CHAPTER 6

Time was a precious gift - often spent until it’s worth is realized too late, leaving only regret behind. And Amelia for sure wished she had a thousand more years of “time” to spend before her brain decided to start going haywire with the weirdest dreams. Amelia’s thoughts were restless as she lay in bed, staring at the wooden beams above her. The faint chirping of crickets outside did little to soothe her. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping for a dreamless sleep - but fate had decided otherwise.

The darkness folded over Amelia like a heavy blanket. Slowly but surely, faint glimmers of light broke through - a circle of figures, their faces blurred and shifting, like smoke caught in a mirror. They didn’t speak, but she could feel them watching, their silence louder than any words. That silence didn’t last long however, as one of the figures started yelling, their voices also distorted, “How did we…mess that… what were… doing?”

What sounded like an intense argument broke out with lots of shouting and yelling. “... Blame this on us? …”

“What do you know?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Another man snarled. “We’re not just after people - we’re after the system itself. If we can control the strands, we can control the gods!”

Their words were slowly getting clearer and louder, overwhelming Amelia until… everything seemed to fade away… Suddenly the figure’s reappeared, and it seemed like the same thing would continue once again, like an endless cycle of yelling, obnoxiousness, and… There was something different this time… the figures were becoming more… clear? Amelia gasped. They were all looking at her.

“You…” One of the figures pointed a finger in her direction.

“No! No… no no no NO!” Amelia screamed with terror, her voice slowly rising.

“Are the one.”

The room was still, the only sounds the quiet clinking of mugs and the occasional crackle of the hearth. Amelia sat huddled on the couch, her hands wrapped around her cup of hot chocolate. She tried to focus on its warmth, but the dream still clung to her, vivid and unsettling. “Yeah, they definitely weren’t able to see me in my dream.” Amelia sighed.

Lex frowned as Amelia finished recounting her dream, tapping his fingers against the table. Zack leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his face a mixture of worry and frustration. Jay and Etal exchanged nervous glances. “We should take this to Dray and Vey, perhaps they’ll be able to help us deal with… that.” Lex said, breaking the silence.

A sharp, feminine voice cut in. “If what Amelia saw is true, then Chaos isn’t what we think they were. They’ve changed. We thought they were just trying to steal your powers or killing potential enemies. They’re after control - complete control by abusing strands and breaking the system." Vey spoke as she and Dray walked into the room.

Zack scoffed, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. “Yeah, well, good luck to them. They’re not getting anywhere near us.”

“Don’t underestimate them,” Dray warned from the corner of the room, his tone unusually sharp. “If they were able to leave a note on our heavily warded grounds without our notice, then they might be able to infiltrate too.”

The faint hum of an alarm started, it was low and barely noticeable, but quickly grew louder. The room froze. “What’s that?” Amelia asked.

Dray was already moving, striding to the window and pulling back the curtain. His jaw tightened. “Perimeter breach.”

“Perimeter what now?” Zack asked, standing abruptly.

“Someone’s here,” Vey said grimly. “Get your weapons. Now.”

The others exchanged nervous glances but obeyed, scrambling to grab their gear. The air seemed to grow heavier, as if the room itself knew something was wrong. That’s when Lex’s foresight flared to life, images flashing before his eyes - a dark figure and an open window. His stomach churned.

“They’re coming,” he said, his voice low but urgent. “But I can’t tell where.”

Jay moved to the door, peeking into the hallway. “I don’t see anyone-”

A deafening crash from somewhere near shook the room, cutting him off. The sound of splintering wood echoed through the air, followed by hurried footsteps. Vey’s portal shimmered into existence, a swirling vortex of deep purple and blue light that filled the room with an unearthly hum.

“Go, now!” she commanded, motioning toward the portal as she drew her blade.

Amelia hesitated, her legs frozen in place. “What about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you!” Vey snapped. “Move!”

Lex grabbed Amelia’s arm, practically dragging her toward the portal. Zack and Jay followed close behind, weapons clutched tightly in their hands. Dray shrugged off his jacket, revealing a series of intricate runes etched into his arms that began to glow faintly.

“I’ll hold them off, Vey,” Dray said, stepping toward the door. “Plan A. You get as many people as you can to safety.”

The group plunged into the portal, the world around them twisting and warping as the magic carried them away. A harsh, metallic clang echoed through the room as Chaos agents finally forced their way in.

