Varik moved between them, a shadow against the snow, steady as stone. He walked like the storm was nothing, his weight settling with each step as though he was carving a path into the world itself.
Lucen broke the silence first, because silence always itched at him. "You know, I'm starting to think these assignments are less about relics and more about free hiking trips. Elira should've sent us trail maps and hot cocoa."
Selindra didn't look back. Her voice carried over the storm, cold and flat. "You're laughing at what should terrify you."
Lucen tilted his head. "You're assuming I haven't been terrified the whole time. I just make better use of it."
She ignored him.
He smirked, half to himself. 'God, she's fun at parties.'
The relic pulsed again, steady, almost like it was syncing with his heartbeat. Every time, his system chimed faintly in his mind.
[Relic Integration Progress: 84%.]
[Corruption Level: 0%.]
Varik's voice finally cut through, deep and even. "She's right about one thing. Abyssal power doesn't vanish cleanly. You'll carry it until it decides otherwise."
Lucen shot him a grin. "And yet you're not freaking out about me sprouting extra limbs, which I appreciate."
Varik didn't answer. He didn't need to.
—
The march stretched on. The snow thinned eventually, giving way to jagged fields of black stone, slick with frost. The path wound downward into narrow canyons where the wind dropped but the cold clung thicker. Every sound echoed strangely here, the crunch of boots, the faint scrape of ice.
Lucen's gaze caught movement once, shadows darting between rocks. He slowed, hand instinctively brushing the hilt of his sword.
"Varik."
"I see it," Varik said calmly, not breaking stride.
Selindra's hand dropped to her blade too, posture tightening.
Shapes emerged from the rocks, low, angular things, their bodies crystalline, jagged like they'd been carved from the same abyssal stone as the guardians. Their eyes glowed faintly, pale blue in the dark.
Lucen muttered under his breath, "Great. Leftovers."
The first one lunged. Lucen raised his hand, mana flaring.
[Shockweave Bolt.]
Lightning cracked outward, slamming into the beast's chest. It convulsed, stumbling midair before hitting the ground smoking.
Another darted left, fast, too fast. Selindra was already there, blade singing once through the air. The creature split in two, scattering shards across the canyon floor.
Varik barely moved. His sword came up once, casually, and three more went down in a spray of shattered crystal.
Lucen exhaled. "Right. Just to confirm, you two are still miles stronger than me. Good talk."
Selindra's tone was sharp. "And yet the creatures are drawn to you."
Lucen opened his mouth, shut it, then shrugged. "Okay, fair."
The relic pulsed again.
[Detected: Abyssal Remnants.]
[Assimilation Possible.]
Lucen groaned, half exasperated. "Not now—"
The shattered remains of the creatures began to seep, their motes swirling toward him. He cursed, bracing as they sank into his skin.
[+150 Mana.]
[+Experience: 4,500.]
[Level Up — 38.]
[Max Mana: 360.]
[Relic Integration Progress: 88%.]
He staggered, catching himself against the canyon wall. "Fantastic. I'm a walking abyssal vacuum cleaner."
Selindra's eyes narrowed, blade still in her hand. "It's accelerating."
Varik finally spoke again, calm but heavier now. "And it won't stop."
Lucen caught his breath, managing a grin through it. "So, what—you're saying I'm trending?"
Neither answered.
—
Hours passed. The canyon widened, opening into a barren plateau where the horizon stretched flat and endless. The storm had quieted here, but the silence was worse, thick, heavy, broken only by the crunch of boots.
Lucen rolled his shoulders, feeling the energy inside him swirl like a storm barely held in check. His system ticked like a clock.
[Relic Integration Progress: 90%.]
Every tick made him wonder what would happen at 100%.
Selindra's voice finally broke the quiet, sharp against the empty sky. "How long have you been carrying that thing?"
Lucen smirked. "You're asking like I had a choice."
"Answer."
He glanced at her, grin still in place but eyes cold. "Since before you met me. Since before you even mattered."
Her gaze hardened. "Then you're a liability. To Varik. To all of us."
Lucen tilted his head. "Funny, I'm the one still walking. Still fighting. Doesn't sound like liability to me."
Selindra's hand twitched near her blade, but Varik's voice cut in, steady as steel. "Enough."
The weight of it stopped both of them cold.
Lucen chuckled, low. "Man, you're good at killing the mood."
Varik didn't respond. He just kept walking.
—
By the time night fell, the plateau had given way to rough hills where the snow returned in thick patches. They found a narrow alcove in the rock to rest, shielded from the worst of the wind.
