---
The Dragon-Gathering Crucible hissed and steamed around them, its bronze dragons coiled in silent witness. Kael's fingers tightened around the Dragonbone Coral, the hard purple branch slick with Peria's arousal as he drove it in and out of her with relentless precision. The peach spirit's legs were bound through the dragon-shaped handles, her small body stretched taut between pleasure and protest.
"Mercy! Kael, please—" Peria's voice was raw, thick with tears. "Inside… it's going to break!"
But the way she looked—flushed, trembling, her body at his complete mercy—only fed the dark hunger coiling in his gut. He watched her face twist with each thrust, her skin glistening with sweat, and his own desire flared white-hot. The Coral's numbing properties only heightened the contrast: her nerves screamed where it touched, her body arching into the sensation despite her protests.
Another climax ripped through her. Her inner walls clamped down on the Coral, her back arching off the bronze as a broken cry tore from her throat.
Kael leaned down, his lips brushing hers. "Does it feel good?"
Peria nodded, then shook her head, her breath coming in broken gasps. "Peria… doesn't like this game," she whimpered. "It's too much…"
She was a sight to behold—eyes half-lidded, skin flushed pink, her small frame trembling with each thrust. The sight only made Kael harder. His free hand roamed her body, his thumb pressing against her swollen clit as he continued to work the Coral inside her, his movements growing rougher, more demanding.
Then his gaze flicked to the steaming bath. Among the floating herbs, he spotted it—the Toad Stone, its mottled surface catching the light.
Without a word, he shifted his weight, his foot pressing against the crucible's bottom as he reached for the stone.
"Kael… what are you—?" Peria's voice was thick with confusion.
He straightened, the Toad Stone clutched in his fist. With a squeeze, water spurted from its pores, and he compressed it down to the size of a dragon's eye.
"Let me go… my legs are numb," Peria pleaded, her ankles aching from the bronze loops digging into her skin.
"Just a little longer," he promised, his voice thick with mischief. His hand moved stealthily toward her inner thigh.
Then—
"Ah!" Peria's eyes flew wide as Kael spread her lips and pressed the cool stone against her entrance.
"You—what are you—?" Her voice hitched as he pushed it inside.
"Does it feel good?" he murmured, his finger following the stone deeper into her tight passage.
"Take it out! Quickly!" she cried, panic edging her voice. "It absorbs water—it'll grow!"
"That's the point," he said, his grin wicked.
"It'll get stuck! You won't be able to pull it out!" She twisted her hips, but the bindings held her fast, her legs spread obscenely wide.
"Hmm. Won't go any further," Kael mused, watching his finger disappear inside her. "Is it stuck?"
"Please, take it out!" Peria's voice was desperate, her small hands clutching at his arms.
He pushed harder, experimenting. Then, with a sudden give, the stone slipped deeper, pressing against her cervix.
"Ah!" Peria let out a sharp cry. The stone had reached that most sensitive spot, and her entire body tensed, gooseflesh rising across her skin.
"Where'd it go?" Kael wondered aloud, his fingers probing deeper, searching.
Peria whimpered as his fingers brushed against her cervix, the stone now lodged just beneath it. "Nnngh… it's… it's too much…"
He couldn't find it. Retreating to shallower depths, his thumb pressed hard against her swollen clit.
Peria gasped as the pressure on her bladder intensified. "Take it out! Please!" she begged, her voice breaking.
"I'm trying," he soothed, though his tone was anything but. "Don't worry. I'll get it."
"Ah! It's… it's changing!" Peria suddenly cried, her voice tight with fear.
Kael felt it too—a strange expansion deep inside her. The Toad Stone was absorbing her fluids, swelling rapidly, pressing against her cervix from within.
"Where is it?" he demanded.
"Inside… the deepest part!" she moaned, her hips bucking helplessly.
"The deepest part? I don't feel it." He pushed his fingers deeper, his cock throbbing with neglected need.
"Lower… just a little lower!" Her chest heaved, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts. "Ah! There! I feel it!"
"Ah, found it!" His fingertips brushed against the now-swollen stone, but it was wedged tight against her cervix, refusing to budge. No matter how he hooked or pulled, it wouldn't come free. Instead, his ministrations only sent new waves of pleasure-pain through Peria's trembling body.
