Kael stood beside the colossal river within his inner realm and slowly reached out his hand. In response, a thin stream of will peeled away from the river, carrying with it traces of his thoughts. Tiny fragments of soul, no larger than grains of salt, drifted from the surrounding white void and began to gather in his palm.
He looked down as a mote took shape in his hand, forming into the likeness of a pine cone.
'So this is the rank two Lure mote. Around 30 thousand thoughts to activate?'
He turned it over slowly, inspecting every detail. Now that the mote had settled into his inner realm, Kael found himself understanding it more instinctively.
'Elara's description was close, but not entirely accurate. The core idea remains the same, but she was misled in some ways. Maybe she's still too low of a rank to fully grasp it.'
Kael made a quick judgment, though he had a strong sense it was correct.
The Lure mote didn't create illusions as Elara believed. Instead, it amplified an existing emotion that would lead to the desired outcome. The wielder could influence what they wanted the target to do, but not how it happened. If Elara, for example, activated the mote with the intent of luring a beast, the mote would heighten whichever emotion, fear, aggression, wariness, would best provoke that response. The Luminaire had no control over which one it chose.
The effect was similar, but the mechanism far more nuanced.
'30 thousand thoughts…' Kael snickered inwardly at the number again.
With his advancement to rank two, his soulbound motes had advanced alongside him. That brought his count to four rank two motes. Obsidian Shard, Golden Pea, Titanwood Stalker, and now the Lure mote. In that regard, he was far better off than most Luminaires. His arsenal was broader, more flexible.
But he knew better than to let that feed his ego.
Most rank two Luminaires typically had only two motes, which was the same rank, their soulbound pair. Having double that didn't necessarily make Kael stronger. It only meant he had more options. In a real fight, it was rare to fully utilize every mote. Strategy mattered more than quantity. And with advancement came cost. His soulbound motes had grown stronger, yes, but so had their hunger. Each now required 30 thousand thoughts to activate, up from 20 thousand when he was rank one.
His reserves had increased from 250 thousand to 300 thousand, but the difference couldn't keep pace with the rising demands. In battle, the rate at which thoughts were consumed far outpaced any gain from advancement.
He hadn't been oblivious to it before, but it had become more obvious the stronger his opponents became. The higher the rank, the more precise you had to be with your mote usage. Throwing out techniques carelessly wasn't just inefficient, it was suicidal.
'I really need that Golden Horned mote.'
Kael sighed inwardly and dismissed the Lure mote.
That was the whole reason he was after it. In battle, precision was everything. But when the inevitable happened, when plans fell apart and your thought reserves ran low, what then? All you had left to rely on was your own strength.
That's where the Golden Horned mote came in.
It was a one-time-use mote, but that didn't make it less valuable. In the right moment, it could be worth more than a dozen others. A single activation would boost his physical strength to match five full-grown wolves.
If he ever miscalculated, if things went south and he had to fight or flee, that kind of power might be the only thing keeping him alive.
'I guess there's nothing I can do but earn more mindstones.'
Kael fully returned his consciousness to the present. He was walking alongside Elara, the two of them discussing how to execute the plan with maximum efficiency.
"Do you think that would work, Kael?"
Elara gestured animatedly as she spoke.
"It should."
Kael gave a short but confident reply.
Ever since he revealed himself as a rank two Luminaire, things had become a bit awkward between them. Normally, a rank one Luminaire would show deference to someone of higher rank, but their relationship was a little more complicated than that.
Still, with time, Elara had grown more at ease around him. Probably because she was used to spending time with Adam, who was also rank two.
"How long until we should bait the King Wolf Tiger?"
Kael glanced at Elara as he asked.
"Hmm… Taking into account it'll take about forty minutes to run back, I'd say… two hours?"
Elara tilted her head and looked up at the sky, thinking.
"I see. Then I'll head closer to its location and wait there until it's time."
Elara turned toward him, confused.
"What? Why? It might notice you."
Kael didn't bother to meet her eyes.
"It won't. And unlike you, I don't have any sensory motes to pair with it to increase the range."
Elara looked a little thrown off, rubbing the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed.
"Well, then let me come with you."
"No. Stay here. You'll only get in the way."
Without another word, Kael turned and started walking toward the direction of the King Wolf Tiger.
"What's gotten into him?"
Elara muttered under her breath. She stood there, watching him disappear into the trees, her lips pursed into a pout. She still hadn't gotten used to how suddenly cold he had become.
The closer Kael moved into the Wolf Tiger's territory, the more barren the ground became. The trees grew sparser, their spacing wider, as if nature itself avoided this place. Where fallen leaves once crunched softly beneath his steps, now only the sharp grind of dry dirt and gravel echoed underfoot.
The trees were covered in scars, bark torn away in thick gashes, claw marks running deep into their trunks, from the King Wolf Tiger's many battles for his territory
Unwilling to take any risks, Kael activated the Titanwood Stalker mote, keeping it active as he moved carefully, his presence fading from sight and sense.
