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

Then, without a sound, he launched forward.

A sudden pivot. Elias's body snapped into motion, twisting as his fist lashed out, aimed squarely at Sentinel's chest.

The air split around the motion.

Sentinel was already turning, smooth as drifted wind. His cloak fluttered slightly as he angled away, the strike missing by inches.

"Sloppy," he said.

Not mocking. Not raised.

Just cold. Just true.

From the sidelines, Thorne flinched. His hand twitched on his halberd's shaft, knuckles pale. He leaned forward an inch, breath caught halfway in his throat, unsure if he wanted to shout or brace for impact.

Alice's arms unfolded. Her fingers flexed once, sharp and quick, then tightened again at her sides. Her eyes stayed locked on Elias's every motion, scanning for something, anything, within his form that looked like control.

Elias's foot dragged across the gravel in a sharp hook, sweeping low toward Sentinel's legs. The move was swift, deliberate, and aimed to disrupt.

Sentinel lifted his foot with ease, stepping over it as if avoiding a puddle. There was no urgency in the motion. Just control.

"Too readable."

The words dropped like a weight. Elias's lip curled. A growl rumbled from deep in his chest — low, sharp, guttural. His eyes darkened, locking onto his opponent.

Then he surged forward.

This time he didn't hold back. His body became motion, fists, elbows, knees. A series of strikes, fast and relentless, crashing forward like storm-driven waves. There was structure now, hints of the training etched into muscle memory, but it frayed at the edges. The rhythm faltered under pressure. No elegance. No grace. Only sharpened frustration, and raw, coiled emotion finally tearing free.

Each strike whistled past. So close.

But never close enough.

Sentinel shifted with every attack, his steps whispering across the earth. He didn't counter. Didn't strike back. He drifted just out of reach every time, like mist curling away from fire.

Beside the others, Lyric stepped forward, barely aware she'd moved. Her mouth parted, lashes wide. Her arms hung loose at her sides, as though a cord inside had snapped and left her hollow.

Fenrik's ears flicked. His paws shifted against the gravel, claws digging into the earth. His breath came low and measured, yet his gaze stayed locked on Elias. Every misstep, every near-hit drew his eyes tighter. Concern. Or maybe understanding.

Eddy hovered at the edge, one foot unconsciously behind the other, like he couldn't decide whether to stay or run. His brows pressed low, lips parted, breath short. He whispered something under it, but even he didn't know what.

Cassandra's brows narrowed by the slightest margin. Her stance remained still, arms folded now, but one boot tapped once against the stone before it stilled. A single beat. Barely noticeable. But enough.

Then something else crept into the air.

It wasn't loud. It wasn't sudden.

But it was undeniable.

The atmosphere thickened, as if the sky had drawn a long, heavy breath and forgotten how to release it. Sound muffled. Pressure pressed gently against their skin, not crushing, but insistent. Unnatural.

Above, the sky responded.

Clouds pulled in, not with speed, but with slow, curling purpose. Tendrils of grey crept and spread, darkening the edges of the horizon. The shift was subtle but steady, and with it came a chill, like the world itself was holding its breath.

Sentinel's eyes lifted, if only for a moment. Just a flicker of acknowledgment.

Vaelthar stirred.

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Something is rising. Do you feel it?

Sentinel's response came cold, quiet, and without hesitation.

Yes. It's coming from him.

Below the thickening sky, Elias kept moving. His body twisted, sweat glinting along his skin. But his face, something had shifted. His expression carried more than focus now. There was strain. There was something... primal.

His breathing grew sharper.

Fangs flashed between parted lips.

And in his eyes, not red, not amber, a glint of something that didn't belong. Something other.

Beneath his shirt, the Infinity Pendant began to pulse. The metal flared blue, deep and brilliant, casting soft gleams across his collarbone. The light flickered like a heartbeat, synced with something stirring under his skin.

His skin shimmered faintly, light flickering across the surface as if reality was unsure where he began and ended.

At the edge of the clearing, Alice looked up, her voice quiet. "Is it just me, or is it getting—?"

"Darker," Lyric finished, stepping in closer to the others. "Much darker."

None of them moved from their places. The shift had gripped them all.

Fenrik stood near the edge, ears flicking as the air grew heavier. His breath came in slow, deliberate pulls, yet tension rippled beneath his fur, coiled like a string wound too tight.

