The training field slowly emptied, the younger kids heading toward the sparring pits with Asam shouting orders to keep them focused. Saijew didn't move.
"Magnolia. Stay."
Magnolia froze, the glow in his chest pulsing faintly under the sweat-soaked shirt. Poison shot him a look but shrugged and followed the others. Ren hesitated, then left too.
Saijew and Kahn approached. Their presence was heavy, enough to make the air feel still.
"Show us the scar," Saijew said flatly.
Magnolia hesitated. Then, with a short breath, he tugged his shirt over his head.
The lightning-shaped mark glowed faintly in the fading light, jagged and angry. The flesh around it looked fused and hard, like glass over fire.
Kahn crouched to inspect it, his fingers hovering an inch from the skin. The glow made his expression tighten. "That's divine work. Baron's power lingers."
Saijew folded his arms. "It's feeding on you."
Magnolia's jaw clenched. "I can feel it. Every time I summon sun, it fights me. Like something's holding me back."
Kahn nodded grimly. "Because it is. Master Bolt doesn't just burn. It leaves an imprint, a tether. Baron marked you as his kill, and until you deal with it, you'll fight with one foot chained."
Magnolia's hands curled into fists. "Then I'll burn it out."
"Not yet." Saijew's voice cut sharp. "You try that now, you'll either kill yourself or burn Ra's link right out of your body. You'd be nothing but ash."
Magnolia looked up, golden fire flickering in his eyes. "Then tell me how to get rid of it.
Kahn straightened, crossing his arms. "You don't get rid of it. You master it. Master Bolt is divine lightning, it doesn't fade on its own. You've got to outburn it, overpower it, and make it yours."
Saijew stepped closer, his shadow falling over Magnolia. "This scar is a curse. But it's also a key. You learn to control it, you'll gain more power than Baron meant you to survive with."
Magnolia met his gaze. "When?"
"When you're ready," Saijew said, turning away. "And not a second before. You want to burn it out? Then train until your fire is hotter than his lightning."
Kahn gave him one last look. "We'll know when the scar stops glowing against your will. That's when you're close. Until then, endure it."
Magnolia pulled his shirt back on, breathing hard. The scar throbbed like it had heard every word.
"Fine," he said quietly. "Then I'll get ready."
Saijew's tone softened slightly, but not by much. "Good. Because the next time Baron sees you, you'd better make him regret leaving you alive."
Emma stood at her training post, spear gripped too tight in her hands. Her chest still felt hot. Not from the drills. From what she had seen.
She closed her eyes, breathing out slow.
I shouldn't have stayed. I should've gone with Ren and Poison like Saijew said.
But she hadn't. She'd hidden behind the pillar, quiet as the wind itself, and watched.
Magnolia taking off his shirt played over and over in her mind. The scar glowing, alive, like lightning caught under his skin.
Her heart thumped faster.
It wasn't just the scar. It was him. The way he stood there, steady even with Saijew's stare on him. The way he said, "I'll burn it out," like he meant it.
Emma bit her lip and tried to focus on the target in front of her. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Why does my contract feel like this around him? Like Amun's power is awake and restless. Like it's pulling toward him.
She stabbed the spear forward, hard enough to make the wood post shudder.
Magnolia's voice echoed in her head. Then I'll burn it out.
She let the spear drop, pressing her palm against her chest.
I don't even know why I like him. I don't even know him that well. He's reckless. He's loud. He never thinks before he speaks.
But every time he's near, it feels like my power doubles. Like I'm supposed to stand next to him.
Her face warmed again, remembering how the scar had glowed through his skin, the heat in the air around him.
She turned back to the post, jaw tight.
Fine. Then I'll get stronger too. I'm not going to stand behind him. I'm going to stand with him.
Her next strike split the post clean down the middle.
The ruins still smoked from the last skirmish. Delilah knelt in the dirt, blood streaking down her temple, her chest heaving. Divence's body lay twisted nearby, burned beyond recognition, the smell of scorched flesh thick in the air.
The temperature dropped. The shadows deepened until they swallowed the clearing whole.
"You let them stall too long."
The voice cut like a blade. It was not loud, but it was everywhere.
Delilah looked up, her dagger clutched tightly. She knew who it was before she saw him.
The darkness rippled, then coiled into shape a colossal serpent, scales glistening with starlight.
"They told us to wait," Delilah managed, her throat tight. "That the Pharaoh—"
"The Pharaoh wastes time!" The roar split the ground. Black sand swallowed Divence's corpse, erasing the evidence of his death. "Egypt strengthens with each passing day. Ra's child grows into a threat."
Delilah flinched as the serpent's head dipped until his molten eyes filled her vision.
"You fear them," the snake hissed.
Delilah said nothing, but her grip on the dagger trembled.
"Fear is a blade," chaos whispered, his coils shifting around her. "Sharpen it. Strike first."
Darkness surged into her body, sinking into her veins like poison. Her pupils dilated, her veins turned black. Her terror was replaced by something worse, calm, cold obedience.
"You will free the beast they keep caged," it said, his words curling like smoke. "Give him the Jackal's Fang. Then watch him rip their order to dust."
Delilah lowered her dagger. Her voice came hollow. "Yes."
the chaos uncoiled, fading until nothing remained but the whisper of the wind.
The palace was silent.
Delilah moved like smoke, her body unnaturally still between each step. The wards shimmered faintly in the torchlight then fizzled into nothing at her approach, the corruption swallowing them whole.
