Chapter 6:
The night burned with light and shadow. Crackling arcs of lightning split through the mist as Kaelen swung his arm, bolts lashing out to scatter the first wave of spectral beasts. Their bodies of smoke shrieked as they burst into fading wisps, only to reform moments later, eyes glowing hotter, hungrier. Elira stood in the center of the chaos, her moonstone pendant blazing like a second star in the field. With each glyph she drew, pale radiance seared away the shadows, Lunaris's wings amplifying the glow into shimmering shields that repelled claw and fang.
But for every beast they felled, three more slithered from the treeline. The Obsidian Order's masked leader stood watching, staff planted in the soil, the obsidian shard pulsing with veins of red light. His presence was a weight pressing down on their chests, turning each breath sharp and heavy.
Kaelen cursed under his breath, sparks snapping off his fingertips. "They just keep coming! This is pointless!"
"Then strike smarter," Elira snapped back, her tone even but sharp. She extended her arm, weaving a crescent of light that sliced through three shadow-hounds in one sweep. "The beasts are tethered. Sever the link."
Kaelen's eyes narrowed. He followed the tendrils of shadow curling back to the Order's staff. His lips curled into a grin. "Finally. A target worth frying."
Before Elira could protest, he shot forward, lightning coiling around his body like armor. Each step cracked the ground beneath him. The masked sorcerer raised his staff, chanting words that twisted the air, and the shadows thickened into a wall of claws and fangs.
Kaelen didn't slow. He raised his fist, thunder booming as he smashed through the wall with raw force, scattering the wraiths like ashes in a storm. In the same motion, he hurled a spear of lightning straight at the staff.
The impact was deafening. Light exploded, shards of obsidian and smoke flying in every direction. The tether snapped, and the shadow beasts let out collective screams before dissolving into nothingness.
The field went still, save for the soft crackle of fading sparks.
Kaelen staggered, panting, his fists smoking. "Hah… and that's how you end a fight."
Elira exhaled slowly, lowering her arms as Lunaris circled back to her shoulder. "Reckless. But effective."
Yet the victory was short-lived. The masked leader still stood, though his staff was shattered, his robes torn. He didn't flee. Instead, he laughed—a hollow, rasping sound that echoed unnaturally.
"You think you've won?" he hissed, voice seeping like oil through the air. "No… this was never about winning. Only watching."
Kaelen's brow furrowed. "Watching?"
Elira's pendant pulsed. "Explain."
The man's mask cracked, revealing one eye glowing with crimson fire. "The Order has awaited this convergence for years. Moonlight and storm… joined at last. The prophecy unfolds."
Elira's stomach clenched. She had heard whispers of prophecies before, secrets spoken only within the Moon Clan. But to hear it from the mouth of their enemy sent chills down her spine. "What do you know of it?"
The man tilted his head, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Enough. That when the child of the Moon's blessing binds fate with the one born of stormfire, the heavens themselves will tremble. You are not allies by chance—you are inevitability. And inevitability… belongs to us."
He raised his hand, and for a moment Kaelen thought another spell was coming. But instead, black flames erupted across his body, consuming him entirely. His final words hissed through the fire like venom. "The Obsidian Order sees. The Order claims. We will come again."
And then he was gone, leaving only ash carried on the cold night breeze.
Silence pressed in around them. The fields were still once more, the stars distant, uncaring.
Kaelen rubbed the back of his neck, sparks still twitching from his skin. "Well. That was… cryptic."
Elira's eyes remained fixed on the scorched patch of earth where the sorcerer had burned away. Her pendant dimmed, but a soft tremor still lingered in its glow. "It was no ordinary cryptic threat. He knew of the prophecy."
Kaelen raised a brow. "You actually buy that mumbo jumbo? Stormfire and moonlight shaking the heavens? Sounds like something a cult makes up to scare people."
"It was not his invention." Elira's voice was calm, but there was weight beneath it. She turned, the silver of her eyes gleaming under the moon. "There is an ancient legend within my clan. It speaks of a pact that would one day be forged under moonlight and storm. A bond powerful enough to alter the balance of realms."
Kaelen blinked, then let out a sharp laugh. "You're kidding. So you're saying we're some kind of… chosen duo? Heroes destined to save—or destroy—the world?"
"I am saying," Elira replied, "that our meeting is no accident."
Kaelen frowned, her words sinking into him like stubborn rain. He didn't want destiny. He didn't want prophecy. He wanted freedom, to prove himself on his own terms. Yet as he looked at Elira—the steady glow of her aura, the quiet strength in her stance—something unspoken stirred.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, chosen or not, if they're going to keep coming after us, I'm not sitting around waiting. We hit back. Hard."
Elira studied him, then inclined her head slightly. "Perhaps for once, we agree."
The villagers, drawn by the light and noise, began to emerge from their homes. Relief spread through them when they saw the beasts gone. The headman approached, bowing deeply. "You've saved us. Luthmere owes you everything."
Elira gave a faint smile. "It was our duty."
Kaelen muttered, "And a decent warm-up."
They stayed the night, resting in the village's small inn. Yet sleep did not come easily. For Elira, the words of the Order echoed like drums: convergence, prophecy, inevitability. For Kaelen, it was the look in her eyes—calm on the surface, yet burdened with knowledge she hadn't fully shared.
When dawn broke, they departed, walking the long road back to Astralis. The world seemed sharper somehow, the air charged not just with Kaelen's lightning but with invisible threads pulling them forward.
As the guild's spires came into view, Kaelen kicked a stone along the path. "So what's next? We just keep taking missions, waiting for these freaks to show up again?"
Elira's gaze lifted to the horizon, where clouds were gathering, dark and heavy. "No. We prepare. For the Order will not stop watching. And prophecy or not…" Her voice softened, almost too quiet to hear. "The storm is coming."
Above them, the sky rumbled...