Thorne’s vision blurred as he stared at Sid, his chest hollowing with dread. Panic clawed its way up his throat, his heartbeat hammering in his ears so fiercely it almost drowned out the beast’s enraged growls. Only one thought cut through the fog choking his mind.

  I have to reach him. I have to protect him.

  Without another thought, he activated Burst of Speed, pushing his body forward in a desperate blur across the uneven ground. The jagged rocks and shifting earth became a smear beneath his feet as he vaulted forward, the rush of wind tearing at his clothes and stinging his skin. He felt the strain, each use of Burst of Speed pulling his stamina reserves, but he didn’t care. Faster. He had to get there faster.

  Finally, he pushed one last time, barely able to halt his momentum as he skidded to Sid’s side. His chest heaved, burning from the exertion. A furious roar sounded from behind him, vibrating through the ground as his Veil Sense pulsed, alerting him that the creature was closing in.

  But he didn’t care.

  His focus sharpened on Sid’s limp form sprawled against the rocks, broken, bloody, and terrifyingly still.

  Thorne’s pulse stuttered, a cold dread settling in his stomach. Sid’s face was almost ashen, the usual color drained away, leaving his lips tinged with white. His tunic was shredded, soaked in blood, and his right arm...

  Gods.

  It ended in a raw, jagged stump below the shoulder, slick with blood that pulsed out in time with his weakening heartbeat. The shock turned Thorne’s stomach, the sight so gruesome he almost gagged.

  Thorne fell to his knees, “Sid,” he whispered, his voice cracking, almost a plea. There was no response. Thorne’s hands shook as he patted Sid’s clothes, searching desperately for a potion, a tonic, anything that might save him. His fingers fumbled, touching only fabric, leather, and empty pockets.

  “No, no, no...” The words fell out of him, broken and frantic, and he struggled to keep his breath steady as the reality of the situation slammed into him. Sid was slipping away right in front of him, and there was nothing, nothing, he could do.

  A hiss sounded from behind him, low and menacing, as one of the creature's heads slithered forward, its gaping maw casting a shadow over them both. Thorne barely registered it; his mind was splintered between rage and a raw, helpless panic.

  The aether around him spiked wildly, thrumming with raw energy, rattling through him in warning of the impending attack. The beast was toying with him, savoring its kill, waiting to pounce.

  Thorne’s vision swam, his veins flooded with the aether’s relentless pull as his Veil Sense pinged urgently, tracking each approaching head. His instincts screamed to move, to fight, but his body was rooted in place as he stared down at Sid’s blood-splattered face, the breaths faint and staggered.

  Every second counted. He knew that. He knew it, and still, he was frozen.

  Sid’s blood trickled down, staining the ground in a dark, spreading pool. Thorne’s fists clenched, the feeling of utter helplessness crashing over him in waves. This couldn’t be happening. He wouldn’t let it end like this, not with Sid lying broken at his feet, the man who’d saved him, trained him, gave him hope for the future.

  He wouldn’t lose him.

  Not now!

  And then he felt it, the air rippling with power, thickening as raw aether built into a violent crescendo. He sensed the change before it happened, the beast gathering aether into its many maws, the crackling energy intensifying, rising to a seething, concentrated mass. The pressure pulsed in time with his heartbeat, warning him, screaming for him to act.

  And then, fury snapped his paralysis.

  Blinded by rage, Thorne sprang to his feet, instinct driving him. Without thought, he activated his Aether Vision, so seamlessly it felt like second nature, letting it consume him, and the world sharpened into radiant, searing light.

  Every tendril of aether pouring from the beast was a network of pulsating energy, weaving through the air and feeding into a deadly glow. But as he watched, something inside him shifted. He felt the aether twisting with the creature’s intent, responding to its call… and then, for the first time, he understood it.

  No, commanded it.

  Something stirred inside him, something primal, something his fear had long suppressed.

  It’s just aether, he realized, the understanding shocking him to his core.

