The world was no longer quiet.
Ash still drifted in lazy spirals, but the wind carried movement now — distant howls, clashing steel, and the flutter of scout birds not native to this region.
Kian stood atop the ridge above Ashfall Bastion, cloak tugged by wind, eyes scanning the dark horizon.
Someone had seen the flare. Or felt it.
And they were coming.
[Codex Alert – Regional Detection Node Active]
Scout Signature Detected: Two humanoid lifeforms approaching from southwest ridge.
Estimated Time to Contact: 41 minutes
System Suggestion: Prepare for negotiation or combat.
[Predation Protocol Addendum: One is not prey. The other bleeds loudly.]
Kian turned back toward the Bastion. Stones shifted. Wood creaked. Veyna sat in the shade of a partially built turret, arms wrapped in gauze, her eyes dim but watchful.
"They're close?" she asked.
"Two. One moving with rhythm. Soldier maybe. The other's… limping."
She winced. "I used too much. I can't fight."
"You already fought enough."
He drew a line in the dirt — the start of his next wall layer. A full square enclosure with inverted trap channels at each gate.
"I'll handle them."
He met them at the perimeter trench, right where the ash thinned and the first defense runes flickered faintly.
The first figure walked with casual confidence, one hand resting on the hilt of a hooked blade, the other holding a silver hunter's crest glinting in the dusk.
The second lagged behind, face obscured by a bloodstained hood, favoring one leg.
The leader stopped ten paces from Kian.
"Well now," he said, voice crisp and aristocratic. "Didn't expect to find a functioning system signature this far in the ash."
Kian said nothing.
The man smiled wider. "I'm Ardan Krell. House Krell, Zarethian Empire. Licensed beast-hunter and Rift scavenger. And you... are standing in territory under royal salvage claim."
Kian's eyes narrowed. "Didn't see a flag."
"You will." Ardan's smile never reached his eyes. "Now. That surge yesterday — your doing?"
Kian tilted his head slightly. "Depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you're planning to take something that isn't yours."
Ardan's hand slipped fully onto his blade hilt. "Funny. That's exactly what I was about to say."
Behind him, the limping figure groaned and collapsed to one knee. Ardan didn't turn.
"She used a gate too early," he muttered. "Mana sickness. Didn't warn me it was going to rupture."
Kian glanced past him.
The girl lifted her head slightly.
Her eyes met his — glassy, green, frightened.
A mage.
Ardan kept talking. "Here's what I want: I set up camp a day from here. I claim rights to the dungeon that just destabilized. You clear out, give me the core, and we'll move on without issue. Or—"
"You step forward," Kian interrupted, "and I build your coffin out of your bones."
The smile finally cracked.
[Codex Notification: Rapid Blueprint Draft Unlocked – Bone Casket Trap (Tier I, Psychological Warfare)]
Requirements Met. Buildable Immediately.
Ardan's eyes flicked to the glowing runes circling Kian's feet — trigger lines tied to ground-based constructs.
He stepped back. "You're no ashlander."
"No," Kian said calmly. "And I'm not a scavenger."
They retreated, eventually.
Ardan dragged the sick mage away, promising to return with a full hunting party.
Kian watched until they vanished behind the black ridge.
Then he turned back to the Bastion.
[Codex Update – Threat Flagged: Ardan Krell (Zarethian Noble-Hunter)]
Personality Profile: Arrogant, trained duelist, commands low-tier mercs.
Priority: High (knows how to detect Codex emissions)
[Predation Protocol: Soft Target Logged – Memory Stored – Future Consumption Advised]
Over the next two days, Kian didn't rest.
He built like a man preparing for siege.
Constructed:
Two arrow funnels angled at entry slope One mana-fused wall panel Emergency core-escape tunnel (30% complete)
Upgraded:
Watchpost with Codex Lens (Auto-tracking hostile sigils) Medical chamber (integrated with burn recovery module)
Veyna watched him work, pale and quiet. She still hadn't recovered from the seal break, but her fire was returning slowly — visibly, day by day.
"You're planning to fight him?" she asked quietly on the third morning.
"If I don't," Kian replied, "he'll bleed this region dry and burn everything he can't claim."
She nodded. "Then I'll stand with you. I've got one spell left in me."
"No," he said, and passed her a folded scrap of blueprint etched on bark. "You'll build this instead."
She opened it — her brow rose.
"You want me to make a sigil battery? Out of broken conduit and ashroot?"
"You said you couldn't fight," Kian replied. "So we'll make your mana fight for you."
She grinned.
[Codex Update: Dual Constructor Mode Active – Secondary User (Veyna) Authorized]
Synchronization Level: 18%
Bonus Unlocked: Shared Blueprint Pool (Tier 0)
[Stability Increase: +3%]
The Bastion grew.
And with it, so did Kian.
Codex Level: 5 (Outpost Architect II)
New Blueprint: Arcane Relay Node Bonus: Range increased for automated constructs
Predation Level: 5 (Adaptive Hunter)
New Trait: Echo Flesh – Regenerates 2% HP after consuming enemy Bonus: Passive Sense Range increased 15 meters
But more importantly...
They were no longer alone.
A girl with fire in her veins.
A builder with war in his blood.
And enemies approaching from every direction.
Ashfall Bastion would not fall.
It would rise.
End of Chapter 5