The path north twisted into a ravine where the rocks were dark with old moss. The four kept moving fast — Gideon at point, Eliakim's chains coiling like restless snakes, Caleb scanning for movement, Malachi's maul resting over one shoulder like a hammer about to fall.
The air here felt wrong. Not the heavy oppression of the castle, but something more personal. Like being watched by someone who had already tasted your blood.
They didn't have to wait long.
A hiss cut through the air — metal brushing stone — and the Serpent Fang Chain-Blade lashed from the shadows.
Eliakim caught it on instinct, looping his own chain around it — but the moment he pulled, it jerked free."Miss me?" Veyth stepped into the light, masked face tilted. His weapon swayed like it was alive.
Veyth – The Coiling Mirage
Weapon:Serpent Fang Chain-BladeQuirk: Veyth's chain-blade segments contain tiny reservoirs of mana that can briefly solidify in mid-air, letting him "step" on his own weapon like a ladder or wall. This lets him change direction mid-leap or fight from impossible angles.Personality: Taunting and theatrical. He treats combat like a stage act, often narrating his own attacks or mocking his opponent's counter as if he's the director of the fight.
He twirled the blade above his head — then jumped, planting a foot on the spinning chain as if it were solid. The move launched him over Eliakim entirely. The blade swept low from behind — Eliakim barely rolled aside, the cut taking a thin strip from his coat.
"You've been thinking about me," Veyth called, landing lightly. "I can tell. That twitch in your shoulder? That's my gift to you."
Eliakim kept his tone flat. "Gifts usually come with a receipt.""Then I'll carve one into you."
The next arrow that came wasn't aimed to kill — it thudded into the dirt at Caleb's feet and sprouted black glass spikes.
Selvas – The Bow That Hunts Back
Weapon:Arrowcatcher's BowQuirk: Selvas can alter the mana in his arrows to bend, split, or "hang" in midair, turning the battlefield into a cage. His bowstring is made from glass-thread that resonates — allowing him to "catch" enemy projectiles mid-flight by altering their trajectory with a vibration.Personality: Cold, patient, almost silent. He speaks in short, clipped sentences, letting his arrows do most of the talking. His style is built around control — he fights like he's already planned the next six moves.
"You're wasting arrows," Caleb said, sidestepping another shot.
Selvas spoke without looking at him, already nocking the next shaft. "No. I'm building walls."
The black spikes from his first shot curved upward, forming a barrier between Caleb and Malachi. The next two arrows bent in opposite arcs — one catching Caleb's leg in a graze, the other exploding in a puff of glass dust that cut at his cheek.
"Every step you take," Selvas said, voice flat, "I will already be there."
From the left, the ground trembled. Dravik was coming.
Dravik – The Maw Unbroken
Weapon:Drovak's Maw (Axe-Shield Hybrid)Quirk: Dravik uses his weapon's jagged rim not only for parrying but for "catch-and-crush" traps — the shield teeth can lock onto an opponent's weapon, then snap shut with a burst of kinetic mana. His shield face can also project a concussive wave to stagger multiple opponents at close range.Personality: Brutal and direct. He's not a braggart — he's a grinder. Once he latches onto an opponent, he will not stop pressing until they break. Speaks in short growls, often announcing exactly what bone he intends to snap next.
Dravik blocked Gideon's first swing, the shield teeth locking tight on Kaelvryn's silver edge. "That arm," he growled. "I'm taking it."
Gideon shoved back, trying to free the weapon, but the shield jaws snapped shut with a burst of red light, forcing him to twist the haft hard to keep from losing it.
Dravik grinned grimly. "Better men have lost faster."
Veyth took to the air again, his chain-blade segments locking in strange floating shapes — a square here, a tilted spiral there — each one a foothold for another impossible leap. Eliakim had to fight three-dimensionally, yanking his own chain along unpredictable lines to try and tangle the airborne menace.
