The Ashen Vale was wide enough to swallow armies, but somehow the squads still crossed paths.
Kaelen's group stumbled into a clearing ringed by blackened trees, the ground scarred with fresh claw marks. They were gathering themselves after a wolf skirmish when a familiar voice rang out from the mist.
"Well, well. Even the faint serpent boy survives."
Joren emerged with his squad at his back. His serpent gleamed like jade fire, its scales catching what little light pierced the fog. Behind him, Talis and Ren carried pouches heavy with cores. Their confidence was a wall.
Thalen bristled instantly. "We've slain our share as well."
Joren's smirk was sharp. "Oh? Did Kaelen carry you, as always?" His followers laughed, the sound grating in the silence of the Vale.
Mira stiffened, but Kaelen only studied them calmly. His Insight traced the faint shimmer of Qi through Joren's limbs, cataloguing movements, noting improvements. Each time they met, Joren's power grew sharper—and so did Kaelen's understanding of how to counter it.
"Gathering cores is one thing," Joren continued, stepping closer, "but when the real trial begins, only strength decides who returns. Best not to weigh down your squad with dead weight."
Thalen lunged half a step forward before Mira caught his arm. Kaelen, silent as stone, let the words pass over him. Outwardly faint. Inwardly coiling tighter.
The elders had not spoken it aloud, but everyone understood: this mission was more than a hunt. It was a ranking ground, a chance to prove who deserved attention, and who would remain forgotten.
And already, whispers were spreading between squads. Some said Joren's group would claim double their required cores and return in triumph. Others murmured that Kaelen's survival so far was luck, nothing more.
The tension thickened, heavier than the Vale's mist. Each encounter between the two squads became less about beasts and more about rivalry.
Kaelen knew what the others did not—that shadows grew strongest where light burned brightest. And Joren's light was already blazing too hot.
The clash was inevitable. The only question was whether it would happen before they left the Vale… or within its darkest depths.