The Protectors: Rising from Ashes [Progression Fantasy | Action-Packed | Epic Battles]

Heat and alchemical tension rolled out from within, thick with scorched metal and bitter herbs.

Without a word, Sentinel stepped through the doorway. Alice entered next, her boots touching down on the rune-lit floor with deliberate care. Her eyes swept the space slowly, absorbing every detail. Though her movements were precise, tension still pulled at her shoulders, like an archer holding a string too long.

Aiden followed close behind, faster, less cautious. His gaze darted wildly from shelf to shelf, from floor to ceiling. Every flick of his eyes seemed to demand answers. He hadn't seen the boy yet, but his curiosity hung heavy on his face. It battled against the disbelief tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Fenrik stirred in the back of his mind, voice smooth and needling. Easy there, Alpha of intensity. You're charging in like he owes you a prophecy or a kiss.

Aiden didn't blink, but the corner of his mouth twitched. Shut up, Fenrik.

He shoved the thought down hard. I'm just trying to figure him out.

Fenrik chuckled faintly. Mhm. Keep telling yourself that. I'll be here, watching you stare at him like he's your next riddle and dessert in one.

Aiden clenched his jaw but kept moving.

The chamber offered no response.

No movement. No sound.

Only the low hum of old magic pulsed beneath the floor, and even that felt thinner now. Air clung to the room like a held breath, waiting for something.

Sentinel's boots echoed once before he halted at the center of the chamber. His gaze went straight ahead, focused.

Cassandra was there.

She stood behind her alchemy table, sleeves pushed to her elbows, her hands in constant motion. She poured something pale into a swirling flask, the metal rim of the container catching the faint rune-light. Her skin still bore the tiredness from before, but color had returned to her cheeks and her movements no longer trembled.

She looked up, slow and steady. Her fingers paused mid-pour as her eyes adjusted to the group entering.

Sentinel spoke, low and even. His voice carved through the silence like a blade slicing silk.

"Where is he?"

Cassandra opened her mouth to answer, but Elias stepped forward.

His voice cracked the air, tense and rising.

"Did he leave the chamber?"

His steps quickened as his eyes scanned every corner, every shadow.

"Cassandra, tell me he didn't step outside. The elders are still in the keep. If they see him, if they sense what he is..."

He stopped. His chest rose with a shallow breath.

"We're finished."

Lyric shifted beside him, her stance tightening. Her fingers curled instinctively at her side, eyes narrowing toward the rear of the room.

Thorne scanned the chamber's high shelves, his jaw rigid, arms tense at his sides.

"We should've posted someone outside this door," he muttered under his breath.

Cassandra raised her hand. Calm. Steady. She didn't shout. She didn't need to.

"Alright, stop panicking. Let me speak."

All eyes turned to her.

She gently set the vial on the table and folded her arms.

Then she tilted her head toward the shelves behind her.

"He didn't go anywhere."

There was a sound.

A foot scuffed softly against the stone floor, almost too quiet to catch.

From behind a tall stack of scrolls and glass containers, a figure stepped into view.

Eddy emerged with the unhurried ease of someone who hadn't been hiding, just waiting. He dusted his sleeve with a quick brush. A smudge of ash clung to his cheek. His hoodie sagged slightly off one shoulder, as if he'd climbed out from under something and never fixed it.

There was no alarm in his eyes. No surprise.

He looked like someone who'd seen the ending before the rest of the story even started.

In his other hand, he held a small potion bottle. The glass shimmered with a cool, blue glow, its surface catching the dim light like moonlight on still water. The liquid inside sloshed gently as he moved.

Eddy walked forward with a casual rhythm, his sneakers brushing lightly over the floor's etched runes. He stopped in front of Cassandra, posture relaxed, head slightly tilted as he held the vial out.

"Were you asking about this? I found it on the bottom shelf, was half-buried behind some dried wyrmroot."

Cassandra blinked, thrown for a heartbeat by the matter-of-fact tone. Then she reached forward, her fingers curling carefully around the bottle as though it were made of breath.

"Yes. That's exactly what I needed."

Her voice softened, eyes meeting his with something quiet.

"Thank you."

The chamber seemed to exhale.

