The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that Kimbachi wasn't alone anymore.
The fire had burned down to embers, and beside him were four others I'd never seen before. For a moment I thought I was still dreaming, but no—the air was heavy with tension, the kind you only get when strangers size each other up.
Kimbachi's eyes flicked toward me. "Good. You're awake. Get up, Nyx. You've got people to meet."
I dragged myself upright, throat dry. My chest still pulsed with that second heartbeat—the Asptrack—and I tried not to let it show on my face.
The four newcomers turned their gazes on me, each one different, each one sharper than I wanted to deal with.
Lily was the first to speak. A girl with pale hair tied back neatly, her hands folded in front of her. There was something soft about her eyes, calm and steady, but I felt like she could see straight through me.
"Another one," she said quietly, smiling. "Welcome."
Tix snorted. He was lean, wiry, with a cocky smirk plastered across his face. His arms were crossed, and he looked me over like I was dirt on his boots. "This is him? The one you dragged along, teacher? Doesn't look like much."
I bristled, but the words stuck in my throat.
Null didn't say anything. A tall figure with dark hair falling in his eyes, standing a little apart from the others. He watched me silently, unblinking. And I swear his gaze lingered on my chest—right where the Asptrack pulsed.
I shifted uncomfortably.
And then there was Rob. Broad shoulders, big grin, a presence that should have been intimidating but wasn't. He waved cheerfully. "Hey! Don't mind Tix, he's an ass to everybody. I'm Rob."
I blinked at him. "…Right."
Kimbachi stood, his presence instantly commanding silence. He wasn't loud. He didn't need to be.
"Now that introductions are out of the way," he said, voice level, "it's time for your first real trial together. We're hunting a Soul Reaver."
The words hit me like ice.
I'd heard the stories. Everyone had. Soul Reavers weren't demons. They weren't men. They were something in between—beasts born from corrupted Dead Souls, half trapped in the Void, half clawing into our world.
No two ever looked the same. Some were twisted animals, others warped mockeries of people. But one thing was always true: they were deadly.
"You're insane," I muttered before I could stop myself.
Kimbachi's eyes snapped to mine. Calm. Cold. "You think surviving the Void makes you strong, Nyx? You think sealing one orb means you're prepared? You're not. None of you are. A Reaver is the first step."
Tix grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Finally. Some real action."
Null just tilted his head, as if already dissecting the creature in his mind.
Lily gave me a small, sympathetic glance. "It'll be fine," she whispered. "Together, we'll be fine."
I wanted to believe her.
But my chest burned, the Asptrack pulsing harder, like it already knew what was coming.
The journey took three days.
Three days of endless walking through broken fields and ruins, the land still scarred by the Void's touch. Trees twisted into unnatural shapes, shadows stretched wrong at dusk, and sometimes we swore we heard whispers just out of earshot.
Kimbachi led the way, never faltering. Always calm. Always perfect.
The others filled the silence. Rob told dumb jokes that made Lily smile, even if Tix groaned and told him to shut up. Null rarely spoke, but every so often he'd mutter something that made my skin crawl—observations about how the Void "feeds" or how souls "fracture."
And me? I walked in silence. Always one step behind. Always the odd one out.
Tix noticed. He never missed a chance to jab. "You walk like you're dragging chains, Nyx. Maybe you should've stayed home."
I clenched my fists but said nothing.
Rob shoved Tix lightly. "Hey, lay off. He's trying."
"Trying gets you killed," Tix shot back.
Kimbachi didn't intervene. He just walked ahead, letting the words hang.
On the second night, I couldn't sleep.
The Asptrack pulsed again, red light flickering in my dreams. I saw Kora. Rin. Lobli. Always them. Always gone.
I stumbled out of the camp, chest burning, air too heavy. And there was Null, standing alone, staring at the horizon.
"You feel it too, don't you?" he said without turning.
My throat tightened. "…What?"
"The mark. The pulse. The Void's eye on you." His voice was low, almost reverent. "It's watching."
My blood ran cold. "How do you—"
He finally looked at me, a faint smile tugging his lips. "Because it's watching me too."
By the third day, the land grew harsher.
The ground rose into jagged cliffs, the path breaking apart into a staircase carved from blackened stone. Half the steps had crumbled, warped by corruption.
Kimbachi strode up without pause. The others managed with steady footing.
I tried.
Each step was agony. My legs shook, lungs burned, chest pounding like the Asptrack was trying to claw its way out. The air grew heavier with every rise, whispering in my ears — stop, lie down, die here.
I saw Kora's smile. Rin's laugh. Lobli's quiet eyes. Memories pressing down harder than the Void itself. If I quit here, if I stopped climbing, then their deaths meant nothing.
One step. Then another. Then another.
My knees slammed stone. Blood slicked my palms. The whispers grew louder. But I forced myself upward, dragging my useless body one step at a time.
By the time I reached the top, I collapsed face-first in the dirt.
Kimbachi's shadow fell over me. His voice was calm, steady, merciless. "If you stop climbing, you'll never survive the Void."
I wanted to hate him. But I couldn't. Because he was right.
The land grew quieter after that. Too quiet. No birds, no wind, just silence heavy enough to crush my lungs.
Kimbachi stopped at the edge of a clearing. His eyes narrowed. "It's here."
I forced my head up. And I saw it.
The Soul Reaver.
It stood in the center of the clearing, a twisted beast of bone and shadow. Its body was armored in black scales, its head a hollow skull with burning red eyes. Chains hung from its limbs, dragging across the ground, clinking with every movement.
The air around it warped, heavy with the stink of the Void.
My legs locked. My chest burned like fire.
Tix grinned, drawing the small blade at his hip. "Looks fun."
Lily raised her hands, light gathering between her palms. Rob hefted a massive hammer across his shoulders. Null's eyes gleamed, hungry.
And Kimbachi… Kimbachi just watched.
"A Soul Reaver is born when a Dead Soul fails its trial," he said calmly. "This is what you could become. A husk. A monster. Remember that."
He stepped back.
"Fight it. All of you. Together."
I stared at him, horror ripping through me. "Wait—you're not—?"
He shook his head. "This is your battle. Not mine."
The Reaver lifted its skull, chains rattling. Its roar split the air, shaking the ground beneath us.
And all I could do was stand there, frozen, while the others prepared to fight.
The Asptrack in my chest pulsed like it would burst.