"Quickly… take it out… it's going to kill me…" she begged, her voice breaking, her small body trembling violently.
Kael tried every angle, every technique, but the stone remained stubbornly lodged. Worse, his fingers were stirring Peria to the brink again, her body caught between the need to relieve itself and the building climax.
Then—
"Ah!" Peria's cry was sharp and sudden. The Toad Stone, now fully engorged with her fluids, had returned to its original size—a goose egg of stone pressing her cervix high, lifting it against the intruding Coral.
Kael felt the change, his eyes widening in surprise. The pressure… the tightness… it was incredible.
Peria's face was scarlet, her body writhing against the bindings, the water in the crucible sloshing around them. With a sharp cry, her passage clenched violently around his fingers, and a hot spray of fluid gushed out—her first small climax, the fluids milky and thick with her own essence.
Kael couldn't hold back any longer. He withdrew his fingers and, in one smooth motion, impaled her on his cock. The slickness allowed him to bottom out in a single thrust, his pelvis pressing her cervix—and the Toad Stone—deep into the well of her body.
The sensation was overwhelming. Pleasure, pain, numbness, and tingling all crashed over Peria at once. Her abdomen convulsed uncontrollably, and with a cry, she came hard, her fluids mixed with her own essence spraying across Kael's leg and stomach.
He hadn't expected her to climax so quickly. The surprise only fueled his lust. He began to thrust with wild abandon, each stroke driving her cervix against the unyielding stone, only for it to bounce back, lifted by the Toad Stone beneath. No matter how she twisted or begged, she couldn't escape the relentless double assault.
"No… no more… I can't… I can't take it…" Peria sobbed, her voice breaking, tears streaming down her face.
But Kael was beyond hearing. He could feel his own climax building, and his thrusts grew deeper, more punishing. His cock swelled, the Dracoiling veins pulsing with heat as he drove into her again and again.
Peria's small body was caught in an endless cycle of pleasure and pain. Every time her cervix was pressed deep, the stone would push it back up, forcing it to endure another impact from Kael's cock. She came again and again, her soul seemingly leaving her body with each wave, her screams echoing through the steam-filled chamber.
Finally, the Toad Stone, dislodged by the force of her contractions, shot out of her with a splash, landing in the steaming water with a dull plunk.
Kael didn't miss a beat. He drove into her again, and without the stone's interference, her depths felt softer, looser, more accommodating. He thrust a few more times, his own peak rushing upon him with terrifying speed. With a growl, he grabbed her hips and pulled her down hard onto his cock, his thick length pressing against her cervix as he began to pulse, his seed flooding her in hot, thick jets.
"Ah!" Peria's scream was sharp, her body tensing for a few heartbeats before she collapsed, unconscious, into the water, her small frame trembling with aftershocks.
Kael's breath came in ragged gasps as he held her close, his cock still twitching inside her. The steam from the bath swirled around them, the scent of alchemical herbs thick in the air.
"Peria…" His voice was suddenly tender, the dark hunger replaced by something softer, more vulnerable. He kissed her skin, his lips burning with affection. "Peria…"
---
After a long moment, the peach spirit stirred, her eyelids fluttering. "Kael…" she murmured, her voice weak.
He gathered her close, his heart still pounding. "Did you like it?" he asked, his voice thick with mischief, though his eyes were soft.
She nodded, a small, shy smile on her lips. "Mmm."
Kael was surprised. He nudged her playfully. "So… do you want to do it again next time?"
She nodded again, her obedience making his heart clench with something he couldn't name. "Peria wants to," she whispered.
Overjoyed, he pressed his forehead to hers. "My treasure, I won't be so rough next time."
But Peria shook her head, her eyes still hazy with pleasure. "Peria… Peria really liked how you were," she confessed, her voice dreamy. "It was different from other times… I sweated so much…" She paused, then added softly, "No matter what, as long as Kael is happy, Peria is happy too."
Kael stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest. The simplicity of her devotion, the way she accepted his darkness without question—it undid something in him. After a long moment, he kissed her again, his lips hot as fire, his kisses falling like rain on her face, her neck, her shoulders.
