Cassian barely saw the attack coming.
A whirlwind of force slammed into his chest.
The impact sent him flying backward, his body skidding across the blood-soaked dirt. His ribs screamed in agony, the force nearly knocking the air from his lungs. His vision blurred.
"Fuck…" he spat blood onto the ground, forcing himself onto trembling arms. His head was spinning. His breath came ragged, but he forced himself to look up.
Raze Vakros stood tall, a twisted smirk on his scarred face. The bastard looked like he wasn't even trying. Wind swirled around him, kicking up the dirt and ash of the battlefield. His long coat flapped in the gusts like a specter of death.
"You look surprised, boy," Raze sneered, cracking his neck. "You thought you were tough shit, huh? Thought you could slaughter my men and just walk away?" He scoffed and spat onto the ground. "Pathetic."
Cassian clenched his fists. He had already cut down dozens of Raze's men, their corpses littering the battlefield. His body was running on fumes. He had tried to summon Solvian's first form—Radiant Lance—again, to ignite that golden inferno within him. But it wouldn't come.
Not without the right metal.
His breathing was shallow, his muscles burning. His mask had cracked from the last attack, a thin line running through its surface. He wiped the blood from his mouth and rose to his feet.
Raze grinned at the sight. "That's the spirit, you little shit. But let's be real—you're done. You can barely fucking stand."
Cassian said nothing. His eyes flicked toward a fallen bandit nearby. A sword lay next to the corpse. Pyrestone alloy or not, I'll have to make do. He reached out, fingers wrapping around the hilt. The weight was familiar, but the metal was weaker than he needed. It didn't matter.
He exhaled.
The world around him slowed.
With a single step, he lunged.
The sword flashed as he brought it down in an arc toward Raze's skull.
But the bandit leader laughed.
Wind exploded from his palm—
Zepharion Aetheris – First Form: Gale Pierce.
Blades of compressed air tore through the space between them.
Cassian barely twisted his body in time, but the wind ripped through his shoulder. Blood sprayed from the fresh cut, pain flaring through his arm as he stumbled back.
Raze's expression was wild now, his eyes gleaming with sadistic delight.
"You don't get it, do you?" he said, voice dripping with amusement. "You think you're the only one with tricks?"
The air shifted.
And then he moved.
Cassian barely had time to react before Raze vanished. A blur of motion, faster than anything he had seen before. Aetheris.
Cassian twisted just in time to block—
Too late.
A knee slammed into his gut.
The impact sent shockwaves through his body, his insides twisting in agony. He coughed violently as the force of the blow lifted him off his feet. The second strike came before he even landed—an elbow crashing down on his back.
The ground rushed to meet him.
Cassian hit the dirt hard, gasping as pain shot through his ribs. His arms trembled as he tried to push himself up again, but his body wasn't responding the way he wanted. Too fast. Too powerful.
Raze walked toward him slowly, savoring every second.
"You thought a cheap fucking sword and a broken body would be enough to handle me?" His boot came down on Cassian's hand, grinding it into the dirt. "You're lucky I even let you last this long."
Cassian gritted his teeth, sweat and blood mixing on his skin. His mind raced. He couldn't die here. Not to a filthy bandit.
Raze crouched down, his breath hot against Cassian's ear. "You think you're special? You're nothing but a stupid little punk swinging around techniques you don't even understand."
Cassian clenched his jaw. I have to do something.
Raze grabbed him by the collar, yanking him up. "This is just a small fraction of my power, boy. You won't last a damn second out there in the real world. You think your fancy fighting skills and magic make you untouchable?" He grinned. "They don't mean shit."
Cassian's mind was screaming at him to move.
And then, he did.
He twisted sharply, his free arm snapping up. His elbow collided with Raze's jaw with a sickening crack. The bandit staggered, surprised, and Cassian drove his forehead into his nose.
Raze cursed, blood spurting from his nostrils.
Cassian used the opening—his hands locked around the sword hilt, and in a single motion, he swung—
"Solvian – First Form: Radiant Lance."
The sword lit up.
Aetheris pulsed through the steel, arcs of golden fire crackling across its edge.
Cassian roared as he brought it down in a diagonal slash.
Raze's eyes flickered with shock—he barely had time to react. He crossed his arms in defense, but the blade cut deep.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
Raze grunted in pain, stumbling back, his coat torn, his forearm bleeding. But he was grinning. The bastard was still grinning.
"Well, well…" he chuckled, shaking his arm, his blood dripping onto the dirt. "That's more like it."
Cassian didn't waste time. He lunged again, Vhar'kan techniques flowing through his movements.
A rapid succession of strikes—**one, two, three—**each one fueled by sheer determination. His blade cut through the air, sparks flying as it clashed against Raze's defenses.
But Raze was faster.
And then—
He shifted.
Cassian saw it. The change in stance.
The air tightened around them. The dust and blood around Raze's feet began to swirl. His smirk widened, and then, with a low whisper—
"Second form."
The pressure exploded.
"Zepharion Aetheris – Second Form: Cyclone Dance."
Cassian barely caught a glimpse of the movement—a blur of spinning wind and death.
And then—
Pain.
A force slammed into his chest.
He was airborne before he even realized what had happened. His body twisted, his back arching as he felt som
ething snap.
The last thing he saw before he hit the ground—
Was Raze Vakros, standing amidst the storm.
And he was laughing.
