The silence within Kael's dilapidated shack was a fragile truce, broken only by the crackle of the meager fire and the soft, ragged breaths of the exhausted group. Outside, the pre-dawn mist hung heavy over the derelict docks, cloaking the world in a shroud of gray.
Maya was diligently cleaning and binding her side wound, her face pale but determined. Akane, after tending to her own arm, was now methodically organizing the few meager supplies Kael had. Arata, still buzzing with nervous energy despite his exhaustion, was inspecting the shack's rickety walls, peering through cracks, a silent sentinel. And Ashley, ever vigilant, sat near the single, warped window, her keen senses and sharp eyes piercing the gloom, missing nothing. She shifted, her gaze locking onto a distant, almost imperceptible shimmer on the murky water.
Soren, meanwhile, slumped against the damp planks, the Prime Stone a heavy, pulsing weight against his chest. He was utterly drained, his body screaming for rest, but his mind refused to quiet. The images of the Royal Hound's terror, the Fisherwoman's fanaticism, and his own raw, uncontrolled outburst replayed in his mind. The terrifying chill of the Unwritten King's power, the sensation of being a mere vessel, still clung to him like icy tendrils.
"A heartless murder, a soulless body, and a true living human being," Fang's voice echoed in his thoughts, that unsettling, cryptic assessment. Who am I? What am I becoming? He still felt the remnants of the cross in his eye, the faint ghost of the yellow-white hair, even as his own black strands returned.
Kael, observing him with unreadable eyes, tossed a small, hard biscuit. "Eat. You'll need it."
Soren caught it mechanically. He looked at Kael, then at his friends. He had used the power, almost lost himself, and now they were all trapped together, running from a kingdom he barely understood.
Suddenly, Ashley tensed. Her head snapped towards the water. "Something's coming," she whispered, her voice low and urgent. "And it's fast. And… cold."
A ripple spread across the murky water of the inlet, too uniform to be natural. A sleek, almost impossibly fast vessel emerged from the mist, propelled by unseen forces. It wasn't a common ship; it was a dark, elegant craft, its hull painted in the deep blues and silvers of the Royal Guard, but without sails or oars. Standing at its prow was a figure who radiated an aura of quiet, chilling power.
This was no ordinary guard. He was tall and lean, clad in meticulously tailored dark armor that seemed to absorb the dim light rather than reflect it. His face was sharp, aristocratic, with eyes like chips of pale, ancient ice. He wore no helmet, his silver hair pulled back in a severe knot. This was a man who moved with absolute authority, every gesture precise, every breath controlled.
"Commander Valerius," Kael hissed, his grip tightening on his blade. "Damn it. He's the King's personal enforcer. They don't send him for stragglers."
Valerius's voice cut through the damp air, calm and clear, yet it carried an unnerving weight that seemed to press down on them. "So, the rumors are true. The 'Unwritten King' has taken shelter among the dregs." His gaze, like a predator's, swept over the shack, then settled, with an almost bored precision, on Soren. "A mere boy. How disappointing. And to think, you wield such a glorious, destructive power."
He stepped off the vessel, landing silently on the rotting planks of the dock. His presence alone seemed to chill the very air. Behind him, a small squad of elite guards, armed with glowing energy staves, disembarked, fanning out with silent efficiency.
"Come quietly, boy," Valerius continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "The King wishes to understand this… anomaly. Your existence is a blight upon the natural order of this realm. A loose thread in the tapestry."
Soren pushed himself to his feet, the exhaustion momentarily forgotten, replaced by a surge of defiance. Bligh? Anomaly? He looked at Maya, Ashley, Arata, and Akane – his friends. He wouldn't let this cold, arrogant man take them.
He could feel the Prime Stone vibrating against his skin, a fierce, hungry pulse. The Unwritten King within him stirred, less of a desperate scream and more of a low, dangerous growl. Valerius's words, his dismissive tone, sparked a familiar anger, but this time, Soren tried to keep it contained, to mold it.
"I won't let you," Soren said, his voice raw, but steadier than before.
Valerius merely sighed, a sound of profound boredom. "Foolish. You do not understand what you are, boy. You are a mistake. An echo of a chaos we thought long tamed." He raised a hand, and a ripple of silver energy, cold as deep ice, shot towards the shack, intending to shatter it.
Soren roared, the sound ripped from his gut. His body surged with power, but this time, he fought for control. His hair didn't turn fully gold; instead, streaks of yellow-gold flared through his black strands, battling with the deeper hue. His eyes blazed with a fierce, golden yellow, and for a fleeting instant, a cross-shaped glow appeared in their depths, a momentary glimpse of the ultimate power struggling for dominance. The light crown of the Unwritten King didn't form, but a faint, almost imperceptible black aura shimmered around his head, the silent testament to his struggle.
He threw his hands out, not in a wild burst, but a concentrated shield of dark energy that crackled and hissed as it met Valerius's silver wave. The shack groaned, but held. The clash of powers sent a shockwave through the docks, splitting the very air.
Valerius's cold, calculating eyes widened imperceptibly. "Interesting," he murmured, a hint of something other than boredom in his voice now. "You fight it. You truly are an anomaly. Perhaps… a broken one."
The air crackled between Soren and Commander Valerius, a silent declaration of war across the rotting planks of the dock. The elite guards behind Valerius moved like shadows, forming an impenetrable barrier, but it was the Commander himself who commanded all attention. His pale, icy eyes, devoid of any warmth, were fixed on Soren, a subtle disdain twisting his aristocratic features.
