ANNOUNCEMENT:
Greetings, people. Hope you’re all doing well!
I wanted to give a heads up because I’m nearing the end of book 6 on Patreon (The Raelion’s arc will be split into book 5 and 6, the first ending around when Kai reconnects to Elijah). After that, I’ll be pausing Patreon payments for a month, so that I can fully focus on editing book 4. I have a deadline pending with my new editor and have been planning several rewrites. For reference book 4 goes from when Kai escapes the Hidden Sanctuary to when he decides to head to Raelion. I especially plan to rewrite the section after he lands on the mainland and get to the Lake of Myst. I was falling in burn-out when I wrote it, and it clearly shows.
You can expect 1 or 2 more chapters before I go in pause. I’ll post the exact dates once I’m sure how many I need for Book 6’s epilogue. Anyone currently subscribed on Patreon once I pause payments won’t get charged for that month, but you also won’t be able to subscribe to Patreon during that month because of how the platform works. Just a heads up ;)
That’s it. I’m very excited to finish book 6 and get to rewrite book 4!
Enjoy the 3k chappy :)
Moonlight suffused the swirling fog, shading the woods with pastel colors. The hints of blue and violet added to the eerie atmosphere. Beside them, milky trunks and deep purple-veined shrubs blurred past.
Kai breathed in the chilly air. Rob and Alden struggled behind, their steps rustling the slick weeds and gnarled roots. The Blackwoods’ heir had insisted on moving on his own an hour ago, his jaw clenched into a stubborn line. If he weren’t so focused on setting one foot after the other without stumbling, he might have noticed Rob following him like a loyal hound.
Despite the bodyguard’s jokes and grins, those burnished yellow eyes never wavered, always scanning the woods for threats. Neither had broached the subject of his extracurricular duties.
Admittedly, it’s probably not the time…
Hearing their halting footfalls, Kai slightly slowed the pace. They couldn’t stop yet. The matter of spies, shady deals, and secret retainers buzzed in the back of his mind. He also didn’t like leaving Alden in the dark, but the matter would have to wait until they left the woods.
How long have we been running…
Since Isadora forcibly triggered the others’ bracelets and went her way, they hadn’t stopped or rested. The threat of danger spurred their escape, reinforced by his whispers, which had only grown stranger. It had been hours since the fight. The adrenaline had long drained away, each step laden with the exhaustion of days in the Trials.
Yet Kastor’s threat of reinforcements had never materialized. No more murderous students barred their path, no team of assassins sprang from the trees, no other eldritch horror coalesced from the dark mist. Instead, Hallowed Intuition’s murmurs ebbed the further they traveled. At times, they seemed to mix with the echoes of distant laughter.
The process was as slow and gradual as the thinning mana upon leaving the heart of the Veiled Woods. Despite the circuitous trails, he was certain they were moving in the right direction, hopefully to the end of these Trials.
At his back, Alden's breaths became ragged gasps. Fresh crimson soaked the bandages on his leg, showing one of his injuries had reopened. Still, his sweaty and pale face remained set in dogged determination not to slow them or ask for rest.
Rob looked ready to catch and carry him, yet hesitated.
Kai slowed further to a walk, the light crystal swinging on his belt. “Isn’t this making you nostalgic?” He mused aloud to anticipated complaints. “It’s almost like the last Trials. But you’re the one hurt this time.”
Alden managed a snort. “I’m willing to swap.”
“Very generous. But I'll have to pass,” Kai smiled.
The constant stream from Nature Healing soothed his muscles and channels and kept his senses sharp. Reaching out toward Alden’s leg, he channeled his mana, trying to mimic or extend the effect. It was still a new application, but from his roommate’s relieved sigh, he was getting better.
“Thank… you,” Alden accepted Rob’s help, resting his uninjured arm on his shoulders. “I shall forgive you for jinxing our Trials.”
“Hey, you can’t put that on me!”
Alden stared back with a look that said he absolutely could.
Perhaps his Nature Magic had grown too effective, if his roommate had the energy to sass him.
Rob looked between them. “What happened in the last Trials? You never told me the exact details.”
Alden hummed as if in thought. “Matthew happened.”
“Chaos and mayhem?“
“That would not be an inaccurate way to describe it.”
Kai turned away, refusing to entertain this unjustified slander. “You were there both times too. You might be the one jinxing it.”
