CHAPTER 7 — Unstable Alliance
The creature didn't rush.
It observed.
Just like Kael.
That alone—
Made it dangerous.
Riven's grip tightened.
Wind spiraled violently around his arm.
"…We hit it together or we die."
Kael didn't respond immediately.
His gaze was locked on the creature's center.
That eye.
"…It's not fully here."
Riven blinked.
"What?"
"Like the last one."
Kael's voice was precise.
"…But worse."
The creature twitched—
And suddenly—
One of its limbs stretched across the distance.
Instantly.
Riven reacted first.
"Move!"
A burst of wind exploded beneath him, launching him sideways.
Kael—
Didn't move.
The limb stopped just before hitting him.
Caught.
By shadows.
Dozens of them.
Layered.
Stacked.
Reinforced.
Kael's eyes darkened.
"…You're predictable."
The shadows tightened—
But instead of crushing—
They slipped through the limb.
Phasing.
Testing.
Learning.
The creature reacted violently.
Its body glitched—
Then—
Split.
Two halves.
Both moving.
Riven's eyes widened.
"…It can duplicate?!"
"…No," Kael said.
"…It's unstable."
Then—
He moved.
Faster than before.
His body blurred forward—
The shadows trailing like a living cloak.
"Kael—WAIT!"
Too late.
Kael's hand shot forward—
"Shadow Grasp."
But this time—
It didn't aim at the body.
It aimed—
At the eye.
The core.
The shadows pierced into it—
And—
The world distorted.
For a second—
Kael wasn't there.
He was somewhere else.
Dark.
Endless.
Watching.
Being watched.
Then—
He was back.
The creature screamed.
Not in sound—
But in reality.
The space around them cracked.
Riven dropped to one knee.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Kael didn't answer.
His expression—
Changed.
"…I touched it."
The shadows surged violently—
Responding to something deeper.
Something older.
"Riven."
His voice was different now.
Heavier.
"…Attack it."
Riven didn't hesitate.
A compressed blast of air shot forward—
Striking the exposed core.
The creature convulsed—
Its body collapsing inward—
Glitching uncontrollably.
Kael clenched his fist.
"Now."
The shadows—
Exploded.
Engulfing the entire thing.
Compressing.
Crushing.
Erasing.
Silence.
Then—
It was gone.
No fragments.
No remains.
Nothing.
Riven stared.
Breathing heavily.
"…What the hell are you?"
Kael stood still.
The shadows around him—
Different now.
Deeper.
More violent.
"…I don't know."
A notification flickered—
But only Kael saw it.
[Irregular Entity Eliminated]
[Authority Fragment Acquired]
[Warning: Assimilation Incomplete]
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"…Authority?"
Something moved—
Above.
Watching.
Closer now.
Interested.