The air on the wall was cold and bit deep into his bones, a sharp contrast to the controlled climate of the Citadel. Kaelen stood shoulder-to-shoulder with soldiers whose faces were etched with a permanent weariness he recognized—the same look he saw in his own reflection in the ruins. His Umbral energy, usually a cold current under his skin, felt muted here, pressed down by the immense, humming barrier of the city's main energy shield that shimmered like a bubble against the oppressive gray of the Veil.
His assigned partner was a veteran named Rylan, a man with a scar across his brow and eyes that had seen too much. He glanced at Kaelen, not with hostility, but with a flat, professional assessment.
"Keep your eyes on the mist," Rylan said, his voice a low gravelly thing. "Not on your feet, not on the city. The moment you look away is the moment it moves."
They walked a designated section in silence. The only sounds were the wind, the hum of the shield, and the distant, occasional screech of something unseen. Kaelen's new E-Rank senses were on high alert, every shadow in the mist seeming to writhe with potential danger. The Anchor in his chest felt like a live wire, humming with the proximity of so much concentrated corruption.
An hour into the watch, the silence broke. An alarm blared—a sharp, piercing sound that sent a jolt of adrenaline through him. Red lights flashed along their section of the wall.
"Contact! West sector, fifty meters!" a voice yelled over the comms.
Rylan didn't hesitate. "With me!" he barked, breaking into a run.
Kaelen followed, his heart hammering. They reached the sector to find soldiers already engaged. Two Gremlins—small, screeching F-Rank nightmares with razor claws—had somehow found a weak spot in the energy grid and scrambled through. They were a blur of teeth and rage, darting between the legs of the soldiers, who were trying to bash them with the butts of their rifles.
"Eyes on the breach!" Rylan shouted, drawing a long, heavy combat knife. "The little ones are a distraction! Something bigger made that hole!"
As if on cue, the wall shuddered. A large, multi-jointed limb, covered in chitinous plating, slammed through the weakened energy field, tearing it wider. A moment later, the creature pulled itself onto the battlement. It was the size of a large bear, with a grotesque, multi-faceted eye and a mouth full of dripping, needle-like fangs.
{Threat Identified: D-Rank - Venom Maw}
The System's cold notification confirmed what Kaelen already knew. Another D-Rank. The Anchor was already pulling in bigger game.
A soldier cried out as a spray of black venom from the creature hit his arm. His skin immediately smoked and blistered. He stumbled back, his face white with pain.
"Medic!" someone yelled.
But the medics were busy. One was already bandaging a deep gash on another soldier's leg from a Gremlin's claws. Their supplies were spread thin. Kaelen saw the medic fumble—his kit was low on clean bandages and antiseptic. He was using a torn piece of cloth to stem the bleeding.
Valeria's words from that morning echoed in his head. "Every missing medical kit could be the difference between a soldier living or dying on the wall."
He saw the cost. Right in front of him.
The Venom Maw screeched and charged, its weight shaking the stone under their feet. The soldiers' energy rifles seemed to annoy it more than hurt it, their blasts sizzling against its thick hide.
Rylan lunged, aiming his knife for the creature's leg joint. It was a brave, suicidal move. The Venom Maw turned its head, its maw opening to spray him with acid.
Kaelen didn't think. He acted.
He didn't form a shield. He didn't form a shard. He remembered the canyon. He remembered using the environment.
He thrust his hands out, not at the creature, but at the wall beneath its feet. He poured his Umbral energy into the stone, not to break it, but to transform it. A patch of the battlement, directly under the Venom Maw, turned black and slick with summoned darkness. It became a sheet of impossible ice.
The creature's legs slid out from under it. It crashed onto its side with a ground-shaking thud, its venom spray shooting harmlessly into the air.
The distraction was all the soldiers needed. A concentrated volley of rifle fire slammed into its exposed underbelly, which was less armored. The creature roared in pain and fury.
Rylan, saved from a horrific death, didn't pause. He scrambled forward and drove his knife deep into the creature's primary eye.
The Venom Maw shuddered and went still.
The remaining Gremlins, seeing their larger ally fall, were quickly dispatched.
Silence returned, broken only by the heavy breathing of the soldiers and the moans of the wounded. The smell of ozone, venom, and blood hung thick in the air.
Rylan stood up, wiping black ichor from his knife. He looked at Kaelen, his earlier flat assessment gone, replaced by a spark of something new. Respect.
"That was quick thinking, kid," he grunted. "You saved my hide."
The medic was now tending to the soldier with the venom-burned arm. The man would live, but the wound was ugly and would leave a scar. They had enough supplies—just barely—to handle it.
Kaelen looked at the scene. The wounded soldier. The exhausted medic. The dead monster. He had seen the cost of stolen supplies. But he had also seen the strength of the people protecting this city. They weren't just faceless soldiers. They were Rylan, who fought with a knife to protect others. They were the medic, working tirelessly with too little.
Valeria was right about the cost. But Elara was right about the people.
He hadn't chosen a side. He had simply done what needed to be done to protect the person next to him.
As he helped clean up the aftermath, he finally understood the lesson. The wall wasn't just a barrier of stone and energy. It was held together by the actions of everyone on it. Sometimes, that action was hard discipline. Sometimes, it was a moment of mercy. And sometimes, it was creating a patch of black ice under a monster's feet.
The path to being Sovereign wasn't about choosing one woman's philosophy. It was about learning from all of them to protect what mattered.