The doors of the Bastion closed behind them with a heavy thud. Liliana didn’t look back. She couldn’t. Her mother’s words, her plea for forgiveness, still echoed in her mind, but there was no time to dwell on it now.

  “We should head to the western quarter,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “The temple is hidden beneath the old archives.”

  Kale and Rika exchanged glances but said nothing as they followed Liliana down the streets of Nyridia. The city had stood long before the Scarlet Veil took control, its architecture a testament to centuries of power and ambition. Now, that same grandeur bore the mark of the Scarlet Veil’s rule, every polished facade and crimson banner a reminder of who held the reins.

  The streets were not quiet, not exactly, but there was no shouting, no raucous laughter spilling from taverns. Conversations were measured, voices never rising above what was necessary. People moved with a sense of purpose, their posture straight, their clothing immaculate. Here, appearances mattered as much as power, and no one wanted to look out of place.

  “So... what was all that back there?” Rika asked, her tone uncharacteristically cautious.

  Liliana didn’t answer immediately. She could still feel her mother’s arms around her, hear the tremor in her voice as she begged for forgiveness. It was all so unexpected. Her mother, the cold and distant figure who had been as hard and sharp as her father, had shown something real. Something vulnerable.

  But there was no room for weakness now. “It doesn’t matter,” Liliana finally replied. “We have work to do.”

  Kale wanted to ask if she was okay, but something in the way she carried herself—how her voice had hardened, how she pressed forward without looking back—made him hesitate. Even without a body the tension was still clear in the way she moved, the determination behind every word.

  He exchanged a quick glance with Rika, who gave a slight shrug, as if telling him to let it go for now. Kale sighed inwardly. Sometimes it was hard to know when to step in and when to stay quiet, but this felt like one of those moments where silence was the better option.

  Instead, he focused on the task ahead. “Right,” he said. “The old archives, then. Since I don’t have a map, or any idea where we’re going, I’m gonna go ahead and nominate you as the leader of this expedition, Liliana. I’d try, but I don’t think aimlessly wandering until someone decides I’m a threat is the best strategy. I mean, someone will probably try to kill me soon enough anyway. Not that I want them to. But, you know… odds aren’t great.”

  Rika shook her head and laughed internally. Funny how awkward he sometimes gets around Liliana.

  "Kale, her family literally owns this city. Who else would lead the way?"

  Kale let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, yeah, fair point. Just, you know, wanted to give everyone a chance to volunteer… democratic process and all that. But, uh, yeah. You should definitely lead. Obviously."

  Liliana exhaled through her nose, the faintest smile tugging at her lips. She didn’t say anything, but the tension in her chest eased just a little. Kale’s awkwardness was ridiculous, but it was him, and somehow, it made everything feel a little less heavy. Even if just for a moment.

  As they walked, Kale frowned. The streets had been full just moments ago, but now… where had everyone gone? The city wasn’t silent—there were still voices in the distance, the occasional clatter of hooves—but the air felt different.

  It sure got quiet all of a sudden.

  He looked around, searching the buildings, the alleyways, the rooftops. Nothing. And yet, the back of his neck prickled like he was being watched.

  Someone’s watching me. Someone’s definitely watching me.

  His hand drifted toward Aeloria’s Promise. Was this the part where someone tried to kill him again? Probably. At this point, he should just start carrying a sign that said: Yes, I’m the guy. No, you don’t need to test your luck.

  He exhaled slowly. Any second now…

  Rika walked ahead, Hammer of the Hiwani slung casually over her shoulder, but her eyes flicked to the shadows. “Anyone else feeling like we’re not alone?”

  Kale nodded. “Yeah... I don’t like this.”

  A sharp whistle sliced through the air, followed by a sudden barrage of crimson shards erupting from the narrow alleyways on either side of the street. Kale jumped in front of Liliana, his blade flashing in his hand as he deflected most of the incoming projectiles. But one blood shard slipped past his guard, striking Rika squarely in her shoulder.

