Blade and Roots
Vaelin had spoken with certainty.
Like the answer was already decided. Like this fight was simply a lesson that would end with Kai kneeling in the dirt.
"A weapon like that does not suit you."
Kai felt the weight of the sword in his grip. Not just the metal. The heat coiling along the edges, the faint ember glow throbbing like a second heartbeat. A living thing, waiting. And for the first time, Kai let it answer.
He swung. The first arc sliced through nothing but air.
Vaelin stepped aside with ease, barely even acknowledging it.
The second came quicker—a downward cleave aimed for his side.
But Vaelin moved like a whisper, slipping past the strike, untouched.
He didn't dodge like a warrior. He glided like something that had never needed to dodge in the first place. He exhaled, almost disappointed.
"Predictable."
Kai clicked his tongue.
Alright. That was fair. This wasn't like fighting with his fists. The sword wasn't just an extension of his reach. It was an entirely different language. One he hadn't learned yet. But if there was one thing Kai did well, it was adapting.
His muscles tensed—then ignited. The world sharpened. The weight of the blade vanished, no longer sluggish in his grip. Speed. Strength. Control. It all crashed into alignment.
Vaelin's eyes flickered. He saw the shift. But it wasn't fast enough.
Kai moved.
Not just stepping— vanishing. One moment he was **there—**the next, he was inside Vaelin's guard, too close to sidestep, too sudden to counter.
For the first time, Vaelin's expression changed.
Surprise.
Then—
The blade struck.
Vaelin jerked backward— but it was too late.
The edge of the great sword bit deep, carving through his side.
The flesh didn't just break. It burned.
The wound seared instantly, blackened embers crawling through the edges like veins of molten rock.
Vaelin staggered.
For the first time in this battle—he bled.
Kai grinned.
"Not so predictable now, huh?"
Vaelin's lips parted slightly, breath slow.
Not pain.
Not even anger.
Just… acknowledgment.
He glanced down at the wound.
The flesh around it **twitched—**a familiar, unnatural movement.
But something was different.
The cut didn't heal.
The wound lingered, unmoving.
Vaelin's brow furrowed.
A moment of silence.
Then, softly—
"You are Interesting."
Kai adjusted his grip, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, figured fire would piss you off. You ever played a video game before? Undead and plants both don't like flames. It's kind of a rule."
Vaelin didn't laugh.
Didn't mock.
For the first time, he was watching Kai with something close to caution.
Not fear. Not yet.
But calculated wariness.
Then, he moved.
Not to attack.
Not to counter.
To heal.
Vaelin's hand lifted—and the battlefield answered.
From the chaos of the ongoing fight, one of his Deathroot minions collapsed. A warrior had cleaved it apart with a flaming axe, its body already shriveling into decay. Before it could turn to ash—Vaelin reached for it.
His fingers clawed the air.
And the creature did not die. The blackened, burning husk convulsed. Then—ripped backward through the air. The corpse collided into Vaelin's frame, its essence pouring into his form like liquid shadow.
His wound shuddered.
The blackened flesh began to knit together—
But only most of it.
The edges, where the fire had burned deepest, remained.
Scarred.
Vaelin studied his arm, flexing his fingers.
For the first time, his smile thinned.
Not amusement.
Not mockery.
Recognition.
He looked at Kai.
And this time—he took him seriously.
Kai rolled his neck, shaking out his arms.
"Oh? You're finally paying attention?"
Vaelin's gaze flickered to the blade.
"You still do not wield it properly."
Kai snorted.
"Oh, trust me, I know."
He grinned, shifting his stance.
"But lucky for me—"
He lifted the sword.
The ember glow flickered, veins of heat pulsing deeper.
"I learn fast."
Kai moved first.
He didn't hesitate. Didn't overthink. Instinct.
The greatsword felt lighter in his hands now—not physically, but mentally. The weight of unfamiliarity was fading. He drove forward, blade flashing in a sweeping arc, aiming for Vaelin's neck.
Vaelin did not retreat.
He sidestepped in an unnatural, gliding motion, body twisting at the last moment. The blade missed by inches, a scorching wave of heat rolling off its edge.
Then, Vaelin countered.
His hand snapped forward, not clenched into a fist, but open—grasping.
The air warped.
A root, black as death and twisted like knotted bone, erupted from the ground, slamming toward Kai's ribs.
Kai didn't try to dodge.
He phased.
The attack passed through empty space.
A ghost afterimage of Kai remained for a split second, then faded as he reappeared behind Vaelin, sword already in motion.
This time, Vaelin turned sharply—just in time. Their eyes met.
He hadn't expected that.
Kai grinned.
"Didn't see that one coming, huh?"
Vaelin answered with movement.
His arm snapped upward, fingers curling into a blade of his own—sharpened wood, hardened into a spear.
He drove it forward, aiming to skewer Kai through the stomach.
Kai twisted, stepping wide, avoiding the stab but taking the opportunity.
His sword lashed out mid-turn, cutting into Vaelin's side again.
A clean hit.
More blackened, searing flesh.
Vaelin's expression didn't shift.
But his eyes glowed darker.
The forest answered his fury.
Two Deathroots burst from the ground behind Kai, clawed arms reaching.
He didn't even look.
He stepped forward, into Vaelin's guard—
And swung again.
Vaelin caught the blade this time.
Not with flesh.
With roots.
