Chapter-13 You Can’t Afford to Be Weak

Aiden perched atop a thick tree branch, his grip firm as he held Finn with one hand. His newly enhanced strength made it effortless. His sharp gaze swept over the dense forest, checking for signs of wolves before finally deeming it safe.

"We're good." he said, releasing Finn. He landed on his feet, having a slight stumble, before regaining his balance quickly.

Finn's eyes followed Aiden. "Are you alright?"

Aiden didn't answer right away. After the destruction of the hut he grabbed Finn and pulled him away caused, on his way down from the sky he overheard the conversation. Wait… how the hell did I end up outside the jeep?

"I'm fine," he finally muttered, pushing his thought aside. "Now, what is this place?"

Finn mouth opened, then stopped before speaking."I'm Finn by the way. A exodite like you. Thank you for saving me…If you hadn't, I would've died as Master Callin's bait"

Aiden remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar terrain. This was his first real mission as an Exodite, and already, it felt like everything was going sideways. Meeting another Exodite outside of Mira, Riven, and Kurt was unexpected, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing. Not all Exodites could be trusted. Despite their shared purpose, many had their own agendas.

His eyes landed on Finn, studying him carefully. His looked slightly lean, lacking much muscle definition. His posture was hunched, and his messy, light brown hair fell into his soft brown eyes, which darted around anxiously.

He looked young about sixteen uncertain…like someone who had been thrust into this life without much preparation. His clothes were simple, faded, and patched from past battles. A satchel hung loosely at his side.

"Do you know where we are?" Aiden asked.

Finn glanced around, rubbing his arm. "Yeah… we're in the forest next to Kaven Town."

"Kaven Town?"

"It's the nearest Fixed Zone," Finn explained. "Every Exodite is heading there. Master Callin he's the boss's son…runs things there."

Aiden frowned. Finn can tell from, his frown he was confused.

"Yeah. Fixed Zones are the safest and most stable parts of the Phantom Dimension. Exodites go there for missions, training, or just to regroup." Finn shifted uneasily. "But… they're not completely safe. Even experienced Exodites get caught off guard sometimes."

Aiden's expression darkened. This world was already proving more dangerous than he had anticipated. He took a couple steps back from Finn. "What do you mean? Why are you in a group of Specters?"

Finn's voice lowered. "I just… don't know what to do anymore." He clenched his fists, his head dropped slightly. "I wanted to be an Exodite… but I ended up in a team when I became lost. I had no choice but to join Master Callin. At first, it seemed like a good thing, but then I realized I was just being used as bait."

He sighed, sitting on a thick branch, rubbing dirt between his fingers. "I don't have the strength to do what other Exodites do… so I had just be a bait for a while. Until I can become something more."

Aiden's eyes narrowed. 'So people who don't have the strength to fight back… end up as pawns for Specters.'

"You should quit," Aiden said bluntly. "You can't afford to be weak in this."

Finn flinched at the words, but Aiden didn't sugarcoat the truth. He understood Finn's frustration. He himself had been on the verge of giving up…until he met Kurt and realized his potential in mechanical technology. Sometimes, all it takes was the right push from someone in the right direction.

His question was. Could Finn find his own path before it was too late?

Finn abruptly stood up, kicking some dirt into the air. "No, no! I can't go back. I've come too far!" His voice rose. "The day I became an Exodite, I accidentally walked into a group taking the Trial of Judgment. I heard about its reward, and I knew…I just knew what I had to do!"

Aiden scoffed. "Idiotic… You're just going to die for nothing…"

Finn clenched his fists. "You're right. If only I had the right abilities…" He was just putting on a brave face, but now it dropped.

"…I'm not right you shouldn't give up so easily you just haven't meet the person who can help push out the strenght... there so much worth if you fight for that stenght." Aiden said. He just really wanted to test Finn and he failed seeing that he just gave up.

Finn fell silent. He rarely heard words like that. Encouragement was foreign to him. So he easily understood it from his view point, of all what he saw around him.

'I will be different from the rest. They can stay uncertain. I won't.' His gaze shifted to Aiden, who had suddenly sat down on a nearby tree root. "Hey, what are you doing?" Finn asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? That seems more idiotic than me. As yoi said, there's so much you can do as an Exodite." Finn pressed.

