Night had settled over Verdanthos.
The fire had burned down to glowing embers.
Eldric sat near the edge of the camp, keeping watch while Sarah and Grace stood outside the shelter, taking turns watching the surrounding forest.
Inside...
Azrion slept.
His breathing was calm at first.
Then his brow tightened.
His fingers moved slightly.
And suddenly—
He was somewhere else.
Not Verdanthos.
Not the tournament.
A memory.
A grand hall illuminated by enormous chandeliers.
People stood along both sides of the room.
Nobles.
Guards.
Members of ancient families.
At the very end of the hall stood an empty throne.
The King was dead.
Assassinated before he could produce an heir.
The Queen was gone as well, leaving the royal family with a kingdom on the verge of uncertainty.
Without an heir...
The succession would become a battlefield.
The royal family summoned two of Britain's most powerful houses.
House Caerwyn.
And...
House Blackmere.
The Caerwyns were an ancient Welsh bloodline.
The Blackmeres were one of England's oldest aristocratic families.
They had been rivals for generations.
Neither trusted the other.
Yet when the royal family asked how the throne could be preserved...
Both houses gave the same answer.
"Adopt one of our children."
The royal council rejected the idea.
The throne needed blood.
Not simply a child raised within the palace.
Then someone proposed another solution.
A child could be born from both houses.
A child carrying the blood of both families.
At first, neither side accepted it.
Then the names were spoken.
Lord Rhys Caerwyn.
Lady Elowen Blackmere.
They had already fallen in love.
Despite belonging to opposing families...
They had chosen each other.
Their families were furious.
But before the conflict could become something worse...
The royal family intervened.
The council made its decision.
Their future child would become the heir to the British throne.
There was no alternative.
The King had left no heir.
The Queen was gone.
The kingdom needed certainty.
And so the two rival families made an agreement.
Their child would belong to the crown.
Not Caerwyn.
Not Blackmere.
The child would belong to Britain.
Months later...
A child was born.
A boy.
The royal court gathered around him.
And the name was chosen.
Azrion.
The memory suddenly distorted.
The faces around him became blurred.
The voices became distant.
Azrion.
Heir.
Prince.
Blood of Caerwyn.
Blood of Blackmere.
Child of the Crown.
The infant began crying.
Then the scene changed.
Azrion was older.
Then older again.
He saw himself being trained.
Studying history.
Learning etiquette.
Learning combat.
Learning how to speak.
How to stand.
How to smile.
How to become a king.
But something felt wrong.
The memories began changing.
His mother's face disappeared.
His father's voice became distorted.
The royal hall stretched impossibly far.
The throne became covered in darkness.
And then...
The river appeared.
The same river from earlier.
His reflection stood within it.
Azrion stared at himself.
"Who am I?"
The reflection smiled.
"You already know."
"Azrion."
"No."
The reflection shook its head.
"That's what they called you."
Azrion's expression hardened.
"Then who am I?"
The reflection stepped closer.
"That's what you should be asking."
The image fractured.
His parents.
The royal family.
The throne.
The two houses.
Everything disappeared.
Only the reflection remained.
And it whispered:
"I am you."
Azrion jolted awake.
He sat upright.
His breathing was heavy.
Sweat covered his forehead.
His heart raced as he looked around the dark shelter.
For several seconds...
He couldn't remember where he was.
Then reality returned.
Verdanthos.
The tournament.
Eldric.
Sarah.
Grace.
He looked toward the entrance.
Eldric immediately noticed.
"Azrion?"
Azrion wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I'm fine."
Eldric frowned.
"You don't look fine."
Azrion stared at his hands.
"They're memories."
"What?"
"I saw..."
He stopped.
He didn't know how much of it was real.
His parents.
The royal family.
The throne.
The two houses.
His name.
Everything felt genuine.
Yet the reflection had made him question all of it.
Eldric stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
Azrion looked at him.
For a moment, he almost answered.
Then he remembered the reflection.
I am you.
"I don't know."
Eldric remained silent.
Azrion looked toward the entrance.
Sarah and Grace were standing guard outside.
The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
"What if..."
He whispered.
"...the memories weren't mine?"
Eldric's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Azrion looked down.
"What if someone wanted me to believe them?"
He clenched his fists.
"What if everything I remember..."
"...was given to me?"
Eldric didn't have an answer.
Neither did Azrion.
And somewhere beneath the surface of the river outside the camp...
His reflection was still smiling.
Azrion remained seated for several seconds, trying to steady his breathing.
