The soft morning light filtered through the cracks in the worn-out lighthouse, casting long shadows over the dusty floor. Thorne stood at the edge of the room, watching the waves far below crash against the jagged rocks. The rhythmic pounding of the sea usually calmed him, but today, his mind was a storm of its own. Hope and resignation waged an endless war inside him, each trying to drown out the other.

  He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, lost in his thoughts, when it hit.

  An imperceptible ripple, a wave of aether passed through him, barely noticeable, but enough to make every hair on the back of his neck stand on end. His body tensed instinctively as the familiar yet unsettling energy pulsed through the room.

  “You felt that too, right?” Sid's voice broke the silence, drawing Thorne's attention. The older man stood, stretching from his sitting position with a knowing look in his eye. He brushed off the dust that clung to his weathered cloak.

  Thorne nodded, his gaze shifting back to the horizon. Before he could say anything else, another wave hit.

  This time, it was far more intense.

  The lighthouse groaned in protest as a wild, untamed surge of aether washed over them. Thorne stumbled, his booted feet losing grip for a second as the loose bricks rattled beneath him. Dust rained down from the ceiling, the old structure seeming to shudder under the force of the disturbance.

  Thorne’s breath hitched. The raw energy coursing through the air wasn’t like the subtle currents of aether he was used to sensing. This was different. Wild, chaotic, and dangerous. “That’s… not normal.”

  Sid gave a low grunt of agreement, his eyes sharp and alert. “Nope, it’s not. It’s an aether manifestation.”

  Another wave surged, stronger still. The very earth beneath them felt alive, vibrating with barely-contained energy. Thorne felt the disturbance deep in his bones, a wild, primal force beyond his control.

  Beside him, Sid’s lips curled into a half-smile, but his eyes remained sharp. "This is your chance, kid," he said, his voice layered with meaning.

  Thorne frowned, finally tearing his eyes away from the storm brewing ahead to look at Sid. “Chance for what?”

  Sid gave a casual shrug, but there was nothing casual about his tone. “To show me what you can really do. You’ve been holding back all these years. Aether skills, fighting skills, everything. I want to see the real Thorne.”

  The cold knot in Thorne’s stomach tightened, and his hand instinctively went to the dagger at his side, fingers gripping it like a lifeline. He swallowed hard, shaking his head. "I can’t. You know I can’t." His voice was hoarse, as if even admitting it out loud was dangerous.

  Sid snorted. “What do you mean you can’t? Look around you!” He gestured to the growing mass of energy in the distance. “We’re out here, beyond the city walls. No one’s watching. And trust me, the guards won’t be worried about what you’re pulling when that thing is about to tear apart the countryside. You’re not gonna survive this if you don’t let loose.”

  Thorne remained silent, staring out at the growing aetheric disturbance, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. Sid didn’t understand. He couldn’t. Years of hiding his true abilities, of suppressing what he was, Elder Race, had become instinctual. Every lesson, every day he lived with the knowledge that if anyone ever found out, they would come for him. For his core.

  His heart thudded in his chest as memories of past warnings flashed in his mind. The bounty hunters who sought the Elder Race for their cores, the ones who hunted and killed for the powerful essence that lived within him. They would tear him apart for it. He couldn’t risk it. Not even for Sid.

  But Sid wasn’t having it. His smirk disappeared, replaced with a look of seriousness that Thorne rarely saw in the man. “Do you trust me?”

  The question hung in the air like a challenge, and Thorne felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Sid had been there for him,. Always. The one person he could count on when no one else could be trusted. He had fought for him, trained under him, protected by him. But still, the fear lingered.

  “I do,” Thorne said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, “but...”

  Sid cut him off with a sigh, pulling a short sword from beneath his cloak. The blade gleamed in the dim light, and he inspected it briefly before meeting Thorne’s eyes again. “Look, I’m not gonna force you. But if you want to survive you need to stop holding back. You have to learn how to fight without shackles.”

  Sid straightened, twirling the sword in his hand before planting it firmly in the ground. “But hey, have it your way. We’ll fight this thing together. You play it safe, and I’ll play cleanup.” There was a glint of challenge in his eyes, but it wasn’t playful, it was dead serious. “Ready?”

