Chapter 14: The Arcane General
The wind had stopped.
Not slowed—stopped completely.
The battlefield lay in eerie silence as if the world itself was holding its breath. Smoke hovered unnaturally in the air, refusing to drift away.
Shen slowly opened his eyes.
His body felt heavy, but not broken. Something inside him was still burning—steady, controlled, unfamiliar.
Kenya rushed toward him first.
"You're finally awake!"
Ruke exhaled in relief.
"I thought you were done for."
Eliz kept her eyes on the horizon.
"That's not the problem right now."
Shen followed her gaze.
Far beyond the ruined battlefield, shapes were moving through the smoke.
Thousands.
Arcane Knights.
Marching in formation.
No chaos. No hesitation.
Just order.
Kenya's expression tightened.
"They're still coming…"
Ruke adjusted his grip on his weapon.
"More than before."
Eliz's voice lowered.
"This feels different."
The ground trembled once.
Then again.
Boom… boom…
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the distance.
Not from the army.
From something behind it.
Even the Arcane Knights stopped moving.
They stepped aside.
Creating a path.
Kenya whispered,
"What… is that?"
A massive shadow emerged from the smoke.
It was not rushing.
It was not attacking.
It was walking forward as if the battlefield belonged to it.
Armor darker than night covered its body, engraved with glowing crimson lines that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Its presence alone crushed the air.
The Commander's expression changed instantly.
"…So it finally appears."
Shen narrowed his eyes.
"What is that thing?"
The Commander answered quietly,
"The Arcane General."
The ground cracked beneath its steps.
Every Arcane Knight knelt as it passed.
Not forced.
Obeying.
Kenya stepped back slightly.
"That's… one of them?"
Ruke swallowed.
"No. That's not like the others."
Eliz tightened her grip on her staff.
"It's something above them."
The Arcane General stopped.
Its glowing eyes lifted toward Shen.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then it spoke.
A voice deep enough to shake the air itself.
"You are unstable."
Shen didn't move.
"I get that a lot."
Kenya blinked.
"Did he just—"
Ruke cut in.
"Don't interrupt this!"
The General tilted its head slightly.
"You carry something not meant for humans."
Shen tightened his grip on his sword.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
A faint pressure spread across the battlefield.
The air grew heavier.
The Arcane Knights further back began trembling.
The General raised one hand.
Dark energy gathered above its palm.
Not an attack.
A warning.
"Then you are an error."
Shen's eyes sharpened.
"Funny."
"I was thinking the same thing about you."
The moment the words left his mouth—
The General vanished.
BOOM!
The ground exploded where Shen stood.
Kenya shouted,
"Shen!"
But he was already moving.
Steel met steel midair.
CLANG!
The shockwave blew apart the nearest ruins.
Shen skidded back, boots carving lines into the ground.
"…Fast."
The General stood where he had just been.
Unmoved.
Unbothered.
Ruke's jaw tightened.
"That wasn't even a full attack…"
Eliz whispered,
"He didn't even try yet."
The Commander stepped forward.
"Everyone… stay back."
Kenya frowned.
"You're going alone?!"
The Commander didn't answer.
He simply drew his sword.
Golden energy ignited around him.
"For this one…"
"…even numbers won't matter."
Shen wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly.
"Great."
"Finally something worth breaking my bones for."
The Arcane General looked at both of them.
Then spoke again.
"Two subjects detected."
"Test begins."
The air distorted.
Reality itself seemed to bend.
Shen and the Commander both felt it at the same time.
Something far worse than power.
Control.
The battlefield darkened completely.
And the Arcane General raised its hand.
"Survive."
BOOM.
🎮 Fun Zone – Arcane Drifters Chapter 14
1. Who impressed you most in this chapter?
☐ Shen ⚔️
☐ Commander 🛡️
☐ Arcane General 😈
☐ Kenya 🔥
☐ Ruke ⚡
☐ Eliz ✨
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2. If YOU were on the battlefield, what would you do first?
☐ Attack the Arcane General immediately
☐ Protect civilians and fall back
☐ Support Shen from behind
☐ Run for survival 😭
☐ Analyze enemy weakness
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3. What do you think the Arcane General is?
☐ A failed experiment
☐ A god-level Arcane being
☐ A human turned Arcane
☐ A weapon created in the Mages' era
☐ Something worse than Arcanes 👀