Whispering, and the thick stench of drugs woke Keilan up.

  “... is he awake?”

  “...Does he look awake to you?”

  “... I don't know, could be.”

  Something poked his forehead but he kept his cool, intent on forcing himself back to his blissful sleep.

  “Huiron, stop poking his forehead.”

  “I'm just checking if he's awake.”

  “For celestial’s sake, Huiron, let him rest.”

  “But what if he's awake?”

  “Oh my…” There was a sigh. “Huiron, have I ever told you that you're the sharpest spoon I know?”

  “Why thank you,” there was a chuckle, and then a pause as Huiron seemed to realize what had just been said. “Hey!”

  Somebody giggled. “Just let him rest. In the meantime, let's go grab some ice cream from the mess hall."

  “... okay.”

  Groggily, Keilan's eyes opened, and he mumbled. “Medicine after death.”

  Huiron, who'd been hovering over him, jumped backwards with a loud, undignified yelp.

  It took Keilan a split second to adjust his sight against the light glaring down at him, which he dimmed on reflex, and then he took in the room.

  They were in a fairly large room, with an earthy brown wardrobe standing to the left. A great mirror stood opposite of Keilan, just behind Huiron and the others, reflecting their backs as well as the green curtain covering a seven-foot-tall window.

  Ever since he'd gotten it, Keilan hadn't had the time to decorate. He and… Damien had made plans, but well, reality had said otherwise. He wasn't going to do anything until he had his brother's input.

  “We're back home?” He asked.

  Solis, who leaned on the door, rolled his eyes and let out a snort. “Oh, the obvious. Such a great observant man you are.”

  “Don't be rude, Solis.” Sareina slapped him on the shoulder. “Don't mind him, Keilan. We are not back home, yet.”

  “The doctor, here,” Vanis continued, gesturing at a tall petite elf woman wearing a green healer's garb, “suggested we make the room into something you'd be familiar with for when you wake… to ease the transition.”

  “What transition?”

  The doctor shifted back the glasses resting on her nose, blinking rapidly as she stepped closer. “Glad to have you back with us, lord Elason. I don't mean to state the obvious, but your ordeal, ah, was a horrific thing for you to go through, for anyone to go through.” She glanced back nervously at the Lese scions who stood behind, backed by their huge brooding warders. “I was made aware of your… feat before you lost consciousness—don’t worry, I was made to swear an oath against revealing any of what I was told and heard—, and while I haven't encountered nor heard of such deeds before, I could predict how harrowing waking up in an unfamiliar environment can be after what you went through. As a precaution, I suggested we make your room here into a replica of the one back at Ver, to ease whatever discomfort you might feel upon reawakening.”

  Keilan didn't bother asking how they'd known what his room back on Ver looked like. After his brother's disappearance, Vanis and the others, including Solis—oddly enough—had kept him company there. In fact, most of his brooding phase had been spent in their company.

  He sighed, staring at the dimly lit ceiling. “You don't have to look at me like that. This is not my first rodeo.”

  “Yes!” Huiron shouted, stretching a hand towards the others. “I said it! I was right! Now pay up!”

  That… was not the sort of response he'd been expecting. Keilan stared at the others. “You made a bet?”

  “Don't look at me!” Huiron pointed at Solis, “he suggested it!”

  Solis sighed as he dumped more than a dozen black vicari on Huiron's outstretched hand. The others did the same, all with various signs of resignation.

  “So your soul injury wasn't inflicted on you by an outside force. You did it yourself?” Vanis said.

  Keilan took a deep breath. “Yep, and guess who I was fighting?—”

  “Oh oh! Don't say it yet! Lemme guess.” Huiron interrupted. “Shadow Hall?”

  “... Yeah… how did you know?"

  “For someone who seemingly comes from a backwater planet, your expression when we encountered them wasn't one of unfamiliarity. Unless you've got some Spirit lord on your homeworld so powerful they practically pushed you into developing an Ascended Technique far too early, an impossibility, by the way, then my guess is all on Shadow Hall. Damn, they do seem to be everywhere, don't they?”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Yeah,” Keilan muttered. “If we're not back home yet, I assume we're on the DreadShip? How did you all escape the demon?”

  “Your technique, Keilan,” Sareina said with a warm smile that hid the oh-so-obvious look of unease on her face. They all wore it, even Huiron, despite his nonchalant take on it all so far. “I came conscious just when… what you did, came into existence. It cleared a path just enough for Solis’s ship to pick us up.”

  “Oh it did more than that, I'm sure,” Huiron interrupted with a snicker. “I'm pretty sure even the farthest Aveanii shuttle from the planet felt the draw of that mega storm you birthed. Whatever bounty was put on you before, consider it doubled and tripled as of this moment. Congrats, Kei, you're officially worth more than Vanis now… or any of us.”

  Keilan sighed. He was beginning to get suspicious of why Shadow Hall was after them, he and Vanis especially. They hadn't been through a lot of ordeal, not in Keilan's opinion, but there was one ordeal both of them had been in… along with a certain number of bird people.

  He contemplated whether he should let the others in on his suspicion, but immediately tamed that thought. He understood that Vanis was also affected, but he just couldn't bring himself to let the other man in on what he was carrying within his soul. After all, there was only one thing that moved men more than money; power.

  “What about?—”

  “Ha! Emerald Thorn!” Huiron shouted, interrupting Keilan. “‘Get it? Your mega storm's like a thorn, and it's emerald! Oh damn, I've got good naming skills!”

