The first rays of dawn sliced across the jagged canyon, igniting dust and stone in muted gold. Lucien, Kairo, and Ashveil stood at the edge of a clearing, muscles tense, veins humming with the subtle pulse of the void. Today's training was no longer practice—it was preparation for the inevitable: the remaining Revenants.
"Let's push further," Ashveil said, cloak rippling unnaturally, shadows curling around him like living smoke. "We've mastered coordination, learned to anticipate each other. Now… it's time to test synergy under pressure."
Lucien nodded, pale eyes scanning the canyon. The White responded almost instinctively, threads of energy flowing along his blade, over his arms, even into the sand at his feet. He could feel the subtle reaction of Kairo's bloodsteel, the way Ashveil's shadows bent and twisted to anticipate his moves.
Kairo cracked his knuckles, letting the steel hum. "If the last two are anything like Veythar… we're going to need every trick we've got."
Ashveil grinned, stepping into the center. "Then let's create our own tricks."
The three of them moved almost simultaneously. Lucien leapt, the White distorting gravity slightly under his feet, twisting midair to slash a fissure into the canyon wall. Kairo spun, bloodsteel slicing through the fissure, redirecting shards of stone toward Ashveil, who vanished into shadow. He reappeared behind Lucien, striking in tandem with Kairo's redirected stone shards.
The canyon floor became a storm of void energy, shadows, steel, and air. Every strike was exaggerated yet precise—high kicks spun into void-enhanced punches, spinning vaults collided with shadow blades, and the ground itself reacted, small cracks glowing faintly as if the earth was alive with their energy.
Lucien's eyes glowed faintly white, the White weaving around his limbs like liquid light. "Again!" he shouted, spinning through the air, sending arcs of void energy trailing behind. Kairo mirrored him, their movements perfectly synchronized, Ashveil moving like a shadow between them, exploiting openings they hadn't even created intentionally.
And then they paused. For a single heartbeat, all three froze, standing atop a fractured boulder, cloaks snapping, void energy radiating outward. The synchronization was nearly perfect—every subtle movement matched, every strike anticipated by the others.
Ashveil's grin was wide, shadow tendrils curling around him like applause. "That… that's what I call mastery. Not complete, but damn close."
Lucien exhaled, lowering his arms. "We can feel it, now. The White, the bloodsteel, the shadows… they respond to each other, like threads in a single weave."
Kairo laughed, spinning his blade lazily in one hand. "And to think… this is just practice. Imagine when we face the others."
Ashveil's gaze drifted toward the horizon, where faint ripples in the desert sand shimmered unnaturally. "Soon," he said. "Soon the remaining two will feel us approaching. They will know we exist."
Lucien's fingers brushed the edge of his blade. "And when they appear… we'll be ready. Not just to fight, but to show them what it means to move as one. The White… our voids… they're not just power. They're part of us, part of each other."
The canyon stretched endlessly before them, shadows long and dark under the rising sun. And far beyond, hidden in lands untouched by mortal eyes, the two remaining Revenants stirred, sensing the approach of kin. The final confrontation was coming, and the desert itself seemed to hold its breath.
Ashveil tilted his head, smirk tugging at his lips. "Then let's move forward… and let the world see what three of the six can do before the full storm arrives."
Lucien and Kairo nodded in unison. Together, three of the six, they descended from the canyon, leaving trails of void energy behind them—trails that would mark the beginning of the next chapter of the Revenants' story.