  All his life, he’d treated it as a force to wield carefully, to call upon but never command. But seeing it now, this vast, intricate lattice of raw aether, he felt… a connection. Not the hesitant tether he usually clung to, but something deeper, something that felt as instinctive as drawing breath. Every thread, every pulse of energy in front of him felt reachable, like a network just waiting for him to claim it.

  And without hesitation, he did.

  This energy doesn’t belong to you, he thought, the realization shocking and visceral.

  Then came the fire. A massive torrent of aether flames surging at him, fierce and hungry, like the beast itself. The flames closed in, blinding blue light erupting, and at the very last second, Thorne acted.

  He reached out, raising his hands. His will stretching through the fiery aether, not just touching it but seizing it, feeling the sheer weight of energy in his grip. The beast’s power resisted, writhing and fighting back, but Thorne held on, his fingers tightening as he forced the torrent to slow, to freeze mid-air. The cascade of aether flames stopped inches from his face, licking at him like a caged animal, every spark alive, ready to burn, to destroy. He felt the energy pushing, buckling against him, but he refused to yield.

  The pressure mounted as the aether surged, fighting against his hold, and he realized he couldn’t contain it for long. But he didn’t need to.

  Hands spread wide, he let the aether flow through him, directing the attack with fierce control. The blinding light of aether cleaved in two, his hands guiding it in opposite directions. The energy burned and buckled under his influence, and with a final push, he sent it spiraling away.

  The torrent of flames obeyed, splitting into two furious streams that veered off to the sides, like a river redirected. The blue fire coiled through the air, hissing and snapping as he forced it away. It exploded in twin blasts on either side, the searing blue fire imploding in a cascade of sparks that lit up the air around them.

  The air around him detonated, each burst of energy sending a shockwave across the cliffside, rattling the rocks and shaking the ground beneath him. But as he watched the remnants of the beast’s attack dissolve, the realization hit him with full force.

  The reason he’d struggled with aether control all this time wasn’t because he lacked power. It was because he’d doubted himself. Every inch of his training, his instincts, and his survival had drilled into him the need to hide his abilities, to believe that if he gave himself to the aether, it would consume him. But that was a lie. Right here, right now, he could feel it responding, bending to his will like it was waiting for him to embrace it.

  A dangerous calm settled over him as he turned to face the beast. His face hardened, deadly. The creature’s dozen heads reared back, their hissing momentarily silenced as if sensing the shift in him.

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  “You’re dead,” he whispered, his voice low and full of lethal intent.

  It was his turn now.

  Thorne stretched his hands outward, and with a surge of confidence, he called the aether to him. And it came flooding his core, his body, everything. He felt the surge of power rush through his veins, filling him, tearing into his limbs, his muscles, even his sight until he saw with startling clarity, every detail brought into sharp relief.

  His core throbbed as Aether Surge ignited within him, devouring every thread of energy he pulled in, stoking his power until he was trembling with it, raw and boundless. His skin tingled, his vision pulsed, and his entire body hummed, brimming on the verge of eruption.

  The beast, momentarily stunned, gathered itself and hissed, its heads snapping toward him, sensing the challenge. But Thorne only smirked, his fists clenching as the aether coiled through him like a live wire, amplifying his strength until he was sure he could tear the creature’s heads off with his bare hands if he wanted to.

  The serpent-like heads bore down on him, but he stood unmoved, the exhilaration roaring through him. Finally, finally, he wasn’t holding back.

  This was his full power.

  “Come on,” he muttered, a wicked gleam in his eyes as the aether thrummed in tune with his heartbeat. "Let’s end this.”

  Instead of his usual stance, dagger in hand, he found himself completely unarmed. But it didn’t matter. The aether answered his call. And for the first time, he knew how to wield it. His surroundings flickered through his mind like instinct, each wisp of energy waiting for his touch.