Eldric was about to ask another question when a low growl emerged from the darkness beyond the camp.
Both of them froze.
Outside, Sarah immediately turned toward the forest.
Grace lowered her stance.
"What was that?" she whispered.
Another sound followed.
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
The vegetation ahead began to move.
Eldric stood and reached for his weapon.
"Everyone, stay calm."
The guide bots remained strangely silent.
Then the creature emerged.
A Ravager.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary member of its species. Its body was covered in thick, dark fur, and its limbs were built for overwhelming physical strength. Its eyes remained fixed on the camp as it slowly stepped into the firelight.
Sarah frowned.
"That's a Ravager?"
Azrion stood beside Eldric.
"Yes."
"But..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Something's wrong."
The creature was larger than the Ravagers they had expected to encounter. Its muscles were unusually developed, and several old scars crossed its body. It looked as though it had survived countless battles.
Eldric's expression became serious.
"That's no ordinary Ravager."
The beast suddenly lunged.
Sarah moved first.
She reinforced her body with Personal Aether and intercepted it before it reached Grace.
The impact forced her backward several metres.
Her boots dug into the soil.
Sarah gritted her teeth.
"That strength..."
The Ravager barely reacted.
It turned toward her and attacked again.
Sarah blocked.
This time, the force nearly knocked her off balance.
Grace immediately raised both hands.
Water gathered around her arms before forming several sharp streams that struck the creature from the side.
The Ravager staggered.
But it didn't fall.
Azrion watched carefully.
"Don't waste your Aether."
Eldric looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because it isn't fighting intelligently."
Azrion pointed toward the beast.
"Look at its movements."
The Ravager charged again.
Its attacks were powerful but predictable.
It wasn't adapting.
It wasn't setting traps.
It wasn't coordinating with anything.
It was simply overwhelming them through physical strength.
"That's still a Ravager," Azrion said.
"But an exceptionally strong one."
Eldric nodded.
"Probably close to the threshold of Ascended."
The creature roared and charged toward them again.
This time, Azrion stepped forward.
His expression was completely calm.
"I'll take it."
Eldric immediately shook his head.
"Don't underestimate it."
"I won't."
Azrion moved.
The Ravager swung.
Azrion narrowly avoided the attack and struck its side.
The creature stumbled.
For the first time...
It looked surprised.
Azrion landed several metres away.
He stared at his hand.
Something about the fight felt strangely familiar.
The creature charged again.
Azrion raised his weapon.
Their attacks met.
The Ravager's strength forced him backward.
One step.
Then another.
Azrion's eyes widened.
It's stronger than I expected.
The Ravager pushed forward.
Azrion suddenly remembered the reflection.
I am you.
His concentration broke for half a second.
The Ravager struck.
Azrion barely managed to defend himself.
He was thrown backward and landed near the river.
Eldric shouted his name.
"AZRION!"
Azrion pushed himself up.
The Ravager turned toward him.
Its eyes locked onto his.
For a moment...
Azrion saw something impossible.
The creature's reflection in the river wasn't the creature.
It was him.
Azrion froze.
Then the image disappeared.
The Ravager charged.
Azrion's expression hardened.
"Not again."
He raised his weapon.
This time...
He didn't look at the creature.
He looked at the river.
And for the briefest moment...
His reflection looked back.
It wasn't smiling anymore.
It whispered:
"Remember."
Azrion's eyes widened.
The Ravager was already upon him.
And this time...
He was ready.
The Ravager charged again.
Azrion raised his weapon just in time to intercept the attack, but the force behind it drove him several steps backward. His boots dragged through the soil as he struggled to maintain his balance. The creature had no refined technique, no complicated strategy, and no obvious intelligence behind its movements. It simply attacked with overwhelming physical strength.
Yet something had changed.
Azrion noticed it immediately.
The second attack had been slightly different from the first.
Not stronger.
Smarter.
He looked at the creature carefully as it circled them.
"It remembered."
Eldric glanced at him. "What?"
"The way Sarah blocked it."
Sarah's expression tightened. "You're saying it learned from that?"
"Not exactly."
Azrion watched the Ravager's eyes.
"It doesn't understand what we're doing. But it's remembering what works."
The creature lunged toward Sarah.
She raised her reinforced arm to defend herself, expecting the same attack as before.
Instead, the Ravager abruptly shifted its weight and attacked from another angle.
Sarah barely avoided it.
The creature had adjusted.
Her eyes widened.
"That wasn't luck."
"No," Azrion replied. "It watched you."
