Rise From The Wraith

THE PRICE OF POWER

“Kael!”

Darius’s voice sounded distant in the darkness.

Kael opened his eyes. His chest felt as though it had been struck by a hammer, while black lines pulsed across both his arms. He lay on the muddy road, only a few meters away from the giant Wraith, which was still kneeling.

“Get up, Kael!” Rovan shouted while firing at the approaching Wraiths.

Kael tried to stand, but his knees gave way. “I can’t...”

The Giant Wraith raised its head. Cracks in its Core Node glowed red before slowly closing.

“Don’t let it get back up!” Darius barked.

Too late.

The Wraith slammed both hands into the ground. The impact sent soldiers flying and shattered the remains of the wooden fence. Kael rolled toward the ruins of a house. When he lifted his head, the creature was already standing.

“Surrender yourself. You won’t be able to withstand that power,” it said.

“Make me,” Kael replied.

The Giant Wraith charged. Kael tried to summon the power inside his body, but nothing happened. The creature’s claws struck the ground right beside his head.

Kael rolled away.

“Damn it!”

The next swipe caught his right leg. He was thrown backward and slammed into a cracked wall.

“Kael. Get away from it!” Darius shouted.

“I’m trying!”

Rovan rushed to help, but two Wraiths blocked his path. He shot the first one’s Core Node, shattering it, then dodged the second creature’s attack and smashed his weapon against its jaw before shooting the glowing core in its chest.

The Wraith collapsed.

“Don’t die on me yet, Bookworm!” Rovan yelled. “I’m not done messing with you!”

Kael managed a faint smile despite the pain.

The Giant Wraith approached again.

“Why do you protect them? They are weak. Sooner or later, they will die.”

Kael saw Darius helping Terry to his feet while Rovan continued fighting.

“Because they’re my friends.”

“You’re willing to die for them?”

Kael fell silent.

“Fool.”

The creature attacked again. This time, Kael waited until its claws were almost touching his face before shifting to the side. The claws smashed into the wall, reducing it to rubble.

Kael immediately struck its Core Node.

CRACK!

Red fractures appeared, but his punch was too weak. The Wraith barely moved before driving its knee into Kael’s stomach.

Kael was thrown to the ground.

“Why isn’t it working?” he muttered.

The Giant Wraith grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head.

“You don’t even understand what lies inside your own body.”

Kael gripped the creature’s wrist. “Then I’ll figure it out after I beat the hell out of you!”

The soldiers stared in disbelief. Kael, usually known for being naive and timid, was now daring to challenge a creature far stronger than himself.

Suddenly, gunfire struck the Giant Wraith’s face.

“Let him go!” Darius shouted.

The creature threw Kael aside and charged at Darius, whose one arm hung injured at his side.

“Commander, look out!” Rovan yelled.

Darius tried to dodge, but he was too slow. The Giant claws rose, ready to strike him down.

Kael saw everything.

Darius was going to die.

Without a second thought, Kael lunged forward and shoved his commander out of the attack’s path.

The claws slammed into Kael’s back.

CRAAK!

His body was hurled away. Blood spilled from his mouth, and for a moment, he could no longer feel his legs.

“Kael!” Darius shouted.

The Giant Wraith stared at him. “Why do you keep protecting them?”

Kael struggled to lift his head.

“Because... I won’t let them die.”

The black lines across his body began to glow red.

An overwhelming pressure exploded from his chest. The ground cracked, the air trembled, and every Wraith stopped moving. Even the giant creature took a step back.

Kael slowly rose to his feet. His eyes turned dark red as black lines spread across his face.

“Kael...” Rovan whispered. “What’s happening to you?”

Kael did not answer.

The Giant Wraith charged. Kael caught its arm with both hands. The ground beneath his feet shattered, but this time, he did not move backward.

He twisted his body, slammed the Wraith onto the road, and repeatedly struck its Core Node.

BOOM!

Every punch released a flash of red light. The cracks across the core grew wider.

“Stop!” Darius shouted.

Kael could no longer hear him. He raised his fist one final time.

KRAAAASH!

A burst of red light exploded, throwing everyone backward. When the dust settled, the Giant Wraith lay motionless. Its Core Node had been completely destroyed.

The remaining Wraiths retreated into the forest. Before disappearing, they bowed their heads toward Kael as if paying their respects.

Rovan stared at him, his face pale. “What the hell is he?”

Darius said nothing. Black lines still spread across Kael’s skin, pulsing faster and faster.

“I killed it,” Kael murmured.

“You saved our lives,” Darius replied cautiously. “Now, get away from its body.”

But Kael did not move. Suddenly, his vision changed.

He stood in a vast chamber buried deep underground. Stone pillars rose through the darkness. At the center of the room, a red object pulsed like a beating heart, encased in thick glass.

Several figures in dark robes stood around it.

“The subject is showing an unusual response,” one of them said.

“His energy levels continue to rise.”

“If we proceed with the process, we may no longer be able to control him.”

A man stood before the red object. His face was hidden, but the black lines on both his hands were identical to those spreading across Kael’s body.

The man touched the glass.

A shadow moved behind it.

Then a voice whispered.

“Remember.”

Kael flinched. “What is this? Who are you?”

The scene shifted into a narrow corridor. At the far end, a human figure stood in the darkness. Kael could feel its gaze piercing straight through him.

Before he could approach, the entire scene shattered into fragments of light.

Kael fell into darkness.

***

Kael awoke in the infirmary, gasping for breath.

“Kael!”

Lyra hurried to his side. Her face was exhausted, but she looked relieved to see him awake.

“Don’t move. You’ve been unconscious for several hours.”

“What about the others?” Kael asked immediately. “Darius? Rovan?”

“They’re alive. Some were seriously injured, but everyone made it back to the outpost.”

Kael closed his eyes. At least this time, he hadn’t lost anyone.

He raised his right hand. The black lines had disappeared, as if they had never existed.

However, a faint red light pulsed beneath the skin of his wrist several times before vanishing.

“Kael? What’s wrong?” Lyra asked.

“Nothing.”

Lyra gave him a suspicious look before leaving to call someone.

Kael turned toward the window. Night had fallen, and the forest looked silent. Yet he could feel something watching him. Not from the forest, but from somewhere inside himself.

A voice sounded in his mind, calm and quiet, as though it had been waiting for hundreds of years.

“Finally.”

Kael held his breath.

“Who are you?”

There was no answer.

Far beneath the outpost, behind layers of stone buried for hundreds of years, dust fell from the ceiling of a sealed chamber.

Then came three heavy knocks.

Something that should have remained asleep was beginning to awaken.