Kane, trapped and utterly vulnerable, hung precariously—not from a common rope, but from a thick, fibrous tendril of shadow tied tightly around his ankle, suspended upside down from a massive, gnarled branch of the black-barked tree. The inverted position was disorienting, and the psychic pressure was crippling.
He was caught in the Blackish Lady insidious trap.
'Just who the hell is she?' Kane thought, the blood rushing to his head, staining his vision crimson. 'She is horrifyingly good at fighting and setting traps, using the environment against me. This is not a fight; it is an execution.'
The dark, faceless Lady stood below him on the mossy ground, her ancient sword resting against her shoulder. Her voice, a melodic whisper of pure malice, drifted up.
"Rule No. 1, little ghost: there is no such thing as a fair one-on-one fight unless it is specifically mentioned and enforced by a covenant"
"I just assumed it was," Kane choked out, struggling uselessly against the suffocating shadow-rope.
She did not dignify his protest with a response. Instead, her hand moved with blinding speed. A sleek, black arrow—not of wood, but of solidified shadow—shot from her fingertips, slicing through the thick tendril holding his ankle.
Kane fell, crashing hard onto the forest floor. He scrambled back, spitting out dirt and blood.
The Lady of Shadows advanced, her figure a looming silhouette of forgotten power. "You won't pass this trial unless you accept who you are and reject this current façade. You are nothing but a splinter, a fragile echo of the being you were created to be."
Kane scrambled to his feet, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder, and bellowed a defiant, visceral scream. "Stop! I won't do it! Whatever my previous life was, whatever greatness or horror it held—let it be! I will not be replaced!"
His defiance was met with cold dismissal. The Lady moved, a blur of deadly grace, and the hilt of her ancient sword slammed into the side of Kane's head. The force was psychic, aimed directly at his consciousness, shattering his defenses. He fell into the black abyss of the unconscious, the Lady's final, chilling command ringing in his ears: The past will claim you.
Kane woke with a gasp, his mind reeling from the brutal intensity of the dream. He found himself lying on a simple, makeshift cot in one of the empty, crumbling houses within the settlement.
A figure was seated near him, a stark vision of beauty and terrifying commitment. Nephis, clad in her shimmering, starlight-infused armor, was vigilantly waiting. Her long, silver hair cascaded down her shoulder like liquid moonlight, a disturbing contrast to the ruins surrounding them.
Kane pushed himself up, his muscles aching with phantom pain from the dream-fight. "How long were you staying here?"
"For long," Nephis replied, her voice cool and level. "You were unconscious for a substantial amount of time. I had to ensure no one disturbed you."
Kane sighed, running a hand over his face, already weary of the political games. "What is it you want? Cut the pretense."
"Seishan... wants to meet you," Nephis stated, getting straight to the point.
Kane nodded, his assent grudging. He stood, and they left the house, walking toward the secret, secluded spot—a hidden bunker deep beneath the ruins that served as the primary meeting point for their fragile alliance: Nephis, Cassie, and Shakti.
As they walked through the skeletal ruins, the air thick with tension, Nephis risked a question, her voice almost hesitant. "Can I ask you a question?"
Kane glanced at her and nodded once.
"Do you still trust me?"
The answer was immediate, devoid of any emotional nuance, pure venom. "Hell, nah."
Nephis paused, absorbing the blow without visible reaction. "I need you to try and think... strategically, outside of personal grudge."
Kane cut her off, his voice a low growl of warning. "Please, if you try to convince me to forgive you, just shut up. That well is poisoned."
Nephis showed no further indifference to his hatred, shifting to practical matters. "Then how do you know Seishan? She is fiercely private."
"We used to... spar," Kane answered simply, leaving the history of their alliance—built on mutual strength and strategic alignment against Nephis's tyranny—unsaid.
They reached the secret meeting spot. Inside, the atmosphere was charged. Cassie, Seishan, and Shakti were already there, all three women encased in their combat armour, armed, and ready. Seishan, in particular, looked exactly as Kane remembered
Kane looked down at his own clothes, realizing he was the only one in civilian attire. 'Well, I can summon an armour when needed,' he thought, shrugging off the momentary lapse.
He mentally called the shimmering, spectral form of Missy, still residing in the terrifying calm of his Soul Sea. 'What is it?' Missy's voice resonated in his mind, immediately complaining. 'Why is it that you are always surrounded by girls?'
Kane was momentarily dumbstruck by the sheer irrelevance of the question. He simply thought back: 'I have no idea. Just stay alert.'
