[Foothills of the Whispering Range – Two Days Later]
They didn't sleep much anymore.
Every campfire felt like a signal flare.
Every rustle in the trees felt like a blade in the dark.
Coker sat by a dying flame, his hand wrapped in cloth. Even covered, the mark still glowed faintly beneath the bandage—gold and red, no longer just Kael's.
He didn't know what it meant to carry the Eighth God.
He only knew what the Herald said:
"You don't carry destruction. You carry freedom."
And apparently, that scared a lot of people.
Elira crouched on a cliffside above them, watching the forest below.
Lira meditated in silence, her hands pulsing with steady violet rhythm.
Naia sharpened her spear with quick, irritated swipes. "I hate this."
"Hate what?" Coker asked.
"Running," she said. "And being hunted by people who are supposed to be on our side."
Elira's voice came from above. "They're not on our side. They never were."
Coker frowned. "Who are they really?"
Elira climbed down slowly, her face grim.
"They're called the Silencers. Ghost unit. Born from the Sealing War. Their job is to destroy any trace of the gods' power that wasn't officially approved by the Seven Kingdoms."
Lira added quietly, "Including people."
Coker leaned forward. "So they know about the Eighth."
"They erased it," Elira said. "They think that gives them the right to erase you too."
Naia stood, eyes scanning the ridge.
"How close?"
"Closer than we want," Elira said. "They move in silence. They won't send a demon. They'll send a squad of ranked mages trained to kill Vessels before their powers awaken."
Coker swallowed. "So like... elite assassins?"
"Exactly."
Lira's eyes didn't open. "Then we can't wait. We have to move."
[An Hour Later – Deeper Into the Range]
The path wound through old ruins. Stones half-buried in moss. Forgotten walls from a kingdom that no longer had a name.
"Where are we going?" Coker asked.
"To the Hidden Shrine," Elira said. "A place the Silencers can't step into."
Naia raised an eyebrow. "Because it's protected?"
Elira shook her head. "Because they burned it once. And what came out of the fire nearly killed all of them."
Coker laughed nervously. "Well that's... super welcoming."
Suddenly—
Lira froze.
Everyone stopped.
Coker whispered, "What is it?"
She pointed to a tree nearby.
A symbol was carved into its bark.
A circle of seven stars—and a slash through the center.
Elira swore under her breath. "They're marking territory."
Naia raised her spear. "They're close."
Then came the sound.
Whistles.
Not birds. Not wind.
Whistles—high, sharp, layered.
One. Then two. Then seven.
From all directions.
"They've surrounded us," Lira said.
Elira's blade was already out. "Move!"
They ran.
Through the ruins. Over broken stones. Across collapsing bridges.
Whistles followed them. Unbroken. Calm.
Naia turned and flung a bolt of lightning into the trees.
CRACK!
Silence.
Then more whistles.
Closer now.
They made it to a clearing.
But standing there—blocking the only way forward—was a man.
Tall. Robed in grey armor lined with enchanted thread.
No expression.
No magic visible.
Just calm, cold authority.
Coker stepped back. "Who—"
"Elan of the First Light," Elira growled. "Captain of the Silencers."
Elan tilted his head. "I see you remember me."
"I remember how many you killed."
He looked at Coker.
"So. You're the one with the Eighth Flame."
Coker clenched his fists.
"You gonna try to seal me?"
"No," Elan said. "I'm going to erase you."
Without warning—he vanished.
Then—
BOOM.
He appeared in front of Coker mid-punch.
Coker barely raised his arms before being sent flying back twenty feet.
Naia leapt forward, spear blazing, but Elan blocked it with one hand—
And knocked her out of the air with the other.
Elira struck from the shadows. Three slashes in a blur.
But Elan's body shimmered—and her blade passed through an afterimage.
He struck her ribs with a blast of compressed wind.
She slammed into a tree, groaning.
Lira stepped forward, mark glowing fully now.
"You can't erase what never died."
Elan didn't respond.
He just raised his hand—
And a ring of light formed behind him.
Hundreds of chains shot out like spears.
Coker's mark flared.
"Freedom isn't given."
"It's taken."
The golden-red energy burst from his hand—
And shattered the chains mid-flight.
Coker stood again, breathing hard.
"No more running."
Elan raised an eyebrow.
"You think you've awakened?"
Coker's eyes glowed.
"No. I'm just getting mad."
He charged.
The ground exploded under his feet.
Elan stepped back, surprised for the first time as Coker struck—
A heavy punch fueled by both Kael's flame and the Eighth Will.
The impact shook the trees.
Elan skidded back.
Naia struck from the right, Lira from the left.
Elira threw a blade of wind from above.
Coker raised his mark—and all their attacks fused mid-air—
BOOOOM!
The explosion lit up the night.
Smoke cleared.
Elan knelt, bleeding, part of his armor cracked.
He stood slowly.
Looked at Coker again.
"You'll regret surviving."
Then—
He vanished.
The whistles stopped.
The wind returned.
And the silence was just... silence again.
Coker dropped to his knees, shaking.
Elira walked over and pulled him up.
"You did good."
Coker exhaled. "He's not dead."
"No," she said. "But now he knows what you are."
Lira stepped forward.
Her voice was steady.
"Not just the Eighth Vessel."
"You're the one they couldn't erase."
Naia added with a smirk, wiping blood from her lip:
"Guess that makes you... the first real threat."