THE SHADOW COMPASS
Chapter Five: Trials of Light
The sun had fully risen by the time Kai and Mira reached the quiet edge of Emberford Woods. The trees stood tall and close together, their branches forming a thick canopy that filtered the light into green patches on the forest floor.
Kai looked around nervously.
"So… this is where I train?"
Mira nodded. "For now. The shadows can't enter places filled with natural light easily. Woods like these slow them down."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Slow them down? But not stop them?"
Mira gave a thin smile. "The shadows don't stop, Kai. They linger, wait, and learn."
"Great," Kai muttered. "Comforting."
Mira motioned to a small clearing. "Stand there."
Kai stepped into the center. The ground was soft with moss and fallen leaves. Birds chirped overhead, calm and unaware of the danger Kai carried in his pocket.
"First lesson," Mira said, standing across from him. "Connection."
"To what?" Kai asked. "The compass? Nature? My 'inner Keeper'? I don't know what that means."
"To yourself," Mira said simply. "The compass responds to the Keeper's heart. Not your muscles, not your strength. Your focus."
Kai shifted awkwardly. "I've never been good at focus. I can barely pay attention in math class."
"Then think of this as a different kind of class." Mira crossed her arms. "One where failing could get us both eaten by shadows."
Kai's eyes widened.
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No," Mira said plainly. "It's supposed to make you try."
Kai exhaled sharply. "Okay. Fine. How do I… connect?"
Mira pointed at the compass.
"Hold it with both hands."
Kai did.
"Close your eyes."
Kai hesitated. "If something jumps at me—"
"I won't let anything touch you," Mira promised.
Kai closed his eyes.
"Now," Mira said softly, "listen."
"To what?"
"Everything. The wind in the leaves. The birds. Your heartbeat. The compass."
Kai focused. At first, all he heard was the usual sounds—rustling leaves, distant birds. But then he felt a faint warmth spreading through his palms.
The compass.
It pulsed slowly. Gently.
Kai's heartbeat aligned with it—one pulse, then another. His breathing steadied. The worry in his chest eased.
He felt… calm.
Mira's voice returned. "Good. Now think of light. Not a flashlight or a bulb. Think of the feeling of light. Warmth. Clarity. Safety."
Kai pictured the sun rising over Emberford River. The golden glow spreading across the water. The warmth on his face.
The compass reacted instantly.
A faint blue shine flickered beneath his fingers.
His eyes flew open.
"Mira! It—"
"Don't stop," she warned. "Keep guiding it. Let the light gather."
Kai concentrated again. The compass grew brighter this time, blue light spilling between his fingers.
He gasped. "It's working!"
Mira nodded. "You're awakening the Keeper's Light."
Kai grinned—until the wind shifted.
And something cold slid across the back of his neck.
He spun around.
A shadow—thin, stretched, and wrong—oozed along the roots of a nearby tree. It crawled like spilled ink, moving even though nothing cast it.
Kai stumbled back.
"Mira—! I thought you said the woods slow them down!"
"They must've followed us faster than I expected," Mira said, pulling out her blade. "Stay behind me."
But the shadow didn't go for Mira.
It rushed straight toward Kai.
"Kai!" Mira shouted. "The light—don't drop it!"
Kai's panic surged—but so did the compass's glow. The blue light flared suddenly, spilling outward in a thin rippling wave.
The shadow hesitated, its form trembling like boiling water.
Then it lunged.
Kai lifted the compass instinctively—
And a burst of light exploded from it.
Not huge. Not powerful. But enough.
The shadow recoiled violently, dissolving into a dark mist that drifted upward and vanished.
Kai staggered back, panting.
"I—I did that! I actually did that!"
Mira stared at him with something close to awe.
"You did. And you learned how fast they react to you."
Kai's excitement dimmed. "Right. Because they're hunting me."
Mira sheathed her blade. "They sensed the awakening. Every Keeper who arises draws them. But you handled yourself well for your first encounter outside the chamber."
Kai wiped his forehead. "Barely. I almost tripped over a tree root."
Mira smirked. "Then we'll work on your balance next."
Kai groaned dramatically. "Great. Training and humiliation."
But Mira's expression turned serious.
"Kai… that was just a fragment. A weak one. If a real Nightborn finds you, your light has to be stronger. Much stronger."
Kai nodded. "So I keep training."
"And learning," Mira said. "There are things you still don't know. Things about your bloodline. About the last Keeper. And about the darkness… and what it wants."
Kai swallowed.
"What does it want?"
Mira looked toward the thick woods, her silver eyes narrowing.
"It wants the compass. And it wants the Keeper. Without both, it cannot rise fully. But if it gets either one…"
She didn't finish.
She didn't need to.
Kai felt the weight of the compass in his hand—heavy, warm, alive.
He didn't know everything yet.
But he knew this:
The shadows weren't just hunting him.
They were preparing for something far worse.
Kai clenched his fist around the compass.
"Then let's make sure they never get either," he said quietly.
Mira nodded once. "Good. Then your real training begins now."
Together, they stepped deeper into the woods.
The sunlight flickered above them.
And somewhere far away, hidden in the heart of the shadows…
Something stirred.
Something powerful.
Something waiting for the Keeper to grow strong—
So it could destroy him.