  Thorne’s heart pounded in his ears, his body torn between fear and the burning desire to unleash everything he had been holding in for years. Sid was right. There was no way they could take on what was coming without giving it their all. But the risk…

  After a moment, he swallowed his doubts, giving Sid a small nod. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  They left the lighthouse behind, the wind biting at their faces as they followed the cliffside. The roar of the ocean below was drowned out by the growing pulse of aether, each beat of energy louder and stronger than the last. The sky above them darkened, the clouds swirling as if the storm itself was feeding off the aetheric disturbance. They moved quickly, keeping low to the jagged rocks, the landscape shifting as they neared the source.

  Thorne could feel the tension growing, the air itself vibrating with barely-contained energy. His pulse quickened with each step, his Veil Sense skill constantly feeding him information about the growing aether wave. But the closer they got, the more erratic the readings became. It was as if the very air was alive, thrumming with potential.

  And then, without warning, the ground beneath them trembled. A massive explosion of raw aether erupted from the earth, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The force of the blast knocked them off their feet, sending Thorne sprawling across the dirt. He hit the rocky ground hard, the wind knocked out of him as he slid several feet.

  Dazed, he pushed himself up, his hands shaking slightly from the intensity of the blast.

  Sid groaned beside him, rolling onto his back with a grimace. “Gods, I’m too old for this. Chasing after aether storms with kids… what was I thinking?”

  But Thorne wasn’t listening. His gaze was fixed on the epicenter of the disturbance. From the swirling mass of white-blue energy, something began to take shape. A creature, born from the raw aether itself. The air crackled with tension as the creature’s form slowly materialized, its body coiling and shifting within the condensed energy.

  One serpentine head emerged from the ball of aether, its neck impossibly long and twisting like a snake. Then another head followed. And another. The creature's many heads moved in unison, their eyes glowing an eerie, otherworldly blue.

  Sid cursed under his breath as he struggled to his feet, his eyes locked on the growing monstrosity. “Godsdammit… that thing’s huge.”

  Thorne scrambled up, his pulse quickening as more of the creature emerged. Its translucent, shimmering scales pulsed with raw aetheric energy, each of its many heads moving with a lethal grace. He had seen many things since coming to Alvar, but this… this was something else entirely.

  The heads, writhing in unison, were at least ten meters high, towering above the rocky cliffside. The ground beneath their feet was uneven, jagged stones jutting out, and just beyond them, the city walls loomed like silent sentinels in the distance.

  The beast’s serpentine body curled around the cliff's edge, its massive tail dragging across the rocks, leaving deep gouges in the earth. They were far enough from the city to avoid drawing attention, but the sheer scale of the creature felt like it could swallow the landscape whole.

  “I don’t think swords and daggers are gonna cut it this time,” Thorne muttered, his voice almost drowned out by the low, rumbling growl of the creature.

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  Sid shot him a look, his sarcasm barely masking the tension in his voice. “No shit, kid.”

  Thorne couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth. His heart was racing, adrenaline surging through his veins as he waited for his Veil Sense skill to register the creature’s level. The creature was massive, powerful, and radiating danger but there was also an undeniable thrill that sparked inside him.

  When his Veil Sense finally pinged, Thorne's stomach dropped. "Level 55…" he whispered, his grin faltering. The city guards had no chance facing such a powerful beast. Actually, few people in Alvar stood a chance against it. A handful of Lost Ones maybe... And...

  The man beside him...

  Sid, wiping the dirt from his coat, raised an eyebrow. "Just a few levels below me. Perfect."

  Thorne gave him a sideways glance. "You’re insane."

  Sid chuckled, tightening his grip on his short sword. “Yeah, well, no one said this would be easy.”

  The creature let out a thunderous roar, its many heads snapping in their direction. Eyes glowing with an unnatural hunger, the beast coiled its body, preparing to strike.

  The air crackled with tension, every nerve in Thorne’s body on high alert as the aether beast unfurled its massive, serpentine heads from the swirling vortex of energy. The creature's glowing blue eyes locked onto them, a predatory intelligence gleaming in their depths. Time seemed to stretch thin, each second passing like the calm before an inevitable storm.

  Then it struck.

  One of the beast’s heads reared back, and from its open maw came a torrent of blue fire—but Thorne recognized it for what it truly was: raw, untamed aether. The energy blazed towards him with terrifying speed, the heat of its approach almost palpable.

  "Move!" Sid’s shout rang through the haze.

