Chapter 936 — The Chaos Within
The morning sun broke through the Hollow's skyline in amber shards, gilding the rooftops in soft light. Kael stood at the overlook outside the Hall of Unity, his cloak stirring faintly in the cool breeze as three ravens took flight from the outpost tower below. Each bird carried a sealed letter bound for one of the allied kingdoms — Greystone, Ironside, and the Ocean Kingdom.
He watched them fade into the pale horizon, the weight of his decision settling heavily in his chest.
Three letters, three chances. The Coalition was no longer just an idea — it had taken flight.
Eris stood beside him, her form fully real beneath the morning light — no longer a whisper in his head, no longer a shimmer of chaotic essence. Her silver hair caught the dawn, and her eyes reflected it back like liquid metal.
"They are gone," she said softly. "The messages, I mean. It feels… final."
Kael nodded. "It is. Once those reach their rulers, there's no turning back. The world's about to change again."
Eris tilted her head. "You sound both proud and afraid."
Kael chuckled quietly. "I usually am, these days."
They walked in silence through the courtyard — past the newly rebuilt Science Hall, its fresh stone and glass gleaming like a monument to perseverance. Apprentices and scholars hurried about, greeting Kael with bows and salutes, their faces bright with purpose. The Hollow was alive again — stronger, unified, hopeful.
But Kael's mind was elsewhere. On Eris.
She walked with careful precision, each step deliberate, as though still learning how her new body responded to gravity, weight, and balance. Yet there was strength in her movements — a quiet, coiled power that reminded him of himself in the early days after his awakening.
"Come with me," Kael said finally, breaking the quiet.
Eris blinked. "To where?"
"The training grounds."
The hollow's arena was empty when they arrived — a wide ring of polished obsidian, ringed by stone columns and ancient banners. It smelled faintly of dust, sweat, and memory.
Kael tossed her a simple training blade, its hilt wrapped in black leather. She caught it easily, her reflexes sharp, her grip sure.
"I want to see what you can do," Kael said, drawing his own sword. "Now that you have a body — now that you're alive — I need to know if you can defend yourself."
Eris studied the blade in her hands, then looked to Kael. "And if I cannot?"
"Then I'll teach you."
He took a stance, balanced and calm. She mirrored him almost instantly, her movements unnervingly precise — as though reading his posture and replicating it perfectly.
"Begin," Kael said.
Eris moved.
Her body was a blur — not of skill, but of instinct, her strikes clean and measured. Kael parried each one easily at first, his movements effortless. But then — something shifted.
The air around Eris shimmered. Her blade moved faster, heavier, and the faint glow of chaos bled from her fingertips.
Kael's eyes widened as his sword caught hers mid-strike — the impact flaring with a shock of unstable energy.
"Eris—!"
Her expression was calm, but her eyes glowed faintly — silver and black light swirling in tandem. "It responds to me," she said, voice soft but resonant. "The chaos… listens."
Kael stepped back, lowering his weapon. "That's— impossible. You shouldn't be able to—"
"I can," she interrupted, her voice low, almost uncertain. "It answers when I call. Not wild. Not uncontrolled. It feels… like breathing."
Kael slowly sheathed his sword, eyes locked on her. The same chaotic current pulsed faintly through her hands — the same that once carved through his enemies, reshaped the world, and nearly consumed him.
"You shouldn't have this," Kael said quietly, half to himself. "Chaos magic isn't meant to exist in two beings. It's not a gift — it's a burden."
Eris tilted her head. "Then why do you call it yours?"
Kael froze.
Eris looked down at her hands, fingers trembling slightly as she flexed them, small wisps of chaos curling between them. "If this power is born from you — then perhaps it remembers where it came from. Maybe I am only what you could not keep contained."
The thought chilled him more than he wanted to admit.
He stepped closer, gripping her wrist gently. The air between them hummed — the chaos in her veins thrumming in rhythm with his own.
"You need to be careful with this," Kael said, his tone calm but firm. "It's not just magic. It's a force that feeds on emotion — on instinct. It'll test you every time you use it."
Eris looked up at him, her eyes clear. "Then I will learn. Like I learned to walk. Like I learned to feel."
Kael studied her for a long moment — this being who had once been a voice in his head, now standing before him, holding the same storm that once threatened to consume him.
"Then we'll train," he said finally. "Together. You'll learn control — and what it means to wield this kind of power responsibly."
Eris smiled faintly — the first genuine smile he had ever seen from her. "I will not fail you."
"You won't," Kael said quietly. "You're a part of me, after all."
As they stood in the soft light of the arena, the chaos between them pulsing like two heartbeats in sync, Kael felt something shift in the air — a quiet realization that the world had changed yet again.
And for the first time, he wasn't sure if he'd just created a weapon… or something far more powerful.