The fight between Arden and the drake was getting to it’s peak.
As faint afterimages flickered through the mist and light.
One moment the drake was attacking a target that wasn’t there, the next it recoiled as static discharges burst across its wings. It twisted mid-air, wings erratic, trying to pinpoint the real threat.
Then the air stilled.
Arden appeared above the drake.
The final movement was different, sharp, deliberate. He blinked forward once. Then again. Each shift left behind a charged image, each one buzzing with electricity.
Rael’s eyes widened. "What is that?"
"I also don’t know, looks like a new skill," Nyra said, voice almost soft but filled with a bit of awe.
The drake caught sight of him too late. Its wings moved to pull away, but its body was locked mid-air—confused by the static, delayed by the flickering afterimages, its senses unable to tell what was real.
Arden’s blade sliced through the confusion.
The final strike didn’t just cut. It detonated.
The afterimages burst in a chain of lightning, grounding the drake mid-air. Its wings convulsed as the current locked its motion, and in the same heartbeat, Arden twisted mid-spin and slammed his weapon straight into its core.
The wind died instantly.
The drake crashed to the rock below with a thunderous slam. It didn’t rise again.
Rael exhaled slowly, mouth open, as silence fell over the ridge.
"...That was insane."
Nyra didn’t respond. She was still watching Arden, who now stood quietly beside the fallen beast, his shoulders rising and falling in calm rhythm.
Zephyra padded forward, low to the ground, and let out a deep chuff in acknowledgment, nothing more.
Arden turned to them, a faint smirk at the edge of his lips.
"Well," he said, "That was fun."
Rael stood still and just stared at the fallen Drake and the figure standing calmly beside it.
Nyra had moved past the shock quicker. She placed her hands on her hips and called out, "Helloo, earth to Arden! You alive down there?"
Arden’s gaze stayed fixed ahead, eyes slightly narrowed as glowing threads of light flickered in front of him with his interface active.
He wasn’t ignoring them on purpose. Something else had caught his attention.
He had acted on instinct back there. Fused a new move without thinking too much, just followed the flow of the fight. Now the results hovered before him.
New Life Signature Gained
Name: Skyfang Pulse Mirage
Fusion of: Steptrace Mirage + Static Edge Bloom + Phantom Vein Drift
Allows the user to phase between positions mid-air, leaving electric-charged afterimages that confuse targeting. Each phase blink stores static. When triggered, the next strike releases a chained electric burst that grounds aerial enemies.
Arden gave a small nod. It worked better than expected.
He could still feel the pulse of lightning through his veins, the way the charged bursts had linked together. It hadn’t just grounded the Drake, it overwhelmed it.
But then, before he could dismiss the screen, another prompt flickered to life.
New Life Signature Gained:
Name: Aetherstride Ascension
Grants refined aerial maneuverability, short bursts of flight, rapid directional shifts mid-air, and vertical dashes. While airborne, movement skills consume less energy and gain enhanced precision. Creates a soft wind platform beneath the user when hovering. Increases wind affinity spellcasting speed while airborne. Passive chance to evade projectile attacks through erratic air drift.
"Aerial sustain," he muttered, thinking aloud. "Not just leaps. Controlled hold."
He clenched and released his fists, then kicked off the ground lightly. Wind gathered beneath his soles as his body lifted smoothly into the air, not a jump, not a boost, just a soft, held platform of wind.
Zephyra tilted her head from where she crouched nearby, tail twitching once. She didn’t speak, but Arden could sense her silent approval through their bond. Curiosity, too.
He leaned forward slightly and shot ahead, then curved upward in a spiral before slowing to a hover mid-air again. The platform responded naturally, like it knew where to be before he moved.
"Alright... this changes things," he said, eyes scanning the horizon.
Mid-air combat wouldn’t just be about chasing now, it was positioning, holding, pressing angles.
And more importantly, conserving energy while doing it.
"Imagine this with Cyclone terrain or against ranged mages..." He floated down with a slight grin. "Would’ve killed to have this in the old ruins."
Rael finally broke his silence. "You came up with that in the middle of a fight? Then this one like it is nothing?"
Arden touched down and shrugged. "It just so-so really."
"You make it sound like breathing," Rael muttered.
Nyra just smirked. "Get used to it. That’s Arden for you."
Arden didn’t respond to that, though. His eyes were still on the sky, replaying the fight. Not with ego. Just calculation. What worked. What didn’t. and what challenge came next.
Their rest didn’t last long. Arden gave the word, and the group moved.
The high mountains stretched ahead, quiet for now. But it wasn’t long before another Zephyrtalon Drake appeared, wings slicing through the air as it descended from a ledge high above. Arden didn’t step forward this time.
"Rael, flank left. Nyra, draw it out. Zephyra, stay low, cut off the escape if it tries to rise again."
They didn’t question him. They moved.
Nyra leapt forward sending two piercing ice spears, drawing the Drake’s attention. Rael moved around, lightning essence pulsing from him as he searched for a clean opening. And Zephyra’s form blurred as she pounced from a shadowed ledge below, slamming the creature back toward Arden’s line.
He caught it mid-recovery, palm snapping forward as ash and force erupted in a short wave, just enough to ground it.
Rael followed up without hesitation, his attacks going for the wing joint, and Nyra’s attack came down right after.
By the time it tried to lift again, Arden’s blade found its mark, clean and final.
He glanced at them, nodded once. "That’s how you build rhythm. Keep the flow. Don’t chase, guide it."
Rael exhaled slowly and gave a small smirk, pride tucked behind fatigue. Nyra just grinned like always, ready for more.
The rest of the journey through the mountain passes was quieter, save for the occasional wingbeat echo in the distance. But no other drakes approached. Whatever instinct they had, it kept them away.
By the time they reached the last ridge, the peaks gave way to broken terrain and a wide stretch of land.
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