He looked up.

His golden eyes narrowed at the sky, watching the clouds draw inward like claws curling into a fist.

Inside, Aiden stirred.

What is this...? This doesn't feel like him. Not like before.

But there was no answer. Only the pull of a force older than memory, unspoken, rising

Fenrik's tail twitched behind him. His gaze didn't leave the sky for a moment. He had seen storms before. Never born from one of their own.

Then, from the side, Eddy stepped forward slowly. His eyes were fixed on the sky, mouth slightly open.

"Why are the clouds... doing that?" he whispered. "There's not even any wind."

His gaze dropped to Elias, voice hushed with confusion.

"Is this... a normal thing to happen here?"

No one answered.

Thorne leaned forward, his voice cutting through the tension. "What the hell is going on?"

Still, silence held.

Cassandra's lips were parted, her eyes wide and locked on Elias. She didn't cast a spell. Didn't reach for magic. Her hands hung at her sides, fingers slack. Even breath felt dangerous to take.

The earth felt different beneath her boots. Like it was listening.

Her gaze flicked upward, clouds curling tighter, the sky growing heavier, and then back to Elias.

A thought pressed, uninvited, sharp and cold.

Is he the one behind this?

Elias moved again.

But something was gone.

His movements now carried weight they hadn't before, an edge not forged in combat, but buried somewhere deeper. His features twisted, not in fury, but in a force older than rage. Ancient. His body blurred slightly at the edges, like he was breaking through the seams of what held him.

Wind tugged at his hair.

And in the distance, high above, lightning flickered.

Inside Sentinel, Vaelthar's voice stirred like cracking stone.

Stop him before he loses control completely.

He launched forward, not as Elias, not fully, and aimed a fist straight for Sentinel's face.

Sentinel didn't flinch.

He caught the wrist mid-air.

His hand closed around it, firm and unmoving. His other hand rose and rested on Elias's shoulder, not with force, but enough to root him.

"Control yourself," Sentinel said, voice low but resolute.

Elias's chest rose in sharp bursts. His pupils were blown wide. His nostrils flared, each breath thick with heat. Sweat trickled down his face, gliding along his jaw.

His hands still clenched, trembling at the edge of violence.

He didn't answer.

Sentinel leaned in just slightly, his gaze narrowing.

"You're not losing control," he whispered. "You're waking up."

The words hit deeper than any blow. They sank into the core of whatever storm had begun within Elias.

He froze.

The shimmer dulled.

The air around him stilled. His fists slowly began to loosen. His breath caught, then steadied.

And tucked beneath his shirt, the blue light from the infinity pendant flared once… then slowly faded, like a breath released.

Above, the clouds answered.

They began to pull apart, the angry grey dissolving into slow threads of light. Sunlight pierced through the veil, faint but sure, and painted the ground with soft gold once more.

The weight lifted.

The world exhaled.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Even the wind stayed suspended for a moment, as if in quiet deference.

Fenrik blinked once, slowly, his gaze still fixed skyward. His stance eased a little, but his eyes stayed sharp. Whatever had just passed, it had shaken something in him too.

Elias looked down at his hands, now still, fingers half-curled. His shoulders dropped, tension draining from him like the last breath of a dying flame.

When he finally spoke, his voice rasped through the silence.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

Sentinel let go. His hand fell away. He took a single step back, cloak brushing behind him as the breeze finally dared return.

"You're closer than you think," he said.

Then turned, walking away without another word.

Elias stood there, unmoving. His hands still hung loosely at his sides, but something inside him had shifted. Not broken, but changed.

He stared down at the gravel, eyes unfocused, like seeing the ground for the first time.

Behind him, the rest stood frozen.

And the breeze, tentative and soft, finally stirred the grass again.

Elias blinked slowly.

"You're closer than you think..."

The words echoed faintly in his ears, looping back in his mind. But closer to what?

His brows knit together, just slightly. His jaw clenched. Whatever Sentinel had seen, the storm, the clouds, the change in the air, Elias hadn't noticed. Hadn't even looked up.

He hadn't seen the sky darken. Hadn't seen the clouds part.

He hadn't felt anything... except the fury.

And now, in the stillness that followed, he was left only with the silence, and the weight of words he didn't understand.

Closer?

To what?

He didn't know.

He had no idea what had just awakened.

Only that it had looked back at him.

And hadn't blinked.