Selvas had Caleb pinned in a shifting maze of glass-spike walls. Each arrow altered the battlefield, closing doors before they even opened. Caleb realized too late that every missed shot was bait — Selvas wanted him frustrated, herding him toward a kill zone.
Dravik's shield pressed Gideon backward step by step. Every clash sparked like a forge, Kaelvryn's crimson and silver against the jagged steel teeth. Dravik didn't waste moves — he only advanced, one crushing shove after another.
Malachi watched, eyes darting between his allies. "You're all too busy dancing."
With a roar, he slammed the Saphir Maul into the ground. The shockwave shattered a portion of Selvas's spike maze and jolted Veyth's floating steps, forcing him to drop.
"Annoying," Veyth said, shaking dust from his mask. "But I like an audience."
"Wrong stage," Malachi said, advancing.
The Talons didn't retreat. Instead, they shifted their approach — and for the first time, the heroes saw how dangerous they were together.
Veyth's chain-blade began carving vertical lines in the air — not to strike, but to give Selvas angles to bank his arrows. Shots curved off the spinning steel segments, changing direction mid-flight.
Selvas, in turn, kept Dravik's path clear — every time one of the heroes tried to flank him, an arrow dropped between them like a drawn curtain.
Dravik smashed forward, catching Gideon's axe again — this time triggering the shield's concussive wave, which blew both of them apart in a shower of sparks.
"This is a warm-up," Veyth said lightly.Selvas: "Testing."Dravik: "Measuring."
Eliakim's eyes narrowed. "They're mapping us."
"Then let's burn the paper," Gideon growled. He feinted left, baiting Dravik's shield bite, but this time he didn't fight it — he let the shield jaws close on Kaelvryn's silver half. Then, with his free crimson head, he bit back, smashing into the shield's center with molten force.
The teeth bent inward with a screech of metal. Dravik staggered — but grinned, even bleeding. "Better."
Caleb stopped firing entirely. Instead, he gripped the Verdant Whisper low, sprinting into Selvas's kill zone deliberately. Arrows came fast — but without shots of his own to alter the angles, Selvas had to adjust on the fly. Caleb ducked, rolled, came up inside the archer's minimum range, and slammed the bow upward under Selvas's chin.
Selvas didn't flinch — his free hand drew a glass-dagger from his quiver and slashed. Caleb caught the cut on the bow's body. "You're not the only one who fights up close," Caleb said.
Eliakim coiled his chain tight, then flung it not at Veyth, but at one of the floating steps he had made earlier. The moment it caught, Eliakim yanked — pulling the segment into the path of Veyth's next leap. The Talon hit the obstruction mid-air and rolled hard into the dirt.
"That's not in your script?" Eliakim asked.Veyth laughed. "Oh, I'll write it in."
The fight ended abruptly — a sharp whistle from somewhere above. All three Talons disengaged at once, leaping or rolling back.
Veyth bowed slightly, even as Selvas vanished into the treeline and Dravik backed away."Next time," Veyth said, pointing his blade at Eliakim, "I want a bigger audience."
Then they were gone, leaving only the echo of their presence — and a battlefield full of broken ground and black glass shards.
Deep within the castle, Ezra sat in the same cold chamber, but now she could feel the afterimage of something vast moving through the halls — the King's mana again, drifting like smoke.
Her perception told her the chamber wasn't just a prison — it was a listening post. Every time she spoke or moved, the walls answered with faint ripples of mana, carrying the sensation away, as if whispering to someone unseen.
The King's voice came without footsteps this time, a vibration in the air."They are still coming," he said, almost amused.Ezra said nothing.
"Good. I prefer my prey running toward the teeth."
The weight of his presence faded again — but the feeling of being measured remained.
Back in the ravine, Eliakim stared at the direction the Talons had gone."They weren't trying to win," he said slowly.Gideon grunted. "Then what the hell were they doing?"
Caleb's gaze was distant. "They were learning. And now… they know us."