Vey turned, but just as she went toward the portal, an armored agent lunged at her. She twisted to avoid the blow, her sword flashing in the dim light as she parried the attack.

Dray slammed into the agent to give her a moment to recover. He seemed to be waiting until everyone left.

When Vey glanced back, the portal was already destabilizing, flickering like a dying flame. “Damit,” Vey hissed, her knuckles white around the hilt of her sword. Dray slammed his fist into the ground. A surge of energy erupted, sending several agents flying backwards. The portal flickered one last time and vanished, leaving only empty air.

“Just get the others,” Dray said. “They’ll be fine.”

The group stumbled out of the portal and into the dense shadow of a forest. The air was cold and damp, and the sound of rustling leaves filled the silence left by their hasty escape. “Where’s Vey?” Zack asked, spinning around as if expecting her to appear at any moment.

“The portal must’ve collapsed before she could get through.” Lex said grimly, scanning their surroundings. His foresight buzzed faintly, seeing flashes of steel and clashing at the edges of his mind.

Amelia’s breath came in shallow gasps as she clutched her rapier. “We’re on our own?”

“Looks like it,” Jay muttered, his eyes darting to every shadow. “Where even are we?”

“No idea,” Lex replied, stepping forward. “But we can’t stay here. They’ll track us. Let’s use the Linker.” He pulled out a small, disk-shaped device. It gleamed faintly under the dim light. He pressed his thumb to the glowing center, causing the runes to flicker to life, a sign that it recognizes the user.

He murmured the activation spell - a simple, rhythmic chant Vey had drilled into them. The air around the device shimmered, and a soft, golden mist began to swirl within the disk’s crystal center. Slowly, the mist turned into an arrow-like shape, pointing steadily toward the east. The Linker works linking to another Linker that has the same (something magical) or the creator can set a specific target location for the Linker to point towards. It might be a little off, but it’s within the margin of error.

The group exchanged uneasy glances, but there was no time for debate. They began to move, their footsteps crunching softly against the underbrush. Amelia stumbled, her head still spinning from the dream, the fight that was probably happening, and now the escape.

Suddenly, a distant howl cut through the forest, low and haunting. Jay froze. “Please tell me that wasn’t the trackers.”

“It can’t be,” Lex muttered, his foresight flaring once again. Images of many dark figures stalking through the forest flooded his mind. “ But they’ve definitely sent trackers,” Lex said, his voice grim. “We need to keep moving.”

And so they ran, hopefully to safety - they were never told where it would lead them to, they were just told to follow the Link, and occasionally stopping to check the Link again and correct their path. However, no matter how much they ran, the howling just kept on getting louder. Soon, it was a chorus, their cries rising into a haunting melody that seemed to echo from all directions.

Another howl pierced the air, closer this time. The group instinctively started running even faster. Lex’s foresight flickered, showing flashes of glowing eyes in the darkness, bared teeth, and a towering figure with fur as black as night and eyes burning with darkness. Lex gasped, visibly shaken. “What’s wrong?” Zack hissed. “You gonna tell us what you saw yet?”

“It’s… I think it’s the guy I saw back in the school basement.”

“Is he part of the trackers or Chaos?” Zack asked.

“I’m not sure.” Lex replied grimly.

“Well that doesn’t sound too good.” Jay remarked. “We should probably pick up the pace then, eh?”

And so they sprinted, at full speed, not looking back at the wolves that were definitely chasing them. There has to be a way to stop this chaos… to find balance, Amelia thought. Suddenly, she stopped. My world is getting torn apart. I… I need to stop the chaos. I can’t just keep on running for my life. She realized one thing - if she could find a way to stand firm in the storm, to accept what came her way without breaking, then perhaps… perhaps she could find a way to help them all survive. She took a deep breath, focusing not on the wolves or the threat ahead but on herself, on her balance. She wasn’t fighting. She was running. That was going to stop. Now.

She turned back, holding up her rapier in one hand, her other hand getting ready to launch spells. “I’ll take them on, I don’t care anymore!” She screamed with as much courage as she could muster. Oh my god, I regret doing that. That was a horrible decision. I’m definitely going to die now.

“Crap! Amelia are you crazy?” Zack shouted, his panic cutting through the stillness. His eyes locked onto her, wild with worry. “If you are, let’s be crazy together!” He sprinted toward her.

