Chapter 23 – The Edge of Silence (the revelation)
Joran's legs burned. His lungs screamed.
But the wolves didn't care.
Behind them, the snapping of branches and rhythmic footfalls signaled death's approach. The Veilfangs were relentless—sharp of fang, quick of step, eyes that glowed with an eerie, predatory intelligence.
Too smart for ordinary beasts.
Too organized for survival to be coincidence.
Kael's voice came ragged ahead: "Keep going! We're almost—"
But he skidded to a stop.
Joran barreled into him. "Why did you stop—?"
His words died in his throat.
Before them loomed a cliff wall, high and jagged, impossible to scale without tools—or wings.
A dead end.
"We're trapped," Kael said quietly.
Joran turned. The forest behind was breathing—moving. The veilfangs crept into view. At least five… no, seven. Flanking. Encircling.
And then came two more from deeper shadows. These were different.
Larger. Broader shoulders, darker fur laced with silver streaks. Their growls weren't sounds—they were warnings. Possessive. Dominant.
System Notification
New Threat Detected
Class: Veilfangs (adult)– Tier 2.1
Warning: Multiple Tier 2 entities in proximity
Recommended Action: Evade or Delay
Joran's core ached. He had maybe one or two good barriers left in him. Not enough. Not even close.
But it wasn't just fear that gripped him.
It was that Kael was still standing in front of him, arms spread slightly—shielding him.
"Kael… move," Joran whispered.
"No."
Joran's fingers clenched.
System Activation
Name: Joran Vale
Stage: Initiate – Barrier-Type
System Traits:
— Symmetric Resilience (Passive)
— Arcpoint Fortify (Passive)
Perks Available:
— Reflective Fold (Active, 3 Charges Remaining)
The mana rushed through him like ice through his veins—sharper than before, cleaner. Joran reached out and snapped Reflective Fold into existence—a barrier shaped like a wedge of light, flaring just behind the lead wolf.
It lunged—and the force of its leap slammed it back into the stone. It whined, dazed.
But the others kept coming.
Joran raised a hand for another cast—
—and staggered.
His vision blurred.
"Stop," Kael said, voice low now. "You'll collapse."
"So will you."
A pause.
Kael turned to look at him. "Then we fall together."
The wolves didn't wait.
Two Tier 2 Veilfang beast rushed in, crimson eyes narrowed, and Kael inhaled sharply. Something shifted in the air—Joran felt it.
The temperature didn't drop. But the pressure changed.
It wasn't wind.
It wasn't water.
It was something else.
Kael whispered, "Don't look."
Joran's eyes widened. "You're not—Kael, no!"
But it was already happening.
Lightning flared—not from the sky, but from Kael himself.
Thin arcs of jagged, white-blue current burst from his chest, up his arm, and out his fingertips as he raised a shaking hand. His knees buckled—but the storm surged outward in a spiral.
The first Veilbeast struck the arc and froze mid-air, muscles locking from the shock.
The second tried to dodge.
It didn't matter.
Kael stepped forward.
His voice cracked like thunder: "Get—BACK!"
A blinding burst of electricity tore from his palm and obliterated the second Veilbeast's path. Not a refined technique. Not a skill. Raw power. Unshaped. Untamed.
The wolves scattered.
Silence fell.
Kael took one slow breath.
Then collapsed.
System Alert:
Elemental Surge: Lightning Affinity Detected.
Affinity Level: advanced (84%)
— No Tower Notification Triggered.
Warning: System Instability. Spiritual Strain Detected.
Core Thread Limit Breached. Subject Unconscious.
Joran caught him just before Kael hit the ground.
He dropped to his knees, cradling his friend.
Kael's breath was shallow, skin warm and humming faintly with aftershocks. There was no blood—but it had clearly cost him everything.
Joran stared at the scorched soil. The smell of ozone lingered, and small arcs still snapped across Kael's shoulder.
No water. No wind.
Lightning.
He looked up at the treeline.
No agents. No enforcers. Just dark leaves and wild silence.
No one had seen.
Yet.
Joran's jaw clenched.
He looked down at Kael.
"You idiot," he whispered, voice tight. "Why'd you do that for me?. You even have a lightning element?"
Kael didn't answer.
But he didn't need to.