Vex tore through the dense jungle, his boots pounding against trembling earth.
Every instinct screamed danger.
The air itself felt wrong—charged, unstable—like reality was holding its breath. Strange energy rippled through the trees, making leaves shiver without wind.
Elias…
Vex burst into the clearing—and stopped dead.
The ground was scorched in a wide circle of destruction.
And where Elias had stood moments before…
A beast towered instead.
Massive. Coiled. Ancient in presence.
Its body pulsed with raw, primal strength, muscles shifting like living armor. Dark energy shimmered faintly beneath its skin, not just surrounding it—but belonging to it.
And its eyes…
Familiar.
Vex's expression tightened.
"…So that's what you've become."
The beast shifted.
A flash of dark light tore through its form.
Elias stood beside it.
Breathing hard.
Power still leaking off his body like heat from a blade.
A wild grin spread across his face.
"Well?" Elias said, voice deeper now—heavier, sharper. "How about it, Master Vex? Wanna trade blows?"
Vex exhaled slowly, almost amused.
"Still talking too much."
He stepped forward and dragged his boot through the dirt.
A perfect circle formed around him.
"If you can force me out of this circle," Vex said calmly, eyes narrowing, "I'll count it as your first real win in a few years."
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Then Elias moved.
The ground shattered beneath him.
He vanished forward like a launched spear, fists igniting with brutal force.
The first strike hit like a collapsing wall.
Vex shifted his shoulder slightly.
The blow missed.
A tree behind him exploded into splinters.
Elias didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
Each attack came faster—heavier—less controlled, more instinct than technique. The jungle became a battlefield in seconds.
Trees cracked.
Roots tore from the earth.
Birds scattered into the sky.
Vex moved through it all like a shadow between heartbeats.
Effortless.
Precise.
Unshaken.
"You're rushing," Vex said calmly, ducking beneath a spinning strike.
Elias snarled.
"I'm adapting!"
He slammed his palm into the ground.
A shockwave erupted outward, cracking soil and ripping vines from the earth.
For the first time—Vex slid half a step.
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"…Better."
Elias grinned through grit teeth.
And pushed harder.
Minutes later, the jungle was silent again.
Dust settled.
Broken trees leaned at impossible angles.
And Vex still stood inside the circle.
Unmoved.
Unbroken.
Elias dropped to one knee, breathing heavily, sweat mixing with dirt and blood.
"…Damn it."
Vex stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Not heavy.
Not cold.
Just steady.
"Well fought," he said. "You've grown."
A pause.
"…But you're still trying to win with force alone."
Elias looked up, frustration burning in his eyes.
Vex's voice lowered slightly.
"That's not strength. That's survival instinct."
The Shift
Later.
The jungle felt quieter now—like it had accepted what happened.
Elias walked ahead without speaking for a while.
Then, suddenly—
"You should see it," he said.
Vex glanced at him.
"See what?"
Elias stopped.
His expression changed.
Not excited.
Not proud.
Something more uncertain.
"…Something else I can do."
They arrived at Kylie's cryogenic chamber.
The air turned cold instantly.
Mist curled around the glass walls like trapped breath.
Inside—
Kylie lay suspended in stasis.
Frozen between life and death.
Unchanging.
Waiting.
Elias stepped closer.
His reflection overlapped hers on the glass.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then he raised his hand.
And pressed it against the chamber.
The Memory Break
Everything shattered.
Not the glass—
Vex's mind.
A flood of visions erupted violently.
Kylie as a child—laughing.
Training.
Trusting.
Then—
Lies whispered in shadows.
A ritual circle burning under moonlight.
Hands she trusted turning against her.
Pain.
Fear.
Betrayal.
A final moment of desperate hope as everything collapsed inward.
Vex staggered back violently.
His hand clutched his chest like something had struck him internally.
"…"
His breath shook.
"…No."
The word came out barely audible.
Elias lowered his hand slowly, staring at it like he didn't fully understand what he had done.
"I don't have a name for it," he said quietly. "I just… see fragments. Pieces of people. What they felt. What happened to them."
He hesitated.
"…Enough to know what's true."
Silence fell again.
But this time it was heavier.
Vex's eyes darkened.
Not with anger.
With clarity.
So that was it.
Not rumor.
Not theory.
Not confusion.
Truth.
His jaw tightened.
The grief didn't fade—
It hardened.
Into something sharper.
More focused.
More dangerous.
"…Then we're closer," he said quietly.
Elias looked at him.
Vex's voice dropped into something colder.
"Closer to the ones who did this."
A pause...
Then,
Elias nodded slowly.
"And closer to saving her."