and cloaked, its face obscured by a hood. The hum grew louder, vibrating in Kai's chest as the figure stepped closer. Around him, the other scavengers scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn.

"Who goes there?" barked one of the older men, his sword gleaming in the firelight.

The figure didn't answer. Instead, it raised a hand, and a wave of energy rippled outward. The fire extinguished, plunging the camp into darkness.

Chaos erupted. Shouts and the clash of metal filled the air as the scavengers fought to defend themselves. Kai stumbled back, clutching the book tightly as the sounds of battle surrounded him.

"Kai!" Lena's voice cut through the noise. "Run!"

But Kai couldn't move. His feet felt rooted to the ground as the cloaked figure's gaze fell on him. Though its face was hidden, he felt its eyes boring into him, as if it could see straight into his soul. The book in his hands grew warmer, the hum now matching the rhythm of his racing heartbeat.

"To survive, you must choose," the voice from the void echoed in his mind. "Open the Chronicle."

Kai's hands trembled as he fumbled to open the book. The pages flipped on their own, glowing faintly as new text appeared:

Trial Initiated: Shadow Warden

Objective: Defeat the Shadow Warden.

Reward: Forbidden Skill: Phase Break.

Failure: Death.

A surge of adrenaline shot through him. The cloaked figure raised its hand again, and a blade of shadow formed in its grasp. It moved toward him with inhuman speed, closing the distance in an instant.

Kai barely managed to duck as the blade sliced through the air where his head had been. He stumbled back, his mind racing. He wasn't a fighter. How was he supposed to defeat something like this?

The book's glow intensified, and another line of text appeared:

Skill Unlocked: Phase Break

Activation Key: Embrace the Forsaken.

"Embrace the Forsaken?" Kai muttered, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had no idea what it meant, but he didn't have time to think. The Shadow Warden lunged at him again, its blade aiming straight for his chest.

Instinctively, Kai shouted, "I embrace the Forsaken!"

The world around him shifted. For a brief moment, everything slowed to a crawl. The Shadow Warden's movements became sluggish, the sounds of battle distant and muffled. Kai felt a strange energy course through his body, as if the air itself was bending around him.

He moved without thinking, stepping to the side as the Shadow Warden's blade passed harmlessly by. Time snapped back to normal, and Kai found himself behind the creature, his heart pounding.

"What... was that?" he whispered. The book's pages flipped again, revealing more text:

Phase Break: A skill that allows the user to temporarily manipulate the flow of time and space, creating openings in combat.

The Shadow Warden turned to face him, its hooded head tilting slightly as if assessing its opponent. Kai tightened his grip on the book. He didn't understand what was happening, but one thing was clear: if he didn't fight, he was dead.

"Alright," he muttered, a flicker of determination igniting within him. "Let's see what this Phase Break can do."

The Shadow Warden lunged again, but this time, Kai was ready. The moment it swung its blade, he activated Phase Break. The world slowed once more, and he sidestepped the attack with ease. As time resumed, he slammed the book into the creature's side with all his strength.

The Shadow Warden staggered, a hiss escaping from beneath its hood. Kai's eyes widened. It wasn't much, but he had hurt it.

"Kai!" Lena's voice rang out again. He glanced toward her and saw that the other scavengers were barely holding their own against smaller shadowy creatures that had emerged from the darkness. He had to end this—fast.

The book pulsed in his hands, and a new line of text appeared:

Final Phase: Strike the Core.

Kai's gaze snapped back to the Shadow Warden. He didn't know where its "core" was, but he didn't have time to second-guess. The creature lunged once more, and Kai activated Phase Break, dodging its attack and positioning himself behind it. Without hesitation, he drove the corner of the book into the base of its neck.

The Shadow Warden froze, its body shuddering as cracks of light spread across its form. With a deafening screech, it exploded into a cloud of black smoke, which dissipated into the night.

The camp fell silent. The smaller creatures vanished along with the Warden, leaving behind only the sounds of heavy breathing and crackling embers as the fire reignited on its own.

Kai collapsed to his knees, the book slipping from his grasp. Lena rushed to his side, her face pale but determined.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

Kai looked up at her, then down at the book. Its cover was glowing faintly again, the words Forsaken Chronicle etched into its surface.

"Trouble," he said, his voice hoarse. "Big trouble."