Cherreads

Chapter 14 - CHAPTER:-14

Midnight.

Frosthold was quiet.

Too quiet.

Kael moved like a shadow across the stone walls of the east wing, Lyra beside him. No torches. No footsteps. Only the whisper of their breath in the dark.

Down below them — three floors beneath the guild library — was a chamber few even knew existed.

The Soul Vault.

And somewhere inside… was Taron Vance.

"I still don't know how he got clearance," Lyra whispered as they crouched at the hidden stairwell.

"He didn't," Kael replied. "He stole it."

Lyra's hand hovered over her frostblade.

"We go in fast?"

"No," Kael said. "We go in smart."

[System Alert]

Trait Active: Battle Architect Lv.1

➤ Strategy Override: Stealth Mode On

➤ Passive Boost: Anticipate patrol routes

Bonded Ally Detected: Lyra Vex — Status: [Chain Blade]

➤ Duo Bonus: +8% evasion during stealth ops

They reached the final corridor — long, narrow, lined with obsidian statues.

Kael halted. "Four guards. Two fake."

Lyra blinked. "How do you know?"

"Because I remember that statue. It used to hold a shield."

She grinned. "Your memory's creepy."

Kael didn't smile.

He stepped forward—and threw a coin at the first "statue."

It blinked.

Too late.

Lyra's frostblade flashed.

Throat. Silence. Drop.

The fake guards never made a sound.

They collapsed in the same positions as before.

Kael and Lyra moved past them like ghosts.

At the end of the hall, the Vault doors stood open.

A soft red light pulsed from within.

They crept forward—

Then froze.

Voices.

"Is it ready?" someone asked.

Taron.

Another answered. "The convergence needs one more fragment. His."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

The second voice… was familiar.

Too familiar.

Lyra leaned close. "Recognize it?"

Kael nodded slowly.

"…Drev."

[Internal Conflict Alert]

Bond Status: [Trusted Shield] → [Unstable]

Trait Reaction Possible: Twin Will — Observation Active

Kael's pulse stayed calm — barely.

He motioned for Lyra to wait.

Then pushed the door open.

Quietly.

Inside, the chamber pulsed with glowing soul-orbs — seven in total, floating above ancient silver pedestals.

Taron stood with his back turned, hands weaving a complex rune.

And beside him…

Drev.

Clad in darker armor.

Eyes… conflicted.

Kael stepped into the light.

"Taron," he said flatly.

The man froze.

Turned.

Smiled.

"Well, well. Took you long enough."

Kael's hand rested on his blade. "Didn't know you were into soul magic."

"Oh, I'm into all kinds of things," Taron said, stepping back. "But this? This isn't magic. This is salvation."

Drev stepped between them.

Kael's heart clenched — but his face remained stone.

"You're helping him?" Kael asked.

Drev's voice was low. "I didn't know at first. I thought he was collecting fragments for research."

"You knew a week ago," Kael said. "You lied."

"I didn't—"

"You let him take mine."

Drev winced.

Then drew his blade.

Kael didn't move.

"I don't want to fight you," Drev said.

"Then don't stand in my way."

"Kael, listen—!"

"You broke the bond."

[System Update]

Bond with Drev Malric: Severed

Title Lost: "Trusted Shield"

Emotion Surge: Betrayal

Sync Level: 71%

Twin Will Trait: Combat Override Active

The sword at Kael's side pulsed — and the reflection flashed in his mind again.

"Let me take him. Just this once."

Kael closed his eyes.

"No."

He stepped forward, drawing steel.

"Drev. Move."

Drev's grip tightened.

"No."

Then Kael vanished.

A blur of motion.

Steel-on-steel.

Sparks.

Their blades clashed in mid-air — once, twice, a third time.

Kael moved like a man possessed — not by rage, but clarity.

He didn't fight sloppy.

He fought surgical.

Each strike tested Drev's footing, timing, hesitation.

And he saw it.

He's holding back.

"Why?" Kael said between strikes. "Why side with him?"

Drev deflected a low sweep. "Because I want answers too!"

"You're helping the enemy."

"I'm helping myself!"

Kael's blade shifted.

Not faster — smarter.

He baited a parry, twisted his grip, and slammed his pommel into Drev's ribs.

The other man stumbled, gasping.

Kael disarmed him in one clean move.

Blade to throat.

"I never wanted to fight you," Drev whispered.

"You should've remembered that," Kael said. "Before you picked the wrong side."

Then he turned to Taron.

The man had already started the final sequence — the soul orbs swirling above him.

He smiled wide.

"You think you've won?" he hissed. "You think killing me changes anything?"

Kael's eyes darkened.

"I'm not here to kill you."

He threw a dagger — straight into Taron's spell mark.

The sigil exploded — blowing Taron off his feet.

Soul orbs scattered — glowing violently.

[System Alert]

Contained Soul Fragments Unstable

Assimilation Risk

Choose:

🔹 Absorb 1 Fragment — Trait gain + sync boost (Risk: Unknown)

🔸 Seal All — Prevent corruption (Gain nothing, safe route)

The orbs pulsed.

Kael's fingers trembled.

He reached out —

And grabbed one.

A black shard, humming with power.

It burned into his palm.

[System Update]

Unknown Soul Fragment Assimilated

Trait Unlocked: Wraith Step (Lv.1)

➤ Skill: Briefly enter ghost state to pass through attacks/objects

➤ Cooldown: 30 seconds

➤ Side Effect: Phantom Echo (Unknown)

Sync Level: 75%

Mirrorblade Twin: "Impressed."

Kael turned as Taron crawled, face bleeding, body twitching.

"I was… supposed to rise," he spat. "The system promised me—!"

Kael drove the hilt of his blade into his jaw.

Taron dropped, unconscious.

Lyra entered from the corridor, eyes wide.

"It's done?"

Kael nodded. "Vault secured."

She looked at Drev — still breathing, unconscious.

"Will you turn him in?"

Kael didn't answer right away.

"No," he said finally. "Not yet."

He turned toward the vault.

"I need to know who got to him first."

Back in the shadows of the guild, someone watched the broken sigils pulse and fade.

A woman.

Wrapped in crimson robes.

Eyes like burning ink.

She smiled.

"Well played, Kael," she whispered. "But you're still just one move behind."

She vanished into flame.

Next Chapter: "Ashblood"

More Chapters