The city had never felt so alive.
Every wall seemed to hum, every flicker of light stretched into patterns that danced just beyond reason. Aradia's pulse matched the rhythm of the streets — that same quiet, steady beat that belonged to something ancient beneath the concrete. The Vein had grown louder since her last session with Kaelen. It wasn't just a whisper anymore; it was a living thing, coiled under her skin, tugging her forward.
Kaelen's voice drifted from behind her, calm yet commanding."Remember, it doesn't respond to control. It responds to alignment. You're not bending it — you're becoming part of it."
Aradia closed her eyes, inhaled the electric air, and let her thoughts sink into the pulse below. The world blurred until only sound and vibration existed.
For a second, she felt everything — the weight of glass towers, the flicker of lights from distant districts, the thrum of energy running like blood beneath the ground. It was overwhelming, intoxicating.
And then — it snapped.
A tremor shuddered through the street.
Kaelen's tone sharpened. "You reached too deep. Stay on the surface until it accepts you."
Aradia opened her eyes, breath uneven. "It's fighting me."
"It's testing you."
Kaelen moved beside her, every step silent. Their presence was a strange comfort — distant but steady. "The Vein is part of this city's memory. It remembers pain, betrayal, triumph. When you touch it, you touch all of that."
Aradia's gaze flicked to the fractured skyline, her mind restless. "And if I fail?"
Kaelen's masked face turned toward her. "Then it will remember that too."
The answer hit harder than any threat.
They walked in silence for a while. The Vein's light glimmered faintly beneath the streets — not gold, not silver, but something between, like molten thought.
That's when the air shifted.
A low vibration rolled through the city, steady and wrong. Kaelen's head snapped up immediately. "Stay close."
"What is it?"
"Not what. Who."
Before she could respond, the Vein beneath her feet flickered — a sharp pulse like a skipped heartbeat. And then came the scream.
It wasn't human. It wasn't even physical. It was the kind of sound that seemed to slice straight through the skull and rattle the heart.
Kaelen's hand moved fast, pressing to the ground. "He's here."
"Who?"
"The one the Vein listens to when it forgets us."
They moved fast, the sound of their boots striking wet stone echoing through the narrow street. The air shimmered faintly — not heat, but energy, bending light around invisible edges.
"Kaelen—"
"Quiet."
A shadow darted across the rooftops. The world itself seemed to tilt.
And then everything exploded into motion.
Figures dropped from above — dark, faceless, the shimmer of their armor catching the Vein's light. They moved in patterns, too perfect to be human. Kaelen reacted instantly, hand slashing through the air.
The Vein obeyed.
Energy erupted from the ground, knocking the first wave of attackers back. Aradia stumbled, barely keeping her balance. "What are they?"
"Fragments," Kaelen snapped. "Pieces of him."
Her instincts kicked in. The rhythm of the Vein roared in her chest, and without thinking, she let it flow through her arms, her fingertips, her breath. The nearest Fragment lunged — and she moved.
The ground rippled.
A shockwave burst outward, throwing the creature back like it had been struck by invisible lightning. For a second, she stood there frozen, her pulse racing.
Kaelen's eyes flicked toward her. "Good. But don't force it. You're channeling emotion, not control."
Aradia swallowed hard. "That's all I have right now."
Kaelen didn't argue. "Then use it. But aim."
The next few minutes blurred into a mess of instinct and light. The Vein pulsed with her heartbeat — sharp, chaotic, alive. She didn't have time to think, only to feel. The Fragments moved in rhythm with one another, like a hive of shadows.
She ducked under a strike, letting the current pull her backward, spun with the force of it, and drove it outward with both hands. The Vein flared — bright, wild, uncontrolled.
The impact tore through the street, scattering fragments like broken glass.
But the aftershock slammed into her too. She gasped as the Vein's power recoiled, burning through her veins like static fire. Her knees hit the ground.
"Aradia!"
Kaelen was beside her in an instant, one hand pressed to her shoulder. "You reached too far again."