Alice's shoulders eased as if a thread that had pulled too tight finally loosened. Lyric's arms, once poised with tension, dropped to her sides. Elias didn't move at first, his chest frozen mid-breath, before he let it out in a single sharp gust, hand falling away from the edge of his cloak. Thorne's stance shifted, chin lifting as a sliver of unspoken relief passed across his face.

Aiden stared.

His jaw slackened. Brows lifted. His voice, when it came, cut clean through the silence.

"Wait. That's him?"

He stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowing as he looked the human boy up and down, confusion mounting like steam.

"He's the one we've been talking about? But he's just a kid. How's he gonna help us?"

The words dropped, heavy and blunt, landing between them like a rock in still water.

Fenrik's voice curled through the back of his mind, still dry but laced with surprise.
Well, I'll be damned. That's not what I expected either. He looks like he'd lose a duel with a stiff breeze.

Aiden didn't answer aloud, but his lips twitched as if biting back a laugh.
Yeah. Not exactly giving off 'here to save the day' vibes.

Eddy blinked. Once. Slowly.
His gaze landed on Aiden and lingered, brow furrowing as if searching through a half-finished puzzle. Something flickered in his eyes, recognition laced with hesitation.

He tilted his head slightly. His lips pressed together.

Then, folding his arms tight across his chest, he muttered,

"I'm not a kid. I'm nineteen, okay?"

The dryness in his tone didn't even try to mask his annoyance. If anything, it sharpened it.

There was a sound—sharp, sudden.

Thorne snorted.

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He tilted his head and grinned, teeth flashing with impish delight.

"Yeah, we know. He told us. Pretty sure it was the first thing out of his mouth."

He half-turned toward the others, voice rising with mock gravity.

"Honestly, I think he's weirdly obsessed with being nineteen. Like if he says it enough, it'll make him taller."

Alice shifted her gaze, clearly trying not to laugh. She failed. Her lips curled in betrayal of her efforts, and she turned slightly, but the smile had already bloomed.

Elias gave a low chuckle, the sound more breath than voice.

Lyric rolled her eyes and flicked her braid over one shoulder, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

Aiden blinked again, as if the speed of the conversation had outpaced him.

"Wait, he really introduced himself with that?"

Thorne didn't miss a beat. His arms swung loosely at his sides as he shrugged, voice casual.

"Word for word. 'Hi, I'm Eddy. I'm nineteen.' Like it was part of his last name."

Eddy groaned, shifting his weight and hugging his arms tighter.

"Okay, you know what? When you're five foot seven and look twelve in vampire territory, you've gotta lead with age or you don't make it past introductions."

That cracked it.

Lyric burst into laughter, sudden and unfiltered, and even Sentinel, silent this whole time, let out something like a breath tinged with mirth. Not a laugh exactly, but enough to soften the space around them.

The tension in the chamber didn't vanish.

But it shifted.

Like morning fog rolling back from the hills.

And standing at the center of it all was Eddy, real, present, impossible to ignore.

Cassandra, still holding the potion bottle in one hand, let her gaze drift across the group. Her eyes lingered on each of them—Alice, Thorne, Lyric, Elias, Aiden—and finally settled on Sentinel.

A knowing smile touched her lips.

"So… judging by the fact that all of you are laughing and not storming in with bruised egos," she said lightly, "I'm guessing the meeting with the elders went exactly how you wanted?"

Her tone was dry, but there was a warmth behind it, a thread of pride woven in with the jest.

Sentinel didn't respond right away. His eyes shifted, sharp focus softening at the edges, a trace of recognition glinting behind them. For the briefest moment, a smile ghosted his lips. Fleeting. Quiet. Then it was gone.

Thorne leaned over and bumped Elias lightly with a grin. "Yeah, and it's all thanks to Sentinel. He practically tied Lord Veyrion and the others in a knot with his questions and logic."

Cassandra's brows rose as she looked at Sentinel again, this time more impressed than amused.

Sentinel gave a small nod, still composed.

"I didn't do it alone. If they hadn't stood up for themselves, I couldn't have convinced anyone."

That made Cassandra pause, her gaze sliding back toward the five who stood in a loose line near her table. Her expression shifted, not surprise exactly, but a quiet realization.

"You all stood before the elders?" she asked. "Really stood your ground?"

Aiden let out a low laugh and pointed a thumb toward Elias.

