The Masked Legacy

The hill loomed before them, casting long shadows as the daylight began to fade. Thorne and Akira stood at the base, the jagged path winding upward toward the peak. Up there, Thorne knew, was the third gift—and the archway. His mind buzzed with the knowledge released when he completed the second location. He hadn't marked this spot himself, yet it felt like something was guiding him.

"This is it?" Akira asked, glancing up the hill.

"Yeah," Thorne replied, eyes narrowing as he scanned the slope.

"And the archway."

She sighed, hefting her sword onto her shoulder. "Let's get it over with, then."

The two began the ascent, the first few steps easy enough, but it quickly became clear this climb wouldn't be simple. The terrain grew more treacherous, the rocks sharp underfoot. They hadn't gone far before the first wave of beasts appeared. Shadows moved above them, large, predatory shapes slipping between the rocks. Before they could prepare, a pack of beasts charged down at them, their eyes glowing in the dim light.

Akira met them head-on, her sword flashing as she sliced through the nearest creature. Thorne was beside her in an instant, his blade cutting through the air with deadly precision. Together, they cut down the first wave, but it wasn't long before more came. Every few minutes, new groups of beasts emerged, snarling and snapping, their claws raking the ground as they charged.

"They just keep coming!" Akira shouted, panting as she took a quick breath.

Thorne nodded, his senses scanning the area, sensing more creatures lying in wait.

"We're not going to finish this in one go. It'll take time."

Akira glanced at him as she slashed another beast.

 "We're going to have to camp somewhere along the way, aren't we?"

"Yeah. But not yet." He looked up toward the peak, then back down to her.

"We keep pushing while we can."

Thorne's breath caught in his chest as he stretched his spiritual sense outward. He had been expecting the climb to be difficult, but the sheer number of beasts had taken him by surprise. As they reached the plateau just below the summit, his senses flared with an intensity that made his head spin..

Akira was resting beside him, but Thorne couldn't let himself relax. His spiritual sense reached further than before, sweeping across the area, scanning for threats.

For a brief moment, something caught his attention—a masked beast. Its gaze locked onto him, cold and piercing, before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

He frowned. It had felt like it was watching him, assessing him. But now it was gone. The thought lingered in his mind, heavy with unease.

Thorne sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hadn't been this attuned to his surroundings before. It wasn't just the beasts—his spiritual sense had grown sharper, more refined. Thorne's thoughts churned as they paused for a brief rest. His spiritual sense pulsed outward, scanning the area with an ease that still surprised him. It hadn't been this sharp before, not even close. But now, ever since the temple and that fruit of essence, everything had changed.

The beasts were too many, their movements unnatural, like they were being drawn toward something. He wasn't sure if Akira noticed the same, but there was a heavy weight in the air that couldn't be ignored.

Thorne sighed quietly, pushing the unease down.

If it weren't for that temple, for the words of that strange man—"Chosen"—he wasn't sure if he'd have made it this far. But what did being a Chosen even mean? The thought nagged at him, its answer just out of reach.

The beasts weren't coming by chance. Something at the top was calling them. Thorne narrowed his eyes. It had to be something about what was up there.

No.

Don't get distracted, he told himself. The beasts weren't the only thing to worry about. The climb itself was taking its toll. And they still had so far to go.

They pressed on, step by step, battling the relentless onslaught of beasts. As the night crept in, the creatures grew more aggressive. Thorne moved with an almost preternatural sense of awareness, dodging attacks before they even came, his spiritual sense flaring like a beacon.

Akira noticed, her brow furrowing as she watched him fight.

Akira had seen Thorne fight before, but now, as they climbed the mountain, she couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The way he moved—swift, lethal, utterly efficient—was far beyond anything she'd expected.

Even after eating the Fruit of Steel herself, gaining enhanced strength and endurance, she couldn't match what she was seeing. His body flowed like water through the beasts, and his strikes were perfectly timed, leaving no wasted movements.

How does he do it? she thought, narrowly dodging a charging beast. Her sword cut through the creature, but compared to Thorne, it felt like she was barely holding her own. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he dispatched a larger creature with a single blow, already anticipating the next attack before it even came.

What perplexed her more was the way he fought. Thorne couldn't see, yet he reacted to the beasts as though he sensed them before they even appeared. He moved with such confidence, such precision, that it seemed impossible for someone blind.

How does he know where they are? she wondered. It was almost like he had eyes where none existed, seeing through the chaos with an instinct she couldn't understand.

Akira swung her blade through another creature, Every time a beast lunged at Thorne, he didn't flinch, didn't falter. It was as though he could feel their movements, their intent. And while her body ached from the continuous onslaught, he seemed to be moving with renewed vigor.

Her thoughts raced as they pushed upward, beast after beast throwing themselves at the duo with no end in sight. She had thought that after eating the Fruit of Steel, she would be able to keep pace with him. But now, seeing him fight with such brutal efficiency, she realized that whatever Thorne was doing went beyond physical strength.

There was something more to his abilities, something she couldn't quite place.

Between battles, Akira glanced at him, watching him dispatch yet another beast with ease.

He was ahead of her, cutting through the beasts with an ease she had rarely seen in any maskless. His movements were fluid, almost instinctive, as if he knew exactly where the attacks would come from. She tried to push the thought from her mind. She had spent enough time wondering about his abilities, about his mask material.

Now wasn't the time for curiosity.

"Thorne, how are you still going?" Akira asked between breaths, swinging her sword to parry another beast's lunge.

He shrugged, sidestepping a large creature before driving his sword through its side.

"I don't think about it."

Akira gritted her teeth, dodging a swipe aimed at her chest.

"That's easy to say when you're not about to keel over."

They fought on, pushing up the hill, but exhaustion was starting to weigh on them both. Each wave of beasts grew fiercer than the last, and the path ahead seemed endless.

Finally, as the moon rose high in the sky, they found a small flat ledge where they could rest. It wasn't much—just a small outcropping of rock that provided enough space to sit—but it was enough. They collapsed there, breathing heavily, their bodies aching from the relentless battle.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorne said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"It's too dangerous to keep going in the dark."