The forest clearing became a battlefield the instant the Supervisor lowered his hand.
The conduits surged forward, blue veins pulsing like liquid lightning beneath their skin. Their synchronized footsteps thundered through the ground—too precise, too mechanical to be human.
Aren tightened his grip on his sword.
Lirien drew three arrows at once, mana dancing violently at their tips.
Fenn bared his teeth, mana flickering around his paws.
The Supervisor stood unmoving at the rear, cloak shifting unnaturally despite the still air. His mask glimmered faintly—a hundred glyphs woven into a smooth porcelain surface.
The conduits attacked first.
---
1. The First Clash
The nearest conduit sprinted with inhuman speed. Aren barely had time to raise his blade before it swung its arm like a steel hammer.
CLANG!
The force sent a sharp vibration through his arm as he absorbed the blow and twisted his body to redirect the momentum. The conduit stumbled a step—just enough for Aren to strike. He slashed its side, sparks flying as his sword cut through the unstable mana paths etched beneath its skin.
The creature screeched—a distorted, layered sound—and staggered, but didn't fall.
Lirien released her arrows. They split midair, multiplying into six glowing projectiles.
ZWIP ZWIP ZWIP!
Three struck the conduit Aren was fighting, digging into its torso.
Three more pierced into the advancing soldiers behind.
Each impact caused miniature explosions of emerald energy—but the conduits simply shook off the damage, stumbling only momentarily before continuing their advance.
Lirien cursed softly.
"They're tougher than before!"
"They're incomplete," Aren said. "But stable enough to follow orders."
Fenn lunged at another conduit, his jaws coated with shimmering mana. He bit down on its leg, metal-like flesh crunching under the force. The conduit toppled, but its arms twisted unnaturally, reaching for Fenn.
Aren dashed forward, slicing its hand clean off.
The detached hand twitched like a living creature before dissolving into sparks of raw mana.
Lirien shot an arrow into its head. The conduit convulsed—then fell still.
One down.
Fourteen to go.
---
2. A Battle for Every Breath
Another wave rushed in. Aren didn't wait for them to come.
He leaped forward, swinging downward into the nearest conduit's collar. The blade met resistance—mana cracking like glass beneath the metal. The creature roared, pushing back with frightening strength.
Lirien sent a volley of glowing arrows that shattered against the conduit's head, finally making it falter enough for Aren to break through its guard and slice through its neck.
Its head rolled, glowing blue from within before disintegrating.
A second conduit charged behind him.
"Aren, left!"
He ducked instinctively as Lirien's arrow flew past his cheek and detonated against the soldier's chest. The explosion sent the conduit flying backward into a tree hard enough to snap it in half.
Fenn was a blur of mana and fur, weaving between Aren and Lirien, biting at exposed conduits' joints and throats. Each successful attack left trails of blue sparks that showed how unnatural these beings were.
But something was wrong.
Lirien narrowed her eyes as she fired another arrow.
"Aren… they're not fighting like soldiers."
"I know." He slashed through a conduit's arm and stepped aside as it exploded. "They're fighting like puppets."
"Which means—"
They both glanced toward the Supervisor.
Still perfectly still.
Still silent.
Still watching.
"He's directing them," Aren said. "Every move."
The Supervisor finally spoke—calm, clinical.
---
"Correct."
---
With a flick of his fingers, every conduit in the clearing suddenly reoriented—forming a perfect circle around Aren, Lirien, and Fenn.
Aren's breath slowed.
Lirien steadied her bow.
Fenn growled low.
The Supervisor lifted a single finger.
The circle tightened.
---
3. The Conduit Circle
The conduits charged all at once.
Aren moved on instinct—parrying, dodging, countering.
Every swing had to be perfect.
Every step precise.
A conduit seized his arm. Aren twisted, slashing its wrist free.
Another lunged at his back—Fenn intercepted, tackling it away.
A third swung at his head—Lirien shot it through the knee, forcing it down.
Still they came.
Five attacked at once.
Aren ducked, rolled, and stabbed upward—piercing one conduit's core. He ripped the blade out, spun, and cleaved another across the face.
But the circle closed again.
Lirien fired rapid shots, her breathing turning sharp and shallow.
"They're pushing us—into a kill zone—!"
Aren realized it too late.
The conduits were forcing them into a tight cluster in the center of the clearing—a perfect spot for—
He looked at the Supervisor.
The masked figure raised both hands slowly.
Mana concentrated around him like dense fog.
Aren's heart dropped.
"LIRIEN—MOVE!"
The Supervisor clenched a fist.
---
4. Arcane Collapse
A shimmering pulse erupted from the Supervisor's hands—silent but devastating. The air vibrated, distorting like a heat mirage.
Aren threw himself toward Lirien, pushing her to the ground.
The wave hit.
BOOOOOOM!
The world exploded in violent mana pressure.
Trees bent as if struck by a hurricane.
The ground cracked.
Aren's ears rang violently, vision blurring as the shockwave slammed him onto his back.
Fenn yelped as he was thrown several meters away.
Aren gritted his teeth and forced himself up, dizziness clawing at his skull. Lirien coughed, wiping blood from her nose, her bow cracked but still functional.
The conduits, unaffected by the wave, marched forward—unstoppable.
Aren exhaled sharply.
"Lirien. We can't keep this up."
"I know," she gasped. "If he casts another spell like that—"
"We're done."
A conduit charged them, arms crackling with unstable mana.
