Just as Kael met his gaze, Lucian tore his wrist free from his grip
"No you don't."
Lucian took a few steps back and flashed a grin.
"So, you managed to advance to rank three… Terrifying."
Lucian was also rank three.
That was the problem.
The young man standing before him had accomplished that in less than a year what had taken Lucian nearly half a lifetime.
But even as they stood on opposite sides now, enemies by both circumstance and choice. Lucian could not deny what he saw. Beneath the caution and hostility, something else stirred. A reluctant respect. And tangled within it, something far more dangerous. Jealousy.
Lucian stretched out his arms and snapped his fingers.
Two small dots of light flickered into existence, drifting lazily above his palms.
Kael's hand hovered near the hilt of his dagger.
Lucian brought his hands inward. Slowly at first. Then faster. Drawing from every strength mote he had consumed, he slammed his palms together.
For a breath, the lights resisted. They bucked and flared, refusing to become one.
Lucian pressed harder until they fused.
A blinding flash split the street. Then a scream followed, layered, like a thousand birds crying out in perfect unison.
The air itself seemed to strain.
Kael twisted sharply, materials pulling tight across his body as he swung his arm up to shield himself.
From Lucian's palm, three vertical arcs of light erupted forward, carving deep gashes into the stone as they tore across the ground.
A thunderclap reverberated through the street as the first arc collided with Point Aegis. The impact split it in two, the severed currents spiraling wildly through the building behind him.
The second arc followed an instant later. It passed through Kael's raised arm as though it were mist. A spray of crimson marked its path before it continued on, cleaving the structure behind him cleanly in half.
Kael ignored the severed limb as it struck the ground, keeping his eyes locked on Lucian.
With what remained of his arm, he flicked it forward.
The third arc closed the distance in a heartbeat. It tore through muscle and bone without slowing.
Before it could fully exit his back, Kael moved.
He snapped his remaining hand toward the wall beside him.
It detonated instantly. Stone and timber exploded outward in a violent bloom, shards and splinters tearing through the street as a cloud of debris surged toward Lucian.
Lucian threw up an arm to shield his face.
The corpse lying near him was not as fortunate. It vanished beneath the blast, reduced to a ruin of shattered bone and scattered gore.
Lucian watched the dust cloud carefully, waiting for it to thin.
The moment he realized Kael was gone, he broke into a sprint.
"Doing this again?"
His roar echoed down the shattered street as he gave chase.
Kael pressed his hand hard against the ruin of his shoulder while slipping between buildings, blood pouring freely between his fingers and marking his path in dark streaks.
He cut sharply around a corner and hurled himself through a wooden door.
Inside, a small group sat around a table, books spread open before them.
"Wha—" one of the Luminaries began.
Kael did not slow. He released his shoulder just long enough to brush his fingers across them as he passed.
The reaction was instant and violent. Necks twisted at unnatural angles. Bones cracked. Bodies collapsed in a grotesque ripple, like puppets yanked apart by invisible strings.
Kael crashed through a window on the far side. He stumbled on landing, nearly losing his balance, then forced himself back into a full sprint.
Halfway through vaulting a fence, his eyes widened.
A yellow light no larger than a pea hovered an arm's length from his face.
The fence detonated beneath him as he triggered Point Blank. The blast propelled him upward at the same instant the yellow mote flared.
Midair, Kael twisted, redirecting himself sharply skyward.
The pea of light detonated.
An arc of searing energy ripped outward beneath him, carving through the street in a straight, merciless line.
Before Kael could touch the ground, the wall beside him burst.
Stone and wood exploded as Lucian forced his way through, dust and fragments spraying in every direction. His hand shot out and closed around Kael's throat, digging deep enough to dimple flesh.
"Got you."
Kael did not struggle against the grip.
Instead, he let the momentum of his fall carry his legs upward. His body coiled around Lucian's arm like a snake preparing to crush its prey. One leg hooked over the shoulder. The other locked beneath the elbow. His remaining hand snapped into place, anchoring the hold.
He clenched his teeth.
Every muscle in his body hardened, tendons standing out like cables beneath blood-slick skin. He tightened with everything he had, the full, brutal force of a rank three Luminaire bearing down on a single limb.
