2025-12-13 05:26:32
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THE PATH THROUGH THE SCREAM
Flying low over the Twisted Wastes felt like swimming through poison. Sharp rock spikes jutted out of the ground like broken teeth, twisting and splitting the land in impossible angles. Patches of soil glowed with strange green and violet light, pulsing faintly as if the land itself had a heartbeat. Even the air seemed alive, filled with faint whispers that clawed at the mind, echoes left behind from the time the world was torn apart. Every gust carried a sense of danger. Every shadow suggested something unseen was waiting.Draven flew at the front, steady and precise. Marcus and the Free Blades followed close behind, keeping formation. They stayed low, barely fifty feet above the broken terrain, moving slowly to avoid drawing the attention of the larger flying predators that lurked in the skies.“It feels wrong,” Lys said softly, her voice carrying over the hum of the wind. She squinted at the ground, scanning for movement. “Like the land itself is alive.”“That it is,” Draven said.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
The moment Marcus disappeared, Draven acted. Two hours wasn’t much, but it was all he had. Every second counted.He strode into his residence, mind clear, feet light. First, a status check. He focused inward and called up the System interface.[ Status: Draven ][ Realm: Qi Refining, S Grade, Level 4 ][ Core Stability: Ninety-four percent. Phoenix Down absorption complete ][ Qi Reserve: 100% | Purity: High ][ Notable Skills ][ Five Element Fist: Grandmaster. Progress twenty-five percent ][ Zephyr Dance: Major. Progress forty-five percent. Phantom Step ready ][ Aura Shell: Grandmaster. Reactive layering active ][ Blossoming Strikes: Proficient. Progress seventy-five percent ][ Chaotic Maw: Synthesized. Untested. High Qi cost ][ Strife Points: 2,600 ][ Current Objectives: Consolidate Sovereign Position. Ruin-Crawler Vault Retrieval ]He exhaled slowly. The numbers were solid. The Phoenix Down had done more than increase his fire affinity. His core felt smoother, cleaner, like
THE UNWELCOME GUEST
A full week passed inside the Verdant Spring Enclave, and for the first time since arriving at the Spire, Draven experienced something close to routine.Each morning began the same way. He sat cross-legged in the quiet center of his residence, the Phoenix feather resting across his palms. It no longer burned brightly like it had on the first day. Its glow was softer now, deeper, as if the fire had turned inward. Draven breathed slowly and guided the energy into his Chaotic Seed.The fire did not rush. It flowed steadily, patiently, like molten gold being poured into a mold.His Chaotic Seed accepted it greedily, refining it, balancing it. The warmth spread through his body, soaking into muscle, bone, and blood. His heartbeat grew strong and steady. His breathing deepened. It felt as though his body remembered sunlight from another life.By the end of each session, the feather looked duller, thinner, its ancient power slowly fading into him. In return, Draven felt tougher. Harder to br
THE FIRST TRIBUTE
The rain fell for more than an hour, washing the courtyard clean. Ash, frost, and scorch marks faded as water ran through the cracks in the stone. By the time the clouds finally broke, the damage looked less like a battlefield and more like a memory.The repair crew arrived quietly.They came from the lower city, a group of earth and metal Awakeners dressed in plain work robes. No questions. No stares. They bowed once to Draven and went straight to work. Stone lifted itself back into shape. Metal flowed like clay. Qi hummed softly through tools and hands.The shattered dome was repaired first. A stronger lattice of energy formed overhead, glowing faintly as it locked into place. The storm outside was sealed away, and calm returned to the enclave.Draven watched from the porch of the residence.He could feel the change inside himself. His power sat heavier now, deeper. S Grade Level Four. Stable. Controlled.The Chaotic Maw technique rested in his mind like a coiled beast. He understoo
THE PRICE OF VICTORY
Draven landed in the center of the crater, his boots touching the shattered stone as lightly as falling leaves. The ground beneath him was cracked and scorched, still warm in some places and frozen in others. The air buzzed faintly, filled with leftover traces of fire, ice, lightning, and twisted wind. Every breath carried the smell of ozone and broken earth.A few steps away, Kieran and Elara touched down more heavily. Their breathing was controlled, but only just. The fine clothes they had worn with such pride earlier were torn, stained, and burned in places. Kieran’s shoulder twitched as he straightened, and Elara’s frost aura flickered unevenly around her hands.From the far edge of the ruined garden, Silas limped forward. One arm was wrapped tightly around his ribs, his face pale. Each step was careful, measured, and painful.The courtyard was silent.Not the tense silence from before the fight.This was different.This was the silence that followed defeat.Kieran broke it first.
SKY HIGH SCIONS
The three Scions did not rush Draven again while his feet were on the ground. They had learned something important from the first exchange. Standing still against him was a mistake. Letting him control the flow of the fight was even worse.Kieran floated backward, flames rolling lazily off his shoulders. He grinned, but this time there was tension in his eyes.“The ground is too cramped,” he said loudly. “Let us fight where we are strongest.”Without waiting for agreement, he shot upward. Elara followed at once, her body lifted by a spiral of cold air. Silas vanished completely, melting into the shadows as if he had never been there.The three of them punched through the glowing dome above the courtyard and burst into the open sky.Draven looked up.Then he smiled.He pushed his Qi downward and rose after them, the wind screaming past his ears as the ground fell away. The Verdant Spring Enclave shrank quickly, becoming a small patch of white stone far below.The sky above the Spire wa
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