  The beast lunged, and Thorne responded in a flash, his body darting to the side in a streak of silver as if he’d become one with the very air itself. He didn’t just dodge; he barely touched the ground before he was airborne, the aether forming solid steps beneath him, small, glimmering motes of white light that felt solid as stone as he moved.

  This is it, he thought, testing his footing on the invisible platform he’d made mid-air. The beast’s heads snapped at him, jaws clamping down on empty space as Thorne rose higher. A grin spread across his face as he realized just how effortlessly he could now shape the aether. No hesitation, no struggle. Only his will, guiding it like a river.

  Thorne’s pulse pounded in his ears as he felt the boundless energy radiate from his core, spreading through his limbs, sharpening his senses. He was no longer just moving through the battlefield, he was part of it, commanding the very essence around him. Every head of the beast tracked him, snapping and coiling as he moved with a speed he had never experienced before, darting effortlessly across platforms of solidified aether that shimmered like fractured glass beneath his boots.

  This was it, he thought. This was power.

  Thorne’s hands glowed faintly as he gathered the raw, swirling aether around him. With each movement, the energy responded, coursing through him like a pulsing storm just barely contained. The beast towered before him, its heads whipping around in every direction, yet Thorne could feel its focus shift to him, its fury gathering like the weight of thunder.

  Let’s see what this can do, he thought.

  He extended his hands, his fingers curling as he pulled at the invisible threads of energy around him, drawing them together until they formed a dense, shimmering sphere. It buzzed and throbbed with pent-up energy, and with a fierce, wordless shout, he launched it forward. The orb collided with one of the beast’s heads, unleashing a massive, concussive wave that slammed into its scaly hide. The creature jerked back, but one of its other heads lunged at him, jaws open wide.

  Thorne reacted without thinking, thrusting his hand out as the aether surged again. This time, he compressed the energy into a barely-contained pulse. The sphere shook violently in his grasp, barely held together by his will, before he released it, sending out a shockwave that rippled through the air. The force struck the incoming head with brutal impact, flinging it sideways as the surrounding dust and debris were thrown up in a fierce gust.

  Still not enough.

  Another head lashed out from below, and Thorne dropped instinctively, barely brushing one of the aether platforms he’d conjured as he sprang to the side, dodging just in time to feel the rush of air from the snapping jaws. Landing with a fluid roll, he rebounded to his feet, channeling his newfound strength.

  He gathered more of the raw energy, his focus more urgent now. He thrust his arms out, shaping the aether around him in rapid, jagged waves that seemed to tear at the air as they flew. A barrage of aether shards, small and concentrated, shot toward the beast’s exposed flank. They pelted it like an unrelenting hail, each shard sinking into its scales and leaving deep, smoking wounds. The creature let out a guttural roar, twisting its necks in pain as its heads turned their furious gaze back on him.

  Thorne didn’t flinch. His thoughts, laced with adrenaline and instinct, sought to find another way to keep the creature at bay.

  The beast retaliated. Three of its heads coiled back, fangs bared as they lunged simultaneously. Thorne barely had time to react, his body moving on instinct as he sidestepped, weaving between the snapping jaws. One head lashed down in an attempt to catch him off guard, and he had only seconds to respond. Summoning a quick burst of aether, he solidified it into a split-second barrier, feeling the force of the strike as the creature’s maw collided with his invisible defense.

  Before the beast could recover, Thorne leaped onto another aether step, a thought away from escaping its reach. He launched himself upward, darting between the creature’s snapping heads as he drew on more aether.

  Taking a bracing breath, he pulled the ambient aether from his surroundings into himself, feeling his pulse synchronize with the wild energy. He visualized it as a torrent, his mind calling to it like a river seeking a path, and suddenly it responded, forming a swirling, chaotic vortex around him.

  I could get used to this, he thought, exhilarated by the effortless control over the element, his confidence swelling.

