Chapter 5 – Void in Motion

Chapter 5 – Void in Motion

It had been two days since Kael had awakened the Void Flame.

Two long days of silence, meditation, and minor panic.

He'd tested nothing. Not because he didn't want to, but because his house was small, his neighbors were nosy, and he wasn't about to burn down a district just to try a flashy teleport.

"I'm beginning to think you're afraid," Pyra remarked in his head that morning, as Kael stared at his reflection in a cracked bronze mirror.

"I'm not afraid," he said. "I'm being smart."

"Same thing when you're mortal."

Kael glared at the air. "I just need space."

"Then get out of the city," Pyra said. "Or better yet—try that abandoned training field near the southern ruins. No guards. No questions. Just sand and rocks and the occasional wild chicken."

By midday, Kael had slipped out of Emberlight through a small hole in the southern wall—a hidden tunnel kids used to sneak out when the city guards weren't watching. He'd used it before. The guards never looked twice at a "failed awakener."

Beyond the wall, the land was dry and cracked, with sparse weeds and wind-blasted rock.

The old training field was still there—barely a stone circle and half a dozen decaying practice dummies.

Perfect.

He stepped into the middle, took a breath, and raised his hand.

"Alright," he said. "Let's try this again."

The Void Flame pulsed inside him.

[Void Flame Ability: Spatial Burn – Ready]

His fingers tingled.

Kael reached toward the nearest training dummy, channeling the flame through his arm. Instantly, a violet blaze sprang to life around his hand. It didn't feel hot, not exactly—it felt… hungry.

He thrust his palm forward.

The flame didn't just hit the dummy. It phased into it—ripping through straw and wood like it existed in a different layer of reality. There was no smoke. No scorched marks.

The center of the dummy simply collapsed, the core erased, space distorted.

Kael stumbled back.

"Whoa."

"Spatial Burn bypasses material entirely," Pyra noted. "It doesn't destroy like regular fire. It unravels. Like space folding inside out."

Kael looked at his palm. "This… this is insane."

"Now try Void Step."

He breathed in, focused on a spot five meters behind the broken dummy.

He pictured his step.

And—

[Void Step – Activated]

The world snapped.

Kael disappeared—and reappeared exactly five meters behind the target.

His balance tilted, but he didn't fall. Instead, he staggered and laughed.

"That was awesome."

"Sloppy," Pyra corrected. "Your footwork's off and you nearly vomited mana, but I've seen worse."

Kael rolled his shoulders. "Alright. Time to go again."

He spent the next hour cycling through the abilities. Dimensional Flicker was the trickiest—it didn't "feel" like anything. It just happened. His hand flickered briefly when he concentrated, phasing through a thrown rock like it wasn't even real.

Void Step became smoother each time. The disorientation faded. By the sixth use, Kael could blink between dummy posts with only mild nausea.

Spatial Burn remained dangerous. One missed control, and the flame carved a thin gash across the stone floor of the arena—space itself had split.

"That'll be a problem," he muttered.

"It'll be your strength," Pyra said, almost fondly.

Then—

CRACK.

Something shattered nearby. A footstep.

Kael spun, immediately activating Dimensional Flicker on instinct.

A dagger passed straight through where his head had been a moment before.

He landed in a crouch.

Three figures stepped out from behind a low ridge—ragged armor, blades, dark grins. One of them twirled a chipped blade lazily.

"Look what we have here," the leader said. "A cripple training alone. Poor little orb-breaker."

Kael straightened slowly.

"Bandits," Pyra said in his mind. "Low-level. Smells like copper and regret. Want me to fry them?"

"No," Kael murmured. "I've got this."

The leader of the group stepped forward. "We're feeling generous. Hand over your coin and any rings you've got, and maybe we won't break your legs."

"I have a better idea," Kael said.

He raised his hand.

And Void Flame answered.

The bandit blinked.

"Is that supposed to scare—"

[Spatial Burn – Activated]

Kael flicked his finger.

The bandit's dagger snapped in half before it reached his chest. No flame, no sparks—just absence. The weapon's edge had ceased to exist.

The man stared at the stump of steel.

Then Kael vanished.

[Void Step – Activated]

He reappeared behind the second bandit, striking with his palm. The Void Flame pulsed—

And the man collapsed, unconscious, a distortion mark scorched across his chest like cracked glass.

The leader tried to run.

Kael reached for him—and stopped.

Instead, he let the flame fizzle out and turned away.

"Leave," he said coldly. "If I see you again, I'll erase more than your dagger."

The man bolted, dragging the groaning third with him.

Kael stood in silence.

"Not bad," Pyra said. "Still sloppy. But not bad."

Kael smirked. "That was just the first round."

He looked up at the empty sky, hand still faintly glowing violet.

This was only the beginning.