Lucian's eyes widened as realization struck.
Too late.
The first crunch was sharp and wet.
Then another.
And another.
Bone splintered under the pressure. The sound became a sickening rhythm as fractures spread up the arm. White shards forced their way through muscle and tore through skin. Blood burst outward in thick sprays, painting Kael's face and the broken stone beneath them.
Lucian's grip faltered as the arm collapsed in on itself, joints folding where they were never meant to bend.
"Strength path?"
Lucian rasped the words, trying to meet Kael's eyes.
Kael was already gone.
Lucian cursed under his breath and surged forward again.
Kael's face remained blank as he moved. He dragged his fingers across the raw stump without shame, smearing clotting blood across torn muscle.
'The bleeding has almost stopped.'
He drew an arc in the air, flinging a spray of dark blood into the snow below.
When the familiar bench beside Lake Yunara came into view, he stopped.
Small clouds formed before his mouth with each short exhale.
He tilted his head back, staring at the overcast sky, ignoring the low murmur vibrating through the air when stone grated against stone as the coffin embedded in the earth before him began to open. The lid shifted aside with a heavy scrape, revealing a hollow darkness within.
Kael stepped forward and reached out a hand.
a small leather pouch filled with mindstones settled in it. He placed it on his leg and untied it calmly, reached inside, and pulled out a handful.
He crushed them without hesitation.
The stones shattered between his fingers with a brittle crack, dissolving into a faint shimmer that seeped into his skin.
"Refilling your Thoughts already?"
Lucian's voice sliced through the cold air behind him.
Kael turned his head slowly, glancing over his shoulder.
Snow drifted between them.
"Lacking confidence, are we?"
His tone was light. Mocking.
Lucian grinned at first.
Then his steps slowed.
Stopped.
The grin faded. Something darker settled into his expression as his eyes shifted past Kael, toward the giant silhouette of the coffin.
"Kael… what mote is that?"
His voice had lost its edge of amusement.
Kael glanced back at the open stone coffin and let out a soft laugh.
"A soul pathway, of course."
Whatever trace of playfulness remained in Lucian's face drained away. It left behind something colder than anger. Something closer to disgust.
"So you fell this low after all…"
He straightened his back, tucking the mangled limb into his coat.
"If that's the case…"
His gaze hardened.
"I swear on my bloodline, and on the Five Royal Noble Families, I will kill you today, Kael Sinclaire."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
It was clear now.
Lucian no longer cared about the bounty. The reward or the prestige.
He despised him.
Kael had crossed something sacred. Something that, in Lucian's mind, could not be allowed to exist.
Kael turned fully to face him, not even bothering to dismiss the mote behind him.
"Your ignorance knows no bounds, Lucian."
He smiled.
Lucian's eyes did not waver as he raised his hand.
Another pea of light ignited above his palm, its glow turning the falling snow into drifting sparks. Each flake shimmered gold for a heartbeat before dissolving into white again.
Lucian extended his arm toward Kael.
With a single thought, the dot ruptured.
A golden arc screamed forward.
Kael did not flinch. He studied Lucian for a brief, unreadable moment before lifting his remaining arm.
The two clashed.
For an instant it bowed, bending like a blade of grass caught in violent wind. Then it curved inward, wrapping towards him in a luminous crescent. The edge hovered a breath from his skin.
But before it could touch.
A sharp metallic cling split the air.
The arc fractured.
Both halves snapped backward and shot past him, spiraling wildly. They carved through the air and tore beyond the stone coffin, slamming into the lake.
The ice shattered where they crossed, two clean streaks gouged into its surface in the shape of an X.
The arcs did not stop. They drove downward, vanishing beneath the frozen crust.
A moment later, dark water surged up through the intersecting wounds, spreading outward beneath the ice like blood seeping from a split vein.
Lucian summoned another light and flicked it into the air.
It hovered there, just out of reach.
Kael's expression darkened as he watched it hang above them, glowing faintly against the gray sky.
So that was it.
The first time Lucian had used the light against him, Kael had been caught off guard more than he cared to admit. Since their earliest clash, he had assumed Lucian walked the Strength Pathway. The brutality and directness It had fit too perfectly.