"You should've been there. Especially to see him. Elias stood up to not just the elders, but his own family. Like it was nothing."

Cassandra looked over, raising an eyebrow in Elias's direction. Her face softened with humor.

"Is that so? Well, look at you. Didn't think you had it in you to stand your ground like that."

Elias gave a half-smile, shrugging one shoulder. "I didn't either."

As they spoke, Eddy had wandered back toward the far end of Cassandra's worktable. He picked up one of the vials again, inspecting the glowing liquid like it might whisper answers. But his attention was divided, flickering back to the group as they spoke.

He finally turned toward them, clearly confused.

"Okay, I know I'm the new guy here and all," he said slowly, "but... what meeting? Who's Veyrion? And why do I feel like I missed an entire war speech?"

The deadpan tone landed just right.

Alice smirked. "Welcome to the aftermath."

Lyric added, arms crossed, a grin tugging at her lips. "Don't worry. It won't make sense even after we explain it."

Eddy sighed, arms folding. "Awesome. Love that for me."

The group chuckled again. A ripple of shared ease, brief and welcome.

But the moment didn't last.

Cassandra, fingers still curled lightly around the neck of a glass vial, straightened from her table. Her gaze drifted across the group, not rushed, not sharp, just quietly deliberate. It lingered on Eddy for a breath, then slid to Sentinel.

It stopped there.

Her features didn't harden, not exactly, but the lines around her mouth grew still. Her brow pulled together, just faintly. Her hand, once relaxed on the wooden edge, now pressed into it.

"So…" she said slowly, her eyes steady on Sentinel, "Lord Veyrion didn't get what he came for, did he?"

She hadn't raised her voice. She hadn't moved.

But the shift was unmistakable.

The tilt of her head, the deliberate calm in her tone, the pause in her movement, they wrapped the question in something more than curiosity. There was weight behind it, cloaked in ease.

The others noticed.

Alice crossed her arms tighter, her lips parting but no words coming. Aiden's brows rose, eyes narrowing just a touch as he glanced from Cassandra to Sentinel. Lyric tilted her head, her posture once relaxed, now coiled again. Thorne and Elias didn't speak, but exchanged a glance—sharp, fleeting.

Sentinel said nothing for a breath. Just blinked once.

Then his jaw shifted, just slightly. He didn't avoid Cassandra's gaze.

"For now," he said evenly, "I handled him. But he'll come prepared next time."

Whatever softness Cassandra had worn before vanished like fog in sunlight.

She gave one small nod. Mechanical. Then lifted the vial in her hand again, only to pause halfway. Her fingers opened, and she placed it back on the table with careful precision.

The tap of glass meeting wood echoed with unnatural clarity. Too loud for such a small sound.

Sentinel took a step forward. His cloak barely whispered against the floor. He stopped just short of Cassandra's table, the stone beneath his boots etched with fading runes.

His voice lowered, lost its edge, not an order, not a report.

"Seeing you like this… looks like some of that fire's finally come back."

Cassandra blinked slowly, as if surprised by the comment. Then her mouth tugged, almost a smile, but not quite. A flicker passed through her eyes: tired, maybe grateful, maybe something more buried.

"I had to pull it together," she said, her voice dry but worn thin. "Didn't exactly want the elders walking in and finding me collapsed in a puddle of potion fumes."

From behind her, Aiden let out a breath that was half a scoff.

"Yeah, pretty sure 'exploding alchemist' wouldn't sell your side of the story too well."

Cassandra let out a soft, short sound, a breathy, half-laugh from deep in her chest.

"Exactly."

Lyric stepped closer, her tone softer. "Where's Maris? She said she'd stay with you while we were gone."

"She did," Cassandra answered, her voice dipping warm again. "But she left about twenty minutes ago. Said she was going to make dinner for all of us."

She offered a tired, amused smile. "Figured we'd need it."

Aiden stretched with a groan and cracked his neck, grinning. "Sounds about right."

Thorne gave a theatrical roll of his shoulders, head tilting back as if dreaming of food. "About time. I'm ready to inhale something."

Then, with the ease of someone springing a trap, he pivoted toward Elias.

His grin sharpened.

"Although Elias doesn't need to wait."

Elias, who had just uncrossed his arms, blinked once. "What?"