  Rika winced as the shard embedded itself, but she barely slowed her pace, gritting her teeth through the pain. "Well, that’s inconvenient. I was using that shoulder.”

  Kale turned, worry flashing across his face. "You good?"

  "Hells," Rika grunted, reaching to snap the shard out of her flesh with a grimace. "It's just a another hole in my collection. Focus on the morons who are about to be the world’s flattest cautionary tale."

  From the shadows, figures cloaked in dark robes emerged, their hands glowing with a deep crimson aura. The lead figure, his face obscured by a hood, chuckled darkly. "Lady Liliana of the Scarlet Veil."

  Kale turned to Liliana, raising an eyebrow. "Friends of yours?"

  Liliana's eyes narrowed, a sharp smile playing at her lips. "Been a while, Malric. What's wrong? Was Alistair too scared to face me himself?"

  Malric pulled back his hood, revealing a twisted grin. "Not quite. My brother has more important matters than wasting time with you. Besides, I’m more than enough to deal with this. You’re nothing but a minor inconvenience."

  Kale shrugged. "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you."

  Rika rolled her shoulder, hefting her warhammer with one hand, her usual grin creeping back onto her face despite the blood dripping down her arm. "Oh, Kaley. You always know just what to say before I turn someone into street jam."

  Kale slowly raised his sword, pointing it toward the man standing next to Malric. With a big smile, he whispered, "Ssshhk."

  Nothing happened.

  Rika burst out laughing, barely holding her warhammer steady.

  Liliana sighed, rolling her eyes. "Really, Kale?"

  Malric scoffed, shaking his head. "Just what the hells do you think you—"

  Before he could finish Kale cast Echoing Blades. In a flash, the sword’s ethereal twin sliced clean through the head of Malric’s companion, violently spraying blood across Malric's face. The suddenness of the strike left him frozen, his arrogant sneer replaced with shock.

  Kale gave him a lazy grin. "You were saying?"

  That was cool. Yeah, that was definitely cool. No way it wasn’t. Liliana and Rika had to be impressed by that. He resisted the urge to glance over at them, but he could already picture Liliana’s slight nod of approval, maybe even a quiet hmm. And Rika? Probably grinning like an idiot, thinking finally, he’s learning.

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  Yeah. He was definitely cool right now.

  Malric’s eyes started glowing, his hands moving with practiced precision. The blood pooling around his fallen companion formed into crimson tendrils, lashing out with terrifying speed, and wrapped around Kale’s leg, yanking him off balance. He hit the ground with a crack, the back of his head slamming against the unforgiving stone, and a sharp pain shot through his skull.

  “Alright, here we go!” Rika yelled, launching herself into the air, warhammer raised high. “Next stop: Pancake City!”

  As Rika soared through the air, one of the Bloodthorn assailants snapped her hands upward. The blood pooled beneath her feet surged up like living chains, lashing around Rika mid-flight. The woman lowered her hands again, yanking Rika from the air like a snared beast. The impact was violent, her body slammed into the ground with a force that cracked the stone, a shockwave rippling outward from where she hit. Dust and debris exploded into the air as the blood writhed, pinning her down, tightening with each passing second.

  Rika gasped, momentarily winded but still gripping her warhammer. "Ohh, you’re gonna regret that."

  Kale, still reeling from his own head injury, struggled to rise, blood trickling from his head down the back of his neck. “Rika!” he called out.

  Rika groaned but gave him a quick thumbs-up, already scrambling to her feet. "I’m good! Just had a very personal conversation with the ground. It’s got some strong opinions—thinking she should hear them next!”

  Malric’s expression was filled with malice as he thrust his hands forward. Two blood spears erupted from his palms, tearing through the air, aimed to impale Rika and Kale where they stood.

  Before either of them could react, Liliana intervened. Her voice rang with quiet finality.

  "No."

