The morning came with a cold wind that cut through armor and bone alike. The Luster barracks stirred long before dawn; boots thudded, blades clinked, and torches flickered against the pale blue sky.
Kael rubbed the sleep from his eyes and swung his legs off the cot. His muscles still ached from yesterday's duel. Lysander was already up, strapping his gear with the same easy confidence that never seemed to fade.
"You're late," Lysander said without looking up.
Kael groaned. "The sun's barely awake."
"Then you're slower than the sun."
Before Kael could respond, the barrack doors slammed open. Two shadows filled the doorway — veterans, by the look of their weathered armor and the way silence followed them in.
The first was Captain Roth, tall and broad, his right arm replaced by a mechanical gauntlet of black steel. The other was Vera, lean and scarred, her silver hair tied in a tight braid, her left eye covered by a dark patch.
Roth's voice was gravel wrapped in thunder. "Rookies. Today you leave the safety of the walls."
That silenced every whisper in the room.
Vera tossed a scroll onto the table. "You're to accompany us beyond the Southern Ridge. Reports of a Shade's nest."
A murmur ran through the recruits. Shades were not training dummies — they were death given form, feeding on light, moving in shadows like smoke.
Lysander's grin faltered. Kael's hand tightened around his belt.
Roth's gaze swept the line of rookies. "Three will go." He pointed, each word heavy as iron. "Kael. Lysander. Rina."
Rina stepped forward from the ranks. Her armor gleamed new; her eyes were sharp but uncertain. Auburn hair framed a face that tried too hard not to show fear.
She glanced at Kael and then quickly away.
Vera handed them a satchel of rations. "You'll move as we say. Speak when told. Fight when ordered. If you fall behind—don't expect to be carried back."
Kael swallowed hard. Lysander, of course, just flashed a smile. "Understood, ma'am."
Rina gave a short nod. Kael muttered, "Got it."
"Move out," Roth barked.
The road beyond the gates was a scar through wilderness — jagged cliffs on one side, endless misty forest on the other. The group moved in silence, boots crunching over stone.
Vera led the way, crossbow ready. Roth followed behind like a silent wall. Lysander kept his usual swagger, while Rina moved with cautious grace.
Kael trailed last, his eyes darting everywhere. The weight of the sword at his back felt heavier than usual.
"Relax," Lysander called softly without turning. "You look like you're marching to your funeral."
Kael exhaled. "That's exactly how it feels."
Rina shot him a sidelong look. "Then maybe you shouldn't be here."
Kael frowned, caught off guard. "Excuse me?"
"You nearly collapsed after the duel," she said coolly. "If you can't keep up, you'll just slow us down."
Lysander chuckled under his breath. "She's got spirit."
Kael's reply was cut short when Vera raised a hand. "Quiet."
Everyone froze.
The forest had gone utterly still. No wind. No birds. No sound.
Roth drew his weapon — a massive axe with a faint blue glow. "They're close."
When Shades appear, the world seems to forget how to breathe.
From between the trees, a black mist rolled out — thick, swirling, hungry. It twisted upward, taking form: long limbs, no face, just hollow eyes that burned with pale fire.
Kael's skin crawled. He'd never seen one so close.
"Form up!" Vera shouted.
Rina notched an arrow. Lysander drew his sword, stance relaxed but focused. Kael unsheathed his blade — hands trembling despite his effort to steady them.
The first Shade lunged. Roth met it head-on, cleaving through with a swing that split the ground. Black vapor scattered, shrieking as it dissolved.
Two more came from the left. Vera's bolts pinned one to a tree. The other slipped through — straight toward the rookies.
Kael swung wildly, but the creature flowed around the strike like smoke. Rina's arrow passed through harmlessly. Lysander moved in a blur, his blade flashing through its torso, dispersing it in an instant.
He grinned at Kael. "You're welcome."
Kael scowled. "I had it."
"Sure you did."
Another Shade surged from the fog — larger, its claws like spears. It slammed into Kael, sending him sprawling. His sword clattered away.
Rina gasped. "Kael!"
Before she could move, Roth barked, "Stay in formation!"
The creature loomed over Kael, shrieking with hollow rage. Its claws rose—
Kael rolled aside just in time, pain screaming through his ribs. He reached for his sword but it lay meters away.
His vision blurred.
The world dimmed, sound fading to a dull echo. He felt… light. Weightless. Just like before—
No.
Not yet.
Not like this.
His gaze caught a faint reflection — his father's pendant hanging from his neck, glinting in the Shade's dim glow.
Something shifted.
The air thickened. His pulse slowed. The pain in his ribs vanished, replaced by a cold clarity.
The Shade lunged—
Kael moved faster than he thought possible. His hand caught the creature's claw mid-swing. The impact cracked the ground beneath them.
He rose, eyes glowing faintly, and drove his blade upward through its chest.
The Shade's scream tore through the air before dissolving into ash.
When silence fell, Kael was standing — chest heaving, blade buried in the ground, the faint glow fading from his eyes.
Lysander stared, astonished. "What… the hell was that?"
Rina stood frozen, bow half-raised, eyes wide.
Vera and Roth exchanged a glance — brief, knowing.
Roth finally said, "Not bad for the weakest one."
They pressed on. The deeper they went, the darker the forest grew, until even the sunlight couldn't reach.
Rina walked closer to Kael now, though she said nothing. Lysander teased her once and got an arrow aimed at his boot for it.
When they made camp, the veterans took first watch. The rookies sat near the fire, exhausted and silent.
Lysander leaned back against a log. "Well, that was fun."
Kael shot him a look. "You call nearly dying fun?"
"I call surviving fun."
Rina rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible."
"Come on," Lysander said, smirking. "You can't tell me your heart didn't race a little when Kael pulled off that stunt."
She glanced at Kael, quickly looking away. "…He got lucky."
Kael gave a small, tired laugh. "Maybe."
But deep down, he knew it wasn't luck. That power—whatever it was—wasn't normal. And it scared him more than the Shades ever could.
Later that night, as the others slept, Kael sat by the dying fire. His reflection danced in the faint flame, eyes hollow with thought.
He could still feel it — that surge, that strange strength that came only when he stood on the edge of death.
It wasn't human. It wasn't his.
Lysander's voice broke the silence. "Can't sleep either?"
Kael looked up. Lysander approached, dragging a blanket over his shoulders.
"You keep doing that," Lysander said. "That thing with your strength. It's not normal."
"I know."
"Scary as hell, though." Lysander grinned faintly. "But kind of impressive."
Kael looked into the fire. "It doesn't feel like power. It feels like something's using me."
Lysander's smile faded. "Then maybe you should learn to use it first."
Kael looked at him — and for a moment, there was something like brotherhood in their shared silence.
Behind them, unseen, Rina stirred in her sleep, murmuring Kael's name under her breath.
And in the shadows beyond the fire, Roth's mechanical hand clicked softly as he watched, eyes glinting in the dark.