Varik lit a small flame with a spark stone, the glow barely enough to warm their hands. Selindra sat opposite him, posture stiff, eyes never leaving Lucen.
Lucen sat cross-legged near the wall, tossing a shard of crystal between his hands, his grin never fading.
'She's staring holes in me. Like if she looks long enough, she'll see me unravel. Cute.'
The relic pulsed again, heavier this time. His vision blurred for a moment, then cleared.
[Relic Integration Progress: 92%.]
Lucen let the shard fall and stretched out lazily, voice light. "So, Selindra. Tell me. When Elira sent you, did she tell you to keep watch, or pull the trigger if I stepped out of line?"
Her silence was answer enough.
Lucen grinned wider. "Yeah. Thought so."
Varik's gaze flicked between them, unreadable.
The fire sputtered. The storm outside howled.
And Lucen leaned back, listening to the relic hum inside him like a second heartbeat, steady, hungry.
—
The fire in the alcove burned low, just embers now, hissing faintly against the cold draft that slipped through cracks in the stone.
Selindra sat stiff-backed, arms folded, eyes closed, but Lucen knew she wasn't asleep. Her breathing was too controlled, shallow, measured like a soldier counting each second.
Varik leaned against the opposite wall, blade across his lap, posture loose but unshakable. The kind of stillness that came only from years of combat, alert even in rest.
Lucen sat sprawled near the entrance, boots stretched out, one hand resting on his knee, the other flipping his system screen open in faint golden light.
[Level: 38]
[Experience: 11,240 / 38,500]
[Max Mana: 380]
[Relic Integration Progress: 94%]
The numbers stared back at him, humming with potential.
'Level thirty-eight. From twenty-eight, just like that. If the others knew… hell, they'd chain me underground before I blinked. No wonder Selindra's glaring holes in me. She probably thinks I'm about to sprout horns and eat them both.'
The warmth from the relic pulsed again, steady in his chest. It didn't feel wrong, not yet. If anything, it felt natural, like it belonged. Which scared him more than he wanted to admit.
He shut the screen and leaned his head back against the stone, smirking faintly. "So, Varik. Be honest. If I keel over and explode, how far do you think the crater would reach?"
Selindra's eyes snapped open, sharp as glass. "That's not a joke."
Lucen turned his head lazily toward her. "That's why I'm laughing."
"Keep laughing," she said, tone flat. "Maybe it'll distract you when the abyss finally eats you alive."
He grinned wider. "See? You can do small talk."
Her jaw tightened.
Varik finally spoke, low and even. "Enough."
The word fell like iron, ending the exchange before it built further.
Silence settled again, broken only by the storm's howl outside.
Lucen shut his eyes but didn't sleep. He just listened. The storm. The steady breath of Varik. Selindra shifting once, faint, blade hilt scraping against her coat. All of it weaving into one restless rhythm.
—
Morning came gray, light bleeding through snow clouds without warmth. The three of them packed quickly, no words wasted. Varik doused the embers with a bootful of snow and shouldered his sword. Selindra adjusted her coat, hair tied tighter than the night before.
Lucen stretched with a yawn, muttering under his breath. "'Another day, another possible death-by-abysmal-corruption. Love the consistency.'"
He caught Selindra's glance at him but ignored it, grinning.
The path wound downward now, following a frozen riverbed cracked and scarred by mana surges from the vault. The further they walked, the more carcasses they found, creatures collapsed mid-mutation, their bodies twisted, half-crystal, half-flesh.
Lucen crouched by one, poking it with the hilt of his sword. The thing's chest cavity was hollow, eaten through from the inside. Abyssal mana leaking out like smoke.
'Ugly. And hungry. Just like the relic.'
The relic pulsed again.
[Assimilation Available.]
The carcass shimmered, fragments of light tearing free. Lucen cursed, bracing as they rushed into him, sinking beneath his skin.
[+1,200 Experience]
[Level Up — 39.]
[Max Mana: 390.]
[Relic Integration Progress: 95%.]
He staggered, coughing, heat flashing under his ribs.
Selindra spun, blade half-drawn. "What happened?"
Lucen wiped his mouth, straightening. "Lunch."
Her glare was ice. "Don't joke."
Varik's gaze lingered on him, calm but heavy. He said nothing, which was worse.
Lucen forced a grin, even as his pulse hammered. 'Level thirty-nine. Great. At this rate, I'll hit fifty before I even find a bed. And then what? Do I stop being me, or do I just become something they can't look at without reaching for their blades?'
He kept walking.