  The aether spun faster and faster, whipping up a windstorm of pure, raw power that he directed toward the beast with a fierce, sweeping gesture. The vortex shot forward, crashing into the nearest head with the force of a tidal wave. The creature staggered as it tried to brace itself against the force, but Thorne pushed harder, watching as the vortex splintered against its hide, fracturing into explosive bursts of energy that crackled and arced with a violent, electric light.

  The beast countered with a vengeance, its remaining heads snapping down in quick succession, jaws clamping onto the space he’d just vacated. Thorne darted to the side, feeling the aether lift him with surprising ease, navigating the narrow space between the beast’s heads.

  He moved with speed, weaving between aether platforms he solidified beneath his feet, each step carrying him higher, positioning him above the creature’s reach.

  With a glance down, he saw Sid’s motionless form in the distance, urgency overpowering his newfound confidence. Fury kindled anew within him, a sharp, relentless edge. Gathering all the aether he could muster, he shaped it in his palms, spreading his hands wide as he pulled the energy into a concentrated sphere of blinding intensity.

  Hold it together, he urged himself, his hands trembling from the strain of keeping the energy intact. The beast’s heads turned upward, sensing the danger. Without a moment’s hesitation, Thorne hurled the sphere down with a savage roar, feeling it slip from his grip and explode on contact with the beast’s scales.

  The resulting blast sent a shockwave that nearly knocked him off his aether platform, and for a brief second, he glimpsed the creature's writhing necks, each one snapping in pain, thrashing in an attempt to extinguish the raw energy burning into its hide.

  He watched as two heads fell lifeless to the ground, their weight yanking the nearest one down with them. A wet, sickening thud echoed through the battlefield, followed by the crunch of bone against dirt. A cloud of dust erupted, swirling around the writhing mass, shrouding half the creature in a choking haze.

  For a moment, there was silence. Then the aether beast roared, a deafening, guttural cry of agony that sent a shiver down his spine.

  But the creature wasn’t done. Three heads reared back, and Thorne’s senses flared, warning him of what was coming. They each began to glow, the raw blue light growing brighter as they prepared to unleash another devastating wave of aether breath.

  Thorne’s hands shot up reflexively, and he felt the aether around him bend to his will. He poured everything into the motion, willing the surrounding energy to halt the attack, his mind pushing against the tide of power. The energy obeyed, his sheer will meeting the beast’s attack head-on, halting the deadly stream just inches from his outstretched palms. With a swift, desperate twist, he redirected the surging force, pushing it downwards. The impact scattered in fierce detonations, blue fire exploding against the cliffside in a series of smaller, brilliant eruptions.

  The beast let out a defiant roar, but Thorne’s resolve only hardened. He could feel his control settling into place, the aether answering his commands with greater precision. His entire body thrummed with power, every muscle, every sense sharpened to the highest pitch as he stood before the creature.

  “I’m not done with you,” he hissed, his voice low and deadly.

  Drawing on the nearby aether, he held his hand out to his side, the energy pooling into his open palm. With a slow, almost ritualistic movement, he shaped it into a mass of rippling force, condensing the energy until it was dense and volatile, pulsating like a beating heart. He hurled it with a fierce swing of his arm, the mass streaking through the air before detonating on one of the creature’s necks. The explosion was brutal, raw power tearing through scales and muscle, leaving a smoldering wound that leaked aether.

  The creature screamed in pain, its movements growing slower as it recoiled, stunned by the impact. Thorne took advantage of its momentary pause, dashing across a series of aether steps, each one forming in front of him as he pushed forward, closing the distance with a speed that felt almost unnatural. With one final surge of aether, he formed a blade of pure energy in his hand, crude yet deadly. He plunged it into one of the creature’s necks, twisting with a fierce snarl, feeling the energy pulse through the beast’s flesh as it began to dissolve from the inside out.

  One head collapsed, falling lifeless to the ground with a thunderous crash, but the beast still had strength, its remaining heads turning toward him with a renewed fury. But Thorne was beyond caring. The aether pulsed within him, lending him strength beyond his own limits, and with every fiber of his being, he was determined to see this fight through to the end.

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