Kael ran through the forest, the wind biting at his face as he moved faster than his eyes could register. The trees and leaves blurred into simple streaks as he headed north.
His objective was clear—Odin's Gauntlet. This relic, marked with ancient runes, was said to reveal hidden treasures and, most importantly, guide him to Amrita, the elixir capable of killing the Outer Gods.
Without the gauntlet, searching for Amrita was like chasing smoke. With it, he could track the elixir before Loki—the Bloodborn trickster—snatched it away as head in his previous life.
He vaulted over fallen logs and jagged roots and landed on the trunk of a twisted pine. In one smooth motion, he twisted his body and gripped a nearby branch.
As he balanced for a moment, his eyes darted back to the distant fourth gate, its low hum cutting through the quiet of the forest.
The gate stood at the forest's edge like a breach in reality. Its outline was roughly circular, its boundaries marked by shifting hues of deep purple and dark blue. The surface was covered in strange, angular runes that flashed intermittently as if powered by an unseen energy source.
Occasional bolts of electricity raced along its border, and a constant low hum filled the air. The space around it distorted, bending light and causing nearby leaves to tremble as though caught in a strong current.
It looked neither entirely solid nor completely ethereal—a clear rupture between dimensions that drew the eye and made the ground below seem unstable.
Then the world shifted.
A low vibration emanated from the gate. Moments later, bolts of lightning cracked through the sky, slicing the darkness as they struck nearby trees.
Kael paused, his fingers digging into the rough bark as an intense surge of energy passed over him. He recognized that raw energy: the mark of Zeus's Bloodborn.
A walking storm with a hero complex and a kill count longer than Kael's regrets.
He slowed his breathing and focused. 'Arion, you fool,' he thought, jaw tightening. 'Showing up now, right in my way...'
He remembered how, in his previous life, Zeus's chosen warriors had come through the fourth gate alongside others—Apollo's heir, Athena's tactician, and more—entering the world with airs of saviors. They killed monsters, saved survivors, and received praise.
But Kael saw the truth. They chased relics, hoarded power, and ruled by force. Arion, with lightning running in his veins, had reduced cities to ash.
"No more," Kael said under his breath. "You are not my king and I won't be your slave."
He knew he was not strong enough to face divine foes yet. Titan Slayer, his sword along with the Seal of Death skill, hit with twice the force of a normal blade, but it was barely enough against god-like blood.
The forest grew unusually still—a silence that warned of imminent danger. Kael tightened his grip on the branch as he listened for any sound beyond the gate's distant hum.
Then, a twig snapped.
Lower down, he caught sight of two red eyes in the gloom—a rat, large like a dog, its fur clotted with dried blood.
"Just a rat," he muttered, a mix of relief and annoyance washing over him. This was not one of the divine foes, only a minor problem.
Kael unsheathed Titan Slayer and dropped silently from the branch. The rat leaped with bared teeth, but Kael's reflexes were too fast.
His sword struck clean, splitting the rat's skull. Blood splashed on the forest floor, and the creature twitched once before it fell still.
"Too fucking easy," Kael murmured as he wiped his sword on a damp patch of leaves. "I wish you were at this dull, Arion."
He scanned the clearing—nothing moved. Then the gate closed with a firm, echoing sound. Without pausing, Kael climbed back into the trees and moved faster.
Every path and ridge from his past life was burned into his memory. He knew that the gauntlet lay north—in a ruined temple where Odin's Bloodborn, Torren, had once tracked Amrita by its runes.
And last time, Loki reached it first. This time, Kael vowed, he would not fail.
Thunder split the air, and sparks flew between nearby trees. Kael crouched and peered through the leaves. Four figures emerged from the dark edge of the forest. Among them was Arion.
Kael's heart hammered. He knew he could not engage these foes now, not with his strength still low. He moved quietly to another tree deeper into the cover.
He pressed himself into the dark undergrowth, every muscle alert. He could hear voices drifting through the trees.
Then a cold, clipped voice rang out:
"Arion, I can sense a mortal nearby. I think he is Awakened."
It was Lyssa. Unlike before, her tone didn't brim with aggression—it was calculating. Below him, Arion paused. Instead of ordering an immediate strike, his voice turned low and measured as he answered, "Find him."
But then, something shifted in Arion's tone. After a long, tense pause, Arion said to another in the group, "Wait. That one isn't like the others. His aura is strong—he could be useful."
A short distance away, Helios, bow still drawn, added, "He shows potential. Instead of killing him, we recruit him."
Hidden in the canopy, Kael edged along a low limb, listening carefully to their murmurs. "Bring him in quietly. We don't waste energy on those with potential," Arion ordered.
Kael's eyes narrowed. He knew they wanted him alive, not dead. He could sense that their aim was to recruit rather than annihilate.
But he had no intention of becoming anyone's pawn, even if they thought his power was valuable.
Using the cover of the dense canopy, Kael shifted his weight, then darted along a low branch to gain higher ground. The voices faded behind him as he moved silently.
Kael moved from branch to branch with practiced ease, his mind on the ruined temple that lay to the north. In the distance, he caught sight of a gap between two trees where the sunlight cut through.
Seizing the moment, he leaped down and melted into the darkness. The sounds of pursuit diminished as Arion's group regrouped on their ledge.
"His trail is faint now," Arion said as he scanned the treeline. "His power is far stronger than a normal Awakened has in this stage. Stong enough to serve us."
But the forest already swallowed Kael's figure as he moved swiftly from branch to branch.