The forest swallowed Ash whole, darkness closing in as he ran deeper along the hidden path Mira had shown him.
Branches whipped at his face, roots threatened to trip his tired legs, but adrenaline fueled his flight.
Behind him, the sounds of Riverend the shouts of officers, the general confusion faded into the night, replaced by the pounding of his own heart and the rasp of his breath.
He followed Mira's instructions blindly, searching for the split oak she had mentioned. The forest floor was uneven, treacherous in the near-total darkness beneath the dense canopy.
Twice he stumbled, catching himself just before falling, the effort sending jolts of pain through his still-healing body.
The sword fragment in his chest remained quiet, its energy apparently depleted by the brief manifestation in the village hall.
Ash felt vulnerable without its warmth, relying solely on his own limited strength and endurance.
How had they found him? Or rather, how had they connected him to Kalen?
The captain's words echoed in his mind reports of unusual System manifestations, tracking former Imperial Guards loyal to the Valerian family.
Varius wasn't just hunting a rumored survivor; he was actively investigating anomalies that might lead to him.
Panic threatened to overwhelm him, but Ash forced it down. Panic led to mistakes, and mistakes now would be fatal. He focused on putting one foot in front of the other, on navigating the unfamiliar terrain, on reaching the relative safety of the deeper woods.
Finally, he spotted it a massive oak tree whose trunk had been split down the middle by lightning years ago, yet still lived, its two halves reaching toward the sky like supplicating arms.
As instructed, Ash took the left fork of the path, keeping the faint sound of the river to his right.
The terrain grew rougher here, the path less defined. He slowed his pace, conserving energy while listening intently for any sounds of pursuit.
Only the natural noises of the forest reached him the rustle of leaves, the distant hoot of an owl, the murmur of the river.
After what felt like an eternity but was likely less than an hour, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows ahead, moving with silent efficiency through the trees.
"Kalen!" Ash whispered, relief flooding through him.
The older man raised a hand for silence, scanning their surroundings before approaching.
"You made it. Good."
"How did you get away?" Ash asked.
"Old habits," Kalen replied cryptically. "Created enough confusion to slip out unnoticed. They won't find my trail easily."
"They knew," Ash said, the urgency returning. "They knew about the System manifestations, about your service history. They were looking for me specifically."
Kalen nodded grimly. "Figured as much. The census was just a pretext." He studied Ash carefully. "You used the fragment again? In the questioning room?"
Ash nodded. "I had to. They had a detector, and were about to confirm the System activation."
"Describe what happened."
Ash recounted the brief manifestation the blue light, the broken shard appearing in his hand, the instinctive slash that created an opening for escape, and the fragment shattering almost immediately afterward.
Kalen listened intently. "Blue light this time? The first manifestation you described during the bandit attack was red."
Ash frowned, recalling the incident weeks ago. "You're right. It was different. More... controlled, maybe? Less raw power, but it appeared when I focused, not just from instinct."
"Interesting," Kalen mused. "Different colors, different triggers. Suggests the System has multiple aspects, likely tied to your emotional state."
He resumed walking, setting a brisk pace deeper into the forest. "Which means our training needs to change focus."
"What do you mean?"
"Physical recovery is progressing well," Kalen explained. "But your greatest weapon and potentially your greatest liability is that fragment in your chest. We need to understand it, learn to control it, before Varius sends more hunters."
They walked in silence for another hour, Kalen navigating by landmarks invisible to Ash in the darkness. Eventually, they reached the familiar clearing where the cabin stood, a dark silhouette against the slightly lighter sky.
Inside, Kalen quickly secured the door and lit a single lamp, keeping the shutters closed. The small space felt both confining and reassuring after their flight through the forest.
"Get some rest," Kalen instructed, already checking his own supplies and weapons. "We start training at dawn."
Despite his exhaustion, Ash found sleep elusive. His mind replayed the events in Riverend the census, the captain's pointed questions, the activation of the System detector, Mira's unexpected help.
The net was closing. His anonymity, his carefully constructed identity as Ash the scribe's son, had been compromised.
He finally drifted into uneasy sleep, only to be woken hours later by Kalen before the first hint of dawn.
"Time to work," the older man announced, already dressed and equipped.
They ate a quick, silent meal, then headed outside to the clearing behind the cabin where Kalen had established a makeshift training area.
A sturdy wooden post served as a practice dummy, scarred from previous sessions where Kalen had taught Ash basic sword forms with a simple wooden practice blade.
Today, however, Kalen didn't hand him the practice sword.
"Forget everything you know about conventional combat for now," he instructed. "Your power comes from within, from the fragment. That's what we need to access."
"How?" Ash asked. "It only seems to activate when I'm in danger or extreme distress."
"Then we recreate those conditions," Kalen replied bluntly. "Safely, if possible."
He guided Ash to the center of the clearing. "Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Reach inward, toward the fragment. Try to feel its presence, its energy."
Ash obeyed, concentrating as instructed. He could feel the fragment near his heart, a constant subtle warmth, but nothing more.
He tried to summon the blue light he had manifested in the questioning room, focusing on the feeling of controlled defense, but nothing happened.
"I feel it," he reported after several minutes, "but I can't... connect with it. Not like before."
"Frustrating, isn't it?" Kalen commented. "Power that saves your life but refuses to obey your command."
Ash opened his eyes, annoyance flickering within him. "Yes. It feels useless if I can't call upon it when needed."
"Perhaps usefulness isn't its primary function," Kalen mused. "Perhaps it responds to need, not desire." He changed tactics. "Think back to the bandit attack. What were you feeling right before the red fragment appeared?"
Ash cast his mind back to that evening weeks ago. "Fear, mostly. Helplessness. Then... anger. Rage, seeing you wounded, knowing I couldn't protect you."
"Protective rage," Kalen identified. "A powerful emotion. Try to access it now."
"How?" Ash asked, feeling foolish. "There's no threat here."
"Create one in your mind," Kalen instructed. "Imagine someone threatening me, threatening the villagers, threatening Mira."
Ash closed his eyes again, trying to conjure the image, the feeling. He pictured the imperial captain threatening Mira, remembered the fear in the villagers' eyes as the conscription decree was read.
He focused on the injustice, the helplessness, the desire to protect.
The fragment warmed slightly, but no manifestation occurred.
"It's not working," he said, opening his eyes again, frustration mounting.
"Because the threat isn't real," Kalen observed. "Your mind knows the difference." He picked up the wooden practice sword. "Alright. New approach."
He tossed the sword to Ash, who caught it instinctively. "Defend yourself."
Before Ash could react, Kalen launched a swift attack, not with lethal intent but with enough force to demand a response. Ash parried awkwardly, his movements still lacking the fluidity of trained combat.
For the next hour, Kalen pressed him relentlessly, forcing Ash to defend against a continuous barrage of strikes. The older man moved with surprising speed and precision despite his age and old injury, his experience far outweighing Ash's limited training.
Sweat poured down Ash's face, his muscles burning, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He focused solely on survival, on blocking the next blow, on staying upright. Yet despite the physical exertion and simulated danger, the fragment remained dormant.