  Thorne reacted instinctively, activating Burst of Speed in a split second. The world around him blurred as he darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the searing wave of aether. He hit the ground hard, rolling to his feet in one fluid motion. His heart raced as he watched the wave of energy slam into the spot where he had stood moments earlier, the impact leaving a scorched, smoking crater in the rocky ground.

  Sid wasn’t beside him anymore, he had vanished. Thorne’s head snapped around in search of him, only to see Sid materialize several meters away, his expression grim.

  Sid frowned as he dusted himself off, eyes scanning the colossal creature. “You sure that thing’s only level 55?” he asked, voice laced with suspicion. "Because I don’t know what your skill’s telling you, but mine is giving me a real bad feeling about this. Its attributes are… off the charts."

  Thorne shrugged, still catching his breath. “That’s what my Veil Sense said. Level 55.”

  Sid's frown deepened as he watched the creature, its multiple heads swaying in a predatory rhythm, eyes glowing with a malevolent light. “Yeah, well, my gut’s telling me this thing’s way worse than that.”

  Before Thorne could respond, the massive tail of the beast whipped out from behind its heads, moving faster than he could blink. The tail lashed through the air with a deafening crack, its sheer force sending a shockwave through the ground. Two of the beast’s heads snapped toward Sid, jaws open wide, aiming to swallow him whole.

  “Look out!” Thorne shouted, but Sid was already gone, disappearing in a blur of speed just as the beast’s jaws snapped shut where he had been.

  Thorne felt the air shift as the monstrous tail hurtled toward him, the ground quaking beneath its immense weight. He threw himself backward, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

  The tail smashed into the rocky ground with enough force to split the earth.

  The sound of the impact was deafening, a crack like thunder that echoed off the cliffside. Shards of rock exploded in every direction, and the ground beneath Thorne’s feet shook violently as the tail left a deep, jagged gouge in the earth, as if it had been hollow and brittle.

  Rocks and debris rained down around him, and Thorne barely had time to dodge the falling rubble. His heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

  “This thing’s not playing around,” Sid muttered, reappearing beside Thorne with a look of dark resolve. He twirled the short sword in his hand, but it was the other weapon that caught Thorne’s attention. From beneath his cloak, Sid unsheathed a dagger that glowed with an eerie neon green light, pulsing like it held its own heartbeat.

  “Change of plans,” Sid said, his voice sharp and commanding. “You stay back. I’ll deal with this thing.”

  Thorne’s eyes widened in protest. “What? You can’t...”

  But before he could finish, Sid vanished again, leaving only a wisp of disturbed air in his wake.

  Sid moved like a blur. His short sword flashed in the morning light, but it wasn’t just speed. The blade itself seemed to vanish and reappear, like a flicker of shadows that refused to stay in one place for long.

  Sid darted under one of the serpent’s heads, slashing at its side, his glowing dagger leaving deep, festering gashes that sizzled with aetheric energy.

  Thorne watched from a few paces away, his heart pounding. He could feel the tension in the air, the raw power of the aether beast bearing down on them like a storm.

  Sid was fast, impossibly fast, but the creature was relentless. It moved with a terrifying grace, its many heads snapping and weaving through the air, trying to corner Sid, trying to pin him down.

  The serpent hissed, three of its heads diving toward Sid in unison, jaws snapping with a force that could shatter stone. Sid leapt backward, his feet barely touching the ground as he twisted midair, avoiding the strikes by a hair's breadth.

  Thorne’s breath caught in his throat. Sid was good, better than anyone he’d seen—but even he was being pushed to his limits. The beast was stronger than they’d anticipated.

  Suddenly Sid launched another attack. This time, his dagger glowed brighter, the neon green light intensifying. He slashed across the beast’s flank, and the weapon left a burning afterimage, a ghostly mark that shimmered before erupting into a burst of jagged energy spikes that shot out of the wound, embedding themselves deeper into the serpent’s body. The creature let out a strangled cry, one of its heads whipping back in agony.

  Blue, misty ichor oozed from the wounds, and for the first time, Thorne saw the beast falter. One of its heads thrashed wildly, trying to shake off the pain, and Sid pressed the advantage. He surged forward, his glowing dagger slashing across another of the serpent’s heads, the blade cutting through scales and bone alike.

  With a powerful swing, Sid severed the head clean off.

  Thorne’s eyes widened in shock as the decapitated head tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud, its neck spewing bright blue liquid that sizzled as it hit the dirt. The serpent recoiled, its remaining heads screeching in fury, the raw aether surrounding them growing more volatile, more dangerous. Thorne could feel the energy in the air, vibrating through the ground beneath his feet.

