The soldier's voice was deep, almost satisfied.
The man turned slowly.
The Velkari advanced at an unhurried pace, his arm still transformed, though now the spear was beginning to deform. The white metal folded inward, widened, and within seconds took the shape of a curved-blade axe, its edge vibrating with contained energy.
"One of the heroes," the man said, tilting his head as he pointed at the soldier. "Weren't you supposed to protect the balance? Humans and Velkari alike? …Look around you. Is this protection?"
The soldier spat on the ground and smiled with irony.
"You're not wrong," he replied. "But I never thought that 'protection' would include massacring entire villages. Still, when a threat can bring future consequences," he said, "it's better to cut it off at the root. Don't you think… Kael?"
The soldier walked slowly around him, studying him, while Kael tightened his fingers around the hilt of the luminous sword.
"So many resources spent just for me?" Kael asked. "I'm flattered."
The Velkari laughed. A short, dry laugh.
"Just for you?" he repeated. "Not anymore, from what I can see. The High Command will love to hear this."
Kael's smile vanished.
"So that's your son," the soldier continued. "Who would have thought… a traitor to progress, a revolutionary… and on top of that, mixing with inferior beings. You disgust me, Kael."
Kael did not respond. He did not take the bait. The Velkari soldier frowned.
"The High Command considers you a threat," he went on. "And honestly, I don't understand it. You're insignificant. Disloyal. You're the most unpleasant trash. You shame our race."
Kael lifted his gaze. His eyes showed no anger. They showed clarity.
"That says more about you than about me," he said calmly. "I'm the trash that threatens their progress? That's a compliment to me. You, on the other hand… you're just a card. One they can use and discard once you stop being useful."
Something snapped.
The soldier lunged at him with a contained roar.
The axe came down with devastating force. The man rolled to the side, the blade slicing through the air where his head had been a second earlier. The impact against the ground threw up dirt, roots, and ash.
Kael counterattacked.
The sword traced a brilliant arc, colliding with the Velkari weapon in an explosion of energy. Both staggered back. The fight became a whirlwind.
The soldier attacked with direct brutality, wide strikes, trusting his superior strength. Kael, by contrast, moved low and precise, dodging by inches, cutting tendons, searching for openings.
The axe tore into his side, opening a deep wound. Kael growled, but answered by driving the sword into the Velkari's thigh. The living metal closed partially—but not enough.
"You adapt quickly…" the soldier spat. "Why don't you use all your power?"
Kael did not respond. He kept attacking.
Each movement of the Velkari soldier was becoming predictable. Each strike, an opportunity. Kael slid beneath a horizontal attack, drove the sword into the joint of the transformed arm, and twisted with all his strength.
The arm fell to the ground.
The soldier screamed. He staggered back, white blood spurting in irregular pulses.
Before he could react, the man seized the fallen weapon and aimed it at his neck.
"Power isn't everything," he finally said. "Control matters too."
Kael stepped back, breathing heavily. He looked toward the forest, thinking of Iria and the baby, and without hesitating any longer, he turned and left.
Behind him, a bubbling laugh.
"You're wasting your time…" the soldier said between gasps. "All you'll find is death. Their bodies torn apart."
Kael stopped cold.
"Did you think I came alone?" the soldier continued. "You know better than anyone—that's not how we Velkari work."
Kael's eyes widened.
Too late.
With his final movement, the Velkari transformed his remaining arm. Metal burst forth violently, elongating into a spear that pierced the man's side, driving through him from end to end. The pain was absolute.
But he did not fall.
The soldier smiled one last time.
"You dropped your guard… idiot," he said, as life left his body.
Kael tore the spear from his side with a strangled cry. Blood soaked his clothes, hot and thick. Every breath was agony.
And still, he moved forward and disappeared into the forest.
The jungle enveloped him immediately. Roots, vines, low branches, insects, hidden sounds. The natural world is indifferent to the spilling of blood.
