Rain hammered against the cracked metal roof above the tunnels.
Kale followed Elric through the narrow passage, the faint glow of their lantern bouncing off wet stone.
"Where are we going?" Kale asked.
Elric adjusted his satchel. "Surface run. I need new reagents for the stabilizer repairs. You'll come with me. Time you learned to move unseen."
Kale frowned. "So… stealth training?"
"Survival training," Elric corrected. "Keep your mana sealed and your head clear. If you feel anything strange—don't use it."
Kale didn't answer. He'd felt "strange" ever since the voice appeared. Even now, it pulsed beneath his skin, whispering softly as they walked:
"He's slowing you down. You could move faster if you let me."
He clenched his fists. Not now.
They reached the surface just before dawn. The forest stretched endlessly around them — mist curling between the black pines, moonlight glinting on wet leaves.
Elric crouched beside an old runestone half-buried in moss. "Stay alert. These woods are old. They remember things."
Kale knelt beside him, curiosity flickering. "What kind of things?"
Before Elric could answer, a low growl rolled through the mist.
Both froze.
Then — a pair of eyes gleamed in the darkness. Red. Unblinking.
Elric muttered a curse. "A feral warg. Back up slowly."
But it was too late. The creature lunged from the trees — massive, black-furred, claws scraping the rock. Kale barely had time to raise his arms before it slammed into him, sending him crashing against the ground.
He gasped, rolling aside as teeth snapped inches from his face.
Elric threw a rune sigil, a burst of fire pushing the beast back — but it recovered too quickly.
"Kale, run!"
Kale's chest heaved. The suppressor on his wrist flickered erratically. He could feel the mana surging, begging to be released.
"Let me handle this," the voice hissed. "You'll die otherwise."
"No," Kale whispered.
The warg leapt again. Elric shouted another spell, but the creature's claws ripped through the flame barrier like smoke.
Kale's vision blurred. Time slowed.
His father's words echoed in his mind — "If they sense your power, they'll find you."
And then his mother's voice — "Live… and remember us."
The two memories collided inside him like thunder.
The mana surged.
Blue light exploded from his body, hurling the warg backward. The suppressor shattered, shards scattering across the ground.
"Kale!" Elric yelled, shielding his face.
Kale stood, eyes glowing with a deep, unnatural light. His aura rippled outward, bending the air. The voice inside him laughed — cold, triumphant.
"Finally."
The warg roared, charging again. Kale didn't move. He lifted one hand — the air around it trembling — and the creature froze mid-leap, suspended as if trapped in invisible chains.
Blue energy crawled across its fur, seeping under its skin. The beast whimpered once… and then disintegrated into dust.
Kale stared at his hand, horrified. "I didn't—"
"You did." The voice purred inside his mind. "And it felt good, didn't it?"
"Kale!" Elric's shout broke through the fog. He grabbed the boy's shoulders, shaking him. "Stop! Pull it back before it consumes you!"
But Kale couldn't move. The power rushed through him like fire, every heartbeat stronger than the last. The forest around them flickered — trees bending toward him, drawn to the mana storm.
Then — Elric slapped a glowing rune onto Kale's chest.
Pain seared through him, white-hot. The light vanished in an instant.
Kale collapsed.
The world dimmed. The last thing he saw was Elric's face — half furious, half terrified.
He woke hours later in the tunnel. His hands were bound with shimmering thread — mana-sealing ropes.
Elric sat nearby, eyes dark with exhaustion. "You nearly leveled the entire forest."
Kale's throat was dry. "I… lost control."
Elric didn't reply immediately. He rubbed his temples, muttering, "That wasn't just you. There's something else inside that power. It wants to take over."
Kale's stomach twisted. "Then what do we do?"
Elric looked up, his expression grave. "We learn its name. Because until we do, boy… you'll never be sure who's truly using that body — you, or it."
Kale's pulse quickened. The whisper echoed faintly in the back of his mind:
"Names have power… but mine will be the last one you ever speak."