Three days passed quietly.
Too quietly.
No direct attacks.
No assassins.
No political summons.
That alone made Kael more alert.
Shattered Oath did not waste time.
They adjusted.
He felt the disturbance just before midnight.
Not inside the capital.
From the east.
A subtle distortion.
Like someone tugging on a distant thread.
The resonance inside his core reacted instantly.
The sealed entity stirred.
"They pull at the chains," the ancient voice said.
Kael did not open his eyes.
"Where?" he asked internally.
"Beyond the ridge. Not at the main seal. At a fracture."
So they weren't attacking directly.
They were exploiting weakness elsewhere.
Smart.
Kael stood immediately.
He did not inform the palace.
Not yet.
If this was misdirection, he would not overreact.
He left the estate alone again.
Fast.
Silent.
Outside the eastern ridge, far from the main battlefield basin, a narrow canyon cut through the earth.
Dark mist seeped from cracks in the rock.
Shattered Oath had chosen well.
Hidden.
Isolated.
Kael arrived without being detected.
He observed from above first.
Below, five masked figures stood around a carved ritual circle.
At the center—
A shard of black crystal.
Smaller than the main seal core.
Likely broken during previous fractures.
They were channeling energy into it.
Not enough to break the main seal.
But enough to destabilize it.
The pulse beneath the earth grew stronger.
The entity's presence sharpened.
"They accelerate imbalance," it said.
"Yes," Kael replied internally.
"If they succeed, the prison weakens."
"Yes."
He dropped into the canyon without warning.
Stone cracked beneath his landing.
The ritual faltered for half a second.
One Core Formation Mid.
Two Early.
Two Foundation Peak.
Disciplined.
Prepared.
"Viremont," the leader said calmly.
"Yes."
"You're consistent."
"I prefer efficiency."
They did not waste words.
The ritual circle flared as they attacked simultaneously.
Kael moved first.
He did not charge the leader.
He targeted the ritual anchors.
One Foundation Peak cultist fell instantly to a palm strike.
Kael absorbed only a fraction.
Enough to destabilize, not enough to linger.
The Core Formation Mid attacker engaged him directly.
Their clash echoed through the canyon.
The ritual circle pulsed violently.
Dark mist thickened.
"You can't stop it," the leader said. "The fracture is already open."
Kael glanced briefly at the crystal shard.
It was vibrating rapidly.
Unstable.
If it shattered violently, the backlash could widen the main seal crack.
He needed control.
He increased output slightly.
Core Formation Early nearing Mid.
His chaotic Qi suppressed the ritual energy partially.
The leader attacked again.
Blade technique sharp and refined.
Kael blocked, redirected, then intentionally stepped into a risky exchange.
He allowed a shallow cut along his ribs.
Closed distance.
Palm strike to the leader's chest.
Full activation.
The drain was immediate.
The leader tried to disengage.
Too late.
His Core energy collapsed inward.
Kael absorbed the majority this time.
The remaining cultists faltered instantly.
Aric's earlier words echoed faintly—
"You're accelerating too quickly."
He ignored it.
Two more attackers fell within seconds.
The ritual destabilized.
The crystal shard cracked violently.
Kael did not step back.
He grabbed it.
Direct contact.
Dark energy surged into his palm.
Violent.
Unfiltered.
He compressed it immediately into his core structure.
Refined through chaotic circulation.
The canyon trembled.
Then—
Silence.
The ritual circle shattered.
Dark mist dispersed.
Kael stood alone.
Breathing steady.
Core Formation Mid.
The breakthrough came quietly.
Not dramatic.
Just structural shift.
He felt heavier.
Denser.
More controlled.
"The fracture closes," the ancient voice said.
"For now," Kael replied.
"You grow faster than expected."
"Yes."
"You are not devoured by what you take."
"No."
Silence lingered.
"You are dangerous," the entity concluded.
"Yes."
Kael crushed the remaining crystal shard into dust.
No evidence.
No ritual residue.
He would not allow Shattered Oath to use fragments again.
When he returned to the capital before dawn, the Third Prince was already waiting at the Viremont estate gate.
"You felt it," the prince said.
"Yes."
"You handled it."
"Yes."
The prince studied him carefully.
"You broke through again."
"Yes."
"You're forcing the pace."
"No," Kael replied calmly. "They are."
Silence stretched.
The prince nodded slowly.
"Very well."
He stepped aside.
"For now, we align interests."
Temporary alignment.
Not trust.
Not alliance.
Just necessity.
Later that day, Aric approached Kael again.
"You advanced," Aric said.
"Yes."
"From combat?"
"Yes."
Aric exhaled slowly.
"You're walking a line between control and consumption."
"Yes."
"And?"
Kael met his gaze evenly.
"I haven't fallen."
Aric did not argue.
But concern flickered briefly.
That night, the resonance inside Kael's core felt clearer.
Stronger.
Not because the entity was free.
But because the connection had deepened.
The battlefield was no longer distant.
It was tied to him.
Subtly.
Quietly.
And that thread—
Would not remain small forever.