Night fell like a shroud over the sect, and with it came a silence that wasn't natural.
The stars hid.The crickets stilled.Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Kael stood at the edge of the forest, bare feet pressing into the cool dirt. His bandages were tight, his muscles sore—but his instincts were sharper than ever.
He knew he was being watched.
Not by a friend.Not by a foe.But by something... older.
The First Warning
As he stepped deeper into the shadows between the trees, a voice drifted from behind the mist.
"Impressive, what you did to Jin Ru. The sect thinks you're a wild dog now."
Kael spun, fists up.
A figure leaned against a crooked tree—tall, wrapped in shadowed robes, their face hidden behind a smooth, featureless mask made of obsidian. Only two eye slits glowed faint blue.
"Relax," the voice said, distorted and calm. "I'm not here to kill you. If I wanted to, you'd already be a memory."
Kael didn't lower his guard.
"What do you want?"
"To warn you."
The masked figure stepped forward, boots silent.
"They're going to come for you soon. Not Jin Ru's lackeys—real ones. Cloaked in rules. Bathed in tradition. Afraid of what you represent."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "And what's that?"
"A fracture. A crack in their ancient cage."
A Forbidden Path
The figure tossed something at Kael's feet. A scroll—no seal, no markings. But it pulsed, almost alive.
"Take this, if you dare. It's the second half of what you found beneath the waterfall. The part they buried."
Kael didn't move.
"Why give it to me?"
"Because you're already walking the path they fear. You felt it, didn't you? When you bled. When you moved. When the mountain responded."
Kael said nothing—but he had. Every bruise sang of something awakening.
"The scroll won't make you strong. It will break you first. Twist what you know. But if you survive... you'll no longer be a disciple. You'll be a force."
The masked figure turned to leave.
Kael called out, "Who are you?"
"A ghost. Like you're becoming."
And just like that, the figure vanished—melted into the forest without sound.
Return to Firelight
Kael returned to his quarters, scroll in hand. The flickering lantern lit the rough parchment, revealing its first line:
"The Body is a Lie. Pain is the Teacher. Nature is the Blade."
His fingers trembled—not in fear, but need.
The sect had trained him in balance, chi, and tradition.
This scroll whispered of instinct, flame, bone, and fury.
Kael sat cross-legged and laid the scroll before him.
He would learn.He would bleed.And if the sect tried to break him...
He would break them first.