"Iria!" he shouted. "Iria!"
His voice broke.
He staggered on, leaning against trees, leaving a dark trail behind him. Every step was a battle against collapse.
Then he heard it.
The baby's cry. Close.
But it was not alone. Beneath the crying… There was something else. A sound that did not belong to the jungle. From deep within the forest, a roar emerged.
It was not an animal sound.
It was something older, vaster, as if the jungle itself had been wounded and screamed in pain.
The trees vibrated. Entire flocks of birds took flight in chaos. Insects fell silent all at once. The air grew dense, heavy, charged with a pressure that crushed the chest.
Kael did not hesitate.
With trembling hands, he tore a piece of fabric from his clothing, clumsily wrapped it around the punctured side, and pressed with all his strength. The pain was immediate, blinding—but he ignored it. He clenched his teeth, tensed his body, and ran.
He ran like never before.
He leapt over massive roots rising from the ground like ribs. Slipped through tangled vines that tore at his skin. Crossed streams without feeling the water, slipping on moss-covered stones. The forest grew darker, tighter, as if trying to block his path.
The roar sounded again.
Closer.
Closer still.
And in his desperation, Kael did not notice it at first.
The crying had stopped.
The silence where the most important sound in the world had been pierced his chest harder than any wound. Panic seized him.
"No…" he whispered, forcing his legs to move faster. "No, no, no…"
But his body no longer responded the same way. Blood soaked the makeshift bandage. His vision blurred in waves.
Then, within the greenish gloom of the forest, a figure appeared.
"Enough," said a firm voice.
Kael stopped short, nearly collapsing to his knees.
The Great Wise Woman stood before him.
She seemed to emerge from the forest itself, wrapped in dark fabrics, adorned with amulets of bone, wood, and ancient metal. Her gaze was deep, grave, burdened with a knowledge that hurt.
"No," he gasped, trying to move past her. "I have to get there… Iria…"
She raised one hand and stopped him. With the other, she slowly lifted the basket hanging at her side.
Inside, wrapped in ritual cloths, slept his son. Kael's son.
He slept in an unnaturally deep sleep, untouched by the chaos, the noise, the death looming around them. His breathing was soft.
Kael's world shattered.
His knees gave out. He collapsed to the ground, sobbing, laughing and crying at the same time, extending his hands as if afraid the child would disappear if he touched him.
"He's alive…" he whispered. "He's alive…"
"He is safe," the old woman replied. "I gave him sleep powders. He won't cry. He won't attract what follows us."
He lifted his gaze, eyes red, filled with tears.
"Thank you…" He murmured. "Thank you…"
And then reality fell upon him again.
"Where is Iria?" he asked suddenly. "She… is she with you?"
The old woman's silence was answer enough. She looked away.
"She gave me the child," she finally said. "She knew something was following her. A shadow… among the trees. It did not walk like an animal. It did not breathe like a living being."
The memory struck the man violently.
The silhouette among the trees, before the birth—it had not been his imagination.
"She made me promise to keep him safe," the Great Wise Woman continued. "To give him to you. Then… she ran south into the forest."
The man was already getting up.
"I have to go," he said, his voice broken but firm.
"It is not wise," she replied, gripping his arm. "What follows her is not something you can face in this state."
"She's my wife," he growled. "She's strong. She's stubborn. She won't fall easily. I have to help her."
The old woman studied him for a long moment. There was sorrow in her gaze. And resignation.
"Then take this."
She pulled a small vial from her cloak and poured it over the wound. The liquid burned like fire, but the bleeding began to slow.
"It won't save you," she said. "It will only keep you standing a little longer."
"That's enough," Kael said with a grateful smile.
He finally bent down, kissed his son's forehead with infinite tenderness, then turned and disappeared once more into the forest.
The roar was heard again.
But now… it was moving away.
And that could only mean one thing.
It was following someone.
There was still hope.