"Shut up!" Aiden muttered. "I'm just thinking."

He was wondering about Finn…about the path he had chosen. Maybe, if Finn had met the right person earlier, he wouldn't have struggled so much. Maybe, just like Kurt was for me, I can be that person for him.

Finn had always heard that becoming an Exodite was difficult, but not everyone could become a Exodite either, as the process remained a mystery just like the System itself.

"Well__" Aiden said, before he was cut off.

"BOOM!"

A deafening explosion erupted in the distance. Smoke and debris filled the air, and as the dust settled, a lone figure stood in its midst.

Master Callin.

His gaze burned with fury as he stepped forward. "Did you really think you could just take my bait and leave?"

His eyes locked onto Aiden, scanning him up and down. "So this is who took Finn? He doesn't look like Pale Requiem… But it doesn't matter. Anyone who takes my property should suffer a painful death."

Aiden ho just stood, the scratching his head, was confused by the arrogant small child."Finn. Who's this kid?"

"Kid!"

The Specters behind Callin gasped in outrage.

"This boy dares to call Master Callin a kid?!"

Callin's expression darkened. "I'm twenty-four, you little brat! How dare you call me something so low?!"

Finn's face turned pale. 'Oh no. He's going to die. I regret being saved by him now.'

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you so small?" He said before thinking.'Then again. There are Specter that almost human looking… some have intelligent, as there so much different types it that happens as they get stronger.'

In the mist of his thought, it had. Silence.

A vein twitched in Callin's forehead. Something in his mind snapped. His mouth twisted, his jaw cracking and elongating into a grotesque wolf-like maw.

"SMALL?!" he roared.

Master Callin let out a feral roar, it's sheer force distorted the air. Causing a powerful vacuum blast that surged toward Aiden, striking him square in the chest, launching him backward into a nearby tree. The impact cracked the tree bark, and a sharp pain jolted through his ribs.

Master Callin roared a strong, barreling vacuum lurched straight at, Aiden sending him barreling back into a nearby tree.

"Aiden!"

Finn shouted, trying to rush to him, but before he could move an inch, one of Callin's wolf-like subordinates snatched him up, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.

"You're the first person who's ever dared to openly call me small." Master Callin growled.

"Master Callin, knock him out with your sonic fist! Then finish him off with your infectious breath!" Elrin barked from the sidelines.

Callin let out a sinister chuckle. "Of course! My clan's Everlasting Primal Echo will give him a slow, painful death… even if it is disgusting."

Aiden pushed himself up. He was suprised by Callin attack. His mind raced. I went through multiple styles of attack, didn't thinks there one like this."

Vacuum force… poison breath… and something about a clan ability? What kind of abilities do wolves have?

Before he could think further, another blast of Callin's Gale Breath shot toward him. Aiden barely managed to roll out of the way. The second he got to his feet, another attack came.

He dove behind a tree just in time. The Gale Breath struck the tree, burning a deep hole into its trunk. Aiden's eyes narrowed. "If I'm even hit with another one of thoses, I'm dead."

He couldn't keep dodging forever. His body was already aching from the first hit, he needed a plan.

Master Callin's patience was also wearing thin. He threw his head back and let out a piercing roar.

"All of you! Spread out and find him!"

Instantly, his subordinates scattered. They knew abkut his anger and their feard, him because they can die easily from it. , a testament to their loyalty and fear of

"You can't keep running! One of these will hit you!" Callin's voice echoed through the trees.

Now that Master Callin was alone. This is my perfect opportunity. He needed Master Callin alone for his attack because he can be overrun by then and he doesn't know how fast they are. They already chasing him using they strong smell and hearing.

But now that Callin was isolated…Aiden burst from the shadows, deliberately exposing himself. Callin grinned, his elongated maw twisting into something grotesque. "Finally—!"

Before he could finish, Aiden launched himself off a tree branch and slammed his snout close.

"BOOM!"

The Gale Breath detonated inside Callin's mouth. His eyes bulged, his howl was muffled of pain. His body trembled, legs wobbled. Aiden released him, stepping back just as Callin's body crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Silence.

"Master!"

"Master Callin has been beaten?!"

Aiden wasted no time. He sprinted toward Finn, who was still bound and struggling from his restraints around his legs and hands. Aiden yanked him free, slinging him over his shoulder.

"Hang on."