Crimson rebirth: rise of the cursed eye

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Lightning coiled around him.

Not just around his sword—but beneath his feet, in his breath, within every movement he made.

Kael blurred forward again, no wasted motion. His swordsmanship was not ornamental. It was precise, brutal—designed not to impress, but to end. His strikes followed a deadly rhythm:

Three-Point Severance — thrust, pivot, cleave.

Reverse Fang Arc — a low sweep followed by a vertical bisect.

Stormline Cut — an overhead slash that left after-images of lightning in the air, capable of cleaving both flesh and force.

Vel'Zareth roared as Kael reappeared to his right, katana spinning in a horizontal twist meant to open his side.

CLANG.

The creature blocked with a curved void-claw. Sparks danced across its obsidian surface, but Kael was already gone again—his footwork fluid, gliding over corrupted terrain without a single misstep. It was more than speed.

It was understanding.

His Ashen Sigil Stage Two eyes read Vel'Zareth's body like an open script—tracking tension, predicting phasing shifts, countering before the attack fully formed.

The Hollow Mask over Kael's face offered no sound. But the air around him screamed.

---

Lightning Technique: Voidrend Pulse

Kael dragged his foot backward, generating a friction spark against the scorched ground. The charge traveled up his leg and into his arm.

> Skill Activated: Voidrend Pulse

A compressed surge of volatile lightning fused with void-threaded Nexis energy. Unleashed in a blink.

Cooldown: 45 seconds.

Range: 12 meters.

Stagger Chance: 100% against Tier IV or below. Tier V+ requires precision hit to disrupt phase-state.

Ebonfang surged.

Kael dashed forward, then suddenly vanished with Abyss Step, reappearing behind Vel'Zareth's shoulder.

The pulse detonated with the swing.

CRACK-KRAKOOOM!

A jagged lightning bolt split the glade in half, and the pulse exploded across Vel'Zareth's upper frame—shattering two of its blade-arms instantly and forcing its corrupted body to phase-flicker, struggling to remain anchored.

Vel'Zareth howled—its voice echoing with pain and static.

"You—you're not meant to be this stable!"

Kael didn't speak.

He moved again.

This time his blade danced in open arcs—each swing calculated to dismember rather than kill. A style born of two years training with Ashuru, refined through countless battles in Wyrmveil.

Ashuru watched, perched on a high stone, black tail curled tightly.

"He's doing it… he's entering the Wraith Form pattern."

Wraith Form: Kael's sword style when syncing with his Nexis body at high speed. His feet never fully touch the ground. His strikes hover on the edge of perception. To the untrained eye, it looks like he's teleporting.

But he isn't.

He's just faster than hesitation.

---

Vel'Zareth Fights Back

The Tier VI humanoid screamed as the last two arms reformed, this time longer and laced with jagged rift-crystals. It rotated midair and unleashed a barrage of void spikes—dozens, warping through broken space.

Kael braced his blade against his arm and spun.

> Skill Chain Initiated: Storm Guard + Hollow Drift

Converts Ebonfang's stored lightning into an arcing shield. Allows timed phasing to dodge unavoidable strikes.

The air split with thunder.

Dozens of spikes were deflected mid-rotation. The ones that made it through passed through Kael's body—his form turning translucent as he phased through the hits, stepping between reality's seams.

Vel'Zareth landed heavily, its aura warping trees into ash.

"You shouldn't exist," it hissed, voice now layered—three voices speaking as one. "You're not bound to mana, but you tear through it. You're not Coreless. You're rejected."

Kael slowly walked forward, dragging Ebonfang behind him. Sparks flared where it touched the ground.

"No," he said quietly behind the mask. "I'm awakened."

> Soul Echo Surge Detected

Ebonfang resonating with Tier VI energy signature

Katana Evolution Path: Primordial Echo Initiation – 12%

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Clash of Fates

Kael surged forward again—slicing in diagonal arcs designed to prevent phasing. Vel'Zareth dodged left, but Kael anticipated—he planted his heel and used Ash-Step, a blink technique developed mid-battle.

He appeared where Vel'Zareth would emerge.

SLASH.

This time the katana carved through the creature's chest cleanly.

Vel'Zareth stumbled, its body cracking like glass. Its mouth twisted, speaking not to Kael—but to something far beyond.

"He… is watching. The Maker sees this failure."

Kael's blade stopped inches from its throat.

"…Who is the Maker?"

Vel'Zareth shuddered.

"The one who made me. The one who gave shape to this world's end. You—are not part of his design."

Kael's eyes narrowed behind the Hollow Mask. "Then I'll be the flaw that breaks it."

With one final swing—two-handed, full-body momentum—Kael severed Vel'Zareth's head from its shoulders.

The air ruptured with static and howling distortion.

The Tier VI hybrid collapsed.

And silence reclaimed the Wyrmveil.

---

Aftermath

Ashuru padded forward, tails curling as the corrupted remains steamed.

"He wasn't alone. This was a scout—part of a bigger weave."

Kael's mask dissolved into dust, revealing his scarred, emotionless face.

His sigil eyes dimmed, returning to low pulse.

He stared at the body as the system pulsed again:

> System Alert:

Tier VI Entity Defeated.

Soul Echo Harvested.

Ebonfang Soul Rank Up: Tier IV → Tier V Fragmented

Trait Gained: [Adaptive Phasebreaker] – Grants Kael resistance to dimensional-based movement. Can disrupt enemy phase ability.

Kael placed a hand on the katana.

His breathing slowed.

But the storm inside him hadn't