The forest continued to tremble.
Fragnts of ice fell from the sky.
Uprooted roots covered the ground.
The smoke from the spells still floated among the trees.
And for the first ti since the ambush had begun, the mbers of the Church of Order were retreating.
Malrik Von Tempest, the Scourge of the Seven Frontiers, the Terror of the Crackling of 1164, the Destroyer of Lesser Realms, and twelve other titles that no one rembered, was breathing heavily.
His cape was torn.
His armor cracked.
And a thin layer of frost covered half his body.
In front of him, Seraphina was still standing.
Unchanging.
Her blue eyes seed colder than the ice surrounding her.
Malrik looked at the unconscious inquisitors.
Then at the Fat King.
Then at Kael.
And finally back at Seraphina.
He clicked his tongue.
"This got a little out of hand."
Seraphina didn’t respond.
She just created another ice lance.
Bigger than the previous ones.
Malrik raised both hands.
"Alright.
ssage received."
The lance shot forward.
Malrik smiled and spun on himself, summoning a crimson storm to cover his retreat.
BOOOOOOM.
The ice pierced through the storm.
It didn’t reach him.
But it destroyed the path he was trying to escape through.
Malrik landed several ters back.
This ti without smiling.
Because he had just understood sothing important.
He couldn’t win.
Not against Seraphina.
Not while the Fat King was free.
And definitely not now that Kael was starting to develop abilities of his own.
He looked at the few inquisitors who were still conscious.
"Retreat."
One of them opened his eyes in surprise.
"But the target...?"
"You heard .
We’re retreating."
Malrik sighed dramatically.
"I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but the Glacial Princess is too scary."
Seraphina took a step forward.
Malrik raised both hands again.
"Yes, yes.
I’m leaving."
He turned to Kael.
Pointed at him.
And smiled tiredly.
"This isn’t over."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Who exactly are you?"
It was a critical hit.
Malrik put a hand to his chest.
"That hurt."
Aurelion appeared behind Kael.
"I don’t rember either."
Darius crossed his arms.
"Was he a vendor?"
Even the Fat King tilted his head slightly.
"ow."
Malrik took massive emotional damage.
"I am Malrik Von Tempest!"
"The Scourge of the Seven Frontiers!"
Silence.
No one reacted.
Malrik lowered his head.
"I definitely need a new marketing departnt."
The shadows enveloped the remaining inquisitors.
In a matter of seconds, they disappeared among the trees.
The ambush was over.
The Church of Order had lost.
And for the first ti in a long while, the forest fell silent.
A strange silence.
Heavy.
Exhausted.
Darius dropped onto a rock.
"I hate to admit it.
But we survived."
Aurelion smiled.
"I had fun."
"Of course you did."
"We almost died."
"That’s what makes it fun."
Kael decided to ignore him.
His entire body hurt.
He had cuts on his arms.
Bruises.
Torn clothes.
And he would probably discover new injuries the next day.
He let himself fall to the ground.
Too tired to stand.
Too tired even to think.
Seraphina approached in silence.
She still had small wounds on her arm and forehead.
But they looked superficial.
Kael watched her for a few seconds.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded.
"Mhm."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
Kael sighed in relief.
Only then did he allow himself to relax.
He looked at the Fat King.
The cat was still sitting a few ters away.
Licking his paw.
As if nothing extraordinary had happened.
As if they hadn’t tried to kidnap him.
As if they hadn’t just faced a secret organization.
Kael shook his head.
"You know?"
The Fat King raised an ear.
"I almost died rescuing you."
Silence.
"Several tis."
The cat kept licking.
"And I’m not even sure it was worth it."
Silence.
Kael let out a small, tired laugh.
"Although I guess if they had taken you, Luna would have killed ."
The Fat King’s ears moved.
"And Seraphina would probably have frozen half the city."
Seraphina remained silent.
But she didn’t deny the accusation.
Aurelion looked at her.
"That ans yes, right?"
"Mhm."
Darius took a step back.
For safety.
Kael looked at the cat again.
"Besides...
You’re not exactly the easiest pet in the world."