Their reunion was passionate, their love burning bright. In the days that followed, Kael summoned Peria every night, their bodies entwined in endless passion, their love as thick as honey. The air between them was always thick with the scent of sex and the steam from the bath, their skin always slick with sweat and the remnants of their lovemaking.
Somehow, the time Peria could maintain her human form had quietly lengthened. But the two of them, lost in their love, didn't notice—or if they did, they only lamented that the long nights still seemed to pass too quickly.
When they weren't making love, Kael spent his time soaking in the medicinal bath, the alchemical brew drawing out the last of the toxins from his body, or studying the mechanisms and Wardplate Mastery from the Cloud-Shadow Fan. He had also begun preparations to construct the Wraith, the shadowy assassin that would be his most ambitious creation yet.
But he soon discovered a problem: he was missing many of the required materials, and most of them seemed essential. The Cloud-Shadow Fan listed them in precise detail—Warding-Vase Bamboo for the frame, Illusory Flame Phoenix Bone Powder for the spirit core, Ghost-Spider Powder for invisibility. And he had none of them.
Yet Kael refused to give up. He even considered risking the use of substitute materials, though the memory of the Invincible Great General's catastrophic backlash gave him pause.
"Would using other materials as substitutes cause another disaster?" he wondered, frowning as he soaked in the bath, the heat doing little to ease the tension in his shoulders.
Then, his eyes lit up as they fell on the large medicine cabinet nearby. The thing was massive, its dark wood surface carved with intricate alchemical symbols, its countless drawers filled with Elder Greymantle's treasures.
"There are so many treasures in there," he mused. "Maybe I can find what I need?"
The thought excited him. With a splash, he leapt from the crucible, water cascading from his body as he hurried to the cabinet, leaving wet footprints on the stone floor. He began to search through the drawers, his fingers moving quickly as he examined each compartment.
Within moments, he found one of the materials he needed. His heart raced as he continued to search, and soon he found several more. Joy bloomed in his chest like a firework.
He spent the entire afternoon searching, his focus absolute. By the end, he had found almost all the materials he needed from the thousands of compartments. Warding-Vase Bamboo—check. Illusory Flame Phoenix Bone Powder—check. Ghost-Spider Powder—check. Even a few rare alchemical catalysts that would make the construct stronger, faster, deadlier.
"Ha!" he laughed, slamming a drawer shut. "Old Greymantle's treasures are plentiful! He wasted my Seven-Flame Verdant Phoenix, so using a bit of his materials isn't too much to ask!" His voice echoed through the empty chamber, the steam from the bath swirling around him.
Excitement filled him. He took some of each material, and while he was at it, he pocketed a few other rare materials he didn't need yet—just in case. He wrapped them carefully in paper and sorted them into his Wardian Satchel, the spatial pouch swallowing them with a quiet whoosh.
That night, under the cover of darkness, he slipped into the forest surrounding the Hidden Spring. The trees loomed tall and silent, their leaves rustling softly in the night breeze. He found a secluded spot, a small clearing where the moonlight filtered through the canopy like liquid silver. He cleared a space, his hands moving quickly as he built a small wooden shelter from fallen branches and vines. It wasn't much, but it would keep the rain off.
Then he began to construct the Wraith according to the instructions in the Cloud-Shadow Fan. The work was intricate, demanding, the mechanisms more complex than anything he had attempted before. His hands moved with sure precision, his mind focused entirely on the task at hand.
He worked all night, the only sounds the rustling of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig. By dawn, he had completed the basic framework of the Wraith—a skeletal structure of Warding-Vase Bamboo, its joints already showing the promise of fluid movement. He mixed some materials and made a few internal mechanisms—the heart, the lungs, the sinews of his creation. And only then did he return to his room to sleep, his body exhausted but his mind still buzzing with excitement.
He worked like this for five consecutive days. The Wraith gradually took shape, its form becoming more and more complete with each passing day. The skeletal frame was fleshed out with layers of enchanted bamboo, its joints articulated with delicate precision. Through the complex construction process, Kael gained many new insights into the Artificer's Art and Wardplate Mastery, feeling that the mysteries were endless, and he became even more fascinated and obsessed.