“Fair point. Though… who do you think your friends would point to as the reason if we asked?”
“That… that still doesn’t prove anything,” Kai looked at the misty trees. The banter helped distract them from their wariness, thus he stoically endured.
Hallowed Intuition had fallen back to distant murmurs. Still, his senses pushed through the mist, looking for threats. Even following the mana currents, it might take hours more to leave the woods.
He was plotting a comeback for Alden when his skin tingled. A faint tinkling laughter drifted through the elms and birches, like chiming bells carried on the wind. His step faltered, though nobody else reacted as the sound faded. "Did you hear that?"
Rob threw a look at the foggy brush. "Hear what? Is it those creepy creaking trees again?"
Alden watched him with scrunched brows.
Kai slowed, spreading his senses, ears keen to listen. “Uh… no, it’s probably nothing."
Hearing voices in the Veiled Woods was hardly rare. Usually, the best course of action was to ignore them. Yet… he couldn’t get the sound out of his mind. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it, but never with this level of clarity.
They continued down the trail.
A minute later, another soft laugh echoed, a little closer.
Kai spun to his companions, again met with only looks of puzzlement. “You really did not hear that?”
Searching his face for a joke and finding none, their expressions turned more serious, warily glancing over their shoulders at the woods.
“You think it’s a mist creature?”
“It doesn’t feel like one… At least, I sense no danger.”
He turned his focus inward onto Hallowed Intuition. The whispers had indeed stirred, though not with the sting of danger. Murmurs rose and rippled in a soft chorus, clear with importance, yet their meaning eluded him.
Ugh… will this skill ever stop being cryptic?
Their march proceeded in a more alert mood. When the tickling laughter chimed for the third time, it almost sounded… amused? Tilting his head, he caught something else at the edge of his vision. A hint of white darted behind an ivory birch, almost invisible in the mist.
Am I seeing things, or was that… a fluffy tail?
The whispers buzzed with what resembled excited glee.
“What are you looking at, Mat?” Rob watched him with a furrow. “We can take a brief rest if you’re too tired.”
“Uh… no. I can keep going.” He realized a moment later that Rob might have been asking for Alden’s sake. Guilty, he channeled more of his Nature mana, his mind stuck on what he’d seen.
What is going on…
Were he anywhere else, on any other day, he might have already yielded to his curiosity, but the Veiled Woods had dug their lesson deep. Following mysterious voices was a bad idea, especially with the forces behind Kastor out—
Another teasing laugh. Another glimpse of white in the purple brush. This time he was certain he’d caught the flick of a fluffy tail, shorter than Hobbes’.
"Mat…" Alden’s voice pulled him back. "Are you coming? Are you certain you’re alright?"
"Huh?" Kai blinked. When had they gotten that far ahead? "You... didn’t see that?"
Alden exchanged a glance with Rob. "See what?"
Looking back, only empty mist swirled among the trees.
"Hmm, never mind. I’m coming."
The prudent course of action was to ignore the strangeness and leave these cursed woods. He jogged to catch up, yet the more the laughter repeated, the more excited whispers grew. Hallowed Intuition might be occasionally obscured and often obscure, but it had never led him entirely astray.
Perhaps his pending evolution could give him clarity? He had so much to think about once he left.
Kai was proud it took him almost ten minutes before his curiosity won out. "I think something’s following us." It looked small and fluffy, though he thought better to avoid describing the creature only he could see.
Both Rob and Alden stiffened, their eyes searching the woods.
"I don't see anything…" Rob shifted to shield his charge.
“Could it be just a bait to lure you off the trail?”
“It could. But this feels different.” Kai tracked the shrub where the tail last disappeared. They knew enough about Hallowed Intuition to infer his meaning. “You two should go ahead… the exit shouldn’t be too far. I’ll make sure that nothing is following us.”
“No.” Alden thinly scowled. “Splitting up seems unwise.”
“I’ll be fine,” Kai said. The laughter chimed again, accompanied by a rustle. He sensed no threat or malice, only that same vague amusement.
Crossing gazes with Rob, the retainer kept silent, his priorities clear. “It’s not a terrible idea. There shouldn't be much danger this close to the outskirts. Mat has more survivability than both of us. And you need actual medical attention.”
“My injuries are stable. And that’s all more reason to not stray from the path. No one should go alone.”
