The battlefield had long since fallen silent, yet the silence itself felt wrong. It was not peace that lingered over the mithril mine, but something much more heavy like an anchor, something that flowed through the area like the memory of violence unwilling to fade. The earth remained scarred, carved open by steel and force, broken weapons scattered like remnants of men who had once stood with purpose. Even the wind carried weight, dragging across the land as though burdened by what it had witnessed.
Days had passed since the battle, but for Alex, time had done nothing to dull what he had seen. He stood at the edge of the ridge overlooking the mine, his spear resting loosely at his side, his gaze fixed forward yet unfocused. His mind was elsewhere dragged back again and again to the same moment. Steel colliding with steel. Movements too fast for the eyes to follow, power that made the very ground tremble.
Sir Vald. Kael Draven.
That clash had not been a fight he could understand. It had been something far beyond him, something that left behind not just destruction at every Conner, but a clear, undeniable truth that struck hard he was weak. Not in strength alone, but in perception, in control, in everything that truly mattered on a battlefield where monsters walked as men.
His grip tightened slightly around the shaft of his spear.
I couldn't even see it
he muttered under his breath, the words slipping out before he could stop them
What you saw was the difference
The voice cut through his thoughts like a blade through cloth. Calm. Controlled. Absolute and destructive.
Alex turned immediately.
Sir Vald.
He was not standing like a commander reviewing his soldiers, nor moving like a man preparing for battle. Instead, he sat upon a jagged outcrop of stone, his posture straight, unmoving, his blade driven deep into the rock before him. At a glance, it might have seemed like rest like quiet reflection but the air around him betrayed the truth,It moved.
Not like wind, not like natural flow,It responded.
Alex's brows drew together as he watched, a faint unease settling in his chest. With each slow breath Vald took, something subtle moved, as though the mithril itself recognized him, as though he was not simply holding power but drawing from it, syncing with it, bending it into something that existed between man and weapon.
Commander
Alex called, unable to hide the tension in his voice.
Vald did not respond immediately. His eyes remained closed, his breathing steady, until finally he spoke, his voice low but carrying effortlessly.
You were there
It was not a question.
Alex straightened. Yes
A pause followed, heavy and deliberate.
Then tell me Vald continued, opening his eyes at last, sharp and unwavering, what you did.
The question struck deeper than any blade.
Alex hesitated. For a moment, he searched for an answer, something that could make sense of what had happened, something he could present as understanding.
He found nothing.
I don't know he admitted.
Silence once again came thick and suffocating.
I moved Alex continued forcing the words out, but it wasn't conscious. It felt like my body acted before I could think Like something just took over
Vald's gaze did not change.
That is not an answer he said flatly.
I know
Another pause. Then, without warning, the air moved again.
You called
Theo's voice entered the space as quietly as his presence. Alex hadn't heard him approach. Hadn't sensed him at all. Yet there he stood, as though he had always been there, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable but faintly amused.
Vald's eyes flicked toward him briefly, then returned to Alex.
You will spar him
Alex blinked once. Now?
Yes
Theo let out a small breath, almost a chuckle, his gaze settling on Alex with renewed interest. Him?he asked, not mocking, but clearly unconvinced.
Fight,Vald said, leaving no room for argument.
Theo shrugged lightly. Alright.
Alex lowered his gaze for a moment before reaching down and picking up his spear. It was simple, unremarkable in appearance, lacking the presence of a blade forged from mithril, lacking the intimidation of something crafted for dominance. Yet his grip was steady.
Theo noticed.
A spear? he said, tilting his head slightly. "That's your weapon of choice again
Alex lifted it without hesitation. Yes
Theo exhaled slowly, shaking his head. That kind of weapon isn't suited for this level
For a moment, Alex said nothing. Then his eyes sharpened.
I chose it he said calmly because it can do things a blade cannot
A faint smile touched Theo's lips.
Then show me
And in the next instant
He vanished.
No step. No signal.
Just gone.
Alex's instincts screamed as something tore through the space in front of him. He reacted on impulse his spear rising just in time
CLANK!
The impact rang out violently, the force of it traveling through his arms and into his core, nearly forcing him back. Theo was already there, already moving again, his strikes coming not as wild attacks but as precise, calculated cuts meant to overwhelm without wasting motion
Left. Right. Down.
Each strike cleaner than the last.
Alex blocked barely. His footing shifted, his muscles straining as the pressure mounted instantly. There was no easing into it, no testing phase. Theo was not holding back.
You're thinking too much, Theo said quietly as another strike came.
CLANG!
Alex staggered, his breath catching.
Too fast
You're already behind
Another strike crashed down, heavier this time, sharper, faster, forcing Alex to react purely on instinct. His thoughts scrambled, trying to catch up, trying to make sense of movements that were already happening before he could process them.
I saw it before Alex muttered under his breath, frustration rising I reacted
Then do it again Vald's voice cut in, cold and absolute.
Theo moved again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Deadlier.
And then
Something changed.
The world slowed.
Not entirely. Not completely. But enough.
Theo's movement became clearer. The path of his blade, the shift in his stance, the intent behind each motion it all aligned in a way Alex had never experienced before.
I see it he whispered.
His body moved.
Wham!
The block was clean.
Perfect.
Theo stopped for the briefest moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Oh
Vald's gaze sharpened
There it is
Alex didn't hear them. His breathing had changed, slowed, deepened, every unnecessary thought stripped away until only what mattered remained. There was no fear. No hesitation. Only focus.
First Seal the words left him naturally, not forced, not fully understood, but real.
Concentration
Theo moved again, this time with intent, his strikes no longer casual but measured, testing, pushing. Yet now, Alex followed Not flawlessly not perfectly but enough to stand enough to answer
The air Secured around them, tension building as something unseen moved.
Vald watched in silence.
Then, faintly
He smiled.
Open it
Something broke.
Not outwardly, not violently, but internally a boundary, a limit, something that had been holding back what lay beneath.
And in that moment
Alex changed.
Not in appearance. Not in overwhelming power.
But in presence.
His eyes steadied completely, his stance grounded, his movements no longer chasing the fight but entering it.
Theo stepped back slightly, this time not out of surprise, but acknowledgment.
Now this he said quietly his tone sharpening, is worth something
Alex lowered his stance his spear steady his focus absolute.
For the first time
He was not reacting.
He was ready.
And far from the ridge, beyond the quiet of the battlefield, a rider cut through the opposing wind at full speed, carrying with him the weight of the king's command.
New orders were coming.
And with them
A war far greater than the one they had just survived