Step
Step
Damp clothes, muddy boots and the dim grey sky.
Each tree loomed like a sentinel, gnarled roots snaking across the forest floor, some pulsating faintly as if feeding on the soil beneath. Parasitic vines hung like curtains from the branches, twitching slightly.
The woods were getting more and more dangerous, Everyday we were still getting injured.
Instructor Veyra decided to train us by letting us fight a layer 3 beast as a team, It was also to improve our chances against high layered beasts, And if anything goes wrong she intervenes.
Dark ichor sprayed across
A dead plant like humanoid beast was infront of us, These beasts became a frequent occurrence, especially after entering the chained forest.
Thick fog slid between the trees, coating everything in a pale sheen.
Branches hung low, draped with long strands of moss and parasitic vines.
Some vines swayed even when there was no breeze.
Some twitched like they were dreaming.
A light rain started cold droplets tapping against leaves, dripping along vines, hitting the ground with soft thuds that sounded like footsteps if you weren't paying attention.
When we reached a widening in the forest, Veyra raised her hand.
"Lets Stop."
Her voice cut through the damp air like a blade.
We halted instantly. After a while
"This is a teaching moment," she said, tone low.
"You all need to understand what comes next."
Fog curled around Veyra's boots as she stepped forward
"Listen carefully. None of you are at the layer where your Threads begin to reveal their true nature but you're getting there.
At Layer One, a Thread is borrowed strength.
At Layer Two, it is a tool.
At Layer Three…"
She tapped the sword.
"…it becomes personal."
Phoebe tilted her head.
"Personal how?"
"At Layer Three, each of your Threads gains a new ability one that is unique to you. Not copied. Not inherited. Not shared."
Nolan frowned.
"So… two people with the same Thread could end up completely different?"
"Yes," Veyra replied. "Two Flame users might both ignite their bodies but only one might learn to turn fire into light, while another learns to consume heat entirely. These abilities are shaped by instinct, personality, trauma, desire."
Lex crossed his arms.
"So… my Phoenix Thread could end up with something like a phoenix transformation? Or flight?"
Veyra's gaze flicked to him.
"Or something you haven't dreamed of. But the ability will always reflect who you truly are beneath pride, beneath honor, beneath lies."
'This was true your thread reflects yours soul. In the novel too this played a major role in developing what powers Nolan got, In the novel his mother was killed by the church and it shaped his powers driven from revenge. It was not a quick death, when she tried to run away from the stronghold during the chaos she was caught by a priest and basically sent to the royal palace for experimentation, she was also tortured because of her attempt to escape, until one day she couldn't take it and cut her own neck.
It was sad. She had a large cut on her neck from a sharp object, her blood was seeping and it was too late at night to notice, she suffered every single second. Even in her last moments her eyes welled up not because of her wound but because she couldn't see her son before leaving this world.
Thankfully I avoided that fate, I feel like I would not have been able to take that if she really had died, I feel like I saved my mother from a single accident that resulted the tragedy.
Suddenly my mind reeled and I thought something.
Would I have been able to save my mom and dad if I just told them to stay longer? Could I have been able to prevent the accident- No, lets not overthink.
I stopped my train of thought paid attention to Veyra.
She took one step forward
and vanished sideways.
Not fully invisible.
Not teleporting.
Just… wrong.
Her outline flickered like a bad reflection.
Her body blurred for a moment, bending at a strange angle like the world had tried to draw her and made a stroke in the wrong place
and then she stood two meters away, as if she'd stepped along a path that hadn't existed a second earlier..
"Slip-Step," Veyra said simply. "My Gate's unique ability."
She touched her chest as if remembering something painful.
"When I reached Layer Three… this manifested. A step sideways through a spatial echo.
Not an escape. Not teleportation.
A shift. It is not very useful in closed spaces or in a place with lots of building and trees"
Nolan breathed out,
"That's incredible."
"It's limited," Veyra replied. "Two meters. And only while I stay calm. If I panic, I misjudge spacing and collapse."
Then she extended her hand.
A faint black shimmer wrapped around her wrist.
A spectral chain materialized from thin air no rattle, no sound
and lashed toward a tree.
It did not bind the trunk.
It did not wrap around it.
Instead the tree shuddered.
Branches sagged.
The trunk bent slightly, as if something weighed it down.
Then the chain dissolved.
"Burden Shackle," Veyra said. "My Chain's unique ability."
Lex leaned forward.
"Looks like you slowed it?"
"I pressed weight onto it," she said. "Not physical weight. Emotional weight. For three seconds, the tree remembered every storm that tried to break it."
Solace remembered seeing chains in the fight against archbishop
He paused
A chain that can bring out traumatic memories huh
Veyra pointed the tip of her sword into the dirt, drawing a small circle.
"At Layer Three, your Thread becomes yours alone. But"
She drew a much larger circle around it.
"At Layer Four, it creates a Domain."
"A Domain is…" Nolan began.
"A territory," Veyra finished. "A sovereign zone of reality altered by your Thread. When activated, you impose a rule on the space around you."
Lex raised a brow.
"Like… burning everything?"
"If you have fire," Veyra nodded. "Yes. Fire might fill the Domain. Enemies might catch fire simply by breathing."
Phoebe softly asked,
"And Frost?"
"A Frost Domain could slow enemies, freeze their armor, or harden the air itself into blades."
My heartbeat quickened.
"And… Gate?" Vivi whispered.
Veyra paused.
"Gate Domains," she said quietly, "are rare. And terrifying. They can distort distance, drag enemies halfway through walls, scramble directions, or erase paths entirely."
Vivi swallowed hard.
Lily muttered, "…Thank the gods she's not Layer Four yet."
"Thank the gods she's not Layer Three," Lex corrected.
Phoebe grinned. "Imagine Vivi teleporting our clothes away during a fight."
"Phoebe," Veyra said sharply.
Phoebe raised both hands in surrender, smiling.
Veyra continued.
"Domains are not illusions. They do not trick senses. They rewrite local reality. A Domain can strengthen you, weaken enemies, damage everything inside, or trap any creature that steps within its borders."
She lowered her voice.
"And once a Domain is cast, leaving it is not always possible.There is more but it should be enough"
Sara exhaled shakily.
"This world… was not meant for children."
Veyra's expression softened for a moment rare, brief.
"You are not children anymore."
Vivi hesitated before speaking.
"Instructor… you mentioned Gate has another function?"
"Mm."
Veyra lifted her arm and pressed her hand to a large boulder beside her.
Her skin shimmered faintly.
Then
Her hand passed through the stone.
The boulder remained unchanged.
Not a scratch.
Not a ripple.
Only her arm had turned intangible.
"When your Gate reaches its next layer, you gain the ability to phase through objects."
Lily's eyes widened.
"That's insane."
Veyra withdrew her arm the stone solid again.
"You can move through walls, weapons, or even space itself. But there is a cost."
Lily smirked.
"Let me guess. The world gets angry."
"For some Threads, yes. For Gate… it simply punishes carelessness."
She tapped the boulder.
"If your phasing ends while you are inside something, you die. Instantly. In my case my limit is 4 seconds"
Vivi's face drained of color.
Nolan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Just as Veyra finished speaking
A scream tore open sky