Night did not fall in the Trial Grounds. It descended. The sky turned a gray and it got darker and heavier like a big shadow covering the world. The shadows got longer and thicker like they were things moving between the broken rocks and rough ground.
Then the Aether changed. Kael felt it away. The Aether was already a little unstable. Now it was getting restless. It was moving faster. Breaking apart making the air feel sharp and rough on his skin.
Mira whispered, "This place is getting worse." She was right. The ground started shaking a little, like an earthquake. Cracks appeared in the ground glowing with an energy and then they closed up again like nothing happened.
Tarin said, "The Trial Grounds react more at night. We need to stay alert and not sleep deeply." Riven looked at Kael. Said, "Especially with him here."
There was a silence. Mira started to say something. Riven cut her off. "No we are not ignoring this " he said. "That creature we saw earlier was not normal. It changed when I attacked it and it should not have been so easy to defeat."
Kael did not say anything. Riven stepped forward. Said, "But it did, because of you." The air got tighter and more tense.
Tarin said, "This is not the time for this " but Riven said, "It is the time. We are in a place where one mistake can get us killed. I want to know what I am dealing with." Mira looked uncomfortable. Said, "He helped us " but Riven said, "That is not the point."
Riven looked straight at Kael. Said, "How did you kill that creature?" Kael said, "It was unstable ". Riven said, "That is not an answer." Kael said, "It is enough ". Riven did not believe him.
The tension got worse. Riven took another step forward. The Aether around him started to move. "You are hiding something " he said. ". Whatever it is it affects the Aether."
Lyras voice cut through the tension, calm and firm. "Enough " she said. "We do not have the luxury of distrust. We need to adapt." Riven said, "So we just ignore it?" Lyra said, "No we adapt. If Kael has something that is an advantage, not a threat."
Kael understood what Lyra was saying. She was warning Riven. Also warning Kael himself. Tarin said, "We are wasting time. We take turns keeping watch. I will go first." The argument ended,. The tension did not.
Hours. The darkness got deeper. Strange noises started to echo through the ground like something was moving underneath. Then there were whispers, not words strange sounds like the Aether was trying to form something.
Mira. Said, "Do you hear that?" Tarin said, "Yes,". Riven said, "It is not natural." Kael did not say anything. He felt something familiar like a broken rhythm.
Then a creature appeared, different from the one. It was bigger and more defined with limbs that were too long and a body made of shifting Aether fragments. Its eyes were two points of light that scanned the group and then they stopped on Kael.
The group froze. Lyra said, "That is not the same as before." The creature moved fast targeting Kael. Tarin shouted, "Move!" Kael stepped aside in time and the creatures clawed limb sliced through the air where he had been standing.
Riven attacked the creature. It did not fall. It. Absorbed the attack and then it targeted Kael again. The group fought back. The creature was too strong. It was. Adapting and it would not stop until it reached Kael.
Lyra said, "It is not attacking randomly. It is drawn to you." The words settled like a weight. Mira said, "You mean something in this place is targeting him." Lyras eyes did not leave Kael. She said, "Yes something in this place is targeting him."
Kael closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again they were sharper and colder. The fragments, inside him were still moving, still responding, still calling. He said, "So it begins."
This is more certain now.
Because now it is clear that
it was not about making it through the Trial Grounds.
The Trial Grounds were the beginning.
It was about making it through what was watching him.
The Trial Grounds and the thing watching him were not going to let him go that easily.
Whatever this thing was
it was not finished with him yet.
Not even close to being done with him.
The night went on and on.
Sleep did not come to him.
This was because something in the dark had started to stir.
This thing in the dark had found what it was looking for.
The Lost Path of Heaven had been found out.
Now the Lost Path of Heaven was, in trouble.
It was being hunted now.