“I won’t be. I have Hobbes with me. What other protection could I need?”
It took more back-and-forth before Alden conceded, muttering some hurtful comments about reckless roommates. They split the Shards from the ambush, halting upon a forking trail.
“I’ll catch up before you realize.” Kai projected a confident smile, then clapped Rob’s shoulder to whisper. "Get him out of these woods."
Rob stared back, then nodded. "I will. Try not to die."
"I'll do my best."
Unable to offer much resistance, Rob helped Alden down the trail. Just as their figures vanished in the mist, the laugh echoed on cue behind him.
Kai was certain he caught a tiny furry paw too. His body shifted to peer at it without quite meaning to.
Chewing his cheek in hesitation, he began to follow. Only when his attention drifted— another rustle came. A glimpse of a white tail. A tinkling laugh that danced through the mist like silver bells. And… were those long ears?
The creature guided him along a branching trail. No footprints marked the moss, no bent stalks or lingering smell.
Only another glimpse. The fluffy white tail vanishing into a bush.
Got you.
Kai shifted forward. It had been hours, but that didn’t stop the ache in his mana channels from returning.
After an iridescent glimmer, his eyes scanned the area.
Nothing.
The woods returned to silence, the creature gone.
For a heartbeat, he feared he’d lost the lead.
When he turned, he saw it. Twenty paces ahead, a fluffy rabbit—or a hare—nibbled on a patch of violet weeds. Its nose twitched slightly as it chewed. Moonlight shimmered through white fur tinged with a hint of violet. Around the edges, its body seemed almost translucent, as though woven from mist, mirage, or dreams rather than flesh.
Kai slowed, carefully taking a step closer.
What are you…
A twig cracked under his boot. In a blink, the rabbit dissolved into drifting silver motes.
Yet, the weeds it had been nibbling bore fresh bite marks.
His breath caught. Before he realized it, he was already chasing it. He considered calling Hobbes, but this felt like some kind of game, and he didn’t want to scare off the bunny.
It reappeared atop a moss-covered stone. Its paw thumped on the moss before it bounded into the trees, baiting him to follow.
Hey, wait up, Cottontail!
Kai ran after it, spurred on by the whispers.
The rabbit paused atop a fallen log, grooming one long ear. Its eyes closed into waning moons. Faint laughter echoed. Then it hopped away, vanishing in the mist.
“Alright then.” He heaved slightly. “As long as you don’t go off a trail…”
Lost in the chase, the woods slowly morphed around him. Sounds grew more distant. The whirling fog brightened with the soft radiance of the Moons. The wind no longer stirred the rustling branches, his footsteps growing strangely light.
The trail dipped and branched through leafy shrubs. Despite its fluff, the bunny continued to evade him, always close, always just beyond his reach. The scent of fresh grass mingled with blooming flowers; suddenly, the whispering fell silent.
The rabbit sat on a large root, its head tilted as if listening. Ancient oaks towered over them, their silver trunks disappearing into the luminous mist.
Kai raised his hands, slowly advancing. He stood just three steps away when its whiskers quivered before it hopped off, disappearing into a puff of mist.
Damn.
Searching for tracks, he realized the trail had opened into a grove. A circle of grass spread beneath his feet, each blade brushed with a pale violet. White flowers bloomed in clusters, their petals shimmering in the night sky. A mirror-still pool stretched beneath the oaks. Its glassy surface reflected the silver canopies and shining Moons above.
Kai blinked.
A young woman sat on a broad root at the water's edge, her toes trailing through the pool. Pale hair with a violet sheen cascaded over her bare shoulder. The loose fabric of her white gown draped over her figure, shimmering with a gentle radiance.
Curled in her lap lay the fluffy bunny. Its eyes closed in bliss as she gently stroked the soft fur with affectionate fingers. “Are you lost? I hope my little one didn’t give you too much trouble.” Her voice chimed like little bells.
The grove swayed with idyllic peace, and Hallowed Intuition had gone entirely silent. Kai approached with caution. “Who are you?”
“You know who I am.” The young woman smiled and lifted her head. Her irises shimmered like amethysts speckled with silver stars, as though she stole a fragment of the night sky. Her gaze carried teasing amusement and the depths of someone who laughed at eternity.
The Wandering Moon shone brightly above the pool, casting an ethereal glow over the woman. She scratched the rabbit behind the ear and patted the root beside her. “Come, Kai. Take a seat.”