But that was not the truth.
Lucian did not cultivate Strength because his soul-bound mote was of that pathway.
He cultivated it to endure the cost of something far greater.
The power of Lucian's soul-bound mote was extraordinary. But so too was its cost. Lucian hadn't thrown the hovering light to make it explode. He had placed it there to strain Kael's mind, to force hesitation and divide his focus.
With realization came clarity.
Lucian was about to close the distance.
And just as the thought solidified—
The snow beneath Lucian's feet detonated outward.
He launched forward.
The ground cracked behind him, sending shards of ice and frost into the air. Snow cascaded from nearby branches as the two collided with full force.
"Finally going all out? Or are you running out of time?"
Kael smiled as he turned the blow aside.
"Don't talk."
Lucian twisted away, putting space between them. Light gathered in his outstretched palm, condensing into a bright dot.
Kael stepped in before it could fully form. His fingers caught Lucian by the collar and dragged him forward, close enough to see the sharp pattern in his irises. For a split second they held each other's gaze. Then Kael released him and drove his hand toward the forming light.
His fingers closed around it.
The attack detonated instantly. A muted burst. Gold flared between his knuckles and spilled out in a fine dust that sifted down his wrist. The shock ran up his arm, but he did not let go until the light collapsed into fragments.
Lucian lunged forward and drove his forehead into Kael's. The crack of impact forced Kael half a step back.
"Curse that defensive mote of yours."
Lucian flexed his hand, shaking out the numbness left behind by the backlash.
Kael exhaled and blew the remaining gold dust from his palm. It scattered into the wind, fading as it drifted away.
"It must be taxing, keeping the mote active, Lucian."
Kael grinned and pointed toward the light suspended above them.
'This is it.'
Lucian dropped low without answering. In the next breath he surged forward, closed the distance, and locked his arm around Kael's throat. The ground fell away as he lifted him.
'This is where he gambles.'
Kael's fingers clamped around Lucian's wrist. He held it there, waiting for the usual recoil.
But it never came.
'I knew it.'
A low rumble vibrated through the air as Point Blank activated. Skin tore from his wrist, and bones creaked against the pressure, but Lucian's grip did not loosen.
"Die."
Lucian said through gritted teeth.
Above them, the waiting light flared.
Lucian shifted to raise Kael into its path, and use him as a shield against the descending arc, when something in him stalled. His grip faltered. Hesitation struck with crushing force.
"Why am I hurting him? If they stood together, they could march against the damned Valthtorne. So why this?"
These thoughts clawed themselves into his mind.
'Ten thousand. Twenty thousand.'
Kael counted the Thoughts the Lure mote devoured with each passing second.
He seized Lucian's coat and twisted, forcing their bodies to turn.
The arc came down.
A low groan slipped from Lucian's lips as the light carved a deep gash across his back.
Kael clicked his tongue and stepped past him, dragging him forward by his torn clothes, ignoring the tremor of pain that ran through them both.
He hurled Lucian toward the Stone Coffin and dismissed the Lure mote for now. The pressure in the air vanished at once.
Lucian struck the coffin and collapsed at its base, shaking his head in a futile attempt to steady himself.
"You basta—"
The word died in his throat as the coffin door began to move.
His remaining arm snapped beneath the descending slab. The crack echoed, but the door did not stop. Only when it pressed against his torso did it hesitate, struggling against the obstruction. Air fled his lungs as the crushing force mounted.
Kael approached the half closed coffin, turning his body sideways as he narrowed the distance.
"Don't come any closer," Lucian rasped. The stone pressed higher, threatening to cave in his face.
Kael ignored him, stepping within reach.
"Breathe."
He said, thrusting his fingers between his ribs
In the same instant, red will burst from his fingers, flooding outward and forcing its way into Lucian's body.
—
Lucian stood within his inner realm, staring at what remained of it.
He had seen this place countless times. The endless expanse. The pale horizon. The river.
Yet something felt… different.
Whether his mind was weakening or he had brushed against some fragile enlightenment, he could not tell.
His river of Will flowed before him, white and radiant as always, coiling in upon itself in an endless current. But the movement felt slower. Thinner. As though something unseen drank from it with every passing second.