His hands, once clumsy and uncertain, now moved with the surety of a master. His mind, once filled with doubt, now brimmed with confidence and ambition. The Wraith was going to be his magnum opus, his greatest creation yet.
In addition to the construction, he occasionally practiced the Shape-Borrowing Art according to the Cloud-Shadow Fan. Whether it was because Lyra had once analyzed the key and difficult points for him, or for some other reason, his progress was surprisingly smooth and rapid. In his most recent attempt, he had even successfully created the illusion of a small, cute, chubby bear, its fur a rich brown, its eyes twinkling with mischief. The sight had delighted Peria immensely, her laughter ringing through the forest like a bell.
By the eleventh night, the Wraith was nearly complete. Its form was whole, its mechanisms tested and true. Finally, it was time for the last step—the Soul-Bonding Rite. According to the Cloud-Shadow Fan, this required the creator to inject their fresh blood as the spiritual source, the lifeblood that would animate the construct and bind it to his will.
Kael's heart pounded in his chest as he prepared for the ritual. The Wraith lay before him, its form a dark silhouette against the moonlight, its bamboo frame gleaming with a faint, otherworldly sheen. He took a deep breath, his hands trembling slightly with anticipation.
"Great Emperor, all the gods and seraphs," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Please protect me this time. Don't let this go wrong."
He pressed his palms together and silently prayed to all the gods he could think of. Then, with a sure motion, he unbuckled the Eight-Claw Flamescourge from his arm. The weapon coiled like a living thing, its dragon-scale construction gleaming in the dim light. He infused it with fire Vitae, and the scales flared outward, catching the moonlight like a thousand tiny mirrors.
Then, with a quick motion, he lightly cut his wrist. The blood welled up, dark and rich, the scent of iron thick in the air. He quickly pressed the wound against the crown of the Wraith's head, allowing his blood to flow into the groove there, the lifeblood seeping into the bamboo like water into parched earth.
At the same time, he began to chant the binding restriction, the old words flowing from his lips like a river. The syllables were ancient, their meaning lost to time, but their power was undeniable.
For a long moment, nothing happened. The forest was silent, the air thick with tension.
Then—
Suddenly, the Wraith's body began to glow. The light spread quickly, and in moments, its entire form blazed with dazzling, multicolored radiance, a breathtaking sight.
The radiance pouring from the Wraith grew brighter and brighter.
Kael's pulse hammered so hard he thought it might burst through his ribs.
He forced himself to stay calm. Forced himself to keep feeding blood into the construct. Forced himself to continue murmuring the ancient command-speech exactly as Lyra's notes described.
At last the ritual neared its end.
His voice rang through the moonlit clearing.
"Darling Sel!"
The command word was entirely his own invention.
The original activation phrase recorded within the Cloud-Shadow Fan had been something else entirely. Kael had discarded it without hesitation. If he was going to spend days building an assassination construct with his own hands, then it would answer to words of his choosing.
The instant the command left his mouth, the body lying upon the ground erupted with light.
The Wraith moved.
Kael's eyes widened.
His heart nearly stopped.
It was working.
It had to be working.
He stared without blinking.
Seconds passed.
Then more.
The construct never rose.
Instead, it writhed.
Its limbs twitched against the earth as though it were suffering unbearable agony. Light pulsed erratically beneath its translucent frame.
Kael's smile slowly disappeared.
"What?"
His excitement cooled.
The Wraith continued struggling.
It looked less like a deadly assassin and more like a dying animal.
"What is this?"
He frowned.
According to the notes stored within the Cloud-Shadow Fan, the completed construct should have been moving faster than a hunting hawk by now.
Instead it lay sprawled in the dirt.
Kael swallowed.
"Darling Sel!"
He shouted the command again.
The result was even worse.
The construct's glow began fading.
Its movements slowed.
The twitching weakened.
Then stopped entirely.
Silence returned to the clearing.
The light vanished.
The Wraith became a lifeless statue once more.
Kael stared at it.
For several long moments he did not move.
Then his shoulders sagged.
"Failed?"
His face turned pale.
"How?"
He crouched beside the construct.
Every step of the construction process replayed through his mind.
The Warding-Vase Bamboo frame.
