The trail east of Graven Hollow narrowed into a steep, winding ledge with sharp switchbacks and frost-slick stones. Kael moved with care, not from fear of falling, but from the possibility of ambush. Places like this were perfect for people who wanted bodies to vanish with the next landslide.
The forest here was quiet. Not peaceful—quiet like something big had passed through recently and scared everything smaller into silence.
Kael kept his cloak tight and one hand near the blade.
He didn't trust quiet.
He found the ruins by accident.
What had once been a checkpoint or rest post had been burned down to stone and ash. Twisted metal. Shattered bone. No scavengers. No birds. Just blackened earth and the unmistakable stench of divine fire long cooled.
Kael crouched by a fallen wall and examined the scorched pattern near the ground—circular, branded into the rock. Familiar.
The same kind of cleansing glyph the Church used when they wanted something dead and erased.
He stood. This wasn't bandit work.
This was a purge.
"You move like someone expecting trouble."
Kael didn't flinch. The voice came from behind him, calm, low, female.
He turned slowly.
A woman leaned against a fractured pillar, her arms crossed, a long spear strapped to her back. Her armor was practical—leathers reinforced with rune-etched metal. Her hair was pulled back, and her eyes didn't waver.
Kael said nothing.
"I figured I'd find you ahead of me," she said. "You left quite the trail."
"Who are you?"
"Lys," she said. "Branded Hunter."
"That's not a title people say out loud."
"I'm not most people."
Kael's eyes drifted to her spear. "You looking to make a name off me?"
"If I was here to kill you, you wouldn't have seen me first."
Another pause.
She pushed off the pillar and walked toward the scorched ruins.
"This was one of the Sealed Order's outposts," she said. "They torched it a few months ago. Something came through that scared the priests bad enough to write it off the maps."
Kael waited.
"They said it was a weapon. Something unstable. Unmarked. Killed nine men. Then disappeared."
She looked back at him. "Sound familiar?"
"Maybe," Kael said. "You here to finish what they started?"
"No," she said. "If I thought you were out of control, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Lys stepped closer, now within range if either of them made a move. She didn't look worried.
"I've hunted rogue Brands for five years," she said. "Cursed blades, stolen seals, soul-fused monsters. But whatever you're carrying… it doesn't register."
Kael's fingers brushed the hilt of the shadowblade.
Lys noticed. "Relax. If I was going to try you, I'd already be halfway through the swing."
He didn't let go.
"I'm not here for your head," she said. "Not yet. Just information."
Kael studied her for a moment, then slowly pulled the blade free.
It didn't shine. It drank the light.
Lys took a half step back—not fear, but instinct.
"...Yeah," she muttered. "That's what I thought."
"What exactly do you think?"
"That you're walking around with something the Order thought they buried," she said. "Something that doesn't belong in circulation."
Kael sheathed it again.
Lys nodded. "Didn't come here to preach. I came to see if you were in control."
"And?"
"You're not foaming at the mouth or setting fire to villages, so for now? You're not my problem."
She turned to leave but paused after a few steps.
"Listen," she said over her shoulder. "The Sealed Order isn't looking to capture you. They're scared. And when people like them are scared, they burn everything that looks like a threat."
Kael said nothing.
"Watch your back," she added. "You won't see the next team coming."
Then she disappeared into the trees.
Kael waited.
Once her presence faded, he continued east.
He didn't think about her warning. He didn't second-guess her story.
She was a threat. Not immediate, but real. He filed her name away with the others who would probably come back later—when they thought they had an edge.
That night, Kael camped beneath the broken frame of an old bridge. The river beneath was frozen over, the wood groaning in the wind. He kept the fire low and the shadows close.
As he sat with his back to the stones, the system finally returned.
Soulweight: 30 — Threshold ReachedMinor Evolution Unlocked: Phantom StepNew Ability: [Phase] — Step between frames of perception for one heartbeat.Use with caution. Overuse may cause anchor desync.
Kael stared at the message.
No visions. No pain. Just… the update.
He didn't smile.
He just stood and drew the blade.
It pulsed once.
Then the world blinked.
One step—fast, cold, effortless.
Kael vanished.
And reappeared ten paces behind where he had been, breath misting, knees slightly bent, heart hammering like he'd run a mile.
He exhaled slow.
Useful.
He sheathed the blade.
No whispers. No curses. No warnings.
For now, the weapon was quiet.
He sat back by the fire, adjusted his cloak, and closed his eyes.
Not to sleep.
Just to wait.