  The blood spears stopped mid-flight, shuddering violently as if caught in an invisible grip. The air around them trembled, and the spears twisted back toward Malric, their own momentum betraying them.

  Malric swiftly conjured a blood shield in front of him. The spears slammed into the crimson barrier, absorbed into the swirling mass, but the impact forced him back a step.

  "Nice try," Liliana said. "But you'll have to do better than that."

  "Very well," Malric said calmly. He lowered his hands, and blood started swirling around him, ready to strike again at his command.

  “Rika, you promised me street jam. I’m not seeing any street jam!” Kale said.

  Rika’s grin widened as she shifted her stance. “Don’t you worry, Kaley. I’m about to paint the pavement.”

  They both lunged at the nearest attackers, hoping to make quick work of them, but it was clear these opponents weren’t pushovers.

  Kale lunged, blades flashing. The robed figure twisted away, and a crimson blade formed in his grip, swinging up to meet Kale’s with a sharp crack.

  He struck again. Kale met him. Steel against hardened blood, each blow faster, sharper, more vicious. The man pressed forward, forcing Kale back step by step.

  A downward swing, reckless, overconfident.

  Kale caught it. Their blades locked, and for a split second, the man flashed a smug smile.

  That guy thinks he’s winning!

  The man attacked again. Kale parried with one sword and cut his hand clean off with the other.

  The hand, still holding the sword, clattered to the ground. Blood sprayed across the street. The man staggered back, staring at the stump, horror flashing in his eyes.

  Kale shifted his grip. “Should’ve stuck to dodging, you smug bastard.”

  He stepped in for the finishing blow, but the man jerked his arm up. The blood pouring from his wrist twisted, coiled, and solidified into a blade, blocking Kale’s strike.

  Kale stepped back, surprised. The robed man lashed out, the blood blade pulsed and shifted mid-strike, its jagged edges forming in the blink of an eye. Kale twisted away as the sword sliced through empty air, countering with a downward slash. Though the weapon appeared fast, adaptive, and wildly unpredictable, Kale knew its true secret lay in the man who wielded it.

  He wasn’t studying the erratic motion of the blade at all, he was watching the man. The slight shift of his shoulders, the twitch in his eye, the subtle weight shift before a feint. These tells revealed a calculated rhythm beneath the weapon’s chaotic dance.

  Focused, Kale worked through the rhythm of the fight. He pushed forward deliberately, forcing his opponent into a familiar sequence of blocks and counters. As the man raised his blood blade again, preparing for another deflection.

  Kale activated Fluid Edge, and his swords transformed mid-strike. Their straight edges curved into crescent shapes, curving to bypass his opponent’s guard. The man’s eyes widened in disbelief as the blades swept past, arcing around his blood weapon like flowing water. Two can play that game, Kale thought, turning his opponent’s own technique against him.

  The transformed swords struck true, slicing deep into the man’s torso. The blood weapon unsolidified, and his wounded arm began bleeding uncontrollably once more. He staggered backward, clutching at his wounds while blood sprayed in all directions.

  Despite the chaos, Kale’s breathing remained steady, and in one fluid, scissor-like motion, he crossed his swords and delivered a clean, fatal strike through his opponent’s neck. The man’s head fell to the ground, and his body collapsed.

  Rika swung her warhammer with the force of an avalanche. Her opponent raised both hands, blood swirling and solidifying into a hardened barrier just in time to absorb the blow. The ground cracked beneath them from the impact, but the barrier held firm.

  Rika gritted her teeth, feeling the resistance. Her warhammer barely made a dent. “Not bad,” she growled, stepping back. She swung again, this time with even more raw power. The warhammer crashed through the blood barrier, shattering it.

  Her opponent stumbled back, but quickly recovered, hands moving in intricate patterns as she manipulated the blood around her. Crimson tendrils shot up from the broken barrier, lashing out toward Rika’s arms and legs.

