It had felt like hours as Rhok's heart raced. The army before him seemed endless, a moving sea of bone, shadow, and death. His breath caught in his throat, and he visibly shuddered. There was no way he could defeat them all. The thought alone made his stomach churn. The army moved, step by step, a tidal wave of bone and decay, and Rhok felt small before it.Sure he had managed to get close to the saint earlier, but after shaving away at it's Divinity, it simply hid in his army.But it wasn’t just the army that terrified him.It was the feeling of being alone.He took several steps back, almost stumbling, his eyes darting from side to side. The shadows were his life, his strength, his weapon. And now… now, they had abandoned once again, he had thought that the single stunt he pulled would be enough to help him but the saint quickly realized the change and enforced his domain even more.“Please,” he muttered, his voice trembling as he reached out for them. “Come back.”But the shadows d

Rhok collapsed onto his back, the grass beneath him cool against his burning skin. Every muscle in his body throbbed. His arms felt like lead, and his lungs strained for air. The battlefield was quiet where he lay, but far beyond the trees, the sounds of war still raged for some reason, he thought the imperial army would be fine for at this point.His fingers twitched as he raised his hands in front of his face. He opened and closed them slowly, noting how unfamiliar they felt. His limbs were still his, but there was something... different. The pain from his wounds was still there, but dulled, distant. He felt like a jar that had been shattered and then put back together with stronger glass.He exhaled long and deep, staring at the sky above. The sun sat high and proud, bathing the forest in golden light. It should have brought him comfort. It didn’t. Not when so much had changed.A soft sound rang out.[CONGRATULATIONS RHOK] Aby's voice rang through the air with its usual tone, cheer

Rhok opened his eyes to the low rustle of cloth and the quiet clinking of armor nearby. His back ached, his chest felt like it had been stepped on by a mountain, and his vision blurred at the edges. He stared at the canvas ceiling above, the faded crest of the Vyranthian Empire barely visible through the sweat fabric. It smelled like blood, herbs, and iron.He was alive, somehow. A low hum filled the tent. Not a song, but something gentler, a spell. Healing magic, steady and rhythmic. Rhok turned his head slightly and saw Luke sitting on a stool, leaning forward with one hand glowing faintly as he pressed it against Rhok's ribs."You're lucky," Luke muttered without looking up. "Is it just me or your body is really just weird?""It's really just you," Rhok croaked, throat felt as dry as desert dust."You did something. Something none of us could understand."Rhok didn't answer. He couldn't, the memory of the shadows devouring him, of the snake swallowing the Saint whole, of the divin

The sun hung low as the war camp began to quiet. Soldiers cleaned weapons, tended wounds, or simply sat staring into the remains of their fires. The battle was over, but its weight still pressed down on every soul in the camp.Rhok sat just outside the medical tent, bandages still wrapped around his chest and shoulder. His divine core pulsed faintly in his body. Not painfully. Just there. Like a second heartbeat reminding him that something had changed.He was still trying to understand it when Luke approached."They want you in the main tent," Luke said quietly. "Now."Rhok looked up, brows raised. "Who’s they?"Luke didn’t answer right away, he just sighed tiredly. "The Saints."That word landed heavy. Rhok stood and followed without more questions.The command pavilion was larger than most tents in the camp, lit by mana infused lamps and guarded by soldiers wearing golden cloaks. Inside, the air was tense. The three Saints were already waiting.Rhok stepped in, eyes narrowing.The

The arena was nothing special. A cleared space behind the medical tents, lined with broken stones and a ring of training dummies half-burned from previous drills. The sky was dull. The smell of steel and sweat hung thick in the air.Rhok stood barefoot in the dirt, sleeves rolled up, his shirt soaked with the remains of the morning's dew. A loose crowd of soldiers, clerics, Saints, and a few Paladins had gathered to watch.This was supposed to be a test.Saint Halden had called it a routine exercise. Runa, the frost blooded Paladin, had smirked when she offered to spar with him. Rhok had felt the tension in her voice like she wanted to prove something.Rhok didn’t care. He just wanted to see where he stood now, after the forest, after the divine core had nested inside his chest like a quiet second heart.Runa stood across from him, armor light but reinforced, her hair tied back in a severe braid. Her eyes never blinked. Her stance was perfect."Begin," Saint Halden said.Runa moved fi