The Black Iron base did not breathe.
It endured.
Stone walls rose like cliffs, cold and unmoving, swallowing sound before it could travel too far. Torches burned along the pillars, their flames steady, disciplined—like everything else in that place.
And yet, something had changed.
Ishimo stood at the center of it.
Around him, hundreds of soldiers held their ground, bows raised, arrows drawn. The formation was perfect, drilled into muscle memory—but their eyes betrayed them. The precision remained. The certainty did not.
They had seen something.
Something they could not measure.
Subastian stepped forward.
No rush. No wasted movement.
"lower your weapons."
The words didn't echo.
They settled.
For a moment, hesitation rippled through the ranks. A few soldiers glanced sideways, uncertain. Then discipline won.
Strings loosened.
Arrows dipped.
The quiet shift passed through the hall like a wave.
Ishimo glanced around, satisfied.
"much better"
Thomas hadn't moved.
His head stayed lowered, gaze fixed somewhere between the floor and his own thoughts.
"sir can I talk to you"
Subastian's eyes slid toward him.
"about what Thomas?"
Thomas swallowed.
"can it be just us please"
A pause.
Subastian studied him—just long enough to notice the tension in his shoulders, the slight tremor in his stance.
"ok"
Ishimo stretched, rolling his shoulders like he'd just woken from a nap instead of a fight.
"you go talk while I go check something out when I get back we'll start training"
Subastian's voice followed him.
"where will you be heading"
Ishimo didn't stop walking.
"I'm going to check on someone"
The air cracked.
Thin shards formed behind him, spinning slowly—mirrors that reflected pieces of the room: soldiers, pillars, shadows, fragments of faces.
Then they folded.
Gone.
The space closed as if it had never opened.
Subastian watched the empty air for a second longer than necessary.
"ISHIMO Natal… quite interesting."
He turned, cloak shifting lightly behind him.
"let's go to my room to talk Thomas"
Thomas nodded quickly and followed.
They walked through the hall together.
No commands were given.
None were needed.
Soldiers stepped aside instantly, heads lowering as Subastian passed. The silence that followed him wasn't forced—it was understood.
Power didn't need to announce itself here.
It was recognized.
---
Far from stone walls and order—
The forest swallowed sound.
Branches twisted overhead, blocking out most of the sky. What little light slipped through broke apart against leaves and bark, scattering across the ground in uneven patches.
Nothing moved without reason.
Nothing made noise without consequence.
Two figures pushed through it anyway.
Each step slower than the last.
The girl spoke first, her voice dragging slightly under exhaustion.
"Ash we should find a place to sleep if we keep walking we might collapse"
Ash didn't look at her.
His eyes stayed forward, scanning what little he could see between the trees.
"do you know where we are we can't just sleep here it's dangerous"
She let out a weak breath.
"so what we've seen worse"
Ash shook his head, the motion sharper than his condition allowed.
"Ashley no we're not sleeping in the forest of death"
Ashley's lips curved faintly, though the expression didn't fully form.
"since when do the woods frighten the great Ashton? you've faced Wraiths with less whining"
Ash huffed quietly.
"you seem to be forgetting that I'm only 16 years old Ashley"
She opened her mouth—
"we almost died and we'll die if we keep walk—"
The world tore open.
A blast of fire exploded in front of them.
Heat slammed into the trees, snapping trunks like brittle sticks. The ground shook as flames burst outward, devouring everything in their path.
"Ash—!"
"sis duck"
The earth answered him instantly.
Stone surged upward, forming a jagged barrier just as the fire crashed into it. Cracks spidered across its surface under the impact, heat seeping through in waves.
Ashley stumbled back.
"what was that!"
Ash tried to respond—
But his body refused.
A violent cough ripped through him.
Blood followed.
It spilled past his lips as he dropped to one knee, hand bracing against the stone. His vision blurred, edges of the world softening.
Ashley turned immediately.
Pain twisted through her abdomen, sharp enough to force a gasp from her. Her hand pressed against it instinctively.
Ash saw.
Even through the haze.
He reached out, his hand brushing against her—warm, unsteady, stained red.
"Ash— you haven't recovered yet relax"
Her voice wavered despite her effort to steady it.
Her eyes flickered.
A faint glow began to form.
Ash grabbed her wrist before it could grow.
"you are more… drained than me let's just run"
Her lips trembled.
"but Ash—"
A voice cut through the forest.
"wait people"
It came from somewhere ahead.
Strained.
Urgent.
Like someone already losing.
"shit run don't just stand there"
Ash and Ashley froze.
They couldn't see who spoke.
But something else made itself known.
The forest shifted.
Not with wind.
With weight.
Branches snapped.
Leaves trembled.
Something moved through the trees—slow, deliberate, unstoppable.
It emerged piece by piece.
Too large for the forest to hide.
Ashley's breath caught.
Ash forced himself upright, though his legs barely obeyed.
The Wraith stood before them.
Towering.
Its form twisted beyond anything familiar—five heads rising from a single massive body, each turning independently, searching, watching.
The central head lowered slightly.
Nine eyes opened.
All at once.
There was no blindness in that gaze.
No escape in its awareness.
Ashley's grip tightened.
"Ash you heard him let's get out of here"
She didn't wait.
She lifted him, forcing her body to move despite the pain clawing through her muscles.
Each step burned.
Each breath hurt.
But she ran.
Branches lashed against them as they pushed forward. The ground dipped and rose unpredictably beneath their feet.
Behind them—
The Wraith didn't rush.
It didn't need to.
It watched.
Followed.
Knew.
Ash's vision flickered.
The voice from before still echoed faintly somewhere ahead.
Still alive.
Still fighting.
But whatever stood behind them—
Wasn't something they could face.
Not like this.
Not tonight.
The forest closed around them as they disappeared deeper into the dark.
And behind them—
Nine eyes remained open.