"An echo of chaos," Valerius repeated, his voice a low, chilling melody. "A mistake. We shall correct it." With a mere flick of his wrist, the very air around Soren twisted. Silver energy, cold and sharp as frozen blades, lashed out, slicing through the space where he stood. Hjg
Soren roared, the sound pulled from the very depths of his being. The Prime Stone screamed against his chest, a desperate, warning thrum. He didn't just dodge; he blurred, a raw burst of speed that left afterimages. He felt the familiar surge of the Unwritten King trying to take hold, the golden-yellow eyes threatening to fully eclipse his own blue, but he fought it, channeling the power through sheer, desperate will. His black hair was now violently streaked with defiant yellow gold, and his eyes were a blinding mix of blue and that searing golden hue, flashes of a cross-shaped glow briefly appearing and vanishing in their depths.
Valerius merely inclined his head. "Faster than anticipated. But still, unrefined." He advanced, not with haste, but with an unnerving, deliberate grace. He didn't carry a visible weapon, yet his hands moved, weaving complex patterns in the air. Each gesture birthed a surge of frigid, silver energy – shimmering blades, constricting tendrils, or bursts of concussive force that hammered the ground around Soren.
Soren retaliated, not with the cold precision of the Unwritten King's previous forms, but with a desperate, brutal counterattack. Shadows exploded from his fists, meeting Valerius's silver constructs with deafening cracks of light and energy. He was fighting on instinct, pushing his body and the Prime Stone beyond anything he'd ever endured. Each clash sent jarring tremors up his arms, threatening to dislocate his shoulders. His stamina was burning away like paper, but he held on.
"Soren, don't let him get close!" Maya yelled, her voice hoarse, attempting to conjure a small fireball to assist. Akane conjured gusts of wind, trying to disrupt Valerius's aim. Arata stood ready, a terrified but steadfast guardian over Ashley, who, despite her fear, keenly observed every single move Valerius made. Kael, blade ready, darted around the perimeter, looking for an opening, a weakness in the Commander's flawless movements.
"Your friends," Valerius scoffed, deflecting a wild blast of shadow with a casual wave. "They are merely anchors, dragging you back to this mundane existence. Embrace the power, boy! Become the destruction you were meant to be!"
His words hit Soren like a physical blow, echoing the taunts of his own internal reflection, the whispers of his past rampages. 'A heartless murder.' The rage, the guilt, the fear of losing control, all converged. He saw Horuto's fading smile, his parents' faces, and then the blur of his own childhood fury, a monster unleashed.
Valerius saw the momentary flicker of doubt, the surge of raw, untamed emotion. "There it is," he purred, his eyes glinting. He brought both hands together, and the silver energy coalesced into a single, blinding spear of solidified light, aimed directly at Maya.
"NO!" Soren roared, a sound torn from his very soul. Time seemed to stretch, every second an eternity as that silver spear hurtled towards Maya. He knew he was out of options, cornered and exhausted. He clenched his jaw, focusing every ounce of his will. The world around him shimmered, then froze. The silver spear hung motionless in the air, the guards mid-stride, even the dust motes suspended. He had stopped time.
The effect was fleeting, a mere fraction of a second, but it was enough. With a burst of desperate speed, Soren yanked Maya out of the path of the frozen projectile, pushing her roughly behind him. The moment he released his focus, time lurched forward, the silver spear now harmlessly embedding itself in the rotting plank where Maya had just stood.
He felt the Prime Stone against his chest suddenly grow scalding hot, pulsing with a wild, desperate energy. It was screaming, straining, on the verge of overloading. He felt Fang's presence, not guiding, but a vast, silent presence, observing, waiting.
This is it, Soren realized, a horrifying clarity in the chaos. I can't hold it back anymore. Not without losing everything.
He threw himself forward, a desperate shield, channeling every ounce of raw, unrefined power into a single, final defense. His entire body flared with an uncontrolled, terrifying fusion of golden light and abyssal shadow. The Prime Stone, pushed beyond its limit, gave a final, agonizing throb.
CRACK!
A sound like thunder ripped through the docks, followed by a blinding flash of golden-black energy. The Prime Stone, the very artifact of his fragmented power, shattered, exploding outwards in a devastating, concussive wave. It wasn't a controlled release; it was a detonation of unimaginable force.
The impact slammed into Valerius, sending him hurtling backward across the water as if struck by a meteor. The elite guards were blown away like rag dolls, scattered and broken against the distant, crumbling structures. The very air shrieked, and a deafening roar tore through the docks, rattling the flimsy shack and sending tremors through the ground.
When the light faded, the dock was in ruins. A massive crater smoked where Soren had stood. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and burnt earth. Valerius was gone, sent flying into the murky distance, perhaps into the deeper channels of the ocean.
Soren was no longer standing. He lay crumpled at the edge of the newly formed crater, his body twisted at an unnatural angle. His jet-black hair was now entirely, vibrantly yellow gold, interspersed with stark, striking white streaks that seemed to shimmer even in the dim light. His eyes, though closed, were no longer just golden-yellow; they were now permanently fixed with a faint, cross-shaped glow in their depths, visible even beneath his lids.
He was still breathing, but his mind… his mind was a blank slate. The crushing force of the exploding Prime Stone, the trauma of the transformation, had wiped it clean. No memories of Horuto, no Maya, no Arata, no Akane, no Fang, no Umbros, no father and mother. Just a void.
The "Echo" fragments of the broken Prime Stone, tiny shards of iridescent light, flickered briefly in the air before dispersing, scattering across the world like falling stars, waiting to be found.
Maya, Ashley, Arata, Akane, and Kael rushed to his side, their faces a mixture of horror, awe, and desperate worry. They had seen him push beyond his limits, unleash a force that bordered on the divine. But the Soren they knew… was gone.
A soft, almost inaudible voice, only heard by Soren's subconscious, whispered in the silence, devoid of its usual arrogance, tinged with a strange mix of regret and anticipation: "A soulless body... now you are ready. Welcome, Null."
The journey had just truly begun.
THE END