The dawn hadn't yet cracked, but the city was waking with a slow, grim breath. Fog clung to the streets like a shroud, muffling footsteps and twisting familiar alleys into unfamiliar mazes. My body ached from last night's battle, every muscle screaming in protest, but I was alive—and more than that, I was dangerous. C-Rank no longer felt like a stepping stone. It felt like a weapon.
I rubbed my hands, feeling the faint residual pulse of Soul Resonance crackling beneath my skin. Every time I used it, every time I pushed a little further, it clawed at my limits. It wanted to consume me. But I was learning to harness the beast inside, to ride the storm rather than be torn apart by it.
The safehouse was quiet when I slipped inside. Ryn was already there, sharpening her knives by lamplight. Her cold eyes flicked up when I entered, calm but unreadable.
"You look like hell," she said without judgment.
I gave her a dry smile. "You'd look worse if you fought a shadow wraith at the docks."
She raised an eyebrow. "Rhea's better than a wraith."
"Yeah," I said, sinking onto the wooden bench. "She's a ghost you don't want chasing you."
Mira appeared then, eyes tired but steady as always. "We heard from Loran. The Council's moving faster than we thought. Aric's tightening the noose."
I clenched my fists. "Rhea's just the beginning. He's sending his best to crush anyone who stands in his way. That means me."
The weight of it settled heavy in the room. We were small, scattered, but we were the ones who dared defy the High Council. And Aric was watching. Calculating.
I stood, pacing. "I need more power. This city's a cage, and I'm still learning the bars."
Ryn's voice cut through the haze. "There's a place outside Valenport—an old ruin, whispered to hold a relic tied to Soul Resonance. If anyone can help you push past C-Rank, it's there."
I stopped. "Where?"
"North, beyond the Ashen Hills. Dangerous territory, but the Council's reach doesn't extend that far yet."
Mira nodded. "It's a gamble. But I trust your instincts. If you want to fight Aric on equal footing, you have to evolve."
My heart pounded. Every step forward was a risk—a descent into unknown dangers. But the alternative was staying here, fighting scraps, always one step behind.
"I'm going," I said. "Tonight."
The journey to the Ashen Hills was brutal. The terrain was unforgiving—jagged rocks, thorny underbrush, and the constant chill that seeped into my bones. The farther I went, the more my body screamed in warning, the Soul Resonance flickering like a dying flame.
But something else was stirring—a dormant energy beneath the ground, a pulse that matched my own. It called to me.
At the heart of the ruins, I found it: a shard of pure Soul Resonance, ancient and humming with power. It radiated with a fierce intensity that sent shivers down my spine.
As I reached out, the shard flared, and my body was engulfed in blue fire. Pain and power collided—my mind shattered and rebuilt in a storm of energy.
Visions flooded me—ancient warriors wielding Soul Resonance beyond anything I'd imagined. Battles that bent reality, warriors who shaped entire wars with their will.
I gasped, collapsing to my knees as the energy settled into my bones.
When I stood again, I was different.
Stronger.
Sharper.
I could feel it—my rank shifting, climbing beyond the limits I'd known.
C-Rank was no longer my ceiling. I was breaking through.
But power always comes with a price.
Back in Valenport, the city was a powder keg. The High Council was restless, their assassins more frequent, their grip tighter. I was a threat now—a living wound in their system.
Rhea's return was inevitable.
And I would be ready.