  “No,” Keilan whispered with horror, “no no no no no. I do not want ‘Emerald Thorn’ or whatever else you pick. I've already got my hands full with StormShredder, I do not want another nickname.”

  “StormShredder?” The other man repeated thoughtfully. “That’s actually good. Why am I just hearing about it?”

  “Because i do not want it,” he said and then spoke to Vanis before Huiron could ask another question. “What about Lady Filenus and DarkMoon?”

  “Last we saw, they were still in battle with the Demon.”

  “Oooh, you missed a lot, Kei man. If you thought the battle while we were on the planet was intense, you should see how they took it up a notch when we finally left its territory. Boom! A whole continent reduced to rubble and sunk! Whoosh! An entire sea boiled and evaporated. And you know the worst part? That damn Demon would not die!”

  Solis snorted. “Of course it wouldn't, it's a vitality creature.”

  Vanis eyed him. “Somebody seems proud.”

  “Why wouldn't I be? You all seem to underestimate the powers of Blood wielders. In a battle, I would outlast you all and it wouldn't take half my powers.”

  “You've got great stamina, brother, not raw power. I could blast you with my Master technique and there's nothing your vast array of rejuvenating powers would do about it.”

  Solis raised an eyebrow. “You're of the thought that I'd stay still long enough for you to do me critical damage—”

  “I don't need you to stay still to end you, Sol. There are many ways to bring you—”

  “Guys, guys, guys,” Keilan said placatingly while Sareina and Huiron chuckled. “Enough with the argument, pleaseee. At least save it for when we get back home.”

  Vanis made no notion that he'd heard, but he stayed silent. Solis, on the other hand, sent him a scathing glare, but thankfully he too elected to remain silent.

  Keilan turned to Sareina. "Where exactly are we?”

  “Deep space.”

  “Oh, so we're safe then?”

  Huiron snorted and Solis ran a hand across his face. The others made no movement, but Keilan could detect the sudden quiet that seemed to suffuse the room.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, we believe—” Vanis began, but he was interrupted by Solis’s raised hand.

  The other Verrille turned to the doctor. “Lieutenant Islaire, what's your final verdict on your patient here? Is he clear to walk?”

  The elven woman shifted her glasses once again. She blinked once at Solis, as if just comprehending what he'd just asked, and then she turned to Keilan, once again adjusting her glasses as she peered at him. “You suffered massive fractures to your entire skeletal structure, a thorough shattering of your lower limbs, a severed arm, as well as multiple ruptures to your blood vessels…”

  Keilan's eyes had gotten wide as saucers by the time she was done. He glanced at his arm, but it was—

  “All of which you've recovered from, and at an outstanding speed, I might add. Right now, I believe the greatest of your problems should be a migraine, a mild one, barely noticeable?”

  Keilan swallowed and nodded. Solis also did the same. “Good, thank you Doctor. That would be all. You may leave.”

  The woman saluted. “As you will, Commander.” She bowed to Vanis, Huiron, and Sareina as she made her way out, all of whom returned it with a nod.

  When the door closed, Keilan turned to Vanis. “Spill.”

  Huiron raised his arm. “Oh oh, lemme answer!” He snickered. “We're playing cat and mouse with a bunch of monsters. Guess who's the rat?”

  Keilan blinked and then looked at the others. “Can someone please explain to me what Huiron just said, in a conceivable way?”

  Sareina cupped her hands over the Saulae scion’s mouth, leaving way for Vanis to explain.

  “We believe we're bein—”

  “Believe?” Solis arched an eyebrow. “This is a certainty. State it as it is.”

  Vanis sighed. “We're currently actively being hunted by a monster horde.” He eyed his brother. “Happy?”

  “How did this happen?” Keilan asked before they could get into another argument.

  “We made encounter two days ago. We believe they were waiting for our return, wearied and bruised from our fight with the Aveanii. We lost multiple ships in the ambush, none of them held civilians,” he said just as Keilan opened his mouth.

  “Why?” Keilan asked. “There's got to be a reason. A monster horde doesn't just lay ambush for passing military ships.”

  “No they do not,” Solis agreed. “Which is why we believe the presence of a scheming mind behind this. This horde was last sighted in the Zeiron’s system, a short distance away from our home world. We lost sight of them immediately after the Hollow’s attack. It can't be a coincidence that they suddenly appear now, right in our path.” He grimaced. “I know strategy when I see one, we're being corralled towards a location. Where? I do not know, yet. But I believe it wouldn't be good.”

  “Why don't we fight back?” Keilan asked. “That seems like the obvious decision as opposed to simply following their strategy.”

  “We've tried, and we lost multiple ships in the encounter. This Astral Horde outnumbers us three to one. And with more than half our ships occupied by scared civilians, that's a risk I am unwilling to take.”

  “What about an SOS message? Have you tried sending one?”

  “Oh, why didn't I think of that? Stupid me.”

  “That was sarcasm.”

  “You think?” He arched an eyebrow. “Yes, I have sent out a call for help, I have sent out multiple. But the first thing any sensible commander would do when laying an ambush is to cut off all forms of communication. Yes, i have sent out calls for help, but I hold no hope that they will be received. As of this moment, we're all on our own.”

  They were being chased by a Monster Horde, no doubt filled with hundreds of Spirit Kings, and a Divine King, if Keilan's memory was correct.

  Oh Celestials, why did I wake up?