THE AETHERBORN

Thorne lay sprawled on the cobblestones, his body aching from the brutal training he'd endured. He was filled with dread, the whistling echo of the arrow that had struck Sid still ringing in his ears.

His vision swam as he tried to process the scene. Sid, despite the arrow embedded in his side, had already sprung into action, his stance low and poised, blood seeping through his tunic but his gaze fixed and lethal.

Three figures emerged from the shadows at the mouth of the alley, their forms cloaked and faces obscured. They moved with a deadly grace that sent a chill through Thorne’s bones. He scrambled back, pressing himself against the cold wall, activating his Shadow Meld and Stealth skills as he melded into the darkened corner, hoping to remain unseen. Heart pounding, he watched as Sid squared off against the intruders.

Sid’s opponents were seasoned, high leveled rogues, he could see that in their demeanor, confident and full of swagger, like they were hunting their prey, savoring the moment. Each step they took was silent, their presence nearly undetectable.

"Come on then," Sid snarled, his voice a low growl. "Let's see what you've got."

The first rogue lunged forward, his blade aimed straight for Sid's heart. Sid twisted his body, dodging the attack with a move so swift that Thorne could barely follow. Sid countered with a quick slash of his own, the blade slicing through the air with a hiss.

"Too slow!" Sid taunted, but his voice was strained with pain. The arrow in his side hindered his movements, and Thorne could see blood flowing freely.

The second rogue moved in, his dagger glowing with aetheric energy. He activated a skill, Shadow Strike, and disappeared momentarily, reappearing behind Sid with a deadly thrust. Sid barely managed to parry the blow, grunting from the strain. the force of the impact sending him staggering back.

Thorne’s fists clenched. Damn it, Sid, they’re faster than you.

Thorne watched from his hiding spot, his breath shallow. He tried to analyze the aether as the men fought, but everything happened too quickly. If only he could just… slow it down. The aether swirled around them in chaotic patterns, each rogue manipulating it to enhance their speed and strength.

Skill level up: Shadow Meld!

Sid used a skill of his own, Vanish, blending into the shadows and reappearing behind one of the rogues. His blade struck true, but the rogue activated Evasion, narrowly escaping the fatal blow. They danced around each other, a deadly ballet of strikes and counters.

The third rogue, a woman with a hood pulled low over her eyes, used her skill, Poisoned Blade. Her dagger glowed a sickly green as she lunged at Sid, aiming for his neck. Sid deflected the attack, but the blade nicked his arm, and Thorne saw him wince as the poison began to take effect.

But Sid kept fighting, his strikes coming fast, more desperate with each passing second. Thorne could see the aether signatures from Sid and the rogues—slashes of shadow, bursts of speed, tiny shifts in the air that signaled skills he barely recognized but knew were way beyond his level. Every exchange left Sid breathing harder, his movements slowed just slightly by the blood loss and the poison working through his veins.

Come on, Sid, Thorne willed silently. Just once, hit them with everything.

But the three rogues were relentless, their attacks coordinated and precise.

Thorne's eyes darted back and forth, trying to understand the flow of the battle. The aether around the combatants was a maelstrom of energy, each skill they used sending a ripple through the aether like a crack in glass. But it was all too fast, too chaotic for him to glean any useful information.

Skill Level up: Stealth!

One of the rogues used a skill, Smoke Bomb, filling the alley with thick, choking smoke. Thorne stifled a cough, his lungs straining against the acrid smoke. Struggling to see through the haze, he activated his aether vision, but the swirling aether only added to his confusion. He could barely make out the figures as they moved within the smoke, their outlines ghostly and indistinct.

Sid burst forward from the smoke, his eyes fierce and focused, his discarded cloak lying trampled in the grime. Without its weight, his movements were sharper, more agile without the encumbrance. Thorne watched in awe as Sid’s gaze cut between each rogue, his stance balanced and lethal. But the three rogues circled him like wolves around wounded prey, their eyes gleaming, confident.

The alley was a cacophony of clashing blades and grunts of effort. Thorne's heart pounded in his chest as he watched, feeling utterly powerless. He wanted to help, but he knew he was no match for these skilled assassins. All he could do was stay hidden and hope that Sid would survive. Did he want him to survive?

Sid's breath came in ragged gasps, the toll of his injuries evident in his labored movements. He fought with a grim determination, his blade flashing in the dim light. The three rogues pressed their advantage, their attacks coming faster and more ferocious.

"Give it up, Sid," one of the rogues sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "You're outnumbered and outmatched."