Kai swallowed but stayed where he was. “I’m fine. Thank you. What… what do you want?”
Damn… I knew curiosity killed the cat.
A chuckle escaped her lips, bubbling into tinkling laughter. “Oh, forgive me.” She dabbed the tear at the corner of her eye. “People always ask me what I can do for them. Though I suppose I should have expected you’d wander against the currents. Come now. I promise I don't bite.”
Under her patient stare, Kai took a few tentative steps. “You still have not answered my question.”
She brushed a finger thoughtfully on her cheek. “Indeed, I have not. I simply don’t require anything of you. Watching you has been enough entertainment.” She gently stroked the rabbit’s back. “So few mortals take on Fate skills. And even fewer use an ability meant to avoid trouble to throw themselves into greater danger at every opportunity.” A chime of laughter escaped her lips again.
Kai stared flatly back.
Am I being roasted by a goddess?
“Do you want to pet Mr. Thistle?” She lifted the rabbit toward him. “Everyone wants to pet him.”
The little creature looked profoundly unimpressed by him, his long ears drooping from being taken from the goddess’ lap as though this sort of indignity happened far too often.
“Sure…” Not wanting to leave him hanging, Kai moved to accept the proffered bunny and sat on the rough root. Its fur indeed felt like petting a cotton cloud. After an initial twitch, the rabbit leaned into the touch with a content little huff.
“He has the nicest fur, doesn’t he?” the young woman asked proudly.
“Yeah… he does…” He would never admit it aloud, but his soft coat might contend with Hobbes’. He reluctantly withdrew his hands when the goddess reached to return him to her lap. “But if you don’t want anything from me… Why lure me here?”
“Well… I happened to be wandering through the area, so I thought I'd offer you my blessing. You seem rather fond of collecting those.” She scratched Mr. Thistle’s chin with a casual shrug.
Huh…
His brain briefly short-circuited, then his eyes narrowed. “So…” Kai cleared his throat. “What’s your angle? I’m not going to make another bargain. No matter what you’re offering.” Dealing with one megalomaniacal fairy had almost killed him. He had no intention of repeating the experience.
The young woman giggled. “You sound just like my sister. Must there always be some grand motive behind every action? Can’t we just follow our whims because we want to?”
“That…” Kai bit his cheek, watching her with unconvinced skepticism.
The young woman sighed. “As you might say, it's poor form to watch a performance without paying the actor.” She shrugged lightly. “But you if you insist on an exchange, you can play catch with Mr. Thistle—”
“I accept!”
She blinked. Her serene smile widened with mirth. “I’ll be watching.”
Ding
The Wandering Moon, Goddess of Fate, has been entertained by your actions and deemed you worthy. A blessing has been bestowed upon you! You are awarded: +14 Favor!
Just like that—
Kai could barely react when two more notifications flashed in his vision. Brows furrowed, he pulled the first one up.
Ding
Hallowed Intuition (lv100) ➔
As you reach the final milestone, you are presented with four five choices to continue your path:
Fortune Reader (lv1) — The convergence of Fate and opportunity whispers to you. Pivotal encounters and events subtly draw your attention. Fate’s currents become easier to sense the closer your emotional and physical involvement, and vice versa. [Skill Slot Requirement: 3]
Calamity Premonition (lv1) — Your instincts for danger sharpen into forewarning disaster. Hostile intent, hidden threats, and potential catastrophes become increasingly difficult to conceal from your senses. The greater the peril to your life, the clearer the warning. [Skill Slot Requirement: 2]
Wanderer's Instinct (lv1) — Focus on a path to glimpse at possible futures. The divining is stronger the closer the relation to yourself. The farther you peer, the greater the uncertainty, and the more varied the potential outcomes. [Skill Slot Requirement: 2]
Luck’s Favorite (lv1) — Fate bends subtly around your actions. Minor coincidences occur more frequently in your favor. The effect heightens near converging locus of Fate. [Skill Slot Requirement: 3]
Fate's Whimsy (lv1) — Listen to the whispers and currents of Fate. Significant crossroads and choices ripple into omens and fleeting impressions of the future that may guide your actions to desirable outcomes. Strong emotional bonds, personal stakes, and imminent danger may sharpen the clarity of the revelations. [Skill Slot Requirement: 1]