Grace sent a stream of water toward its legs, forcing it to change direction. The Ravager stumbled for only a moment before regaining its footing. It immediately began moving differently, avoiding the areas where Grace's attacks had previously landed.
Eldric's expression became grim.
"It's learning."
"Slowly," Azrion said.
"How slowly?"
Azrion watched the beast.
"Slow enough that we can still exploit it."
The Ravager charged.
Eldric moved first, attacking from its blind side. The creature reacted, turning toward him faster than before. Eldric managed to evade the strike, but the Ravager followed his movement.
It hadn't done that earlier.
Eldric landed several metres away.
"It's getting faster."
Azrion nodded.
"And more importantly, it's becoming familiar with us."
The four awakened exchanged uneasy glances.
The creature wasn't simply fighting them anymore.
It was studying them.
Azrion stepped forward.
"I'll draw its attention."
Eldric immediately objected.
"That's dangerous."
"So is letting it learn all four of us at once."
Azrion tightened his grip.
"If it focuses on me, the rest of you can attack while it is occupied."
The Ravager growled.
Azrion took a breath.
Then he charged.
Their movements collided.
The Ravager swung.
Azrion avoided it.
He attacked.
The creature blocked.
Azrion changed direction.
The Ravager followed.
He attacked again.
This time, the Ravager anticipated him.
Azrion's eyes widened.
It learned that quickly?
The beast struck.
Azrion blocked, but the impact sent pain through his arms.
He retreated.
The Ravager followed.
Again.
And again.
Every exchange became harder.
Not because the creature was suddenly evolving into another rank...
But because it was slowly understanding the battle.
Azrion's breathing became heavier.
Then he heard something.
Not from the Ravager.
Not from Eldric.
From inside himself.
You're hesitating.
Azrion froze for half a second.
The Ravager swung.
He barely avoided the attack.
Azrion's eyes widened.
Who said that?
Silence.
The Ravager attacked again.
Azrion defended.
You heard me.
His eyes narrowed.
"You."
The Ravager's attack forced him backward.
Eldric shouted from behind him.
"Azrion!"
"I'm fine!"
You're lying.
Azrion's expression changed.
The voice wasn't coming from outside.
It wasn't coming from the river.
It was inside his mind.
But it didn't feel like his own thoughts.
You keep asking who you are.
Azrion blocked another attack.
You keep searching for an answer.
He stumbled.
But you never ask why you're afraid of the answer.
"Shut up."
Eldric heard him.
"What?"
Azrion didn't answer.
The Ravager attacked again.
This time, Azrion reacted too slowly.
Its strike sent him tumbling across the ground.
He rolled and stopped near the river.
His reflection stared back at him.
The same face.
The same eyes.
But now...
The reflection was speaking.
"You can't defeat it by fighting the same way."
Azrion stared.
"You."
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
"You."
Azrion's breathing became unsteady.
"No."
"Then who am I?"
Azrion couldn't answer.
The Ravager charged toward him.
His reflection smiled.
"Move."
Azrion instinctively rolled aside.
The Ravager's attack missed.
Azrion sprang back onto his feet.
The voice spoke again.
"It learns from repetition."
Azrion watched the beast carefully.
"So stop repeating yourself."
He understood.
The Ravager had learned his movements because Azrion had been relying on the same patterns.
He changed his stance.
The creature charged.
Azrion moved differently.
The Ravager reacted too late.
Azrion struck.
It staggered.
But it didn't fall.
Instead, its posture changed.
Azrion's eyes widened.
It had learned again.
"Faster than before."
Azrion clenched his jaw.
"Then we finish this quickly."
The Ravager roared and charged toward the entire group.
Sarah reinforced herself and intercepted it.
Grace attacked from the side.
Eldric moved behind it.
Azrion followed.
For several moments, the four awakened worked together perfectly.
The Ravager was forced backward.
But then it adapted.
It began predicting Sarah's movements.
It avoided Grace's water.
It turned toward Eldric before he attacked.
And when Azrion approached...
It was already waiting.
The creature struck him before he could react.
Azrion was thrown into the ground.
Pain spread through his body.
He tried to stand.
His legs shook.
The voice returned.
"You're losing."
Azrion wiped the dirt from his face.
"I know."
"Then why are you still fighting?"
Azrion looked toward Eldric.
Then Sarah.
Then Grace.
Finally...
He looked at the river.
His reflection was no longer smiling.
"Why?"
Azrion slowly stood.
"Because..."
He tightened his grip.
