Chapter 20 — Embers Beneath the Storm
The winds howled across the forest that night.
High above the treetops, dark shapes moved against the blood-red moon — unseen by those below, yet heavy with purpose.
The rain had ended, but the world still felt soaked in an invisible mist of tension.
---
A Heavy Silence
Sora couldn't sleep.
Even with Yuno curled warmly at his side, the strange energy from the cavern still pulsed faintly in his bones.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw flashes — visions of the ruined world buried beneath their feet.
He sat up quietly, careful not to wake Mira or Hiroto, and slipped out into the cool night.
The forest was a cathedral of sound:
Cicadas chirping, the slow creak of trees swaying, the river murmuring in the distance.
Yet something about tonight felt... wrong.
Too still. Too perfect.
As if the world was holding its breath.
Sora tightened his grip on the simple dagger Hiroto had crafted for him. It wasn't much against real enemies, but it was better than empty hands.
Yuno lifted his head, sensing his unease.
"Stay close," Sora whispered.
And together, they moved into the trees.
---
Signs of the Hunt
It didn't take long before Sora found it.
A trail — subtle but unmistakable — through the undergrowth.
Boot prints, deep and deliberate.
Broken branches at shoulder height.
The faint scent of iron on the air.
Humans. Armed ones.
The Crimson Court was closer than any of them had guessed.
Sora crouched low, heart pounding, weighing his choices.
He could run back and wake the others.
Or he could try to learn more first —
to give them a real advantage before battle found them.
He chose the latter.
Creeping forward, every step slow and measured, Sora followed the trail.
---
After a few minutes, he heard them:
Voices. Low. Grim.
He reached a small ridge and peeked over the edge.
Below, in a clearing, a group of ten armored figures gathered around a campfire.
Their armor was strange — blackened metal woven with blood-red cloth — and each bore the sigil of a shattered sun on their chest plates.
Sora's breath caught.
At the center stood the white-haired woman he had glimpsed in his vision.
Even without knowing her name, he felt it in his bones:
She was dangerous.
One of the soldiers knelt before her, head bowed.
> "My lady," he said. "The Ether surge was confirmed. It's them. The Awakening ones."
The woman smiled thinly.
> "Good. We'll strike at first light. If they resist, burn the forest around them. No witnesses."
The soldier hesitated.
"But... my lady... if the artifacts are real, shouldn't we—"
She cut him off with a single, casual gesture.
His body crumpled to the ground without a sound — not a scream, not a cry.
Just... gone.
The others stiffened in fear, standing straighter.
The woman wiped her hand delicately on a cloth.
> "The Crimson Court does not question. The forbidden shall be silenced. That is the law."
Sora ducked lower, heart hammering in terror.
He had heard enough.
He turned, ready to sprint back to camp.
But as he moved—
A twig snapped underfoot.
The sound was like a gunshot in the night.
---
The Chase Begins
> "There!" one of the soldiers shouted.
Flames burst into life around the clearing, casting long, grotesque shadows.
Sora didn't hesitate. He ran.
Branches whipped at his face. Roots snatched at his feet.
But he moved like a shadow, every ounce of training and instinct carrying him forward.
Yuno darted ahead, leading the way through paths invisible to the human eye.
Behind them, armored boots thundered in pursuit.
Arrows whistled past, burying themselves in the trees with deadly precision.
One grazed his arm — a hot, burning pain — but he pushed on.
The camp was close. He could feel it.
Just a little further—
---
Awakening
He burst into the clearing where the others slept.
"Mira! Hiroto! Ayaka! Wake up!!"
Without hesitation, Mira rolled to her feet, weapon ready.
Hiroto grabbed his spear, eyes flashing.
Ayaka stumbled, still half-asleep, but snapped to attention when she saw the fear on Sora's face.
"They're coming!" Sora gasped. "Ten soldiers. Elite. Strong."
Mira didn't ask questions.
"Positions!" she barked.
They moved.
Training took over.
Each had a role, a place, a plan — rough, imperfect, but better than chaos.
The first soldiers broke into the clearing moments later.
The battle was brutal.
---
The Fight for Survival
Hiroto met the first soldier with a roar, using his Ether-enhanced strength to hurl him back into a tree.
Ayaka wove illusions, confusing their enemies — making them see false targets, tripping over roots that weren't there.
Mira unleashed bursts of compressed air, knocking soldiers off their feet.
And Sora — though weaker in raw power — moved like water, steadying the Ether field around them, preventing the enemy's powers from spiraling out of control.
But it wasn't enough.
The white-haired woman never even entered the fight.
She stood at the edge, watching.
Smiling.
---
One by one, the Crimson soldiers adapted.
They countered Hiroto's brute force.
They saw through Ayaka's illusions.
They braced against Mira's winds.
And slowly, inexorably, the fight turned against the young travelers.
Sora felt despair clawing at his throat.
They were too strong.
Too fast.
Too skilled.
Was this the end?
Was all their struggle — the training, the hope — about to be snuffed out here, in a nameless forest?
---
The Spark
Yuno leapt from Sora's shoulder with a cry.
His body twisted midair, shifting — not just growing larger, but changing.
Feathers of silver light burst from his fur.
Runes burned along his tails.
His eyes glowed with the wisdom of ages.
The soldiers faltered, sensing something ancient awakening.
Yuno landed between them and Sora, a shield of living light.
For a moment, the battlefield froze.
Even the white-haired woman's smile faltered.
And in that frozen heartbeat, a voice — deep, old, full of sorrow and power — whispered in Sora's mind.
> "You carry the will of the First Dream. Protect it. Or all will fall."
Sora felt something inside him unlock.
Power, raw and terrible, surged through his veins.
Not wild. Not uncontrolled.
Steady. Calm. True.
He stepped forward, feeling the Ether bend to his will for the first time.
And the world trembled.
---
The Tide Turns
The soldiers attacked together, desperate to end it.
But they were too late.
Sora raised his hand, and the air around him shimmered — not with violence, but with stability.
He caught the first soldier's blade mid-swing — with his bare hand — and shattered it like glass.
Mira, Hiroto, and Ayaka rallied instantly, surging forward with renewed strength.
Together, they pushed the Crimson Court back.
The white-haired woman watched silently, calculating.
Finally, as her soldiers fell, she turned and disappeared into the mist without a word.
Sora knew they had not won.
Not truly.
They had survived.
For now.
---
Aftermath
The forest was silent again.
Their camp was destroyed.
The fire was dead.
The rain began to fall once more.
Exhausted beyond words, they slumped to the ground.
"We're not ready," Mira said bitterly, clutching her bruised side.
"No," Sora agreed quietly. "But we will be."
They knew now:
They were not safe.
They were not hidden.
The Crimson Court would come again.
Stronger. Smarter.
And the deeper truths of the ancient world would not stay buried forever.
---
Far Away... In a Tower of Ice and Glass
An old man stirred from his slumber.
He looked to the west, where the Ether had roared in defiance.
And he smiled, a cracked, broken thing.
> "The heirs awaken," he whispered. "And the world will burn again."
---