The forest deepened—branches sticking out like sharp claws, leaves crackling with static energy. Kael led, every step cautious. Ayla followed like a shadow flickering behind him. Echo's presence hovered in his mind, flickering softly with warnings, its avatar unable to manifest in this unstable area.
Then they heard it faintly.
Howls. Distorted. Layered.
Kael froze. "A pack… coming."
From the underbrush, monsters emerged—quadrupeds stitched from roots and bone, ribcages gaping, veins pulsing with shards of static light. Their jaws hung loose, drooling fragments of corrupted code.
[Echo] NEXUS BEAST CLASS: ROOT-WARPED PACK WOLVES
[Echo] RECOMMENDATION: AVOID ENCIRCLEMENT PROMPTLY
[Echo] FLANKING BEHAVIOR: HIGH
Kael gripped his Shardblade, heart hammering. Ayla flexed her fingers, eyes narrowing.
"Time to glitch some puppies," she muttered, voice calm but deadly.
The fight broke out.
Kael lunged, striking with a storm of honed light. Every movement was clumsy at first, every strike testing his limits. The blade pulsed weakly in response to his Resonance Sync—just 10%, barely enough to give him an edge.
Ayla bent code midair, freezing some beasts in place, while others writhed until they imploded from internal fractures. Despite their coordination, Kael was knocked down—one root-warped wolf lunged, pinning him to the ground, teeth snapping toward his face.
He screamed.
Echo's voice rang urgent in his mind, but no hand could appear. "Kael! Move! Focus on the pulse of your blade!"
Summoning every ounce of strength, Kael twisted, slashing upward. The beast yelped and collapsed, but not without leaving bruises across his chest and arms. He struggled to catch his breath, blood dripping onto the glassy forest floor.
Ayla tackled the next wolf, bending its corrupted code until it fractured from the inside. Kael staggered to his feet, swinging his blade again, feeling the pulse of the Nexus react slightly to his presence—just enough to carve a path through the pack.
Finally, the last beast fell. The clearing was still. Kael stood drenched in sweat and blood, chest heaving, eyes wide.
[PARTY SYNC RATE: 8% – NEW PARTY CREATED: FRACTURED CELL]
He lowered his Shardblade slowly. "That… wasn't bad," he said, voice shaky.
Ayla smirked, brushing ash from her hands. "Not bad? You're alive. That's something."
Echo flickered in his mind, calm but still distant. Stage One Manifestation: unavailable. Physical intervention impossible until thresholds are met.
Kael swallowed hard. He realized just how fragile he still was—and how much the Nexus still had to teach him as he continued on with Ayla.