Thorne's smirk widened like a blade finding its edge. He jabbed a thumb toward Eddy, then spread his arms wide with flair.

"Because his dinner's already standing in front of him."

There was a collective pause.

All heads turned—first to Elias.

Then, with perfect synchronization, to Eddy.

Eddy's expression locked somewhere between dread and disbelief. His hands shot up slightly. "Wait, what now?"

Thorne was already in full performance mode, gesturing like a stage magician unveiling a prize.

"C'mon! Look at him! Pale, jumpy, smells like vanilla and stress, Elias has definitely been eyeing him like a midnight snack."

Alice doubled over, laughter bursting free like a spell gone wild.

Lyric whirled away, hand clamped over her mouth, shoulders trembling as she tried to stifle her laughter.

Elias took a full step back, eyes wide, absolutely betrayed.

"I do not snack on kids!"

Eddy, arms flailing, jumped in immediately. "I told you—I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen!"

Thorne snapped his fingers, triumphant. "See? He agrees. You can drink his blood now."

Eddy's face paled like someone had just yanked out the sun. He took a panicked step back. "No! That does not mean he can drink my blood!"

Thorne tilted his head, pretending to ponder deeply. "Oh come on, you're basically a sugar-free blood bag just waiting for vampire happy hour."

Aiden nearly keeled over, wheezing. "Oh my gods—sugar-free?!"

Eddy threw his hands up, flustered. "I am not a juice box, thank you!"

Thorne gave him a slow once-over, then nodded seriously. "Compact. Bite-sized. Smells vaguely like cinnamon and anxiety. You're basically a blood-flavored muffin."

Eddy's voice cracked. "I regret every life decision that brought me to this room."

Aiden grinned wickedly. "Too late. You're snack-adjacent now."

Eddy backed up another step. "No! I am not snack-anything! I'm a civilian with anxiety and a hoodie!"

Thorne leaned in close, eyes glinting with mischief. "So what's the plan? You gonna romance-bite him first or go full Dracula right out the gate?"

Eddy stumbled back two full steps like someone had waved garlic in his face. "No biting! No brooding! No blood-based flirting! What is wrong with all of you?!"

Aiden flopped onto a nearby bench, still laughing. "You're new here. Give it five minutes."

Cassandra stood exactly where she had been, arms folded, brow lifted slightly, as the group spiraled into chaos.

Thorne's teasing escalated, Aiden was doubled over, nearly sliding off the bench. Elias looked like he was pleading with the gods for mercy, and Eddy seemed one second away from bolting straight through a wall.

Cassandra didn't sigh. She didn't roll her eyes.

She simply said, voice dry and perfectly timed, "Stop scaring him, or he's going to run back to wherever he came from."

It cut through the noise like a well-thrown dagger.

The laughter doubled.

Even Eddy gave a strained, incredulous half-laugh, like he wasn't sure whether to be grateful or terrified.

Sentinel, silent all this while, let out a low exhale. It wasn't quite a laugh. But it was close.

A breath of tolerance. Or resignation.

Like someone who'd accepted that this was their chaos now.

Then, stepping forward with steady, deliberate motion, Sentinel's voice followed:

"All right, that's enough. I need to speak with Eddy. There are questions that matter now.

Just like that, the air shifted.

All eyes turned. Aiden straightened, lips still twitching. Elias stilled. Lyric wiped the last of the laughter from her face. Thorne leaned slightly forward. Alice tilted her head, the corners of her mouth fading as her attention narrowed. Cassandra didn't move, but her expression shifted, focused now, watching carefully.

Eddy blinked and stiffened, as if he already knew what Sentinel was going to ask him.

He looked to Sentinel with wide eyes, body locking somewhere between alert and alarmed.

Sentinel's gaze didn't waver. "This one matters. It's connected to everything."

Eddy gave a slow, nervous nod.

Sentinel took one step closer, just enough that the space between them felt less like distance—and more like gravity.

"How did you know how to kill the invader that day?"

A pause.

"And how did you get to Duskveil Mall?"

The silence that followed wasn't full of tension.

It was full of truth waiting to surface.

The laughter didn't vanish, but it settled, tucked into the corners like warmth before a storm.

And in that quiet weight...

The chapter turned.

Because the danger hadn't gone.

It was waiting.

But now, maybe… so were the answers.