Lucian tilted his head.
"Wait… why am I even here?"
He could not remember.
He stepped closer to the river, watching its surface twist and spiral.
"I never realized my Will held such a beautiful tone of crimson in it."
He smiled warmly, studying the faint red shimmer laced within it.
A gentle hand settled on his shoulder.
"Hi, Lucian."
Lucian turned, blinking once before recognition lit his face.
"Kael!"
He laughed softly.
"This is my inner realm. Isn't it gorgeous?"
Kael nodded, smiling in return.
"It really is."
He released Lucian's shoulder and walked toward the river of Will.
'So this is how the Lure mote entangles someone's Will.'
His expression did not change as he reached out and let his fingers drift through the current.
The truth was simple.
Lucian had not misremembered.
His Will had never carried crimson.
That color belonged to Kael.
When Kael had forced his way into Lucian's inner realm, he had spent the last reserves of Thoughts he was willing to burn, activating the Lure mote. Not only to ensure control, but to test a theory.
Lure mote could tilt emotion.
And emotion was nothing more than the residue of thought.
If Thoughts shaped Will…
Then even a river could be stained.
Kael turned toward Lucian and smiled.
"Can I see your soulbound mote? I've always been in awe."
Lucian hesitated only a moment before lifting his hand. A glass pearl condensed into existence above his palm, smooth and luminous with light refracting within it like frozen lightning.
"Of course."
He laughed and extended it without suspicion.
Kael accepted the pearl gently, turning it between his fingers.
"Truly beautiful," he murmured.
And it was.
But beauty had never blinded Kael.
Why had Lucian surrendered it so easily?
No.
The better question was: why had Kael won at all?
Chance had played its part. Circumstance too. But the foundation of victory had been laid long before this fight.
After their first true clash, Kael had known there would be another. And so he had done what he did best.
He studied.
He theorized.
He dissected Lucian piece by piece, not with blade, but with thought. Lucian was nearly the face of Valthorne within the city. Public. Celebrated. Observed. Of all the family, he was the easiest to gather information on.
Both were rank three. That meant limits. Thought capacity was not infinite. It could be estimated. Measured through behavior. Through expenditure. Through recovery times.
Kael had watched. Compared and calculated
He had reached a number.
The approximate cost of activating that glass pearl.
He was confident the margin of error was small.
And knowing that a direct clash would lead to stalemate, he had chosen a different route.
Distance.
He had forced separation long enough to summon the Stone Coffin. Long enough to retrieve mindstones. Long enough to refill what Lucian could not.
Then he had stalled.
Kael's gaze lifted from the pearl to Lucian.
The warmth in Lucian's smile remained.
His reserve of Thoughts had fallen to a depth that would terrify any Luminaire.
And now?
Now he stood hollow.
Unable to think critically. Unable to activate a single mote. What remained before Kael was no longer the calculating face of Valthorne, but something stripped down to its essence. Instinct. Identity. A fading imprint of who Lucian had been.
"I'll borrow this mote for a moment."
Crimson Will seeped from his fingertips and poured into the glass pearl. It entered like ink dropped into clear water, spreading in delicate veins. Lucian's white current recoiled, forced outward until only Kael's crimson remained within the mote.
Lucian watched curiously, like a child observing a trick he could not yet understand.
Happy with the results, Kael dismissed the pearl and stepped closer
"Thank you."
A thin smile traced his lips.
Then his arm moved in a single sharp arc, removing what little remained of Lucian
Kael withdrew from the inner realm.
Reality rushed back.
The Stone Coffin groaned as it attempted to close. Its lid forced downward against what remained of Lucian's physical body. A sickening wet sound echoed as the coffin crushed him into a red paste, remnants squeezing through its seams before it finally sealed shut, fulfilling Kael's command to dismiss itself.
Snow drifted quietly once more, settling over shattered stone and dark stains alike, softening everything into something almost peaceful.
Kael reached up and untied the blindfold from around his eyes. He folded it and slipped it into his pocket.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then exhaled slowly and tilted his head back.
Above him, the first stars pierced the darkening sky, indifferent to the quiet end of a prodigy named Lucian.