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The hum stopped.

A shockwave shot out from Amelia’s body, faint but undeniable, stopping everyone and everything - the leaves, the group, their pursuiters, and even the forest. A notification rang out - a ding from somewhere within her.

Level up!

New Strand Unlocked: Harmonic Nexus Lvl. 0 → 1

You are the eye of the storm. Where others see chaos or order, you see their potential union. Wield it wisely. - Ometecuhtli

Skill Earned: Balance of the Cosmos Lvl. 0 → 1

You now possess the unique ability to influence the balance between opposing forces. When your body and mind align with both chaos and order, you can manipulate the flow of energy to restore balance. The greater the imbalance, the greater energy required to balance.

A yin and yang symbol appeared on Amelia's right hand, marking the awakening of her strand. But before the group had any chance to process what just happened, a voice - cold and calm - broke the silence. “Very well done,” the voice said. “Very well done indeed.” A man stepped out from the shadows, his black cloak billowing with an unnatural wind.

Amelia staggered back, gripping her rapier tightly, the glow of her newly awakened Strand still flickering around her. “Who are you?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady.

He chuckled, the sound reverberating through the stillness. “Let’s just say I’m someone who appreciates… potential. Yours, in particular, is extraordinary. Join me, and I’ll show you how to wield that power without restraint.”

Amelia glared at him, her courage flaring despite the fear clawing at her chest. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m not interested in joining Chaos. All I’ve seen is them doing more harm than good.”

His smirk widened. “A pity. There is no order without chaos, There is no chaos without order. Order is brought to chaos, or Chaos is brought to order. Chaos is the natural order of things. And even the most ordered system has some elements of chaos. They are both essential and inevitable. Good and bad are… not very good terms to use past elementary school.” He raised a hand, and the wolves behind him tensed, ready to pounce. “But I’m not unreasonable. If you won’t join me willingly… I’ll just have to take what I want.”

Zack stepped forward, planting himself beside Amelia, his fists clenched. “You’ll have to get through us first.”

The man advanced, his hand extending as an ominous black chain materialized, snaking toward the group. Zack moved closer to Amelia, his fists clenched tightly as despair began to settle over the group.

The man’s chains lashed out, a flurry of blackened steel snaking through the air. Lex dodged, barely avoiding a blow that slammed into the ground where he had stood moments before. Amelia launched a barrage of spells, but they fizzled against the darkness that seemed to shield the controller.

The group fought back with everything they had. Zack used his gauntlets to strike the wolves, yet they didn’t seem to be taking much damage. He even tackled a wolf mid-leap, wrestling it to the ground, while Lex shot arrows along with magic spells and used his foresight to call out attacks. Occasionally parrying and dodging any wolves that came too close. Amelia, exhausted but determined, sent bursts of flame toward the advancing beasts. Yet it wasn’t enough.

A massive wolf broke through their defenses, knocking Zack into a tree with a sickening thud. Lex shouted “CRAP!” As Zack slumped to the ground, he groaned but was luckily still alive. Amelia tried to use her newly acquired strand. She closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself. The world around her seemed to pulse with energy, chaotic and wild. She felt it - both order and disorder, their raw forces tearing at the fabric of everything. But she could also feel the potential for balance. The power to realign them, to restore balance.

"Balance…" she whispered under her breath.

Suddenly, the hum returned. But this time, it was stronger, deeper, like a cosmic symphony.

A surge of energy erupted from Amelia’s body, a brilliant pulse of light that bent reality around her. The wolves’ controller stopped in his tracks, his smirk faltering as he felt the disturbance. The forest itself seemed to hold its breath. Chaos and order, opposites in constant friction, began to intertwine under Amelia’s command. Her eyes glowed faintly. The winds calmed, the trees stopped swaying, and the chaos that was powering the controller started to fade out with the order.

Balance was restored. But only temporarily. Amelia shuddered as the power drained through her energy reserves. The effort of maintaining such control overwhelmed her. The balance she had imposed was temporary, and she could already feel it slipping. The chaos around her, the constant instability, was too much. It was too powerful - including the man.

“Is this… all I can do?” she whispered, her vision blurring.

The man grinned, sensing her weakening state. “You think you can stop me with your new strand? I am an incarnation of Chaos girl. You’re just a speck in my storm.”