She could barely breathe. "It—it pulled me in—"
"Yes," Kaelen said quietly. "Because it knows you. It remembers you."
Their tone softened. "It's not about domination. It's about trust."
Something in their voice cut through the chaos. She inhaled shakily, trying to center herself.
And that's when she heard the footsteps.
Slow. Confident.
The Fragments stopped moving. The Vein's light dimmed. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
Kaelen's hand dropped from her shoulder. Their entire posture changed — steady, defensive, poised.
"Stay behind me," they murmured.
The street fell silent as he appeared.
Kael.
Golden eyes gleaming from beneath the sharp edges of his helm, his steps deliberate, precise, carrying the weight of command. The light from the fractured rooftops caught the edge of his armor, scattering molten reflections across the street.
Every movement of his felt measured — like a man who didn't walk through a city, but through its pulse.
The Vein reacted.
The current beneath Aradia's skin trembled, then bent toward him — like the energy itself recognized him. The glow that once followed her command flickered uncertainly.
Kael smiled faintly. "You've learned to move well," he said, voice calm, almost amused. "But understanding… that's another matter."
His voice carried through the air like a vibration rather than sound, brushing against her bones.
Kaelen's tone was a warning. "Do not falter. He commands the Vein as you do — perhaps better."
Aradia clenched her fists. The pulse beneath her skin fought to stay steady. Don't give him the satisfaction.
Kael tilted his head. "You think you're mastering it. But the Vein doesn't serve you, Aradia. It mirrors you. Every tremor of doubt, every flicker of rage, every drop of fear — it reflects them all."
His words weren't cruel; they were clinical. He knew exactly where to strike.
The Vein rippled again, feeding off her heartbeat. Kael was right — she could feel her uncertainty bleeding into it.
She swallowed, forcing her pulse to slow. "Then I'll give it something better to reflect."
Kael's expression barely shifted, but something in his eyes flickered — the faintest hint of approval.
She reached downward, toward the ground. This time, she didn't force the current. She aligned with it. Listened. The Vein moved like a tide, steady, patient, aware.
For the first time, it followed her willingly.
Kael's voice dropped, quieter now, almost… reverent."You're not the first to try. But perhaps the first who might survive it."
The air vibrated faintly. Reality itself seemed to hum with his words. The buildings around them echoed the resonance, a faint golden shimmer tracing the edges of stone.
Kaelen's voice came through the haze. "Stay with your rhythm, not his. Let the Vein follow you."
Aradia breathed deeply. Her heartbeat steadied, her senses cleared. The current smoothed into a gentle flow. The chaos within her settled.
Kael tilted his head again, voice soft but heavy. "Better."
He stepped back, turning slightly toward the light. "Control without clarity is chaos. The Vein may listen now… but it remembers its master."
His gaze lingered on her — unreadable, assessing — before he turned and walked away. The ground seemed to hum in his wake, the air tightening with every step until he disappeared completely.
Only then did the silence return.
Selene exhaled shakily. "He wasn't here to fight."
"No," Kaelen said, voice low. "He was here to measure."
Jarek let out a nervous laugh. "So… what, we're being graded now? Wonderful."
Aradia didn't speak. The pulse of the Vein was still in her veins — a living reminder of his power, his presence, his warning.
Kaelen turned to her, their tone quieter but edged with purpose."Today, you survived a test of instinct. Tomorrow comes one of intent. Every ripple you make will echo through this city. And Kael…"
They glanced toward the horizon, where light fractured through glass towers.
"…he's not just watching you, Aradia. He's shaping you. Just as you are shaping him."
A shiver ran through her.
The city looked peaceful, but the silence felt wrong — not calm, but waiting.
She exhaled slowly, eyes on the skyline painted with fractured gold.
The Vein pulsed beneath her skin — soft, steady, alive.
And somewhere deep inside, she heard Kael's voice again.You will break this city. Or I will break you.
She didn't know which fate scared her more.
But she knew one thing for certain —this wasn't over.
Not even close.