The village had grown quieter since the attack, but quiet did not mean safe. Jordan felt it in the way people stared at him too long, in the hushed voices that fell silent when he passed. Even Ariana, though still kind, had become more watchful, as if she was studying him for answers she feared to hear.
At night, shadows seemed to linger longer than they should. The forest, once filled with the distant hum of crickets and the whisper of wind, now breathed with something else. A weight. A presence.
Jordan had started to dream—dreams of fire tearing across lands, of a figure with golden hair standing above broken kingdoms. He always woke drenched in sweat, Ariana's worried eyes sometimes the first thing he saw.
One evening, as the moonlight spilled silver across the dirt paths, the village chief summoned him.
"You've brought change with you, boy," the chief said, his voice heavy with age and burden. "But change is not always welcome."
Jordan shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't ask to come here. I'm just trying to understand this world… to survive in it."
The chief's eyes hardened. "Survival is not enough. Nytherra is a land balanced on a blade's edge. Wars between kingdoms brew like storms. And worse things stir beneath the surface. If you are what I think you are, your presence could tip the blade."
Before Jordan could answer, a scream tore through the night. Villagers rushed to the edge of the forest. Torches flared. Something had moved among the trees.
Jordan caught sight of it—a shape darker than night itself, slipping between the trunks. His skin prickled as if the air itself recoiled from the creature.
"Stay back!" someone shouted.
But the shadow lunged.
Jordan's instincts flared. His vision blurred, and for a heartbeat his body moved without thought. Green light crackled across his skin. When the beast leapt, he thrust out his hand—and a surge of raw energy exploded from his palm.
The creature shrieked, dissolving into smoke and ash.
The village froze. Every eye turned to Jordan. Silence hung thick, broken only by Ariana's sharp intake of breath.
Jordan staggered, his knees giving out. The light faded, leaving him trembling. His vision swam, and before he hit the ground, he heard the whispers start.
"He has power…"
"…unnatural…"
"…what is he?"
And then darkness claimed him.