"More of them are coming," Eldrod muttered, his tone grim as his eyes scanned the thick mist that coiled along the forest's edge. The ground trembled faintly, unnatural howls echoing from the distance like drums heralding war. Cael could feel it too—a sinking pressure, as though the very air thickened with each heartbeat.
"We can take them," Cael hissed, fists clenched. "Let them come."
Eldrod didn't respond immediately. His long, grey robe fluttered in the rising wind. He turned to Cael, gaze sharp as ever. "This isn't about courage. This is about strategy. Do not confuse fury with strength."
The sky above cracked with a sudden boom, and from the clouds descended figures cloaked in sickly green flame. Each one carried wicked weapons, twisted and sharp, their faces obscured behind grotesque bone masks. Observers, once veiled watchers from distant powers, now fully revealed, had come not to speak, but to slaughter.
One of them landed with a bang, shaking the earth. "You shelter the boy. That makes you a traitor, Eldrod."
"So be it," Eldrod said calmly, stepping forward. His hand flicked and the ground erupted with silver fire. It hissed like a nest of serpents, coiling into tendrils that lashed out. The masked one was engulfed before he could move. A second tried to charge, only to be impaled mid-air by a spear of compressed wind.
Cael stumbled back, the sheer force of the clash rattling his bones. "Damn...!" he gasped.
"Stay behind me!" Eldrod barked.
But Cael's body moved of its own accord. One of the assailants darted in from the side, blade raised. Cael twisted and brought his palm forward. Hummm. A pulse of raw energy burst forth, deflecting the strike. He winced, feeling the backlash burn through his veins. "Shit, that hurt."
More enemies descended, a total of eight now. Their auras were monstrous, on par with high-level cultivators. Each one radiated the power of the Storm-Forged Realm or above. Eldrod narrowed his eyes.
"They want war," he muttered. "Then let them taste it."
With a snap of his fingers, the sky turned black. Thunder roared. Lightning shaped like dragons danced across the heavens. The old man rose into the air, a storm god incarnate. With every motion of his fingers, a foe fell, burnt or frozen or shattered into dust.
Still, they kept coming.
Cael, panting and bruised, glanced around. "We're being surrounded! Eldrod, what now?!"
Eldrod descended beside him, his face grim. "They won't stop. Not until you're dead."
"Then I fight!" Cael screamed. "I'm not running again!"
"Foolish!" Eldrod spat. Then his voice softened. "But brave. You have potential... more than I thought. But it's not time yet. Not here."
Another wave dropped from the sky, and Eldrod lifted his arm. A dome of burning light enveloped them both, just as an explosion rocked the trees. The shockwave blew the invaders backward.
"Enough," Eldrod growled. "We'll draw them away. Then vanish."
"But how?!"
Instead of answering, Eldrod slammed his palm to the earth. A circle of light flared, ancient runes swirling outward. The forest shook, and the land beneath them opened into a cavern.
"Jump."
Cael hesitated. "You first!"
"We go together."
They leapt into the dark, and the entrance sealed shut behind them.
The passage was narrow, lined with glowing stones that pulsed in rhythm with their heartbeats. Cael gasped for air, still tasting blood.
"Why are they after me, Eldrod? What the hell am I?"
The old man didn't answer at first. He walked ahead, his steps firm. After a pause, he said, "You're a threat. Not just to them. To the world order. But it's not because of your blood... It's because of your potential. And the flame inside you."
Cael gritted his teeth. "Then teach me. I'm tired of being the one protected."
Eldrod looked over his shoulder. "I already am. Every wound you survive, every breath you steal back from death, every moment you endure... that's your training."
The path widened into a subterranean chamber, lit by floating crystals. Strange etchings lined the walls—diagrams of human forms, beasts, and orbs of power.
Eldrod gestured to the carvings. "This... is cultivation. Not the child's play of refining blood. This is where the true path begins."
Cael stepped closer.
"There are five known cultivation paths," Eldrod explained, voice echoing. "Essence Forging, Spirit Tempering, Mystic Resonance, Elemental Unison, and Ascendant Will. Each requires years, if not decades, of brutal training. Each with its own techniques."
He waved his hand, and ghostly images flickered to life. A man channeling lightning through his fists. A woman walking on flames. A beast morphing into smoke.
"And what am I suited for?" Cael asked.
Eldrod smirked. "We'll find out soon enough. First, we rebuild you."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a small jade vial. "Bone-washing elixir. It'll hurt more than anything you've felt."
Cael took the vial, stared at the swirling gold liquid. "Perfect. I was getting bored."
Eldrod chuckled dryly. "Then drink."
Cael raised the vial and drank. The effect was immediate.
BOOM! His body convulsed.
"ARRRGHHH! SHIT! IT BURNS!"
He collapsed, writhing on the stone floor.
"Hold on," Eldrod whispered, crouching beside him. "Let it remake you. Let it destroy the weak flesh so something new can grow."
Cael screamed. His veins felt like lava. Bones cracked, muscles tore and stitched anew. Lights exploded behind his eyes. He didn't know how long it lasted. Minutes? Hours?
When it was over, he lay panting, soaked in sweat and blood.
Eldrod leaned back. "Now... we begin for real."
[To be continued in Chapter 13]