The world changed the moment they stepped through the gate.
Not gradually.
Not gently.
One instant they were standing in a marble Nexus Hall surrounded by crystal arches, and the next—blistering heat, cracked earth, and the scent of blood-soaked ash.
Kaelion stepped out first, boots crunching onto scorched stone. His cloak fluttered behind him, catching the unnatural wind.
The Valley of Scars lived up to its name.
Twisted canyons carved by ancient flame wars. Bones of beasts larger than houses littered the ravines. Floating embers hung in the air like lost memories, never fading.
> [Zone Lock Engaged: No Exit Until Mission Complete.]
[Time Remaining: 24:00:00]
Sylva emerged next, shielding her eyes.
"Light here's wrong," she muttered. "Feels like midday but… too sharp."
Cael followed, flipping one of his daggers idly.
"Smells like roasted regret."
Elira was the last to arrive—her veil fluttering as she stepped lightly across the cracked stone. No sound came from her movements. No Core pressure.
Ghostlike.
---
Kael's eyes narrowed.
> [System Scan Initiated…]
[Hostile Energy Signature Detected – North-Northeast, 3.8 km.]
[Falsebound Phoenix – Status: Dormant. Wound detected.]
[Secondary Signature Detected: Unknown Entity – Class Undetermined.]
[Threat Level: Variable. Advise caution.]
He lowered the scan.
"We're not alone out here."
"Phoenix?" Sylva asked, reaching for her halberd.
"Yes. But something else too," Kael replied. "Watching."
Cael whistled softly. "Someone beat us to it?"
"No," Kael said. "Someone's waiting for us."
---
They moved quickly.
Kael led with measured pace, always ten steps ahead. Cael vanished into the shadows along the canyon edge, scouting in near silence. Sylva maintained the center, using her illusionary threads to distort the group's movement trail. Elira walked at the rear, unhurried—but her Core aura pulsed faintly like a heartbeat of nature in this scorched world.
They traveled one hour before the ambush came.
It wasn't loud.
It was precise.
A gust of wind blew through the canyon pass—normal enough—until the shadows moved with it.
"Down!" Kael snapped.
Too late for Cael.
A whip of midnight energy struck from above, yanking him off the ridge and slamming him into the canyon wall with brutal force.
Sylva turned, Core flaring, halberd raised.
Then the attackers dropped in.
Five figures, cloaked in armor made of ash and bone. Their faces were masked—animalistic helms with fangs and horns. Each wielded strange weapons: spears that bled smoke, swords that hissed with molten hunger.
Kaelion's Core surged.
> [New Faction Identified: "Ashen Hand"]
[Rogue Cultivators – Forbidden Class Users]
[Intent: Eliminate Witnesses – Claim Phoenix Core]
"Form circle," Kael ordered.
Sylva took his right.
Elira stepped to the left, green runes blooming silently beneath her feet.
Kael's hands flexed.
"You picked the wrong prey," he said.
The lead attacker pointed a jagged spear toward him.
"You don't belong on the Elite Track. You're just a child with stolen power."
Kaelion didn't blink.
"No. I'm a reminder."
He blurred forward.
---
Void Pulse Step. Rift Flow. Breaker's Edge – Active.
Kaelion became motion.
He struck the first enemy across the throat—not killing, but disabling. The attacker's Core shattered, and their weapon fell limp.
Sylva followed him in, spinning in a wide arc. Her halberd sliced through two assailants with calculated grace, illusions flickering around her like starfire.
Elira dropped to one knee, pressing a hand to the stone.
A green pulse erupted beneath the feet of the final two Ashen fighters—roots of translucent light snapped upward and immobilized them.
Kael didn't waste time.
He reached the leader, ducked under a wild swing, and drove his palm into the man's Core with a single, brutal pulse of inner force.
The armor cracked. The mask split.
The man dropped, coughing blood.
> [Combat Complete. Ashen Hand – Subsection Cleared.]
[Warning: More Nearby. These were scouts.]
---
Kael stood still, breathing slow.
Not out of fatigue.
Out of calculation.
"They were waiting for the Phoenix to weaken before claiming it," he said.
Sylva leaned her halberd against her shoulder. "Now they know we're here."
Cael staggered up, bloody but alive. "And probably pissed."
Kael looked toward the distant canyon, where a faint heat ripple trembled the air.
"No more waiting," he said.
---
> [Phoenix Location Updated: 2.4 km. Core reading unstable. Likely awakening.]
[Optional Trigger Unlocked: Claim or Bind the Phoenix Core.]
[Danger Level: Rising.]