"Not by the likes of you," Sid spat back, deflecting another blow.

Thorne's eyes darted to the aether surrounding the combatants. He could see the way it responded to their skills, the intricate dance of energy that powered their every move. But it was all too complex, too rapid for him to fully comprehend.

The fight raged on, neither side gaining a clear advantage. Sid's movements grew more desperate, his attacks more wild. The rogues, sensing his weakening state, pressed harder, their strikes more aggressive.

In the chaos, Thorne's heart sank as he realized that the battle might not end in Sid's favor. He felt a pang of guilt for his helplessness, but he knew that revealing himself would only make things worse.

Sid, despite his injuries, stood tall, his eyes flicking between his opponents, assessing their next moves. The three rogues moved in unison, their blades glinting under the faint light as they advanced. Thorne watched from his hidden spot, barely daring to breathe.

The first rogue attacked with a skill, Shadow Lunge. His form blurred, his silhouette dissolving into a misty outline as he lunged forward, aiming straight for Sid’s heart. Sid parried the blow, but the force sent him stumbling back.

The second rogue followed up with a skill, Phantom Strike, his dagger leaving a trail of aetheric afterimages as it sliced through the air. Sid twisted to avoid the brunt of the attack, but the blade still nicked his shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood.

"You're getting slow, Sid," the female rogue taunted, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction as she stalked him.

Sid gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain. "Let's see you handle this," he growled, activating a skill of his own, Blade Dance. His movements became a frenzied blur, his blade sweeping through the alley in a whirlwind of strikes. The rogues were forced to retreat, barely managing to deflect the flurry of blows.

Thorne's eyes widened as he tried to keep track of the fight. The alley was filled with the sound of clashing steel, punctuated by grunts of effort and cries of pain. The aether around them crackled with energy, each skill leaving ripples in its wake.

he first rogue, regaining his footing from Sid’s fierce onslaught, activated a defensive skill, Aether Shield. A shimmering, translucent barrier of energy enveloped him, absorbing Sid's blows with an unnatural hum. Meanwhile, the second rogue seized the opportunity to vanish completely with Cloak of Shadows, blending seamlessly into the shadows.

Sid’s gaze sharpened, darting as he tried to pinpoint the rogue’s location. Thorne activated his Aether Vision, hoping to spot even a hint of the rogue’s movement, but the churning energies around them were too chaotic to cut through. Then, in a blur, the rogue materialized behind Sid, blade poised for a lethal strike.

Sid whipped around, anticipating the ambush, and unleashed Whirlwind Slash. His blade arced through the air in a brutal sweep, catching the rogue off guard. The steel bit into his chest, carving a bloody gash. The rogue stumbled back, clutching his wound but staying upright, defiance still blazing in his eyes.

The female rogue, seeing her comrade injured, snarled and activated Poison Dart. With a flick of her wrist, venom-laced projectiles sailed through the air. Sid dodged most of them, but one dart sank into his arm. His face contorted as the poison seeped into his bloodstream, a hiss of pain slipping from his lips.

Skill Level Up: Stealth!

Despite the mounting toll on his body, Sid pressed forward. He activated Mirage Step, and suddenly there were multiple copies of him moving in unison, weaving through the dim alley. The rogues hesitated, uncertain of which Sid to attack, and he used their confusion to strike. His blade flashed, slicing across the thigh of the first rogue, who dropped to one knee, blood pouring from the wound. The female rogue barely fended off the assault, desperation flashing in her eyes.

Thorne crouched low, watching in awe as the alley filled with the metallic tang of blood. The slick cobblestones gleamed wetly under the waning moonlight, and each clash of steel echoed off the narrow walls, amplifying the brutality of the fight. Sid’s face was set with a grim determination that Thorne had never seen before. Even with his skill and experience, Sid was outnumbered, and the strain was beginning to show.

The first rogue, grimacing from the earlier wound, activated his own powerful skill—Death Mark. A dark aura surrounded his blade, casting a sickly glow as he charged Sid, his intent unmistakably lethal. Sid managed to block the attack, but the impact threw him to the ground, and the rogue loomed over him, his eyes gleaming with triumph as he prepared to strike the final blow.

Thorne’s heart thundered as he saw Sid laid out on the ground, bloodied and vulnerable. With a guttural shout, Sid summoned every last reserve of his aether, his eyes blazing as he activated two skills at once.

