Vortex Origins
Chapter 95: The Third creature wave - 13

Chapter 95: The Third creature wave - 13

Ash kept staring at the spot where the man had vanished. The cracks in reality were gone, but their weight still pressed on his chest.

A hand touched his shoulder.

Ash flinched and turned, blade half-raised—only to find Alex standing there. His eyes were wide, still shaken.

"That guy... He called you by name. Do you know him?"

Ash looked down, his thoughts spinning.

"No. I don’t think so."

His voice was hollow.

"I’ve never seen anything like him."

Alex was about to speak again, but a Grimhorn lunged from the side, snarling.

Ash didn’t think. His blade flashed—and then fire.

A wave of heat tore across the battlefield, burning everything in its path. Grimhorns screamed as they turned to ash, both the living and the dead.

The flames cleared. A voice rang out.

"No need to worry anymore—because the Son of Flame has arrived!"

Ash turned toward the voice.

Kael stood atop a shattered rooftop, hands on his hips, fire flickering around his legs. He let out a loud laugh, basking in the silence he’d created.

Behind him, Max stepped up and scanned the ruins below. His jaw clenched.

"So many bots... This wasn’t supposed to happen."

Kael kept smiling. His gaze swept the battlefield—then locked onto Ash.

Max shook his head.

"We almost lost everything. Those bots gave their lives—"

Kael cut him off with a laugh.

"Toys, Max. Nothing more."

"They won us the battle"

Kael’s flames crackled louder.

"Wrong. I won the battle."

With that, he leapt from the wall. Fire burst from his body as he soared across the sky, leaving trails of heat behind.

Ash watched him go, his grip tightening around the hilt of his blade.

The battlefield still smelled of blood and smoke—but the silence that followed felt heavier than the fight.

Kael soared through the air, flames trailing behind him like banners of war. Below, the battlefield stretched—Grimhorns packed the ground like insects swarming to a carcass.

He stretched out a hand.

A wall of fire burst from his palm and slammed into the horde. Screams cut through the roar as everything in its path turned to ash—skin, bone, armor, nothing remained.

Kael laughed as the charred remains curled and crumbled.

Then he stopped.

Through the blaze, one figure kept walking. Hooded, calm, untouched. The Grimhorns split around him without hesitation, racing forward while giving the stranger a clear path.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"He’s not one of them. That means he is likely a tier 5."

He dropped lower, drifting closer. The fire coiled around him, ready to strike.

Then something lunged from the side.

A mouth, wide and full of jagged fangs, came out of the air like a trap.

"What the—?!"

Kael jerked back, fire exploding from his feet. The jaw snapped shut just short of him, missing by inches.

He landed hard and turned.

A dragon.

Or what was left of one.

Its wings were torn, scales peeling away. Flesh hung in ribbons from its bones. Its eyes—empty pits glowing with black flame—locked onto Kael.

Rot clung to its breath.

Kael grinned.

"A dragon? Alright. Let’s see if it burns."

He shot forward. One punch—flames riding his knuckles—slammed into the dragon’s skull. The beast stumbled back, crashing into the ground.

Flames burst from beneath the earth. They wrapped the creature, climbed its limbs, devoured its corpse. The fire screamed as it tried to consume the dead flesh, burning slower than usual.

Kael didn’t care. He watched the thing burn, breathing in the heat.

Then he looked back toward the hooded man.

"Let’s see your face."

The figure smiled, lifting his chin. Shadow peeled back from under the hood, revealing pale skin marked with faint black lines.

Kael froze.

A sharp pain crawled through his chest. Not through the skin. Not muscle. Deeper.

Inside his Soulcore.

He gasped and stumbled, clutching his ribs.

"What... was that?"

His breath came ragged. His fire flickered.

The man didn’t speak.

He just kept smiling.

Kael stared down the hooded man.

"I don’t know what you just did."

he forced a grin.

"but it didn’t work."

The man’s shoulders shook. A low laugh slipped from under the hood, growing louder with every breath.

Kael scowled.

"Whatever. Goodbye."

He thrust out his hand.

Nothing.

Only wind.

Kael blinked.

"Huh?"

The hooded man raised his own hand.

Behind him, the undead howled and charged.

Kael dropped into a stance, fire flickering faintly around his arms—but it didn’t rise.

Then came a flash of silver.

A blade carved clean through one of the undead.

Ash stood in front of Kael, his sword already raised, eyes locked on the hooded man.

More creatures surged forward. Ash moved like water through stone, cutting down each one without slowing.

Kael took a step back, panic rising in his voice.

"Why the hell won’t my flame work?!"

Ash didn’t look back.

"Same thing happened to Kevin. Go to the wall. Ask him what to do."

Kael hesitated.

"Wait—you’re gonna take this thing on a—"

He stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing.

"Forget it. You’re stronger than most of us anyway."

Ash gave a small nod and slashed through another ghoul.

Kael turned and ran for the wall.

Ash dashed past the falling corpses. The press of the undead closed in around him, but he didn’t stop.

If I’m right... he’s the one controlling them.

The hooded man stood still in the middle of the chaos. His eyes met Ash’s.

Something cracked inside Ash’s chest. A jolt, like nails across glass. Gone just as fast.

The man lifted his hand.

Bones tore up from the soil.

Skeletons clawed their way out, grasping blades of rusted metal and cracked bone. They came fast.

Ash hissed through his teeth.

"[Skill: Phantom’s Stride]."

Time split.

His body moved before the world caught up. He reappeared in front of the hooded man, blade pressed to the robed chest.

The man’s eyes went wide.

He gasped.

"How? You... I damaged your Soulcore—how are you still using your skill?"

Ash flinched.

He hadn’t expected words. The voice was deep, almost human.

His father once told him—some creatures can speak. Some even think like people.

Ash didn’t care.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

He pulled the blade back—and sliced through the man’s neck.

The head hit the dirt. The body slumped forward.

Behind him, the skeletons collapsed to dust. The dead stopped moving.

Then came a whisper in Ash’s mind:

[You have vanquished a Tier 5 Creature: Nyxian Death Mage. Gained 10 Soul Energy.]

Ash staggered and dropped to one knee, sword buried in the dirt.

The Grimhorns had seen it all. They stopped. Then, slowly, began to pull back.

Their snarls faded.

A cold wind rolled over the field.

Then—

Crack.

All at once, the Grimhorns froze. Solid ice wrapped around them, locking them mid-motion, their bodies crystalized in a blink.

Ash looked up.

Kevin hovered above the field, frost curling from his fingers. His eyes were calm now—clear. Whatever curse had gripped him was gone.

Ash turned his head. Kael was safe, standing beside Max on the wall.

He breathed in.

And for the first time since the fighting started—

He smiled.

They had survived.

His brothers were save.

They had won.