The abandoned field remained the only place where Ren and Kael could train without being disturbed.
The cold wind cut into their skin, and the gray clouds seemed trapped in the sky, unmoving.
They had been there for hours.
Kael was testing his ability, “Impose,” trying to better control the pressure he projected into the air.
Ren, on the other hand, tried to understand his own power… or the absence of it.
Sometimes, when he focused too much, he felt the same chill from the night he was born.
“Again,” Kael said, taking a deep breath.
Ren lunged forward.
Kael raised his hand.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The pressure came… but weak.
Ren managed to pass through.
Kael smiled, exhausted.
“I’m getting better.”
Ren nodded… but something bothered him.
The air behind Kael trembled.
It wasn’t wind.
It wasn’t cold.
It was as if the world were being pulled by invisible threads.
Ren’s eyes widened.
“Kael… the rift… it’s opening back there.”
Kael turned quickly.
He saw it too.
A black crack tore through space, pulsing like a sick heart.
No civilian could see it.
But they could.
The ground began to vibrate.
From the tear, something forced its way out.
A shadow with a surface smooth as dark glass, reflecting everything around it in distorted shapes.
The monster crashed into the field with a thunderous impact.
Its body looked like it was made of shattered mirrors.
“R-run!” Kael shouted.
They sprinted through the ruins.
The monster followed, each step cracking the ground.
The field ended at a narrow ravine.
There was no way out.
The monster approached slowly.
Ren felt his chest burn.
Memories flooded his mind.
Him helping Mara carry buckets.
Kael cleaning his mother’s wounds.
They tried to be strong… even though they were just children.
“I don’t want to die here…” Kael whispered.
They screamed.
Not for help.
But out of despair.
The monster raised its arm.
And the world seemed to stop.