She reached the vault's heart. There it was, The Jackal's Fang, a relic of death itself.
When she touched the glass case, the metal around it corroded instantly. She lifted the dagger, feeling its hunger gnaw at her hand, and slid it into her belt.
Behind her, the ward runes tried to reignite, but only hissed, burning black before they died completely.
She didn't look back.
The air reeked of iron and old blood.
Ahn sat cross-legged in the corner of his cell, grinning like a man who already knew what was about to happen. His chains clinked as he leaned forward.
"You smell like trouble," he said.
Delilah stepped into the torchlight. Her movements were stiff, too precise, like a puppet. She drew the Jackal's Fang and slid it into the cell.
"Cut yourself free," she said.
Ahn's grin widened. He caught the dagger by the hilt and slashed once. The chains hissed as if alive, then dissolved into blackened dust.
Ahn stood, stretching like a predator after a long sleep. He nicked his thumb on the blade, letting the blood smear across its surface. The weapon pulsed hungrily in his grip.
"Oh, I've missed this," he murmured.
Delilah turned to leave, her expression unreadable.
"Who do I thank for the gift?" Ahn called after her.
"Chaos."
The title hung in the air like a death sentence.
Ahn's laugh echoed through the halls, sharp and manic.
The first guard didn't have time to scream.
The second tried to run but was impaled mid-step, his heart ripped free before his body hit the ground.
The last dozen tried to fight back, but it didn't matter. Ahn moved like light, like hunger itself. The Jackal's Fang sang with every kill, glowing brighter with each drop of blood.
When the carnage was done, the floor was painted red. Hearts lay arranged in a perfect circle around the cell entrance, their placement deliberate, ritualistic.
On the far wall, smeared in arterial crimson, were three words:
CHAOS IS HERE.
The war tent was silent except for the scrape of steel. Saijew cleaned his blade slowly, each stroke controlled, deliberate. The air around him burned with restrained fury.
Kahn stood at the edge of the map table, his arms crossed. "They didn't just free him. They armed him. And they took the Jackal's Fang."
Asam's jaw tightened. "We underestimated Delilah. She had inside help or Apophis cut the wards himself."
Pharaoh Neitiqerty Siptah sat perfectly still, golden eyes glowing faintly in the lamplight. His voice was low, sharp. "The beast is loose. The blood of my guards stains my own halls. This insult will not stand."
"Then we hunt," Saijew said simply.
"Not just hunt." The Pharaoh's gaze swept to the tent flap. "Summon Magnolia. Summon Sous. Summon Poison. Emma and Ren as well. They've trained for this. Now they prove they are not children."
Magnolia arrived first, hair damp from pre-dawn drills. Sous followed, expression grim, arms folded. Poison leaned against the entrance post, twirling a dagger, and Ren stood with his arms crossed, light flickering faintly around his fingertips. Emma was last, breathing fast like she had run from her training post.
They stopped when they saw the blood-stained message dragged into the tent, a long strip of linen scrawled with three words:
CHAOS IS HERE.
Magnolia's chest tightened. The scar under his shirt throbbed.
"What happened?" he asked.
Saijew's voice was a growl. "Ahn is gone. Delilah freed him. Every guard in the arena is dead. Their hearts arranged like a serpent's coil. And the Jackal's Fang, stolen."
Emma's face went pale. "The Fang was sealed. Nothing should have been able to—"
"Nothing but Apophis," Kahn interrupted.
The name made the air colder.
Magnolia swallowed hard. "Then he's moving against us."
The Pharaoh rose from his seat. His presence filled the tent like a storm breaking. "You have trained. You have reached mastery. Now you will act. This is no simple errand, this is war."
He pointed to the map, where markers had been placed showing Ahn's predicted escape route through the western passes.
"Find them," the Pharaoh commanded. "Stop them before they reach the Empire's border. Bring Ahn back alive if you can. Kill him if you must."
Sous stepped forward, hand resting on the hilt of his conjured sword. "If he's carrying the Fang, he's already half-dead. I'll finish it if I have to."
"Good," Saijew said sharply. "But control yourself. If you lose it again, you'll join him in chains."
Sous didn't flinch. "Then I won't lose it."
Magnolia looked at the map, fire licking at his fingertips. "If Apophis is involved, he's not just freeing Ahn, he's trying to break Egypt's order. If we let Ahn go, he'll do worse than this."
Emma stood at his shoulder, wind currents rippling faintly around her. "Then we stop him. Together."
The Pharaoh's golden eyes lingered on Magnolia. "And you, Ra's child, you burn brighter than before. Use that fire wisely. If Baron's mark threatens to consume you, you end the fight quickly."
Magnolia nodded once, jaw set.
"Move out before the sun rises," Saijew ordered. "Track them while they still bleed. Strike hard, strike fast, and bring me proof that Egypt's hunters are more than words."
Poison cracked a slow grin. "Finally."
Ren's light flared. "Then let's make this clean."
They turned to leave, each one carrying the weight of the mission, the message on the bloodied linen burned into their minds.
The five of them stood at the edge of the desert, the first light of morning spilling over the dunes. Magnolia's flames glowed faintly, the scar on his chest pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Emma glanced at him, heart beating too fast, feeling her contract hum in resonance with his.
"We catch them before nightfall," Magnolia said, stepping forward.
Sous unsheathed his sword, its edge glowing faintly with judgment. "And if we don't?"
"Then we fight them under the stars," Magnolia replied, fire gathering in his palm.
The desert wind rose, carrying their silhouettes toward the horizon.