The path eastward was treacherous.
Rynn and Kael picked their way through fields of broken stone and rivers of blackened mud, the storm always looming on the horizon like a living thing. Lightning flickered in the clouds, and low rumbles of thunder rolled over the land, vibrating in Kael's chest.
His panther stalked silently beside him, its ears flat, body tense. Even without words, Kael could feel its unease—a side effect of Beast Taming that had become second nature to him. Their bond went beyond commands; it was a sharing of instincts, of warnings unspoken.
"Something's following us," Rynn murmured.
Kael had felt it too.
He slowed his breathing, activating Time Dilation just enough to heighten his senses without completely freezing the world. In that subtle slowing of time, he caught it—a flicker of movement among the trees. A figure, cloaked in shadows, tracking their every step.
He gestured to Rynn, and they slipped into cover, moving with practiced ease.
Kael let his panther circle wide, disappearing into the underbrush. Moments later, a shriek of pain split the air.
Kael and Rynn burst from hiding, weapons ready.
The figure stumbled into the clearing—a man, or what had once been one. His body was riddled with the same golden corruption they'd seen in the wargs. His eyes were wild, his mouth muttering nonsense.
Kael approached cautiously.
The man convulsed, trying to speak.
Auto-Translation kicked in, parsing the broken words into something intelligible:
"The Hunger... feasts... all must yield... the storm is the herald..."
Then, with a final gasp, the man's body crumbled into ash.
Rynn shivered. "How many more like him do you think there are?"
Kael didn't answer. He didn't want to.
They pressed on.
Hours later, they found shelter beneath an overhang of jagged rock. Kael used Dimensional Storage to pull out preserved food and clean water. No packs, no weight to slow him down—a simple luxury he was more grateful for with every passing mile.
As they sat by the small fire, Kael stared out at the storm.
Every instinct screamed at him that they were running out of time.
"We need to move faster," he said.
Rynn scowled. "And die exhausted?"
Kael shook his head. "We're not alone out here. The longer we wait, the more it builds."
Lightning flashed, and in that brief illumination, Kael saw something that made his blood run cold.
Figures—dozens of them—marching toward the mountains.
Not beasts.
People.
Or things wearing the shape of people.
"They're drawn to it," Rynn whispered. "Like moths to flame."
Kael stood, Veyrion in hand.
"Then we beat them to it."
The March into Stormveil
By dawn, the terrain had worsened.
Cliffs jutted like broken teeth. The path narrowed to a thread, crumbling at the edges into nothingness. The storm above grew heavier, bolts of lightning striking the ground at random, leaving glassy scars on the rock.
They reached the entrance to a narrow pass just as the first of the corrupted reached the valley floor below.
Kael eyed the horde. Hundreds strong.
Fighting them here would be suicide.
Unless...
He knelt, pressing his palm to the ground, feeling the heartbeat of the earth. With Luck of the Fates nudging him, he found it—a fault line, hidden beneath the rocky shelf.
A plan formed in his mind.
"Rynn," he said, grinning despite himself. "I hope you trust me."
She gave him a withering look. "That usually means something insane is coming."
He didn't argue.
Kael sprinted down the slope, the corrupted shrieking and howling as they spotted him. He let them chase him, leading them directly onto the unstable shelf.
When enough of them had gathered, Kael hurled another charged javelin into the ground.
The impact triggered a landslide.
The earth roared, collapsing beneath the horde. Screams filled the air as hundreds of corrupted were swallowed by the chasm.
Kael Shadowstepped back to Rynn just before the cliff gave way entirely.
She stared at him, wide-eyed. "That was insane."
"Told you," Kael said, breathing hard.
They didn't waste time. With the immediate threat buried, they pressed through the pass.
Beyond it lay Stormveil.
Or what was left of it.
Stormveil: The Broken City
Stormveil had once been a fortress city, built into the cliffs themselves. Now it was a ruin, half-swallowed by the storm.
Black rain fell in sheets. The streets were flooded with ankle-deep water that hissed where it touched the stone, leaving scars that smoked and bubbled.
Kael pulled his hood low. Rynn wrapped a scarf around her face.
They moved through the city ruins cautiously, every step an effort.
Time Dilation remained active at a low hum, keeping Kael's reflexes razor sharp. He needed every advantage. Shapes lurked in the mist—things that had once been animals, or humans, or worse.
And something bigger.
The storm had a heart. A nexus.
And it was near.
Kael followed the pull in his blood—the same force that resonated with Veyrion, the same storm-born magic that had changed him.
At the center of Stormveil, they found it.
A crater, blasted into the earth. Floating above it, tethered by tendrils of pure lightning, was an object—a crystal shard the size of a man's torso, pulsing with malevolent energy.
It radiated Hunger.
Kael could barely stand to look at it.
"We destroy that," Rynn said hoarsely, "and maybe this ends."
"Maybe," Kael echoed.
They approached—but not unchallenged.
From the mist came guardians—twisted knights clad in rusted armor, their eyes burning gold.
Kael gritted his teeth.
"Here we go."
The Final Stand
The first knight charged.
Kael met him head-on, Veyrion flashing with lightning. Sparks flew as steel met steel, the clash echoing through the ruins.
Kael slipped into Time Dilation, parrying and riposting with inhuman precision. MAX Sword Mastery guided his blade, making every strike lethal, every movement perfect.
But they kept coming.
Five knights. Then ten.
Rynn fought at his side, blades whirling.
Kael reached into Dimensional Storage, pulling free a set of pre-prepared mines, tossing them into the advancing ranks.
The explosions tore gaps in their lines, buying precious seconds.
But it wasn't enough.
The panther—Kael's bonded beast—leapt into the fray, tackling one knight off his feet. Kael whispered a command through their bond, feeling the creature's understanding flash back at him.
They fought as one.
Kael Shadowstepped through enemy lines, appearing behind a knight mid-swing and dispatching him with a clean strike. He used Elemental Affinity: Lightning to supercharge his movements, moving so fast he was little more than a blur.
Yet still, the crystal pulsed, feeding energy into the knights.
They needed to end this.
Now.
"Rynn!" Kael shouted. "Cover me!"
Without waiting for a response, Kael bolted toward the crater.
The knights surged after him.
He ignored them, focusing on the shard.
Summoning every ounce of lightning he could muster, Kael hurled Veyrion like a spear, the blade crackling with power.
It struck the shard dead center.
The crystal screamed—a noise that wasn't sound but feeling, a deep, vibrating agony that tore through the ground.
The knights froze.
Then crumbled into dust.
Kael stumbled, drained.
Rynn caught him before he fell.
"You're insane," she gasped.
He laughed weakly. "Takes one to know one."
Above them, the clouds began to break.
The storm was dying.
But something else was waking.
From the crater, a figure rose.
Unlike the twisted monsters they'd fought, this being was almost beautiful—tall, graceful, its form shifting between male and female, light and shadow.
It smiled, a terrible, knowing smile.
"Thank you," it said, voice echoing through Kael's mind. "Now I am free."
Kael's blood ran cold.
This wasn't over.
It had only just begun.