  The creature wasn’t done yet.

  But there was no time to celebrate. Two more heads came for him, faster this time, the creature learning from its injuries. Sid parried one head with his short sword, the impact jolting up his arm. The other head struck from his blind spot.

  Thorne’s breath caught in his throat as Sid barely managed to dodge, the massive jaws snapping inches from his torso. Sid rolled backward, but his speed was beginning to wane. Sweat dripped from his brow, his breathing labored.

  Sid didn’t give in, though. He vanished once more, only to reappear on the beast’s other side, his short sword flickering in and out of sight as he attacked. Thorne could barely keep track of his movements, but he saw the flashes of steel, the glowing strikes that left the serpent bleeding and enraged.

  Aether hissed and leaked from the creature’s wounds, the air growing thick with its oppressive energy. Thorne activated his aether vision, his eyes scanning the serpent’s body, searching for its core, its weak spot. But no matter how hard he looked, there was nothing. Just more seething aether, more chaotic power.

  “Where is it?” Thorne muttered under his breath, frustration gnawing at him. "How the hell do you kill something like this without a core?"

  Sid kept pressing, weaving in and out of the serpent’s attacks, but Thorne could see the strain on him now. Sid’s movements were still sharp, but not as fast as before. His breath came heavier, and one of the serpent’s heads managed to graze him, a shallow cut appearing on his arm.

  Sid grunted, spinning around and delivering a backhand slash with his glowing dagger, leaving a sizzling, festering wound in the serpent's hide. The beast howled in pain, its heads snapping in every direction, desperate to land a killing blow.

  One of its heads lunged toward Sid, and though he dodged, the serpent’s tail swept low, catching Sid’s legs and sending him sprawling.

  “Damn it!” Sid spat, rolling to his feet, his glowing dagger flashing as he spun. The weapon left a trail of green light as it cut through the air, carving deep into the serpent’s side. The wound didn’t just bleed, it festered, the sizzling hide melting away like acid as the blade’s toxic energy took effect. The serpent hissed, its heads snapping wildly, the noxious wound spreading across its body like wildfire.

  Thorne’s heart raced, watching the beast’s reaction. The glowing wound was slowing it down, but Sid wasn’t out of danger yet. One of the serpent's heads struck faster than a whip, forcing Sid to sidestep at the last second. His speed was incredible, but there were too many heads, too many directions to dodge from.

  “Sid, pull back!” Thorne shouted, watching as the beast’s tail whipped dangerously close to Sid.

  But Sid didn’t retreat. Instead, he charged forward, his short sword vanishing again—only to reappear in the air above the serpent. This time, the sword split into dozens of identical blades, each one glowing faintly with aetheric energy. The blades rained down on the creature from above, striking it like arrows from a bow.

  The serpent roared, its body writhing as the blades pierced its scales, embedding deep into its flesh. One of its heads snapped upward, only to be met with another glowing strike from Sid’s dagger.

  For a moment, it looked like Sid had the upper hand.

  But then the creature moved with a speed Thorne hadn’t expected. One of its heads darted forward, quicker than lightning, catching Sid off guard. Before Sid could react, the serpent clamped its jaws around his shoulder, fangs sinking deep into flesh and bone.

  A scream tore from Sid’s throat, raw and agonized.

  “Sid!” Thorne shouted, panic surging through him.

  The beast lifted Sid off the ground, its jaws locked around him like a vice. It shook him violently, blood spraying across the rocky ground. Sid’s body went limp in the creature’s grip, his screams turning into pained gasps.

  Thorne’s mind raced, his heart hammering in his chest as he watched in horror. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, the world narrowing to the sight of Sid’s broken form hanging from the serpent’s jaws.

  The creature gave one final, brutal shake and flung Sid’s body through the air. Sid crashed into the ground with a sickening thud, his limp form rolling across the dirt before coming to a stop.

  “Sid!” Thorne screamed, his voice breaking as he scrambled to his feet. His vision blurred with panic, his hands trembling as he stared at Sid’s motionless body.

  The serpent turned its many heads toward Thorne, its eyes glowing with a hunger that sent a chill down his spine.

  Thorne’s heart pounded in his chest, but all he could think of was Sid. Sid lying there, broken, bleeding...

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