Seishan looked directly at Kane, a faint smirk playing on her lips. "The Prodigal Son returns."
Kane returned the greeting, a genuine, cold smile stretching his face. "So did I. By the way, sorry for leaving our agreement in the middle of a raid."
Seishan glanced briefly at Nephis, the gesture a clear dismissal of her leader. "It is understandable, given the circumstances you found yourself in."
"So, what is it?" Kane asked, cutting to the chase. "Is this about the spar?"
Cassie looked intensely between Seishan and Kane, her blindfold hiding the calculation in her eyes.
Seishan delivered the alliance's crux. "I will ally with you and them to defeat Gunlaug and escape this hell. But the question is: who will fight Gunlaug? You or Nephis? We cannot afford two threats to his dominance running wild."
Nephis and Kane stared at each other, the air crackling with mutual resentment and acknowledgment. Kane understood that they, Nephis and he, were the only two individuals the current Bright Lord considered a genuine, destabilizing threat.
Nephis blurted out, asserting her absolute claim: "Me."
Kane looked at her, his lips twitching. "I can fight Gunlaug too, you know. Let's not forget who held their ground against a monstrous horde in the Dark City for months."
Nephis stared at him, her expression hardening. Cassie quickly intervened, eager to push her faction's narrative. "I feel Nephis should fight him. He has been provoking us for a while; she should be the one to end him."
Kane narrowed his eyes at the deflection. "Is that the only reason, Cassie? Or is it because your vision demands it?"
Cassie continued, pressing the tactical advantage. "She is a better fighter than you. She taught you how to fight, remember? And we have been preparing for this for a while; we have a better shot with her leading the charge."
Shakti, however, interjected, her loyalty to Kane unwavering. "Kane has survived the Dark City for four months and has returned with a Monster Class. That alone should speak volumes about his combat efficiency and growth."
The debate continued, fueled by strategic necessity and deeply rooted distrust. Shakti and Seishan supported Kane, seeing him as a less controlled, more ruthlessly efficient weapon. Cassie, bound by her vision and loyalty, stayed firmly with Nephis, who remained stubbornly fixed on her decision.
After a tense, drawn-out minute, Kane ended the council. "Alright, ladies. Here is what will happen, and this is final. Nephis will fight Gunlaug. But," he emphasized the word with cold finality, "if Gunlaug messes with me, or if he interferes with my agenda, I will fight him before Nephis gets a chance to. That is the final period."
All four women looked at him, surprised by his decisive, self-serving compromise. They thought for a while, realizing that Kane's condition was both reasonable and guaranteed to maintain their mutual benefit. Shakti and Seishan, though slightly disappointed, accepted the terms.
Kane looked at Seishan, a new thought dawning. 'Seishan seems to harbor deep resentment toward Nephis. She might know about Nephis targeting her mother, which would make sense. She wants me to have the spotlight, hoping I can defend her mother in the future if a conflict arises. Her loyalty is to her kin, not her leader.'
As everyone was about to disperse, Kane felt a subtle, icy-cold connection flicker into his mind. It was a sensation he had never experienced—a pure, resonant beacon of white light inside his Soul Sea, near where Missy was hovering.
Missy immediately manifested within his mental space. 'Did Linia speak your True Name?'
Kane looked at the blinding beacon, realization flooding him. "It seems so." He mentally reached out to the light, and as he touched it, a faint, translucent image appeared in his mind: Linia lying on her makeshift cot, looking at the ceiling.
"Kane, if you are looking at this, where are you?" she whispered, her voice a ghost of sound. "I am giving a 'missed call' with your True Name. I need you."
Kane immediately pulled himself out of his Soul Sea, his head snapping up. Missy's voice, inside his head, was frantic. 'What is it?'
"Missed call," Kane replied curtly, already moving toward the exit, ignoring the confused stares of the women.
Seishan, however, stopped him at the threshold. "Kane, I have one last question."
Kane paused, looking at the silent council of warriors. "What is it?"
Seishan's fierce eyes met his. "When shall we have the next spar?"
Kane laughed, a brief, genuine sound of release. "When all this mess is over, Seishan. When we are free."
And with that, he left.
A single, tense week flew by. Kane, driven by the urgency of Linia's blight, began preparing for the expedition. He coordinated with Shakti and the senior peers to smooth the operations of the Academy, ensuring Linia would be safe and cared for in his absence. He participated in controlled, brutal hand-to-hand combat spars with his most capable peers, not for sport, but to hone the monstrous efficiency of his body and others.
The focus was absolute: acquisition of the Shard at any cost.
The week finally ended.
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