Kael stood over Leiya's crumpled body, the breath caught in his throat.
She was still alive — he could see the faint shimmer of Ice-Light Essence trying to clot the bleeding. But her right leg was twisted wrong, and a gash across her ribs had soaked her tunic deep red. Her sword lay just beyond her reach, trembling from the earlier impact.
The Varnok pack didn't press.
They watched.
The Pack Leader—its stitched human mask flapping loose now—cocked its head, studying Kael like it was waiting for something.
Kael's heart thundered. His limbs trembled—not with fear, but pressure. Essence pressure. It built inside him, storm and flame, lightning and raw force scraping for release.
He touched his core.
"You pushed too far again, didn't you?" he muttered, jaw clenched. "You promised you wouldn't lose control."
Leiya coughed behind him. A fragile sound.
"I'm fine," she rasped, clearly not. "Just… hit harder."
Kael turned back toward the enemy. His storm-blitz cloak billowed behind him as his aura deepened—thick with streaks of crackling violet and streaking red-gold. The Essence around him warped, air splitting in arcs of pressure.
No more restraint.
He didn't say anything.
He just moved.
The ground cratered as he vanished—Storm acceleration folded into Kinetic compression. Kael reappeared behind the nearest Varnok mid-pivot, driving a bolt-powered punch straight through its chest. The Essence in his fist detonated, rupturing the creature from the inside as its black ichor sprayed in a mist.
He was already on the next before the first hit the dirt.
A whirlwind of Stormfire whips lashed out, slashing limbs, tearing bone-sinew. He spun, planted his heel, and fired a Scorchbreak Drive into a rushing brute—turning it into a collapsing ember pile that burned blue and red.
The Pack Leader finally moved again.
Kael didn't blink.
They collided in the center of the mist-veiled clearing, a cascade of shockwaves flattening the trees nearby. Its clawed strike barely missed his head. Kael ducked, grabbed the wrist, and locked it under his arm.
"Breakforce."
With a crack of Kinetic upheaval, he shattered the Varnok's forelimb clean at the joint, sending shards of pseudo-bone flying.
But the Pack Leader didn't flinch. It opened its maw and let out a distorted shriek—black Essence erupted around it in a sphere, shoving Kael back like a blast cannon.
He skidded across the broken earth, landing hard on one knee.
His lungs burned.
His aura flickered.
He looked to Leiya—still breathing, barely propped up on one elbow now, struggling to focus. Her lips moved, silently urging him on.
He rose again.
Storm swirled up his arms. Lightning spun along his spine. His eyes locked on the Pack Leader. He didn't need speeches. No declarations.
Just resolve.
"Tempest Reaver Drive."
He launched forward.
This time, Kael hit like a divine hammer—Storm vortex detonating on contact, cleaving through the leader's defensive shell. The shockwave tore through the surrounding trees and vaporized two lingering Varnok in its wake.
The Pack Leader screeched—its lower half now gone, upper body writhing in Essence spasms.
Kael didn't stop.
He rose above it, lightning lancing between his hands, and whispered the final word of judgment:
"Voltbreaker Ascension."
He dropped.
A thundercrack split the Hollow Verge.
The ground quaked from the impact.
And the Pack Leader… ceased.
There was no glory.
Only silence.
Kael collapsed to one knee beside Leiya, his breathing ragged.
"You idiot," she mumbled with a weak smile. "Told you not to do everything yourself."
He let out a dry laugh. "You looked like you needed a break."
She winced, but laughed once. "Help me up. Slowly."
Kael nodded. "We're getting out of here. No more surprises."
But somewhere deeper in the Hollow Verge, the earth rumbled again—this time too deep to be a beast. A presence stirred, vast and slow.
The Pack Leader wasn't the final threat.