The Wyrmveil Forest was shifting.
Kael could feel it beneath his boots — a quiet tension that had little to do with wind or wildlife. The Ashen Sigils, glowing in both his eyes, pulsed with subtle light. His perception stretched beyond sight, piercing the veil between what was visible and what was real.
Threads of mana shimmered through the trees. Residual energy left behind by prey and predator alike formed ghost trails along the forest floor. The deeper he moved, the more the world revealed itself.
But Kael paid it no mind.
He moved forward — blade sheathed, mind focused.
And somewhere in the trees behind him… something watched.
Wrapped in bark and bone, limbs coiled like thorned roots, Vel'Zareth, the Warden of Thorns, remained still — unseen, unacknowledged.
Kael never noticed.
---
Not far from Kael's path, a trio of elite investigators moved through the dense underbrush of the Wyrmveil.
Seraphine Duskmoor knelt beside a scorched crater while Tavian Crestborne kept watch. Professor Vaelen Myrr stood at the center of it all, holding the fractured core of a massive beast in his hand — its translucent surface still faintly glowing.
He frowned, running a third diagnostic glyph over the core.
Still no result.
"This… doesn't make sense," Vaelen murmured.
Tavian approached, blade casually drawn.
"Problem?"
Vaelen turned the core over in his palm. "This came from a Chimera — Tier IV, judging by the pulse signature."
Seraphine stood silently, her gloved fingers brushing a burnt tree root.
"There's no instability," she noted.
Vaelen nodded.
"Exactly. A Chimera of this strength should've left behind signs of corruption. Tainted mana. Some form of unstable residue."
He activated a fourth glyph. The core gleamed brightly — stable, clear, and untainted.
"But this core is... clean. Safe to use."
Tavian raised an eyebrow. "You're saying it wasn't corrupted at all?"
"That's the problem," Vaelen said, tone tightening. "The energy signature when the beast died — it felt twisted. Like dark mana. But this core has no trace of it. None."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed. "So either the Chimera was purified before it died… or it was never corrupted to begin with."
Vaelen nodded slowly. "And that… that should be impossible."
---
Elsewhere, Kael sat by a dying campfire, one knee bent, flame crackling gently in his palm.
He summoned Ebonfang with a thought.
The blade shimmered into existence, sleek and obsidian-black. He guided the Nexis energy through it, whispering the command.
Flames ignited — not red, not even orange, but deep and black, like fire born from shadow.
> [Nexis Skill Activated: Elemental Flux – Fire Tier I]
Obsidian Flame: Mutation in progress.
No cooldown detected. Warning: Extended use may induce irreversible affinity shift.
Kael slashed the blade forward. The black fire cleaved the air, devouring leaves without burning them. There was no smoke. Just ash.
Pure, silent destruction.
Ashuru stirred faintly in the depths of Kael's soul.
"This flame does not belong in this world. It answers to no element. Only you."
Kael said nothing.
His eyes, glowing faintly red, turned toward the horizon.
---
Back at the investigators' position, the air trembled.
Branches groaned. Roots twisted.
Vel'Zareth dropped from the canopy without warning — a tall, humanoid figure of thorns and armor, its body a grotesque blend of sentient bark and chiseled bone. It did not roar. It did not speak.
It attacked.
Tavian reacted first — flames bursting from his blade. Seraphine vanished in a blink, reappearing behind the creature with blades drawn. Vaelen shouted incantations, a spell circle already forming.
But Vel'Zareth was too fast.
Its thorned limbs shifted mid-strike, turning into spears. Its tail lashed out like a whip, cracking Tavian's shoulderplate and sending him crashing through a tree.
Seraphine's twin swords slashed across its back — the cuts shallow, ineffective.
Vaelen's shield snapped up in time to block a follow-up strike — barely.
"That's no Tier III or IV," he shouted. "This is intelligent — coordinated!"
Vel'Zareth twisted through the air, limbs reforming with each movement. It wasn't just fighting — it was analyzing. Studying. Adapting.
Seraphine cast a high-grade stun glyph, but Vel'Zareth flexed its shoulder — the mana slid off like water on stone.
"It's rejecting spells," she gasped. "It's learning."
Tavian returned to the fight, mana flaring in waves. His Red Core roared to life, and he leapt into a frontal assault, flames spiraling down his blade.
A direct hit.
Smoke billowed.
But Vel'Zareth walked through the fire, claws raised, eyes glowing beneath its mask of thorns.
Seraphine's blade broke.
Vaelen's barrier shattered.
And then it lunged again—without hesitation.
The Warden of Thorns had made its judgment.
And it would not retreat.
---
Far from the fight, Kael stood alone.
The Nexis System chimed faintly.
> [Alert: Tier Unknown Entity engaged with external forces]
System Reaction: Unstable.
Evolution Path Influence Detected.
Kael exhaled slowly, gaze fixed forward.
He felt the pressure building beyond the trees — a ripple across the forest, like a silent quake.
But still…
He didn't look back.