  Rika growled, swinging her warhammer in a wide arc, smashing the tendrils out of the air. “You’ll have to try harder than that!” she yelled, charging forward with her warhammer raised high.

  The blood mage shifted, forming a new defense, this time a wall of blood spikes aimed directly at Rika. Rika brought her warhammer down, smashing through the spikes as if they were brittle twigs.

  Her opponent backed up, panic creeping into her eyes. Desperate, she formed a massive blood scythe and swung it at Rika, aiming to cleave her in two. With a quick spin, she dodged the incoming strike, and swung her warhammer aimed at the woman’s side, sending her crashing into the nearby wall.

  The impact left her dazed, blood trickling from her mouth. Rika strolled forward confidently, warhammer resting casually on her shoulder.

  "Done already?" she asked with a cocky grin.

  The blood mage gasped, struggling to pull herself up, her trembling hand raised as blood began to swirl again, forming a last-ditch defense. The red mist coalesced into a shield.

  Rika shook her head. “No, no, that won’t save you. You ruined my favorite shirt, and I promised my friend over there some jam.”

  With a roar, she raised her warhammer high above her head and brought it crashing down with all her might. The ground buckled and cracked under the force, obliterating the blood shield and driving the mage into the earth with a bone-crushing impact.

  She looked down at the mangled corpse beneath her, and raised her warhammer with a triumphant grin. "Look, Kale, street jam!"

  “That’s great, Rika! Thanks. Really wanted to see that.”

  Why do I keep encouraging her? Kale thought as he shook his head.

  Right as Malric moved to strike Liliana, a surge of energy washed over them, their strength and abilities amplifying as they leveled up. Malric stumbled back.

  Kale felt his senses sharpen and his connection to his blades deepen. Liliana’s aura flared briefly, her magic humming with newfound intensity.

  As the surge of power coursed through Rika’s body, she felt something far more potent than any level up she’d ever experienced. Strength flooded her system, magnified tenfold. The ground beneath her feet trembled as the energy built within her, and her warhammer began to hum in sync with the raw power surging from her core.

  She gasped, teeth clenched as her body began to shift, muscles tightening and expanding—not bulking up, but radiating a strength that felt rooted in the earth. Her skin took on a faint stone-like texture, and glowing fissures of light began creeping up her arms and shoulders, like cracks in stone. The energy pulsed through her veins, and the glowing cracks brightened when she clenched her fists.

  Rika glanced down at her hands, watching them harden, the faint stone-like texture making her feel like the living embodiment of the earth. She grinned, the immense power within her now thrumming at every nerve. This wasn’t just a level up, it was an evolution.

  Kale looked over at her. "Rika... what—"

  She exhaled. “Level ten. Ruinbringer.”

  The name echoed in her mind, a perfect fit for the transformation she was undergoing. She could feel her deep connection to the elemental forces, the earth itself bending to her will. But that wasn’t all, something greater lay just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

  Kale stared in awe. "Woah…"

  Now fully enveloped in her Ruinbringer form, Rika felt unstoppable. She was a juggernaut, a force of nature. The power coursing through her veins was intoxicating, and she reveled in it, embracing the strength that made her feel like nothing could stand in her way.

  “Ruinbringer,” she muttered. "I could get used to this."

  Liliana raised an eyebrow. “That’s… quite the upgrade.”

  Rika turned to her companions, her grin wide and full of confidence. “You can say that again. I feel like I could take down a mountain.”

  Kale, still marveling at the sight, gave her a nod. “I think we’ll need that kind of power where we’re going.”

  Rika glanced down at her glowing arms, the cracks of power pulsing softly as she relaxed. The strength of the Ruinbringer would take some getting used to, but she knew one thing for certain—nothing would stand a chance against her now.

  She swung her warhammer in a lazy arc, smiling. "Well, that was fun. So, who's next?"

  Liliana nodded to Malric, who was equally in awe by the transformation. “He’s next, but he’s mine.”