Cassian groaned, his body half-buried in the dirt. His vision blurred as he gasped for air. His ribs felt cracked—maybe even broken. Every breath burned like fire.
Above him, Raze Vakros loomed.
The bastard was barely scratched. He rolled his shoulders, letting the storm of Zepharion Aetheris settle around him. Blood dripped from the gash on his arm where Cassian had landed Radiant Lance, but his expression was nothing but mocking amusement.
"That was your best shot?" Raze scoffed, flexing his fingers. "You're fucking hopeless, kid."
Cassian tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey. His sword lay somewhere behind him. He was spent.
Raze cracked his neck, sighing. "I should just kill you and be done with it… but you? You don't deserve a quick death."
His boot slammed onto Cassian's chest, pinning him down. The pain was instant, sharp, and merciless.
"You killed my men. You think I wouldn't notice? Hah! I've been hunting you since you took your first head." Raze sneered, leaning closer. "Some of them followed me for years, boy. Loyal bastards. And you slaughtered them like fucking dogs."
Cassian gritted his teeth. He said nothing.
Raze's eyes gleamed. "No defense? No begging for your worthless life?"
He reached down and grabbed Cassian's mask.
And ripped it off.
Raze held up the mask, turning it in his hands. "This thing… this mask. Do you even fucking know what you're wearing, kid?"
Cassian said nothing. But he knew the answer.
The Mask of Arkhazir once belonged to Arkhazir the Hollow, a warlord who never tasted defeat. Forged from the bones of a forgotten god, it granted him immense power but slowly drained his soul. Legends say he ruled for a century without aging until, in a moment of arrogance, he removed the mask—turning to dust instantly. Since then, every wearer has met a violent, cursed fate. Now, it rests in the hands of Raze Vakros, who believes he can escape its doom.
Over the centuries, it had been lost.It was in the blacwood for centuries, waiting for a new master.
Until Cassian had found it.
Raze scoffed, running his fingers along the cracked surface. "The Veilborn's mask, huh? And you just wear it like some cheap fucking helmet? You're unworthy."
He spat on the ground and crushed the mask under his boot. The sound of cracking ceramic and metal echoed in Cassian's ears.
Something inside him snapped.
Raze's voice was a growl now. "You're gonna suffer f
or what you did."
Then the torture began.
Pain. Pure, endless pain.
Raze grabbed Cassian by the hair and dragged him across the dirt. Rocks and blood mixed in his mouth as he tried to resist, but he was too weak.
Then came the first punch.
His head snapped back as a brutal fist slammed into his jaw. His vision blurred—before he could even breathe, another blow followed.
Another.
Another.
His cheek split open. Blood ran down his face.
"Still awake?" Raze smirked, shaking the pain from his knuckles. "You're tougher than you look. Let's fix that."
He grabbed a nearby dagger.
Cassian's breath hitched.
Raze pressed the blade against his forearm.
And sliced.
Pain exploded through Cassian's arm as skin split apart. Blood pooled beneath him.
"Not enough?" Raze chuckled. He dug the dagger in deeper, twisting it.
Cassian bit his tongue to keep from screaming.
Raze laughed. "Oh? Still holding back? Come on, boy. Scream. No one's coming to save you."
Cassian's body convulsed. He felt something warm trickling down his fingers. His own blood.
But he refused to break.
Raze scowled. "Tch. Fine. We'll step it up."
He grabbed Cassian's left hand.
Cassian's eyes widened.
"No," he rasped.
Raze grinned. "Yeah."
And then, with a sickening crunch, he bent Cassian's pinky backward until it snapped.
Cassian's body jerked violently. His vision flashed white as raw agony shot up his arm.
Raze wasn't done.
One by one, he snapped Cassian's fingers.
Cassian's body spasmed with every break. His teeth nearly shattered from how hard he was clenching his jaw. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't scream.
"You're a tough bastard, I'll give you that," Raze murmured, tilting his head. "Still—"
His foot crashed into Cassian's ribs.
Something inside broke.
Cassian choked on blood. His lungs felt like they were being crushed.
Raze leaned down, his lips curling in disgust. "That's what you get, you little shit. You're nothing but a weak, broken boy."
His fingers wrapped around Cassian's throat.
Darkness crept at the edges of Cassian's vision.
He was dying.
And then—
Everything went black.
Silence.
Cassian's eyes fluttered open.
His body was numb.
He felt… strange. Like something inside him had shifted.
He blinked. The sky above was dark, filled with swirling clouds.
Then, he looked around.
And his blood ran cold.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Raze's men—**all of them—**lay on the ground, lifeless. Their eyes hollow, their skin pale, as if something had sucked the life from their bodies.
His breath hitched. What the fuck happened?
Then he saw it.
Raze Vakros—dead.
His lifeless body slumped against a rock. His face frozen in permanent terror.
And buried in his forehead…
Was Cassian's dagger.
Cassian's hands shook. He stared at the blade, still slick with blood.
"I… I didn't…"
But he couldn't remember.
One second, he had been dying—and then this.
Something had killed them all.
And somehow, he had survived.
His breathing quickened. He needed to get out. Now.
Struggling to his feet, every muscle in his body screamed in protest. He stumbled toward the trees, still clutching his broken hand. His mind raced.
What the fuck happened?
Who did this?
Or worse…
Was it me?
As he disappeared into the darkness, only one thing was clear.
Cassian was not strong enough.
Not yet.
But he would be.
No matter what it took.