The powders.
The alchemical coatings.
The blood-link.
The inscriptions.
Everything.
Everything had seemed correct.
Yet something had gone wrong.
He could feel it.
The problem was that he had no idea what.
Frustration twisted in his gut.
He grabbed the construct's shoulders.
"Get up, damn you."
Nothing happened.
His anxiety finally boiled over.
"Come on, you beautiful thing! Why won't you stand up?"
A chuckle drifted from nearby.
"If it could stand up, I'd be impressed."
Kael nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around.
Elder Greymantle stood several paces away, smiling beneath his enormous white brows.
The old man looked entirely too pleased with himself.
Kael stared.
"When did you get here?"
"Not long ago."
Greymantle folded his hands behind his back.
"About the time you started the Soul-Bonding Rite."
Kael blinked.
"You knew what I was doing?"
"Mhm."
"You knew from the beginning?"
The elder nodded.
Kael pointed accusingly.
"You've been spying on me?"
"Do I look that bored?"
Greymantle snorted.
"I already spend half my life dealing with visitors who wander into my forest."
He gestured lazily toward the surrounding trees.
"This is the Bewildering Wood, boy. My territory."
A grin spread beneath his beard.
"Very little happens here without me knowing."
Kael froze.
Then realization struck.
His face immediately turned red.
The old man knew.
The nights with Peria.
The bathing.
The kisses.
Everything.
Every embarrassing second.
Greymantle's eyes sparkled.
"Having a little peach spirit around seems to have improved your mood."
Kael wanted the earth to swallow him.
Instead he straightened stubbornly.
Fine.
If the old man wanted honesty, he would get honesty.
"You stole my Seven-Flame Verdant Phoenix first."
Greymantle blinked.
"So?"
"So I borrowed some materials from your cabinet!"
Greymantle shrugged.
"Borrow all you want."
Kael stared.
The answer caught him completely off guard.
Many of those materials were incredibly valuable.
Yet the elder sounded as though Kael had merely borrowed firewood.
"Really?"
"Really."
Greymantle's gaze shifted toward the inert construct.
"Though some of those materials weren't used correctly."
He pointed at the Wraith.
"Which is why your precious toy is lying on the ground instead of running around stabbing people."
Kael immediately forgot his embarrassment.
"What did I do wrong?"
Greymantle stroked his beard.
"The frame is Warding-Vase Bamboo, yes?"
"Yes."
Kael nodded rapidly.
"The Cloud-Shadow Fan said dream-jade would be ideal, but if I couldn't get that, Goldsteel Core Crystal or Warding-Vase Bamboo could be substituted."
"Correct."
Greymantle crouched beside the construct.
"But when you substitute a major component, the surrounding materials must also change."
He tapped the Wraith's arm.
"The flame powders you used for the outer coating conflict with the bamboo."
Another tap.
"The sap maintaining the spiritual circulation conflicts with it too."
Kael's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"The materials are individually excellent."
Greymantle shrugged.
"Together they're fighting each other."
Kael groaned.
The elder continued.
"And that isn't your only mistake."
He picked up a small crystal fragment.
"The tiger-curse stone."
Kael nodded.
"What about it?"
"You used it directly."
"Yes."
"That's insane."
Kael blinked.
Greymantle looked genuinely offended.
"That material is venomous."
The elder snorted.
"It should have been shattered, soaked, steamed, purified, and refined several times before use."
Kael felt his confidence collapsing.
"All of that was supposed to happen?"
"Yes."
The old man gave him a long look.
"How exactly did you think master artificers spend their time?"
Kael opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
He had no answer.
A painful silence followed.
Finally he managed:
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Greymantle raised an eyebrow.
"Did you ask?"
Kael deflated.
No.
He had not.
Not once.
After a while he sighed.
"Can it be fixed?"
"It can."
Relief flooded him.
Then Greymantle added:
"However."
Kael's relief vanished instantly.
"However what?"
The elder smiled.
"You'll owe me a favor."
Kael hesitated.
"A favor?"
"One favor."
Greymantle's eyes narrowed with amusement.
"Nothing unreasonable."
Kael considered.
The old man had already saved his life more than once.
Besides, without the Wraith, days of work would be wasted.
