Steel sang in the dark.
The sound echoed down the shattered tunnel—measured, disciplined, unmistakably military. Not the wild scramble of beasts or mercenaries, but the synchronized march of trained clan enforcers who believed the world still obeyed rules.
Lysara drew her blade in one smooth motion, positioning herself half a step in front of Kael. Elder Thorne's staff flared faintly, runes reactivating despite the cavern's damage.
"Don't provoke them," Thorne murmured. "Clans listen to strength—but they fear what they don't understand."
Kael flexed his hands. The Interstice Path hummed quietly within him, power coiled and ready without the violent surge he'd known before. Controlled. Waiting.
A line of figures emerged from the tunnel's shadow.
Five warriors, clad in layered azure armor etched with sigils that shimmered like flowing water. Their cloaks bore the crest of a spiraling tide pierced by a single star.
"The Tidefall Clan," Lysara muttered. "Upper-mid tier. Known for suppression techniques."
The central figure stepped forward—a tall woman with silver-blue hair bound tightly at the nape of her neck. Her gaze was sharp, calculating, and utterly unafraid.
"I am Marshal Serayne Tidefall," she announced, her voice carrying easily through the cavern. "By authority of the Nine Clans Accord, this site is now under Tidefall jurisdiction."
Her eyes locked onto Kael.
"You," she continued, "will submit to binding and assessment."
Lysara laughed once—short and humorless. "You didn't even ask what happened here."
Serayne's expression didn't change. "We felt the release. That is enough."
Two Tidefall enforcers raised their staves, water-aspected mana forming intricate latticework in the air—sealing arrays. Kael recognized the pattern instantly.
Core-lock techniques.
Thorne stepped forward, staff striking the stone. "Marshal, this is no longer a matter of clan authority. The boy stands outside your system."
Serayne tilted her head slightly. "All power exists within a system, Elder."
Kael met her gaze. "Not anymore."
For the first time, her eyes flickered.
"Interesting," she said softly. "Then you won't resist. If you're truly beyond us… our bindings won't work."
The sealing arrays descended.
They touched Kael—
—and shattered.
Not explosively. Not violently.
They simply… ceased.
Mana unraveled as if it had never been woven, dissolving into harmless light that drifted to the ground like falling snow.
A sharp intake of breath rippled through the Tidefall enforcers.
Serayne stared, expression finally cracking. "Impossible."
Kael took one step forward.
"You felt the surge," he said evenly. "You know something's changing. I didn't cause it. I survived it."
The cavern pressure shifted.
Serayne raised one hand. Her warriors froze instantly.
"You're dangerous," she said after a long moment. "Not because of your strength—but because you make the Accord irrelevant."
Her gaze hardened. "That cannot be allowed."
Water-aspected mana surged around her, condensing into a rotating halo of blades—each one vibrating with enough pressure to cleave steel.
"Marshal—" one enforcer began.
"This is a test," Serayne cut in. "If he falls, he was never beyond us. If he stands…"
Her eyes met Kael's again.
"…then the clans must adapt."
She moved.
The world slowed.
Kael felt the Interstice Path open, not flooding him with power but aligning everything—breath, balance, intent—into a single, perfect moment.
Serayne's first strike came like a crashing tide, water-blades converging from every angle. Kael didn't block.
He stepped between them.
The blades curved—then faltered, their trajectories slipping as if reality itself had lost interest in obeying their command.
Kael raised his hand.
Not to strike.
To deny.
The water froze mid-air, then dispersed into mist.
Serayne skidded back, boots carving grooves into the stone. Her breathing was steady—but her eyes burned with something new.
Not fear.
Respect.
"…What are you?" she asked quietly.
Kael answered honestly. "I don't know yet."
A deep horn sounded in the distance—another clan signal, far heavier, far more aggressive.
Thorne's face darkened. "That won't be the only response."
Serayne straightened, lowering her weapons. "No. But it will be the first."
She turned sharply to her enforcers. "Withdraw."
They hesitated—then obeyed.
Serayne paused at the tunnel's edge, looking back once.
"The Tidefall Clan will not hunt you," she said. "But others will. And they won't come to negotiate."
Kael held her gaze. "Then I'll be ready."
As the Tidefall forces vanished into the dark, the horn echoed again—closer this time.
Lysara exhaled slowly. "So… that went well."
Kael looked toward the tunnel, the silver threads on his chest pulsing faintly.
"Yeah," he said. "That was the easy one."
And somewhere far away, as clan banners stirred and ancient pacts trembled, the world began to choose sides.