Lucian's ashes scattered in the wind.
Jayden turned from the pyre. "Two months. Then Kaelos."
"Are we ready?" Marcus asked.
"No. But we will be."
They returned to Haven at dusk. Kane waited at the gates.
"Lucian's dead." Not a question.
"Yes."
Kane nodded once. "Then training begins now. Follow me."
He led them down. Past living quarters. Past purification chambers. Into tunnels ancient enough the corruption hadn't reached.
"What is this place?" Elena asked.
"Old world. Before Ashenfell fell." Kane opened a massive door. Essence sealed. Heavy.
Inside was treasure.
Crystals. Weapons. Armor. All glowing with pure essence. Enough to fill a warehouse.
"Twenty years of collecting." Kane pulled five crystal orbs from a shelf. "Lucian and I purified everything here. Enough resources to push you to Calamity rank."
"That's impossible," Marcus said.
"For normal people, yes. But you're not normal." Kane handed each of them an orb. "These are compressed A+ rank essence. One week's worth of hunting in a single dose."
Jayden held his. Warm. Pulsing.
[ANALYZING: PURE ESSENCE ORB A+ RANK]
[ESTIMATED GROWTH: +15 UNITS SPEED, +12 UNITS ATTACK]
Insane.
"How many do you have?" Elena asked.
Kane smiled. "Fifty per person. Enough to reach Calamity if you survive the absorption."
"If?" Cinna's voice wavered.
"A+ essence is violent. Your bodies will fight it. Pain beyond anything you've felt." Kane's expression darkened. "Three people have died trying. But if you survive, you'll grow faster than anyone in history."
Silence.
"We do it," Jayden said.
"All of us," Marcus added.
Kane nodded. "Then we start tomorrow. Rest tonight. You'll need it."
Jayden couldn't sleep.
He sat on Haven's wall. Staring at darkness. His white dreads catching wind.
Two months. Fifty orbs. Calamity rank.
His stats glowed in his vision.
[SPEED: 89 UNITS]
[ATTACK: 81 UNITS]
Need 70+ in everything for Calamity. Doable.
"Can't sleep either?"
Elena joined him. Her blade on her back. Always ready.
"Thinking about tomorrow."
"The orbs?"
"Everything. Lucian. Ash. Seraphine." Jayden's eye pulsed. "We're walking into a war we don't fully understand."
"Then we learn as we go." Elena sat. "Like we always do."
"What if it's not enough?"
"Then we die." She met his eyes. "But at least we die fighting."
Jayden smiled. Dark. Tired. "You're getting good at pep talks."
"Learned from the best."
They sat in silence. Two warriors before battle.
Tomorrow they'd start. The real training.
And in two months, they'd invade another world.
His eye flickered. Tracking futures. Probabilities.
[SURVIVAL RATE NEXT 60 DAYS: 63%]
[CALAMITY RANK ACHIEVEMENT: 71%]
[KAELOS INITIAL SURVIVAL: 34%]
Not great numbers.
But better than zero.
"Get some sleep," Elena said. "We'll need it."
She left.
Jayden stayed. Watching Ashenfell's grey horizon.
Somewhere beyond, Ash was preparing. Building armies. Opening portals.
Two months. Then we burn your world down.
Black lightning crackled around his hand.
A promise.
A threat.
War was coming.