"What kind of favor?"
"Haven't decided."
Kael stared.
"You haven't decided?"
"No."
Greymantle looked delighted by his own answer.
"I'll tell you later."
"That sounds suspicious."
"Then don't agree."
Kael groaned.
The old rat knew he had no choice.
After several seconds he threw up his hands.
"Fine."
He pointed a finger.
"But nothing evil."
Greymantle nodded.
"Nothing evil."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Now tell me how to fix it."
The elder chuckled.
"Leave the construct with me."
"How long?"
"Two days."
Kael frowned.
"And then?"
"Then take it to the Hidden Spring."
"The Hidden Spring?"
"Perform the Soul-Bonding Rite there."
Kael tilted his head.
"Why?"
Greymantle's expression grew more serious.
"The Hidden Spring is connected to the ley-lines of the Crystal Basin."
Understanding slowly dawned.
"The spring stabilizes conflicting properties."
"Exactly."
Kael remembered Lyra mentioning the strange qualities of that place.
The realization made his eyes light up.
"So the spring can suppress the conflict between the bamboo and the other materials."
Greymantle nodded.
"And if there are additional flaws neither of us noticed, the environment may solve those too."
Kael broke into a grin.
"Thank you."
The disappointment crushing him moments earlier vanished completely.
"Really. Thank you."
---
The next two days became an education.
Elder Greymantle personally refined the Wraith.
Kael rarely left his side.
He followed the elder from dawn until midnight.
Watching.
Questioning.
Learning.
Again and again Greymantle demonstrated obscure methods of purification and refinement.
Many techniques were unlike anything recorded within the Cloud-Shadow Fan.
At one point Kael stared at a shallow dish filled with powder that shifted colors every few heartbeats.
"What is that?"
"Illusory Flame Phoenix Bone Powder."
Kael blinked.
"I don't remember that being in Lyra's notes."
"It wasn't."
Greymantle lifted the dish.
"I'm adding it."
Kael's eyes widened.
"Adding it?"
"Yes."
"To the construct?"
"Yes."
Kael swallowed.
"Is that safe?"
Greymantle slowly turned his head.
The look he gave Kael could have frozen lava.
"Of course it's safe."
"You sound uncertain."
"I am not uncertain."
Kael pointed at the powder.
"Can you prove that?"
Greymantle's eye twitched.
"I have spent thousands of years studying materials."
He jabbed a finger at his own chest.
"Thousands."
Kael immediately released the old man's sleeve.
"Right."
Greymantle grunted.
"Thought so."
He dumped the powder into a bubbling cauldron.
The reaction was immediate.
Brilliant fire burst upward.
The flames shifted through every color imaginable.
Gold.
Blue.
Purple.
Emerald.
Silver.
The sight was breathtaking.
Kael smiled nervously.
"No pressure."
Greymantle snorted.
"If I ruin your construct, I'll build you one ten times better."
That sounded reassuring.
And somehow terrifying.
The elder stirred the mixture with a massive wooden spoon.
"I believe this will strengthen the original coating."
"Wonderful."
Kael smiled.
Inside, he was praying.
Greymantle glanced sideways.
"You know that powder came from your phoenix, don't you?"
Kael froze.
"My phoenix?"
"The Seven-Flame Verdant Phoenix."
The elder set aside the spoon.
"The bird you accused me of eating."
Kael blinked.
"You did eat it."
"Part of it."
Greymantle sounded offended.
"I refined the rest."
Kael stared.
"The bones became materials."
The elder began counting on his fingers.
"The blood."
"The organs."
"The feathers."
"All useful."
Kael's mouth slowly opened.
He had imagined the bird entirely consumed.
Instead Greymantle had salvaged nearly everything.
"When you leave the forest," the elder continued, "I'll return what's left."
For several moments Kael said nothing.
Then he suddenly seized both of Greymantle's hands.
The old man nearly jumped.
"Thank you!"
Greymantle recoiled as though bitten.
"Let go!"
Kael held tighter.
"You magnificent old bastard!"
"LET GO!"
The elder finally ripped his hands free and shuddered.
"I liked you better when you were causing trouble."
---
Two days later, Kael stood within the Hidden Spring.