Amelia’s breath quickened. She tried to push back, tried to realign the forces. But it was too much. Her arms trembled, and the glow in her eyes faded as the flow of energy became erratic, unstable. She had to stop - she couldn’t keep this up.

The air around her felt suffocating. She was running on empty, and she could see it now. The chaotic force of the enemy was greater than her own power could handle, especially with everything spiraling out of control - the trackers, the bombings at the school. There was not enough order in the air to fuel her abilities either.

She was collapsing.

“Amelia!” Jay and Etal screamed.

The man advanced toward her, sensing his opportunity. “Pathetic,” he sneered. “Chaos could’ve grown your massive potential so much.” But before he could do anything, there was a sudden shift in the air. A pulse of raw, focused energy cracked through the battlefield. The man staggered, his sneer replaced with surprise.

A figure leapt into the clearing, a blur of motion. The air seemed to crackle with the intensity of his arrival. He landed with a shockwave that shook the ground, his eyes locked on the controller, cold and unyielding. The man snarled, ready to fight back, but the new arrival raised his hand, and everything around them seemed to freeze. Time slowed to a crawl, the energy in the air bending at his will.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” the figure said, his voice calm but filled with authority. The figure wore a mask hiding their identity, but it did little to hide their aura of overwhelming power - no, order. The man barely had time to react before the new arrival struck, a single blow of raw energy sending him flying back. The man hit the ground hard, groaning as he struggled to regain his footing.

Amelia’s eyes fluttered open, seeing the figure standing in front of her. The energy in the air was still, calm. Balanced.

"Who... who are you?" she whispered, still dazed.

They laughed. “Don’t worry about that right now. I’m here to make sure you survive this.”

They turned toward the man, who was already on his feet, rage in his eyes. “You’re lucky I’m not in the mood to kill today. But trust me, that won’t be the case next time.”

The man hesitated, clearly calculating whether to engage in another fight. But with a sudden snarl, he began to change. Bones cracked, his body twisting and shifting in ways that defied logic, his form elongating into a hulking, ferocious wolf. The air around him thickened, the trees seeming to shudder under the force of the transformation. His eyes glowed an eerie, unnatural yellow, and his teeth were as sharp as daggers. “This is my world now,” the man-wolf growled. “You’ll be nothing but prey in my darkness.”

The two clashed - fists and claws meeting in a flurry of motion that sent shockwaves through the air. The ground trembled beneath them as they fought, the force of their blows causing trees to snap and the very earth to shake. The man-wolf used his domain to summon shadows and darkness to overwhelm. As the battle dragged on, the man-wolf was slowly starting to show signs of weakness. The domain was pushing him to his limits, and the figure attacking him wasn’t pulling their punches. Their attacks were precise, each strike echoing with the weight of unyielding power. Every time the man-wolf attempted to summon his dark domain, the figure summoned bright energy countering it, pushing the darkness back. But as the battle continued, the man-wolf’s ferocity only seemed to increase. His eyes glowing a deeper yellow.

Suddenly he glared at the group. Sensing danger, the figure raised a hand, and a barrier of light formed, shielding the group RIGHT before wolves reappeared around them, snarling, but they couldn’t break through the protective force. “You won’t win this one,” the mysterious figure said coldly, as they raised their other hand toward the sky. “Give up.”

A wave of bright holy energy cascaded through the air, a burst of force so intense that it sent shockwaves through the trees. The man-wolf faltered, the dark energy around him shrinking rapidly. The figure stepped forward, unfazed by their lightshow. “Go now,” he said to the group, his voice commanding.

Amelia’s legs felt like jelly, and she could barely keep herself upright, but the figure’s command didn’t leave room for argument. Lex was already ushering the others back, grabbing Zack, who had barely gotten to his feet after being knocked into the tree. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the figure as the terrifying battle raged on. They were powerful, yes, but they weren't invincible. She didn’t want to leave him alone in this fight, but there wasn’t anything she could do otherwise. Feeling powerless, the group scrambled through the forest as the wolves gave chase. The barrier, while powerful, would not hold forever. Their only chance was to distance themselves and get out of the immediate danger zone.

Amelia could barely keep up, her legs shaking and her energy spent, but she pushed forward. The wolves weren’t far behind - they were coming in quick. The group finally reached a dense group of trees and bushes, with vines twisting into a nearly impenetrable wall. “This way!” he shouted, cutting through the foliage with a quick swipe of his blade. “We can lose them here!”

