Tale of Vanguard

The guards had their spear at the ready as they pointed it towards the woman. There was something about her—a quiet intensity that made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. One of the guards demanded

"State your identity. Now!"

The woman's gaze was cold and her expression was unreadable. She looked at them with pity, then sighed, almost as if she was bored.

"My identity doesn't matter. Soon, you'll all be dead anyway."

Her words sent a chill down their spines. The guards tightened their grips on their spears, every muscle tensing as they prepared for whatever was about to happen.

Kaelen who is beside them, can felt his heart hammering in his chest. He had been in this kind of situation before—during his attunement, a fight with his life at stake. This, though—this was real, and by real, he meant the opponent in front of him, not a figment of his imagination.

Kaelen's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, the familiar weight grounding him, yet making the moment all the more daunting. His mind raced, trying to prepare for what was about to unfold. In training, he'd never really considered what it would mean to take a life. The idea of actually doing it—of ending someone else's life because of him—was something he wasn't sure he could face. But right now, he didn't have the luxury of doubt. If he hesitated, if he let that fear hold him back, it wouldn't just be him who paid the price.

In a flash, the woman lunged forward, her movement almost too quick to track. The guards and Rogue barely had time to react before she was upon them. But kaelen, with his quick reflexes, moved instinctively. He brought up his sword just in time, causing a clash of steel that rang as he blocked her strike.

For a moment, they were locked in place, but Kaelen is slowly pushed aback. He gritted his teeth, pushing back with all his might. How could she be this strong? A mere dagger shouldn't have this kind of power behind it. It was as if she was drawing from some inhuman strength.

He couldn't dwell on it. With a surge of effort, Kaelen repelled her dagger, the force sending them both reeling back. Seizing the opportunity, he shifted his weight and leaped to the side, swinging his sword in a wide arc toward her body. He aimed to end it quickly, hoping to catch her off guard.

But the moment his blade made contact, everything shifted—his sword sliced cleanly through her, as if her body were nothing but air. He turned quickly, expecting her to crumple, but the woman was still standing, unfazed, almost as if she hadn't been touched at all.

'What the hell?'

Some kind of illusion? No—she had been real when she'd struck him. He could still feel the weight of her dagger against his blade. But now, she was something else entirely, something beyond his understanding.

As Kaelen steadied himself again, a sudden, sickening sound filled the air—a faint, wet thud followed by sharp gasps of pain. He turned just in time to see the guards and Rogue, who had been watching the confrontation, collapse to their knees with their faces contorted in agony. Each of them had a dagger buried deep in their stomachs, the blades gleaming wickedly as blood began to pool beneath them.

"Rogue!" he shouted, as his voiced was filled with a mix of panic and disbelief.

Before he could move, Kaelen felt a sudden, chilling presence behind him. His instincts kicked in, and without hesitation, he spun around, his sword slashing through the air in a swift, defensive arc. But as his blade cut through the space behind him, it met nothing—no resistance, no enemy, only empty air.

The woman was still standing in front of him, her expression was still eerily calm, her eyes locked onto his with an intensity that made his skin crawl. She gaze at Kaelen, studying him as if he were a curious specimen.

"So, you can see it?"

Kaelen's grip tightened on his sword

"See what?"

The woman grin wickedly at Kaelen's question

"Something you cannot hope to understand. But it doesn't matter. Whether you see the truth or not, the outcome will be the same."

Kaelen's eyes narrowed as he studied the woman's figure more closely. There was something disconcerting about her form—an emptiness that seemed to echo beneath her composed exterior. A sudden realization struck him, when he read the tome given by Master Cronos, he recalled: that a being will always have a resonance inside of them.

With renewed focus, Kaelen closed his eyes and concentrated on sensing his surroundings. He reached out with his senses, detecting the faint but distinct resonances of the guards and Rogue, their life forces were flickering weakly amidst their injuries. But he sensed something entirely different above the main gate. It has an unusual, almost alien quality to it. It was as if it was not just a source of an astral resonance, but something more profound and enigmatic.

He quickly washed the lingering thoughts for now. Without hesitation, Kaelen leaped into the air, propelling himself upward with all the strength he could muster. As he ascended, he summoned a surge of black flames from his hand, he then hurled it towards the source of the ominous energy he had detected. The dark fire roared upward, consuming the space above the gate with its intense heat and shadowy tendrils.

The flames clashed with a shimmering barrier, revealing an unseen force that had been concealing something above the gate. The barrier began to crack and shimmer as the black fire seared through it, exposing the woman inside of it.

Kaelen landed on the towering wall beside the gate, and immediately hurled another black flames towards the woman. She leaped to the side and landed on her shoulder , barely flinching as the flames scorched and erased the spot where she had been standing.

As she pushed herself up, her eyes narrowed, and a cold and sharp voice came out of her

"How dare you attack me boy!" The woman's gaze was filled with a dangerous intensity as she stood tall.

Kaelen gripped his sword tightly, ready for whatever came next. He could see the hints of irritation in her demeanor. He then smirked at her.

"Care for another hide-and-seek?"