Jace's and Kael's paths cross moments after Kael discovers the obsidian fragment and its shocking secret.
Jace, who was tracking the same shard for his guild, shows up. He knows Kael is just a small-time hunter, so he's not expecting a fight. He approaches Kael with that signature flirty swagger, a playful taunt on his lips about getting to the treasure first.
But then, Jace senses the immense power emanating from the obsidian shard in Kael's hand. He realizes this isn't a small-time find—it's a god fragment. His playful demeanor drops, replaced by a focused, ruthless intensity. He makes it clear that he will do whatever it takes to get the shard from Kael, and the chase begins.
Now, Kael isn't just running from the secret organization; they are also being relentlessly hunted by a skilled and cunning rival who sees them as nothing more than a stepping stone to power.
*the conflict *
Jace's and Kael's paths cross moments after Kael discovers the obsidian fragment and its shocking secret.
Jace, who was tracking the same shard for his guild, shows up. He knows Kael is just a small-time hunter, so he's not expecting a fight. He approaches Kael with that signature flirty swagger, a playful taunt on his lips about getting to the treasure first.
But then, Jace senses the immense power emanating from the obsidian shard in Kael's hand. He realizes this isn't a small-time find—it's a god fragment. His playful demeanor drops, replaced by a focused, ruthless intensity. He makes it clear that he will do whatever it takes to get the shard from Kael, and the chase begins.
Now, Kael isn't just running from the secret organization; they are also being relentlessly hunted by a skilled and cunning rival who sees them as nothing more than a stepping stone to power.
The Unwilling Alliance
The chase is on. Jace, with his superior speed and magical equipment, is right on Kael's heels. Kael, relying on their knowledge of the treacherous shards, uses every crevice and unstable platform to try and lose him. Jace finds Kael's desperate ingenuity amusing, and a cat-and-mouse game unfolds across the crumbling landscape.
Just as Jace corners Kael on a floating rock, a new threat emerges. They are not alone. A group of shadowy figures, their faces obscured by hoods and their movements eerily coordinated, appears from the mists. These are the agents of the secret organization, alerted to the god fragment's presence by a magical tracker they've been using. They aren't there to capture the fragment; they're there to erase it, and anyone who's seen its truth.
Jace, who was about to strike Kael, is taken completely by surprise. The agents attack with a flurry of silent, powerful spells. Jace, arrogant and overconfident, finds himself on the defensive for the first time in a long while. He realizes these aren't just treasure hunters; they are a professional and deadly force.
Kael, seeing Jace in trouble, has a choice to make. They could escape now and leave Jace to his fate. It would be the smart thing to do. But something—maybe the glimpse of a shared enemy, or the simple instinct to survive—makes them act. Kael uses their Echo Sense to predict the agents' next moves, shouting warnings to
Jace.
"Behind you!" Kael yells.
"They're not real! They're illusions!"
Jace, who was about to attack a phantom, trusts Kael's warning and dodges just in time. The two of them, a reluctant pair, fight back to back. Jace's raw magical power and combat skill complement Kael's unique ability to predict their enemies' movements. They make a surprisingly effective team, managing to fend off the agents just long enough to escape, leaving the shadowy figures defeated and confused on the shattered shard.
With the immediate danger gone, the two of them land on a more stable piece of ground, panting and exhausted. The usual flirtatious smirk is gone from Jace's face. He looks at Kael with a new respect, the kind you give to a true peer. He knows that without Kael's help, he would have been killed.
"So," Jace says, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. "You're not just some random amateur, are you?"
Kael, still holding the obsidian shard tightly, just stares back at him, their wariness returning.
"You're in my guild's territory," Jace continues, his voice less arrogant now. "That fragment belongs to us."
"It's not just a fragment," Kael responds, their voice low. "It's a memory. It's the truth about what really happened to the gods. And those people who just tried to kill us? They're the ones who want to keep it a secret."
Jace's eyes widen as he processes this. The legend of the fallen god is something everyone knows, but a conspiracy? A secret organization? He's a hunter, not a scholar, but he knows a lucrative secret when he hears one. He also knows that a professional team tried to kill him for the first time in his career. The stakes have just gotten a lot higher.
"It seems we have a problem," Jace says, a slow smile returning to his face, but this time it's not a cocky one. It's the smile of a hunter who has found a much bigger, much more dangerous game. "And it seems we need each other to solve it .
*A Desperate Sanctuary*
After their narrow escape from the shadowy agents, Kael and Jace, battered and exhausted, make their way to the grimy underbelly of the city. Jace, using his connections, knows of a place where a professional alchemist operates outside of the guild's watchful eye. It's a risk, but they have no other choice.
They find a small, unmarked shop that smells of strange herbs and burnt sugar. The front room is a mess of junk, but when they knock on the back door, Elara opens it just a crack. Her eyes dart between their tattered clothes and fresh wounds, and she sighs.
"You look like you're running from the wrong kind of people," she says, her voice flat. "I don't do business with guild lackeys."
"We're not with the guilds," Kael says, holding up the glowing obsidian shard. "We're running from them."
Elara's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the god fragment. She's heard whispers of such things, but has never seen one. She gestures them inside, a flicker of professional curiosity now replacing her guarded demeanor.
She tends to their wounds with a potent, fast-acting salve she makes herself. As she works, Jace, ever the charmer, tries to pay her. She rejects the money, waving it off with a dismissive gesture.
"Keep it," she says. "Just tell me what you're running from."
Kael, seeing no other option, uses their Echo Sense on a small trinket on her desk, trying to show their ability. Elara, however, has a better idea. She takes a drop of their blood and mixes it into a vial, which she then hands to Kael.
"Drink it," she says. "It will make it easier for me to see what you felt from that thing. A small risk, but you're not getting any more help from me without a little trust."
With some hesitation, Kael drinks the potion. In that moment, Elara's mind connects with Kael's Echo Sense, and she experiences the vivid memory of the fallen god's betrayal. She reels back, shocked.
"They're not just hunting you for a fragment," she says, her voice low. "They're hunting you for the truth. This is bigger than I thought."
Now, with a new ally on their side, the group has a much better chance of surviving. Elara's network and alchemical skills, combined with Jace's power and Kael's unique ability, make them a formidable force against the shadowy organization. Their next step must be to figure out who their enemy is and where to find the answers they need.