The group dove into the thicket, moving swiftly, staying low. Behind them, the wolves’ growls and the controller’s dark laughter rang through the trees, but the thick underbrush slowed the pack down. The group was already gaining distance. “We need to get higher, use the trees,” Zack said, gasping for breath as he shoved a massive branch out of his path. “They’re fast on the ground.” He led the way up a nearby tree, his agility shining through the chaos around them. The others quickly followed, clambering up with varying degrees of skill. From their new point of view, they could see the wolves’ leader snarling, the pack still searching for their scent.

“We’ll have to wait until they pass,” Lex muttered, keeping his voice low. “If we move too much, we’ll be spotted. Once they’re past, we use the linker and go back on our way to safety.”

But as they waited, the air thick with tension, something unexpected happened. There was a sudden shift in the air, and a cold, eerie laugh escaped the man-wolf’s lips. “You think you’ve won?” he sneered. “I’ve learned a trick or two from the depths of Chaos!” Before the figure could react, the man-wolf’s hand shot out downwards, not in a physical strike, but into a pose that seemed to warp reality itself. A swirling dark energy exploded outward in a pulse of shadowy tendrils. They writhed like snakes, bending the very fabric of space and time reaching the figure at lightspeed. Tendrils of dark energy coiled around the figure like chains, pulling them into a vortex of pure darkness. The world seemed to twist and distort as the figure tried to resist and failed, and POOF. The figure was gone. This world is a world that left behind those that were too slow to keep up.

Dray and Vey’s Pov

Before the chaos agents had infiltrated the school, Dray and Vey had prepared beforehand with a tiny communication device (called “Thought Transmitter” or T.T as short) to talk to each other once they were separated. The device worked through magic - it would intercept the brain's conscious thought signals once activated. It was activated by a quick keyword, with Dray’s being “melon”. The opposite sides would instantly hear the thought without having to activate theirs. They also came up with plans, and were currently executing Plan A. Namely letting Chaos attack, as a form of training for the trainees. Yes, they lied about the final challenge being the “final.” Vey’s duty was to watch over all the trainees and make sure none of them were able to get injured too seriously. “Vey, report status.” Dray thought as he did a graceful frontflip over a group of Chaos agents, landing in the middle, and creating a red magical sword with the tip of his finger, and with a flick of a wrist cleanly and soundlessly killed all the chaos agents around him with a 360 degree slice. He didn’t have to join really, but he claimed that he had some “revenge” to take care of (he definitely didn’t just want to have fun killing some Chaos agents).

“Everyone’s fine, Dray. They’re fighting back very well.” Vey rolled her eyes. “Don’t underestimate your training.”

Dray laughed. “It’s just that, we don’t know all the variables - who’s coming and who’s not. It’s a bit of a wild try, but I’m glad it’s turning out to be well.”

Outside the room, in the schoolyard were many more Chaos agents, some of which mounted upon Deorchors, a rare and expensive breed of elegant dark horses once believed to have been used by the devils themselves. The devils in this world were like gods - except opposite in every way. Still, they had one similarity - they support those that support them (although in the case of the devils, they rarely give back support unless it was tremendous). One case of such support was Chaos - an organization strived on spreading more and more chaos for some unknown reasons. It was mostly hidden away from the public and under the government's nose until recently, they had launched a huge attack on schools all over the country Elkraford.

Suddenly, a loud, guttural roar echoed across the schoolyard. Both of them turned their attention to the source of the sound. Emerging from the shadows was a massive figure - a Chaos general. He was in jagged black armor, his face obscured by a spiked helmet. He held a massive war axe that seemed to hum with an ominous energy.

"Ah, a big fish," Dray muttered, his excitement barely restrained. He cracked his knuckles, preparing to leap back into the fray.

Dray groaned but stayed his hand, though the itch to fight was almost unbearable. “Fine. But if he even looks at our trainees the wrong way—”

“I’ll handle it,” Vey said, her tone firm. “Focus on sticking to the plan. Chaos doesn’t know we’re monitoring them this closely. Let’s keep it that way.”

The Chaos general barked orders, rallying the remaining agents into a tighter formation. Vey continued to watch intently while Dray retreated into the shadows, ready to move in incase things escalated too far.