The Fat King stopped licking.
For the first ti since the conversation began, he looked up.
Kael smiled tiredly.
"But I guess I’m not the best summoner either."
The wind blew through the trees.
Leaves moved gently.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Then it happened.
The Fat King stood up.
Walked slowly.
Without hurry.
Without drama.
Without doing anything spectacular.
And sat down next to Kael.
Nothing more.
He just stayed there.
So close that Kael could feel his warmth.
So close that their shoulders almost touched.
Kael froze.
Aurelion did too.
Darius’s eyes went wide.
Even Seraphina seed surprised.
Because everyone understood what it ant.
The Fat King never did anything he didn’t want to do.
Never.
And he had chosen to sit next to Kael.
Voluntarily.
Without food.
Without negotiation.
Without promises.
Simply because he wanted to — and he patted Kael’s head with a paw.
Kael looked at the cat from the corner of his eye.
"Does that an I did a good job?"
The Fat King closed his eyes.
As if the question were absurd.
Kael smiled.
A small smile.
Sincere.
And for the first ti since he had summoned him, he stopped thinking of the Fat King as a tool.
As a powerful creature.
As a broken summon.
And started seeing him for what he really was.
A partner.
Strange.
Problematic.
Arrogant.
But a partner, after all.
A few ters away, Seraphina watched the scene.
And although her expression didn’t change much, her lips curved slightly.
She took a few ntal pictures of both of them... Yes, of both of them.
A nearly imperceptible smile ford.
Luna would have scread with excitent if she had been there.
Aurelion dropped onto the grass.
"How sweet."
Darius made a face.
"Don’t ruin it."
"Ruin what?"
"The mont."
Aurelion smiled.
"You’re right."
There were a few seconds of peace.
Seconds that none of them would forget.
Because they knew that sothing had changed.
Sothing important.
anwhile.
Far, far away.
In a huge hall lit by white candles.
The mbers of the Church of Order listened to the report.
No one spoke.
No one interrupted.
Malrik stood in front of the central table.
Visibly uncomfortable.
The Grand Inquisitor looked at the docunts.
The mountain incident.
The Abyssal Beast.
The dungeon.
The failed ambush.
All the reports pointed to the sa conclusion.
The sa na.
Kael.
But now there was a new detail.
A much more concerning one.
The Grand Inquisitor looked up.
"The creature voluntarily protected its summoner."
"Yes."
"The summoner developed new abilities related to it."
"Yes."
"And the creature showed behavior different from previously recorded."
Malrik swallowed.
"Yes."
The silence grew heavy.
Finally, the Grand Inquisitor spoke.
"Then our theories were incorrect."
The other inquisitors looked at him.
"The problem is not the creature.
Nor the summoner."
His eyes hardened.
"The problem is that the s are evolving."
Several inquisitors paled.
Because that shouldn’t be possible.
The Chaos entities were unpredictable.
Dangerous.
Absurd.
But they didn’t evolve.
They didn’t change.
They didn’t create bonds.
They didn’t learn.
And yet, that was exactly what was happening.
The Grand Inquisitor closed his eyes.
"Increase surveillance.
And find the Bearer before the next entity appears."
Malrik frowned.
"The next?"
The Grand Inquisitor didn’t answer.
He just looked at an ancient scroll filled with impossible symbols.
And for the first ti in many years...
He felt fear.
---
Back in the forest.
Kael was starting to fall asleep.
Resting his face on Seraphina’s lap — she didn’t protest, and Darius felt the jealousy of his life.
With the Fat King being carried by Seraphina.
Everything seed to be over.
Finally.
But inside his backpack.
The strange relic obtained in the dungeon began to vibrate.
Once.
Twice.
Three tis.
And a blue window appeared before his eyes through a small gap between Seraphina’s legs.
Only he could see it.
[Preparing arrival of the Second Compatible Entity.]
[Estimated ti: 72 hours.]
Kael slowly opened one eye.
He looked at the ssage.
Then he turned over and looked at the sky.
And sighed.
"Peace couldn’t last that long."
Reviews
All reviews (0)