Aren dodged its strike by inches. His sword cut upward, slicing the creature's head in half.
The explosion behind it sent debris scattering, but Aren pushed through the pain.
Then he heard the Supervisor speak again.
---
"You are persistent.
But persistence does not equal survival."
---
He raised his hand for a second spell.
Aren's eyes widened. "Not again—!"
But Lirien was already moving.
---
5. Lirien's Gambit
She dashed forward, pouring mana into her legs, faster than she'd ever moved before.
Aren yelled, "Lirien—NO!"
She ignored him.
With a sharp leap, she sprinted up a conduit's arm, flipping backward and firing an arrow straight at the Supervisor's mask.
The arrow screamed through the air—
SHWIP—!
The Supervisor tilted his head a fraction.
The arrow missed by less than a hair.
But that wasn't the goal.
The arrow exploded, releasing a cloud of blinding emerald light that swallowed the entire clearing.
The conduits staggered, confused and blind.
The Supervisor paused.
Lirien landed beside Aren, panting. "That's our window. MOVE!"
The two sprinted for the treeline, Fenn leaping ahead of them.
But before they reached it—
Something cold and metallic wrapped around Aren's ankle.
He was yanked violently backward, slammed into the ground.
"Aren!" Lirien screamed.
A conduit's elongated arm had stretched unnaturally, grabbing him like a grappling hook.
Aren slashed, severing the arm, but another conduit grabbed his shoulder. Then another grabbed his wrist. Then a fourth seized his leg.
"GET OFF HIM!" Lirien fired desperately, shooting into the cluster—mana arrows ripping through conduits.
But for every conduit that fell, two more grabbed onto Aren, dragging him back toward the Supervisor.
Lirien sprinted toward him—only for a conduit to grab her waist and lift her off the ground, pinning her arms.
She screamed, "AREN—!"
Aren's vision shook as he struggled. The conduits' cold hands dug into his limbs—pulling him, binding him, immobilizing him fully.
The Supervisor approached slowly.
---
6. The Supervisor's Offer
The masked figure stopped beside Aren, who was held down by ten conduits.
The Supervisor crouched slightly.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
---
"You should not have come here.
You were meant to die at Outpost 12."
---
Aren spat blood. "Sorry to disappoint."
"You have seen too much," the Supervisor replied. "The ledger. The experiments. Calder's plans. You carry knowledge that cannot be allowed to spread."
"So what?" Aren snarled. "You'll kill me?"
"Kill you?"
The Supervisor tilted his head.
"No. We will use you."
Aren froze.
"What?"
"You possess mana compatibility unheard of in your region. Calder has long been searching for a catalyst like you. You will become the prototype conduit. The perfect fusion of human and arcane."
Aren's blood ran cold.
Lirien thrashed against her captor, screaming through clenched teeth.
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!"
The Supervisor glanced at her.
"You, elf, are an unfinished catalyst. Useful… but replaceable."
Lirien's eyes widened with fear and rage—but she couldn't move.
The Supervisor returned his gaze to Aren.
"Your transformation will begin tonight."
He raised his hand.
Mana gathered around his palm—blue, cold, suffocating.
Aren struggled with everything he had. His arms screamed in pain. His muscles burned. The conduits held him tighter, pressing him into the dirt.
The mana sphere brightened.
"Stop—!" Lirien screamed.
Fenn lunged at the Supervisor with a feral roar—but a conduit intercepted him midair, slamming him into the ground.
Aren reached for anything—any strength—any spark of magic—
He felt something ignite inside him.
Raw and primal.
He didn't understand it, but the surge was overwhelming—like a dam finally breaking open inside his chest.
The Supervisor hesitated.
"Oh…?"
His voice shifted subtly.
"Unexpected."
The mana sphere flickered.
Aren's eyes glowed faintly.
The conduits holding him trembled for a moment.
The Supervisor whispered:
---
"…You aren't compatible.
You are over-compatible."
---
Aren didn't know what that meant.
But the Supervisor realized it before he did.
"You are a mana anomaly," he said slowly. "Calder will be… delighted."
Aren roared.
Mana burst from his body in a violent shockwave.
Every conduit holding him was thrown back like ragdolls.
The Supervisor flew several meters, landing on his feet with unnatural grace.
Lirien dropped to the ground as the conduit holding her was blown apart.
Aren rose slowly, breathing heavily, his eyes glowing brighter.
Lirien stumbled toward him. "A-Aren… your eyes—"
But Aren didn't look at her.
He looked at the Supervisor.
The masked figure tilted his head again.
Then straightened.
---
"Interesting.
Very well."
---
He snapped his fingers.
Every conduit in the clearing jerked upright—despite missing limbs, heads, or having half their bodies blown apart.
They charged again—this time without formation.
Wild.
Rabid.
Overloaded.
The Supervisor retreated backward into the shadows of the trees.
---
"Survive, if you can.
Calder wants you alive."
---
And then he vanished.
Leaving Aren, Lirien, and Fenn surrounded by unstable conduits primed to explode at the slightest damage.
Lirien grabbed Aren's wrist.
"Aren—listen—if we fight them right now, this entire forest will blow apart."
Aren clenched his jaw. "Then what do we do?"
She pointed behind them.
"There's a ravine west of the clearing. If we jump it—these things won't follow."
Aren nodded.
"Then we run."
They turned—the conduits screamed—and the chase began.
The forest erupted into chaos.