Three: The Sky Cracks Open
1486 Words
Kael burst out of the mine just as the sky split with a sound like shattering glass. The wind howled through the forest, whipping his cloak around him. He crouched low, scanning the treetops.
The c***k in the heavens widened, spilling pale light across the land. It wasn’t sunny. It was harsher, sharper, like the edge of a blade.
Kael’s grip tightened around the shard strapped to his back. The relic thrummed softly against him, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
The energy rolling off it was raw, chaotic, and impossible to fully suppress.
“Too loud,” Kael muttered. “They’ll come for me now.”
He moved quickly, weaving through the dense forest, his footsteps silent despite the uneven ground.
Every sense was alert, his mind working through options. He’d reclaimed a fraction of his power, enough to take on spirit beasts and lower-ranked cultivators, but if the gods themselves had sensed him, he needed to disappear. Fast.
The whispering voice from the cavern echoed in his mind.
“They know you live…”
His jaw tightened. “Good. Let them come.”
Hours later, Kael knelt by a stream, rinsing the grime and blood from his hands. The water was ice cold, refreshing, and he splashed some over his face. He looked at his reflection.
The boy’s features stared back at him, sharp but youthful, a body unmarked by the scars Kael had earned in his previous life. His dark hair was damp and messy, his eyes clear but carrying a weight no twenty-three-year-old should bear.
“Kael Varin,” he murmured, tasting the name of the body’s original owner. “A fool who died like a dog. Not anymore.”
He strapped the shard tighter to his back and stood. The forest was quiet now, but the air felt… heavy.
Someone was nearby.
Kael moved without hesitation, vanishing into the trees.
He spotted them within moments, a trio of figures moving carefully through the forest, all wearing dark armor emblazoned with the serpent-and-spear insignia. The same as the bounty hunter from earlier.
They weren’t amateurs. Their movements were too precise, their spacing too disciplined. One carried a long spear, another a bow, and the third… Kael’s eyes narrowed as he spotted faint runes glowing on the man’s gauntlets. A mage.
So they’d send real hunters this time.
Kael crouched in the shadows, studying them. He could take them if he was careful. A direct fight would be loud, though. He needed to end this before more came.
The archer paused suddenly, glancing around. “He’s close,” she whispered.
Kael smiled faintly. “Clever.”
He moved.
One heartbeat, he was crouched in the bushes. The next, he was behind the mage, his dagger flashing.
The man barely had time to gasp before Kael slit his throat, catching the body silently as it fell.
The archer spun, releasing an arrow, but Kael dropped the body and rolled aside. The arrow whistled past him and embedded itself in a tree with a dull thunk.
“Contact!” the spearman barked, lunging forward. His weapon whistled through the air, fast and precise.
Kael ducked under the first strike and kicked the man’s knee, sending him stumbling. He spun, grabbed the spear shaft, and yanked, pulling his opponent off balance.
The dagger in Kael’s other hand flashed, slicing across the man’s throat before he could recover.
The archer lost another arrow, but Kael caught it mid-flight, snapping it in half. He vanished into the trees, using the shadows as cover.
The archer cursed, fumbling for another arrow. Her hands trembled as she scanned the forest.
“Show yourself!” she yelled.
Kael’s voice came from behind her. “If you insist.”
She turned, too late. Kael’s dagger found her heart.
He lowered her gently to the ground and exhaled. Three down, silently. He searched them quickly, finding a sealed scroll on the mage’s body. Breaking the seal, he scanned the contents.
His expression darkened.
It wasn’t just a bounty notice. It was an order of elimination, signed by the High Marshal of the Serpent Fang Guild, one of the largest mercenary organizations in the Mortal Realm.
So this wasn’t random, someone had paid a lot to ensure his death.
Kael pocketed the scroll and stripped the mage’s gauntlets, inspecting the runes. “Basic elemental enchantments,” he murmured. “Useful.”
He slipped them on, flexing his fingers. Sparks of faint blue lightning crackled around his hand. Not much, but better than nothing.
Kael stood and scanned the forest again. No more pursuers, for now. But if the Serpent Fang Guild was involved, they’d keep coming.
“I need a safe place,” he muttered. “And information.”
The nearest city was Valewind, but going back there now would be suicidal. He’d need to disappear somewhere more remote, a place they wouldn’t expect him to go.
Then he remembered the map he’d seen in the System’s interface earlier, the faint marking of an abandoned sect compound deep in the mountains, a place the world had long forgotten.
“That’ll do.”
Night fell as Kael trekked deeper into the wilderness, the relic’s pulse a constant reminder of its power. The forest grew denser, the air colder. Spirit energy thickened around him, a sign that stronger beasts roamed these parts.
Kael moved carefully, alert for any sign of danger. His instincts screamed that he was being hunted, but he couldn’t sense anyone nearby.
Then he heard it.
A faint rustle, a whisper of movement.
Kael froze, crouching low. His hand went to his dagger.
Something moved in the darkness, a shadow sliding between trees, too fast and silent to be human.
Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Spirit beast…”
The creature stepped into the moonlight, and Kael’s breath caught.
It wasn’t a beast.
It was a woman.
She stood at the edge of the clearing, tall and graceful, her long silver hair glowing faintly in the moonlight. Her amber eyes glimmered like molten gold, and her expression was unreadable. She wore a cloak of midnight-blue silk, embroidered with constellations.
Kael straightened, every muscle tense. “You’ve been following me.”
The woman tilted her head, studying him. “And you’ve been making quite a mess,” she said softly. Her voice was calm, melodic, but there was an edge to it. “Three hunters dead. A relic awakened. You’ve drawn too much attention, Kael Draven.”
Kael stiffened. “You know my name.”
Her lips curved into a faint smile. “I know many things.”
She stepped closer, her presence radiating power. Not spirit energy. Something deeper. Older.
Kael’s instincts screamed danger. He shifted his stance subtly, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
“What do you want?” he asked.
The woman’s eyes gleamed. “To see if the rumors were true. The Godslayer walks again.”
Kael’s hand tightened on his dagger. “And if I am?”
“Then,” she said softly, “you are already in more danger than you realize.”
She raised her hand, and the air shimmered around her. A circle of glowing runes appeared beneath her feet, filling the clearing with blinding light.
Kael cursed and dove to the side as a blast of energy erupted from the circle, scorching the ground where he’d stood.
So she wasn’t here to talk.
Kael sprinted forward, closing the distance between them, but she moved like flowing water, vanishing in a blur of silver light and reappearing behind him.
Her hand crackled with energy as she aimed a strike at his back. Kael twisted, grabbing her wrist and using her momentum to throw her over his shoulder. She landed gracefully, sliding back a few steps, her amber eyes flashing with amusement.
“Impressive,” she murmured. “You’re not as weak as they said.”
Kael smirked. “And you’re not as good as you think.”
For a moment, they circled each other, tension thick in the air. Then the woman smiled faintly.
“I’ll be watching you, Godslayer,” she said softly. “For now… survive.”
Before Kael could react, she vanished, dissolving into a swirl of silver mist.
Kael stood alone in the clearing, breathing hard. He scanned the forest, senses straining, but she was gone.
He exhaled slowly, his grip tightening on his dagger. Whoever she was, she was far stronger than anyone he’d faced so far. And she knew him.
“Great,” Kael muttered. “Another problem.”
He glanced up at the sky. The c***k of light had vanished, but its presence lingered, a silent reminder that the gods were watching.
Kael turned toward the mountains, his expression cold.
“Come, then,” he whispered. “Let’s see who finds me first.”
And with that, he disappeared into the night, the relic pulsing softly against his back.
- Writer
