The cavern had gone silent. Snow blew across the jagged peaks outside, but inside, the air was thick with the lingering energy of the Third Seal. Rayon stood at the center, hands in his pockets, black strings weaving lazily around him, guiding the chaotic power of the seal's essence into a neat, stable form.
Before him floated the captured guardian: a massive, shadowy entity with four arms, serrated claws, and wings that shimmered like black glass. Its eyes burned like molten amber, but now there was something different—restraint. Not fear exactly, but the understanding that it had been bound.
Vorthalaxis slumped at Rayon's side, exhausted from the battle, black scales dull and wings twitching spasmodically. Erethon's shadowed grin hovered in Rayon's mind.
"You know, most mortals would have collapsed after that fight," Erethon whispered. "But you… you just stand there like you've been walking through a Sunday stroll."
Rayon ignored him, stepping closer to the Third Seal's beast.
"You're… conscious," he said, voice calm. The beast's massive wings twitched but did not rise. Its voice rumbled like stones grinding together, low and ancient.
"I am bound… but I am alive. Your threads… they are cunning. Who are you to hold me so?"*
Rayon tilted his head. "I'm the one who's not going to die here." His silver eyes flickered over the beast. "And you? You're coming with me. Not because I want you dead, but because I want your power to stay useful."
The beast's claws scraped the cavern floor. "Useful… to you? You dare claim what has been sealed for eons?"*
Rayon smirked. "I don't claim. I borrow." He raised a hand, letting strings snake around the creature, not painfully, but firm enough to guide it. Black threads wove through its wings and limbs, anchoring it to his control without breaking its will.
"I see… you are… different. Others would have killed me."
"Different is better," Rayon replied casually. "And besides… I like a conversation now and then."
Vorthalaxis stirred beside him, tail coiling tightly around Rayon's arm. "He'll be useful," the serpent hissed, voice strained. "He's strong. Stronger than I am right now."
Rayon glanced down. "Yeah, but you've got centuries of rest ahead. You're going to need a little… sustenance."
Outside the cavern, the peaks were alive with movement. Rays of light cut through snow clouds, revealing twisted forms—ancient predators that had grown wild in the isolation of the Ashen Peaks. These were not ordinary beasts. They were echoes of long-forgotten powers, offspring of ancient seals and rogue threads of energy left behind by failed experiments and forgotten gods.
Rayon turned to Vorthalaxis. "I need you to eat, but not indiscriminately. We'll take cores from the strongest."
The serpent hissed, dark eyes narrowing. "You do realize… if I push too hard, I could kill everything around us in a radius of hundreds of miles."
Rayon chuckled. "Yeah. I know. So don't do that. You'll still get your fill, but we're keeping it precise. And… enjoy it."
With a lazy flick of his fingers, black strings shot out and snagged the closest prey—a massive wolf-like beast with six limbs and scales instead of fur, its head twice the size of a man. Rayon stepped aside, letting Vorthalaxis strike. The serpent's maw tore through the beast with efficiency, black markings on its scales flaring as it siphoned the energy core from the monster.
"Core absorbed," Vorthalaxis said, voice fading slightly with relief. Its strength slowly returned, sinews tightening, wings stretching.
Rayon watched, one hand still in his pocket, as the serpent moved through the peaks, striking and absorbing cores from other creatures: a giant, scuttling arachnid whose eyes glimmered like sapphires; a bird of prey with feathers like shards of obsidian; a massive quadruped that exhaled poisonous gas. Each was dispatched efficiently, their essence drawn into Vorthalaxis's body, restoring power without reckless destruction.
Erethon laughed quietly. "You really do enjoy watching him eat, don't you? It's like feeding a dragon from a silver platter."
Rayon smirked faintly. "I like my pets… well-fed."
Meanwhile, the Third Seal's guardian hovered nearby, wings folding in a tense calm. Rayon finally focused on it.
"You have a name?" he asked.
The beast's voice rumbled. "I am Vorynth. Bound by seals… restrained by threads. I am not your enemy… yet."
"I'm Rayon. And neither am I your enemy. But you'll serve a purpose." He let a string flick gently around its claws, nudging it forward. "Your power will help me maintain balance… and chaos. Depending on what I feel like."
Vorynth's eyes narrowed, intelligent and calculating. "I have been awake for millennia, waiting. I have seen mortals come and go. I am bound… but my mind is free. Why should I trust you?"
Rayon's smirk deepened. "Because you don't have a choice. And because you know if you resist, you lose."
"Clever…"
"And because," Rayon added, voice low and playful, "I like clever creatures."
Vorynth let out a low rumble that sounded suspiciously like amusement. "Then… I will follow. But know this, mortal. If you betray me, I will not hesitate to end you."
"Noted," Rayon said casually, tossing a small, black orb into the air and catching it. "But you won't betray me, because you like being alive too much."
By the time night fell over the peaks, Vorthalaxis had absorbed cores from nearly a dozen of the ancient creatures. Its wings stretched fully, black scales gleaming, muscles rippling with renewed strength. Rayon stood at the edge of a cliff, hands in his pockets, watching the serpent test its flight.
"I feel… better," Vorthalaxis said, voice low and rumbling. "Stronger. Faster. Alive."
Rayon smirked faintly. "Good. You'll need it. The First Seal isn't far, and it won't be gentle."
"We're getting close," Erethon said from the edges of his consciousness. "And judging by the threads I'm sensing… the Circle is mobilizing. They know about this one. They're sending someone very strong—someone who won't hesitate."
Rayon tilted his head. "Let them come. I've got friends in every shadow, and a few tricks they don't know about."
Vorynth hovered behind him, wings folding, eyes scanning the horizon. "And the one who freed me… he will guide us? Is he… always like this?"
Rayon smirked. "Always. And you'll get used to it."
As dawn broke, the Ashen Peaks trembled slightly—a vibration that even Rayon's strings registered. The ground cracked in the distance, jagged fissures snaking through the rocks. From deep within one of these fissures, a glow erupted, unnatural and pulsating, sending waves of power across the peaks.
Vorynth hissed softly, wings bristling. "Something… has awakened. Something old. Something… wrong."
Rayon's silver eyes narrowed. "I can feel it too." He glanced at Vorthalaxis, who coiled tightly around his arm, black markings flaring. "Get ready. Whatever this is… it isn't a creature I've faced before."
Erethon's grin was faint but sharp. "Oh… it's not just a creature. It's the kind of problem that makes mortals wet themselves. You're going to like this."
From the fissure, a voice echoed—ancient, distorted, and terrifying:
"Rayon… you think you've claimed the Third Seal? You have no idea what you've awoken."
Rayon smirked faintly, voice calm and cold: "I don't care. Let's see who's brave enough to try stopping me."
And with that, the mountains trembled.
The horizon split with an unholy glow, illuminating not just the peaks, but the ocean beyond. Something enormous was stirring beneath the rocks—a force that had been sleeping since before the seals were placed.
Erethon's voice echoed with dark amusement. "Oh… this is going to be fun."
Vorthalaxis hissed lowly. "It feels… wrong. Very wrong."
Rayon's smirk never faltered. "Good. Wrong is where the fun begins."
The sky cracked as the light from the fissure intensified. Something massive, something alive and ancient, began to emerge. And for the first time, Rayon felt the threads of the world tighten—not in his favor, but in challenge.
The hunt had only just escalated.