The sacred cavern glowed with soft blue-green light.
Ancient waters flowed silently around a gigantic lotus-shaped stone rising from the center of the pool.
Upon that stone lay the Wraith.
Refined.
Rebuilt.
Perfected.
At least he hoped so.
Kael clasped his hands together.
This time he expanded his prayers considerably.
Every god.
Every saint.
Every ancient hero.
Every celestial being he could remember.
He begged all of them.
"Please."
"Just this once."
"Let it work."
When he finally finished, he was nearly out of breath.
He inhaled deeply.
Then he drew the Eight-Claw Flamescourge.
Fire Vitae flowed through the weapon.
A scale slid outward.
Kael sliced his wrist.
Blood welled forth.
He pressed the wound against the construct's crown.
Dark crimson flowed into the prepared channel.
At the same time he began reciting the command-speech.
The Wraith immediately brightened.
Brighter than before.
Far brighter.
Its entire body became a crystal lantern.
Colors danced through its translucent frame.
Kael's heart lurched.
Hope surged.
He continued chanting.
The lengthy initialization sequence crawled onward.
Finally he reached the last command.
His voice echoed across the cavern.
"Darling Sel!"
The world exploded.
Light erupted from the construct.
A streak of rainbow brilliance shot across the cavern like a falling star.
Kael lost sight of it instantly.
The Wraith became pure motion.
A blur.
A flash.
A living bolt of impossible speed.
The construct ricocheted from wall to wall.
Across the ceiling.
Over the water.
Through the air.
The cavern filled with cascading ribbons of multicolored light.
Kael stood frozen.
He could barely track it.
"Gods above."
It was fast.
Far faster than he had imagined.
After several moments he remembered the most important test.
Control.
He focused.
Come here.
Stand in front of me.
Don't move.
The command formed within his thoughts.
Immediately the streak of light curved.
It crossed the cavern in the blink of an eye.
Then stopped.
The Wraith stood directly before him.
Perfectly still.
Kael finally got a proper look.
Its crystal body glowed from within.
Dreamlike colors flowed beneath its translucent surface.
Its faceless head looked even stranger than before.
No eyes.
No mouth.
No nose.
Just smooth shining crystal illuminated by shifting light.
It was eerie.
Beautiful.
Deadly.
A grin spread across Kael's face.
"It worked."
He laughed.
"It actually worked."
His gaze swept upward.
A massive stalactite hung from the cavern ceiling.
Perfect target.
Cut that down.
The command flashed through his mind.
The Wraith vanished.
A thunderous boom followed.
The construct reached the ceiling almost instantly.
The stalactite sheared apart.
A gigantic stone pillar crashed downward.
It struck the water with earth-shaking force.
An enormous wave exploded outward.
Spray drenched the cavern.
Kael stared.
Then he laughed again.
The Wraith hovered nearby like a hunting spirit.
Power.
Speed.
Obedience.
Success.
Pure success.
"I'll catch you!"
Kael shouted.
"Try not to let me!"
He launched himself forward.
Vitae surged through his body.
His feet left the stone.
Then something unexpected happened.
He kept rising.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher.
In a single leap he reached the cavern roof.
Kael froze in midair.
"What?"
He looked down.
The ground seemed impossibly distant.
He had never jumped this high.
Not even close.
Then realization struck.
Lyra.
The Soul Core.
Her sacrifice.
Everything that had changed inside him.
His lips parted.
The answer was obvious.
He had crossed into the Kindling.
True flight.
Not borrowed flight.
Not aided flight.
His own.
A laugh burst from his chest.
The Wraith flashed away.
Kael pursued.
The construct darted through the cavern.
He followed.
Fast as the wind.
Weightless.
Free.
Every thought of poison, suffering, and near death vanished beneath the exhilaration flooding his soul.
The Wraith raced ahead.
Kael chased it.
Again and again.
Through the glowing cavern.
Over the spring.
Past the stone walls.
His laughter echoed endlessly.
"This is flying!"
He shot through the air like a released arrow.
"I can fly!"
The words rang through the Hidden Spring.
Wild.
Joyful.
Disbelieving.
At last, after everything he had endured, Kael Ashvane had truly taken to the sky.