The first skill, Crimson Veil, bathed the alley in an eerie red glow. Above each rogue’s head, ominous red crosses flickered to life, disabling their active skills and preventing them from using any stealth abilities. The rogues, now exposed and wary, exchanged uncertain glances as their cloaks of invisibility dissolved around them.

The second skill, Phantasmal Strike, caused Sid’s form to waver like a ghost’s, his movements flickering between solid and incorporeal. Thorne squinted in confusion, barely able to follow Sid’s blurred figure as he vanished and reappeared, moving like a phantom through the thickened air.

Sid’s figure solidified just long enough for him to strike the first rogue with a devastating blow. The slash was so swift and brutal that, for a second, Thorne didn’t even register it—until the rogue staggered back, blood pouring from a deep wound that slashed diagonally across his torso. His eyes widened in shock before he collapsed to the cobblestones, motionless.

The female rogue, desperation overtaking her anger, let out a scream and charged Sid, her dagger flashing. But Sid was already moving, his form blurring and reappearing behind her. Another slice, another gush of blood. He drove his blade into her side, and she crumpled, clutching the wound, her eyes widening in terror as blood seeped through her fingers.

Thorne stayed hidden, his heart hammering as he watched the final rogue’s terror-stricken eyes dart between Sid and his fallen comrades. The alley fell eerily silent, the only sounds now the shallow breaths of the dying and the quiet drip of blood on stone.

The last rogue, eyes wide with desperation, tried to mount a final defense, but Sid was unstoppable. His movements were as fluid as they were lethal, his blade carving through the air with deadly precision. Each strike left the rogue further battered, leaving another deep gash. his attempts to parry futile as Sid’s onslaught only grew more ruthless.

Thorne, crouched in the shadows, could barely keep track of Sid’s movements; it was like watching a storm contained within a single figure, each slash another arc of lightning, every step a rumble of thunder. The blood-red crosses above each rogue’s head pulsed one last time, flickering like dying embers, a final marker of their inevitable doom.

With a final, brutal twist, Sid moved behind the last rogue in a blur, driving his blade deep into the man’s back. The rogue choked, blood bubbling at his lips, and then crumpled to the ground, his body hitting the cobblestones with a dull, lifeless thud.

The alley fell silent, the chaos of battle dissipating into an almost eerie calm. Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance, and only Sid’s labored breathing broke the quiet. He stood over the fallen rogues, his blade dripping with blood, his eyes still alight with an unsettling, residual glow from the aether.

Thorne’s heart pounded as he tried to process what he’d just witnessed. Three assassins, all highly skilled, had been obliterated by Sid alone, left scattered like remnants of a storm.

Sid turned his gaze to where Thorne was hidden, a predatory glint still in his eyes. For a fleeting moment, Thorne felt a chill snake down his spine, an instinctive urge to run from the man who had just left a trail of bodies in his wake. He dropped his Shadow Meld, and Sid’s piercing gaze immediately zeroed in on him.

“Get up, boy,” Sid commanded, his voice edged with fatigue. “We’re not done yet.”

Thorne scrambled to his feet, adrenaline surging through him as he stood, unsure of what Sid had planned next. Sid remained rooted among the fallen, his shoulders rising and falling as he regained his breath. A strange look crossed his face, his eyes briefly lost focus, a look of intense concentration crossing his face, and then he met Thorne’s gaze with a chillingly calm expression.

“In about twenty-four seconds, I’m going to faint,” Sid said, as if stating the weather. “You’ll have fifteen minutes to reach Uncle and get him back here. After that, I’ll bleed out.”

Thorne’s eyes went wide, his heart lurching as panic clawed its way up his throat. “But—how am I supposed to—”

“No time for panic, boy,” Sid cut him off, his tone sharp and unyielding. “You need to move. Now.”

Sid bent down to search the fallen rogues with steady hands, as though he hadn’t just told Thorne he was about to collapse. Thorne stayed rooted in place, his mind racing, disbelief and fear warring inside him. He’d just watched Sid do the impossible, and now it was up to him to save his life.

“What the hell are you standing there for?” Sid snapped, his eyes never leaving the bodies as he rifled through their belongings. “Run!”

Thorne managed a frantic nod, stammering a quick, “Yes!” before turning to sprint out of the alley. His footsteps pounded on the slick cobblestones, his pulse thundering in his ears as he pushed himself to run faster, Sid’s life hanging in the balance. He barely registered the string of notifications popping up in his vision, each one blinking as if mocking his sense of urgency, as if saying there was no time to waste.

Skill Level up: Running!

Skill Level up: Running!