'This must be it.'
Far ahead, between the thinning trees, a massive one stood alone. Its towering crown was stripped bare of leaves, yet it loomed with majesty, casting its long, somber shadow across the land like a throne over its kingdom.
And beneath it rested a massive figure, its chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. From where Kael stood, he couldn't make out every detail, but a few things were certain. If the creature stood on all fours, it would easily be three times his height. And if it rose onto its hind legs, that height would at least double.
Kael's emerald eyes remained cold as ice as he stared at the beast resting peacefully.
Without hesitation, he began walking toward it, closing the distance until he reached the activation range of the Lure mote.
—
Elara paced in circles, anxiously tapping a stick against her palm.
"Why did he suddenly turn so cold?" she muttered. "First he was all like, 'Oh lovely Elara, be yourself, don't hesitate to show your true emotions.' Then I was like, *'Oh Kael, thank you so much, I needed that.'"
She continued walking in loops, acting out the recent events in an exaggerated manner, talking to herself.
"Did I do something wrong? Or… does Kael secretly hate me?"
She bit her lower lip, the tapping against her palm growing faster.
"No. No, Kael wouldn't do that…"
She stopped in place, staring blankly ahead.
"Right?"
"Arghh."
A frustrated groan escaped her as she clenched her fists, angry with herself. She stormed over to a nearby tree and slumped down against it, burying her face in her knees.
Elara had awakened young, most of her life defined by battles, planning, and control. Emotions like this were foreign territory. She didn't even understand what she was feeling, which only made her angrier.
"Why can't things be as simple as fighting?"
Her voice was muffled in her knees, quiet and tired.
Time seemed to lose all meaning before she finally pulled herself together. Lifting her head from her knees, she gave herself two light slaps on the cheeks with both hands.
"Get your stuff together, Elara."
She glanced up at the sky, checking the sun's position.
"Looks like about an hour left until Kael baits the King Wolf Tiger here."
She spoke out loud, more to keep her mind busy than anything else, anything to stop her thoughts from slipping into places she didn't want to go.
With a firm nod, she gave herself a bit of encouragement.
"Alright… but what do I do while I wait?"
She tapped her chin slowly with one finger, deep in thought.
She was already bending down to pick up a cool-looking stick she had spotted nearby when a blur flickered through the edge of her vision.
She turned quickly, but the only thing she saw were leaves bursting into the air and bushes swaying violently, bent by the wind left in the wake of something fast.
The moment it passed, the understanding hit her like a stone.
She had completely forgotten to activate her sensory motes. She had been totally unaware of her surroundings.
Her body straightened in an instant, instincts snapping into place.
With no time to spare, she activated one of her sensory motes. It was only for a brief moment, but that was all she needed.
Her face went pale.
The blur had been the King Wolf Tiger. It was sprinting, full speed, toward the ambush site.
She had sensed it when it was just a few dozen meters away, but even though her mote let her detect living things within a three hundred-meter range, it had already vanished. In only a few breaths, it had passed beyond her reach.
'Why is the King Wolf Tiger heading toward the ambush already? The preparations aren't even done.'
Elara stood frozen, her face pale with confusion.
'What is Kael doing?'
Then the realization struck her like a blow to the chest.
Her already pale expression drained further of color.
Something must have gone wrong on Kael's end.
For a moment, she hesitated, torn between two choices, sprint to the ambush site and warn the others, or rush back to where Kael was supposed to be.
But she made her decision quickly.
She turned and ran toward Kael's location. There wouldn't be enough time to warn the others, and besides… they were three Luminaires. They could probably handle it.
At least, that's what she told herself.
She raced across the same barren ground Kael had passed, dry earth crunching beneath her feet. The trees around her were scarred and stripped of bark, claw marks gouged deep into the wood.
Her sensory motes flared to life and her ash-gray eyes shone with a pale yellow light, scanning everything around her. But this time, she didn't trust them alone.
She ran straight toward the giant tree that marked the heart of the King Wolf Tiger's territory,only to find it empty.
A chill raced down her spine. Cold sweat formed on her forehead as she clutched at her hair, spinning in place and searching the area.
"Kael! Kael!"
Her voice cracked as she screamed his name into the forest.
But no answer came.
Her legs gave out beneath her, dropping her to one knee. She clutched at the front of her coat, right over her heart, as if trying to slow its racing beat. Her breathing was shallow, and her vision blurred at the edges.
But she didn't stop.
With trembling hands, she pushed herself back to her feet. Panic flickered in her eyes.
Then, without a word, she turned and broke into a sprint, running with everything she had left toward the ambush site. Her coat whipped behind her, and her boots pounded against the dry, cracked earth.
"Please. Please. Please."
The words slipped out in broken whispers between ragged breaths. Her thoughts were scattered, unable to settle. All she could do was run.