They coiled from his wrist, spiraling over his arm, twisting into a hardened mass that blocked the impact.
A counter.
Kai's sword burned into them.
But Vaelin was already moving, his free hand closing into a fist—aiming straight for Kai's chest.
Kai exhaled.
He didn't dodge.
He phased.
The punch struck air.
Kai reappeared above him.
He was already bringing the greatsword down.
Vaelin jerked back, barely avoiding the full brunt of it—but the edge still kissed his shoulder.
Another burn. Another scar.
Kai landed in a crouch, breathing steady.
He was starting to feel it now.
The rhythm.
The dance of the blade.
For the first time, he looked at Kai—not as an obstacle, but as something evolving before his eyes.
A moment of silence.
Then—he reached for another fallen Deathroot.
Kai saw it this time.
The moment Vaelin pulled its body inward, absorbing its energy— the wounds along his body knit back together.
But not fully.
The scars still remained.
Kai's grip tightened.
"Oh, you don't like that, do you?"
Vaelin studied him.
Then, he smiled.
"You're learning."
His fingers curled.
The forest shuddered.
"Let's see how much more you can grow before you break."
Kai laughed, rolling his shoulders.
"Break me? Buddy, I'm just getting warmed up."
His energy flared. And this time—when he moved, the sword moved with him.
_____
Vaelin wasn't laughing anymore.
The amusement in his gaze had diminished, replaced by something colder—something calculating.
Kai had wounded him.
Not just once. Again and again.
And though Vaelin absorbed the undead to heal, the scars remained, each one a mark of Kai's relentless progression.
This fight was no longer a lesson.
It was a threat.
"Enough playing," Vaelin murmured.
The forest answered immediately.
The roots beneath Kai's feet twisted violently, snapping upward like a closing jaw.
Kai leaped, but Vaelin was already there.
He appeared above him, mid-air, his fingers curling into a spear of hardened bark.
For the first time, Kai wasn't fast enough.
The spear struck.
Pain exploded through his side.
The impact knocked him downward, his boots slamming into the dirt.
He barely had time to process it before Vaelin descended, twisting mid-air, a second strike already coming.
Kai threw up his sword to block—
CRACK.
Vaelin's attack slammed into the greatsword like a hammer, sending a jolt through Kai's arms.
The strength behind it was immense.
Kai skidded back, digging his boots into the ground.
His breath was ragged.
His vision sharpened.
Vaelin landed without a sound.
His body barely moved, but the earth beneath him shuddered, as if recognizing its master.
The air between them hummed with raw power.
Vaelin lifted a single hand, flicking Kai's blood off his fingers.
"Do you understand now?" he asked.
Kai laughed.
It was breathless, sharp, reckless.
He pressed a hand to his wounded side. Blood coated his palm.
He looked at it.
Then grinned.
"Yeah," he exhaled, flexing his fingers. "I get it."
Vaelin raised a brow.
Kai lifted his sword again.
"I'm still not fast enough."
He moved first—
Not just charging. Dancing.
Vaelin's roots lashed out.
Kai weaved through them, cutting through some, phasing through others.
His body was moving faster, sharper, but it still wasn't quite right.
"No—"
He swung.
The sword cleaved through Vaelin's shoulder, burning another deep mark into him.
"That's not it."
Kai gritted his teeth.
Vaelin struck back twice as hard.
A root snared Kai's ankle, yanking him downward—
Vaelin was there instantly, his hand driving toward Kai's chest.
Kai twisted just in time, the attack grazing his ribs instead of puncturing him.
He felt the warmth of his own blood soaking into his clothes.
Still, he laughed.
"No, that's still not it."
Vaelin's expression was unreadable.
"What are you chasing?" he asked.
Kai didn't answer.
Because he was chasing something just out of reach.
Something familiar, yet new.
Kai exhaled.
His grip shifted.
This time, he tried something different.
He reached for the fire. He could feel it, pulsing within the blade—a second heartbeat waiting to be called.
Kai let his energy flow into the sword, let the flame within stir.
And for the first time—
He swung with it.
The sword erupted.
A brilliant, roaring arc of fire surged from its edge, a blade of flame bursting forward.
It was massive, furious—
And it completely missed.
Kai's eyes widened.
Vaelin barely moved, simply stepping away as the fiery wave rushed past him, scorching the battlefield behind.
For the first time in a long while—Kai had overcommitted.
And Vaelin saw it.
He moved instantly.
Kai barely had time to react before a spear of roots exploded upward, stabbing clean through his shoulder.
Pain rocketed through him.
His fingers loosened on the sword, almost dropping it entirely.
Vaelin stepped closer.
Kai's vision blurred slightly.
He felt the blood pooling, trickling down his arm.
And still—he grinned.
Because he knew.
He had been close.
Vaelin watched him carefully.
"You don't fear failure," he observed.
Kai exhaled sharply, blinking away the pain.
"Nah," he murmured. "I just don't like repeating it."
Vaelin's gaze flickered.
Something shifted in his stance.
He was taking this seriously now.
Good.
Kai adjusted his grip on the sword again, breathing through the pain.
He could feel it now.
The way the wind moved. The way the fire in the sword breathed.
The missing piece had been right in front of him.
Not fire alone.
Not wind alone.
Both. Together.
And the Ether?
It would be the conduit.
Kai inhaled.
The next time he swung—he wouldn't miss.