Kaine was making his way back to the place where his friends awaited him. The thoughts of what Rahil had said kept tormenting him. The opening gates, the power flowing from them, and the mysterious Azarel, like a ghost, flickering somewhere at the edge of his consciousness. He understood that he was about to face something far more dangerous than anything he had encountered before.
When he reached the school, his team was already there, discussing the plan for the next day.
“Where have you been?” Velos asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. His eyes gleamed with curiosity. “We were starting to think you’d decided to run off and leave us here.”
“Yeah, as if he could ever abandon us,” Lux chuckled, creating small glowing orbs around himself. “Did something happen?”
For a moment, Kaine thought about whether to tell them about his meeting with Rahil, but he decided to keep it to himself for now. Too much had been said, and he still hadn’t sorted out what was real and what was merely an illusion.
“Nothing important,” he replied, trying to appear as calm as possible. “Just needed to take a walk and clear my head.”
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
“If you want your head cleared, I can do that for you,” Velos teased, instantly teleporting behind Kaine and giving him a light tap on the back of the head.
“You’re as funny as ever,” Kaine smirked, nudging him with his elbow.
“Alright, guys,” Fauna intervened, shifting from her animal form back into her human one. “We’re not here to fight each other. We need to discuss what we’ll do next.”
“Tomorrow, Elementum promised to give us a new mission,” Immunis said quietly, adjusting his gas mask. “I hope it’s not just another training exercise.”
Kaine nodded, but deep down he knew that their next mission would be far more difficult than they could imagine. Rahil’s words still echoed in his mind. "The one who also carries the power of a god..."
He remembered Azarel’s face, which had flashed before him in a dream. Could this person be his greatest enemy? And if so, would he have the strength to stop him? Kaine felt his hand clench into a fist involuntarily.
“We need to be prepared,” he finally said, looking at each of his friends. “We don’t know what lies ahead, but we’ll get through it. We always do.”
“What an inspiring speech,” Lux smirked, but there was a spark of respect in his eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing, leader.”
“I always do,” Kaine said confidently, though even he wasn’t entirely sure how true that was.
At that moment, he felt a faint, barely noticeable breeze. It was as if an invisible hand had gently touched his shoulder. Kaine turned around, but no one was there.
Only the shadow on the wall, flickering in the lantern’s light, seemed for a moment just a little darker than usual, as though something—or someone—was watching him from afar.