The Cracks Widen
The forest smelled of blood. Damp moss clung to Kai's boots as he trudged along the narrow game trail, his sword dragging behind him. The Direwolf's corpse was long behind them, but the fight still echoed in his bones. His muscles ached. His mind was heavier.
Lira walked just ahead, bow slung over her shoulder, her stride sharp and clipped. She hadn't said a word since the battle. Dane trailed on the opposite side, axe across his back, throwing suspicious glances at Kai every few minutes. The silence between them was louder than any monster's roar.
Kai tightened his grip on his sword hilt. Say something. Anything. But his throat locked shut.
It was Lira who finally broke the silence.
"You moved differently back there." Her voice was flat, controlled, but Kai could hear the tremor under it. "When that wolf lunged, you reacted before any of us saw it. And when you struck—" She stopped walking and turned, emerald eyes narrowed. "That wasn't normal, Kai."
Dane crossed his arms, scowling. "She's right. Don't play dumb. You were faster. Stronger. Hell, I saw your eyes glow for a second." He jabbed a finger at Kai's chest. "What aren't you telling us?"
Kai's mouth went dry. He forced a laugh that sounded hollow even to his own ears. "Maybe… adrenaline? We all fought harder than usual."
"Adrenaline doesn't make you slice through a Direwolf's spine like it's paper." Lira's tone sharpened. "You've been different for weeks now. Stronger. Quieter. Always distracted. And today… today you slipped."
Dane stepped closer. "Answer her, Kai. Because right now, you're looking less like a friend and more like someone keeping secrets. Dangerous secrets."
Kai swallowed hard. The System's familiar glow pulsed faintly in the corner of his vision, unseen by the others.
[Quest Update: "Prove Yourself, Part II – Earn Their Trust"]Objective: Reveal your truth to your companions.Reward: Bond Strength +10Failure: Bond Strength –15
His heart lurched. The System wanted him to tell them. But the risk—what if they looked at him like a monster?
"I…" His voice cracked. "I can't. Not yet."
Lira's expression tightened, as if she'd expected that answer but hated hearing it anyway. Dane muttered a curse and turned away, kicking a loose stone down the path.
The air between them thickened, heavy with unsaid words.
They marched on in tense silence, deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser, branches knitting together to block out the sun. Shadows pressed close, and every rustle of leaves felt like an ambush waiting to happen.
Kai's thoughts churned. If I tell them, I risk everything. If I don't, I lose them anyway.
When they stopped to rest by a stream, the confrontation began again.
Lira crouched by the water, filling her flask, but her gaze never left Kai. "You saved me today. When the wolf's claws were an inch from my throat—you moved like lightning. That wasn't training. That wasn't luck. That was… something else."
Dane sat on a rock, sharpening his axe. The screech of metal on stone punctuated his words. "We don't care if you're hiding a trick, Kai. We care that you're hiding it from us. You think we wouldn't notice? You think we wouldn't ask?"
Kai's chest tightened. He opened his mouth—then closed it again.
The System pulsed again.
[Warning: Trust Level with Dane – Decreasing…][Current Bond Strength: Lira 65 | Dane 54]
His stomach dropped. They're slipping away from me.
"I… can't explain it," he whispered, staring at his reflection in the stream. "Not yet."
Dane slammed his axe against the rock, sparks flying. "Then when? After you've gotten us killed because we don't know what you're capable of? After some enemy finds out before we do?"
"Dane—" Lira's voice was calmer, but her eyes were wounded. "We're not your enemies, Kai. If something's happening to you, don't you trust us enough to share it?"
The words cut deeper than any blade. He wanted to scream that he did trust them—that they were all he had. But how could he explain a glowing blue interface that whispered quests into his head? How could he explain being chosen by something unseen, something that made him an outlier in a world that already feared what it didn't understand?
His silence was its own confession.
Lira's shoulders sagged. Dane looked away, jaw tight.
The rift widened.
Night fell. They made camp beneath the gnarled roots of an old oak. The fire crackled, sparks spiraling into the dark canopy above.
Kai sat apart from the others, staring into the flames. The System hovered at the edge of his vision, silent now, as if waiting.
Lira tended the fire, her back stiff. Dane cleaned his axe for the third time, muttering under his breath. The camaraderie they'd once shared—the easy banter, the laughter—felt like a memory from another life.
Kai's chest ached. He wanted to bridge the gap, to reach across the fire and say everything. But the words lodged in his throat.
Instead, he whispered to the flames, too soft for them to hear: "I don't want to lose you."
A branch cracked in the distance. The three of them stiffened.
"Not again," Dane growled, standing and hefting his weapon.
Lira nocked an arrow, scanning the treeline. "Something's following us."
Kai rose, hand tightening on his sword. His pulse quickened—not just from danger, but from dread. If another fight forced him to use the System openly, there'd be no hiding anymore.
The bushes rustled. Shapes emerged from the dark. Not wolves this time. Not beasts.
Humans.
Bandits.
A dozen of them, grinning with blades drawn.
"Well, well," their leader sneered, stepping forward. "Travelers far from home. And look at that—already tired from a fight." His eyes gleamed. "Easy prey."
Kai's stomach turned. His secret was slipping through his fingers already. Because to keep them alive… he'd have to use it.
And Lira and Dane would see.