The snow had melted and refrozen a dozen times since the summoning. The cave remained their shelter, the mountain their world, but Kael had changed. The boy who had walked out of that ritual circle was not the same boy who had walked in. There was a weight to him now—not from exhaustion or grief, but from something deeper. A presence. A purpose.He could feel Asrath always. At the edge of his awareness, like a second shadow cast by a light no one else could see. The rune on his left hand had settled into a faint silver scar, visible but dormant. Until Kael called on it.Orion had let him rest for two weeks. Then, on a grey morning when the wind carried the first promise of spring, he'd led Kael outside and begun the real training.Now, months later, Kael stood in the clearing with Enma in his hand.The blade materialized with a thought—not summoned from nothing, but drawn from the bond itself. A shimmer of blue light, a rush of cold air, and then it was there: a single-edged sword nea

The fifth month began with a voice. Kael was in the clearing, Enma humming in his grip, running through the same drills Orion had drilled into him for weeks. Advance, pivot, slash, retreat. The blade moved with him now, no longer a foreign weight but something closer to an extension of his arm. The lines of Severance Sight flickered at the edges of his vision, mapping the hidden weaknesses of the training posts, the rocks, the frozen earth beneath his feet. "You have learned to see weakness and exploit it." Asrath's voice resonated through the bond, ancient and calm. Kael paused mid-strike, the blade hovering in the air. "Now you must learn to cut without being seen or heard. This is the third technique: Silent Severance." Kael lowered Enma. "Silent Severance?" "Extreme precision with minimal movement, sound, and wasted force. The first two techniques taught you to perceive and exploit. This one will teach you restraint. The blade must move like a thought—invisible, soundless,

The fire had burned low by the time Asrath spoke again. Kael sat cross-legged on his bedding, Enma resting across his knees. The blade's blue veins pulsed softly, casting faint light across the cave walls. Outside, the wind had died to a whisper. The mountain was still. "You have done well," Asrath said. His voice was calm, measured. "But now we must pause." Kael looked up. "Pause?" "You have learned the techniques of Severance Sight. But learning a technique is not the same as mastering it. And before you can master anything, you must first master the blade itself." Kael frowned. "I thought I already did that." "You can summon Enma. You can wield it. But how long does it take you to call the blade to your hand?" Kael considered. He'd never timed it. The process had become instinctive—reach through the bond, focus on the essence, pull. But instinctive didn't mean instant. "Three seconds," Kael admitted. "Maybe a little less." "Three seconds is an eternity in battle," Asrath

Kael set the ice bear down near the cave entrance. The carcass hit the snow with a heavy thud, steam rising from its still-warm body. His shoulder ached from carrying it, but it was a familiar ache. The good kind. The kind that meant a full meal.Orion stood waiting, arms crossed, grey eyes unreadable. "Why did you take so long?"Kael straightened, rolling his shoulder. "The first bear was destroyed.""Destroyed?""An Ice Fae." Kael's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "C-rank. It attacked after the kill. Froze the corpse, then detonated when I killed it. Took the whole area with it."Orion's gaze sharpened. "A C-rank Ice Fae.""Yes."Orion was silent for a long moment. He studied Kael's face, searching for injuries, for signs of frostbite or mana exhaustion. When he found none, he spoke again."You used Silver Light."It wasn't a question.Kael nodded. "Combined with Point Severance. It split the detonation. Diverted the blast around me.""Show me."Kael extended his hand. "Come, Enma."

The sixteenth year brought new power. Kael stood in the clearing outside the cave, Enma resting across his palms. The blade's blue veins pulsed steadily, waiting. Asrath's presence stirred at the edge of his awareness, ancient and calm. "Enma is not bound to a single location," the entity said. "It exists in the space between spaces, connected to you through the bond. When you call it, it comes. But the connection works both ways." Kael listened, his fingers tracing the rune on his left palm. "You have learned to summon the blade with a chant. Now you will learn to summon it without words. Distance will become irrelevant. If Enma is a mile away, it will appear in your hand the moment you call. If you throw the blade, you can recall it before it lands." Kael tested it. He threw Enma across the valley, watching it arc through the air like a bolt of blue lightning. Then he reached through the bond and called. The blade vanished mid-flight and reappeared in his grip instantly. No