"...I don't know who I am yet."
His eyes hardened.
"But I know who I want to become."
The voice fell silent.
For the first time...
It didn't argue.
The Ravager charged again.
Azrion stepped forward.
And somewhere deep within his mind...
Something awakened.
Not a power.
Not yet.
Something much more dangerous.
A second voice.
The Ravager stopped.
That alone made Azrion uneasy.
It had been attacking relentlessly for several minutes, yet now it simply stood there, breathing heavily as it watched them.
Sarah tightened her grip.
"Why did it stop?"
Eldric didn't answer.
Azrion stared at the beast.
"It isn't tired."
"Then what is it doing?"
"Thinking."
The word left Azrion's mouth before he could stop himself.
The Ravager slowly turned its head toward Grace.
Grace immediately raised her hands, gathering water around herself.
"Why is it looking at me?"
Azrion's eyes narrowed.
"Grace, don't move."
The Ravager suddenly turned and sprinted toward the forest.
Everyone froze.
"It ran away?" Sarah asked.
"No."
Azrion's expression darkened.
"It's luring us."
But Grace had already noticed something.
The creature had left several deep tracks leading into the forest.
She looked at the trail.
"Maybe it's injured."
Eldric immediately shook his head.
"Don't follow it."
Grace hesitated.
The Ravager disappeared between the trees.
Silence returned.
Then they heard something.
A faint sound of water.
Grace's eyes widened.
"There's a stream over there."
Azrion looked at her.
"Don't."
"But if there's water, I can use it without spending my own Aether."
Azrion stepped forward.
"Grace."
She stopped.
His expression was serious.
"That's exactly what it wants."
Grace looked toward the forest.
The sound of running water continued.
Then she noticed something strange.
The Ravager had stopped leaving tracks.
"How did it..."
Her voice faded.
The voice inside Azrion's mind whispered.
"It knows her weakness."
Azrion's eyes widened.
It knows she needs water.
"And it knows she will investigate it."
Azrion immediately turned.
"GRACE!"
Too late.
Grace had already moved toward the sound.
She stepped through the trees and discovered a small pool surrounded by rocks.
Water flowed gently into it.
She lowered her hands.
"There's plenty."
Then she noticed something.
There were no animal tracks around the water.
No insects.
No birds.
Nothing.
Grace's expression changed.
"...It's a trap."
The Ravager emerged behind her.
Grace turned.
The creature attacked.
She tried to defend herself, but she had been caught completely off guard.
"GRACE!"
Sarah sprinted toward her.
Eldric followed.
Azrion ran as fast as he could.
But the Ravager had already positioned itself between Grace and the others.
Grace attempted to escape.
The creature blocked her path.
She tried to summon water.
Nothing happened.
The nearby water suddenly pulled away from her control.
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
The Ravager had learned.
It wasn't simply attacking her anymore.
It understood that her strength depended on controlling the battlefield.
It had deliberately brought her somewhere where she couldn't use that advantage effectively.
Grace looked toward the others.
"Run!"
The Ravager struck with terrifying speed as graces body collapsed from having all her ribs crushed from the inside as the bones stabbed every organ in her body . She flew across multiple trees as they snapped in half
Grace was killed
Silence.
Sarah stopped moving.
Eldric froze.
Azrion stared.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to disappear.
"Grace?"
There was no response.
Sarah rushed toward her, but Eldric caught her arm.
"Don't!"
"LET GO!"
"The Ravager is waiting for us!"
Sarah looked at him.
Her expression changed.
The creature stood between them and Grace.
It wasn't simply attacking.
It was watching.
Learning.
Azrion felt something inside him go completely silent.
Then the voice returned.
"You wanted to know who you are."
Azrion's hands trembled.
"Now you know one thing."
He stared at the Ravager.
"You are someone who loses people."
Azrion's eyes darkened.
"Shut up."
"Then prove me wrong."
The Ravager lowered its body.
It was preparing to attack again.
Azrion slowly raised his weapon.
Behind him, Eldric whispered:
"Azrion..."
Azrion didn't look back.
His eyes remained fixed on the Ravager.
"Get Sarah out of here."
Eldric hesitated.
"What are you going to do?"
Azrion stepped forward.
"I'm going to make sure it doesn't learn anything else."
The voice inside his mind whispered one final sentence.
"Then stop fighting like Azrion."
Azrion froze.
"Fight like yourself."
For the first time...
Azrion didn't know whether the voice was helping him...
Or leading him somewhere he was never meant to go.