The surroundings were eerily silent as Vehedyn stood alone inside a ruined structure. He glanced left and right, the broken stones around him casting long shadows that seemed to slither into every corner—like giant serpents.
*crack...
The sound of faint cracks echoed now and then, and small bits of dust fell from the fractured walls and ceiling. Everything else was quiet—too quiet.
All he could hear was his own breathing and the soft thud of his footsteps upon the ground.
He stayed tense, every part of him was alert and uneasy from the stillness pressuring in on all sides.
Then,
*Crack!
A sharp crack.
Sounded from a nearby ruined window.
He flinched and turned quickly, hand twitching near his side in nervousness.
He let out a dry, sarcastic smile—as if trying to ease the tension in his chest.
"Hey hey, you should probably meet your apprentice face to face, yeah?" he said aloud, voice shaky but steady at the same time.
Then a sharp, uneven whistle of wind reached Verhedyn's ears.
*WHZZT!
Like something fast and deadly was cutting through the air toward him.
He turned his body just in time.
A small dagger flew past his head with a high-pitched whistle, landing on the ground with a heavy thud right beside him.
"What the hell…?" Verhedyn muttered, eyes wide as he stared at the blade.
He leaned down to inspect it, but before his fingers could even touch the handle—
*WHZZT!
Another whistle.
"Tch!" he clicked his tongue and threw himself into a roll, diving behind a nearby rock just as another dagger struck it. The weapon hit the stone with brutal force, cracking it apart and scattering bits of debris.
His heart pounded within his chest like a drum. That thing could have split his skull. If it had hit, he wouldn't be standing—he would be dead.
Then, cutting through the quiet came a voice—gruff, shaky, and full of twisted intent.
"W-W-Why s-should I w-waste m-my time on a s-slave like you?" the voice stuttered, but there was no weakness in it. The tone was cold—Serious.
"I-I should j-just get th-this o-over with… I… w-will kill you."
Verhedyn's instincts screamed loudly.
He didn't wait. No hesitation.
*tap! tap! tap!
He sprinted low and fast toward another rock,
*SKRRRT!
sliding behind it and pressing his back against the rough surface, trying to stay low.
He shouted out, voice strained, "Hey! Does Merilyn even know you're trying to kill me!?"
His chest rose and fell quickly, breath shallow as his nerves rattled through every inch of him.
"O-Of c-course—she d-does not—why w-would I tell her m-my plans?" the voice replied, tone mocking and casual at the same time.
The sound shifted.
It came from above,
then behind,
then the left.
There was no clear source.
"L-Let's j-just say you d-died in a-an u-unfortunate accident!" it echoed, bouncing off the ruined walls, surrounding Verhedyn completely.
*WHZZT!
With another sharp whistle, a dagger tore through the air toward Verhedyn, forcing him to flinch on instinct.
The blade whizzed past his ear and struck the wall behind him with a heavy thunk, plunging deep into the cracked stone—only a few centimeters from his head.
Dust came down from the spot.
For a split second, the world froze.
If he hadn't moved… that would've been it—he would have died right there.
"Shit!" Verhedyn muttered nervously, his voice catching as adrenaline surged through him.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"
He spun and bolted, boots skidding slightly over uneven and cracked ground stone.
All that mattered now was moving.
Staying alive.
"This guy is really trying to kill me!" he shouted, breath ragged.
And then—laughter.
Cold.
Broken.
Stuttering through the air like a cracked record.
"H-Hahah... w-where do y-you think y-you're g-going, kid?"
Verhedyn looked over his shoulder—and what he saw nearly made him trip.
A figure leapt over broken pillars like a phantom, his coat flapping behind him, each movement silent but sharp.
The light only caught glimpses of his face.
He moved too fast.
Verhedyn saw the shadow before the man itself—long and looming.
It chased him like a monster—like a demon.
"T-The s-shadows are m-my world!" the voice called again. Echoes rang in all directions. The man wasn't just moving—he was everywhere.
*WHZZT!
Verhedyn ducked under a collapsed arch, narrowly avoiding another dagger that struck the wall to his right and split a chunk off it.
He gritted his teeth, pushing himself harder. His lungs burned. His legs screamed. But the figure was getting closer.
If I stop moving I'm dead
If I look at my back I'm dead
Yet Verhedyn knew that If he kept running like this, he wouldn't make it ten more seconds.
The fear began to press down on him—harder than the ruined stone above.
I must survive
I must survive
I can't die
I don't want to die
There was no way out like this. He couldn't outrun him.
"Think, Verhedyn... THINK!" he yelled inside his mind, desperate, eyes wide.
Then an idea lit up.
He hadn't tried one thing yet—the one thing Merilyn had taught him.
His Eidra.
Verhedyn dropped behind cover and shut his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to breathe in—then out.
He had to clear his head.
Panic would only get him killed.
Focus, he reminded himself.
From within. Just like what Merilyn taught.
Slowly, he began to reach inside, searching for that strange, hidden place Merilyn had helped him find.
That place that felt…
Cold.
And there it was.
Like the breath of winter deep in his chest.
Icy.
Still.
Waiting.
He pulled at it, just as Merilyn taught him to.
The coldness crawled up his spine and into his limbs, making him shiver.
His teeth clenched, but he didn't stop. He kept drawing it out—more and more.
Then, it surged.
The power flooded through him like a rising tide of frost.
His muscles tensed as the chill wrapped around his body.
Blue, crystal-like fragments began to form on his arms and shoulders, spreading outward in jagged shapes.
They glowed faintly—ice, but not ordinary ice.
It was like armor—living, growing.
His breath fogged in the air as the temperature around him dropped.
The pain from his panic faded. In its place, there was only clarity—and cold.
Then the voice returned, cutting through the silence.
"W-well… well… well…" it gruffed, sounding more excited now. "This should be interesting!"