The crawler screeched to a halt.
A loud boom echoed across the canyon road as dust and fire exploded in front of them. The squad jumped into action, weapons drawn.
"Ambush!" shouted Sergeant Rhun. "Shields up!"
Kael stumbled from his seat, heart pounding. Aria pulled him behind cover, pistol in hand.
"How did they find us?" Kael asked.
"I don't know," she said, scanning the smoke. "But whoever it is, they're good."
A figure stepped through the smoke.
Tall. Calm. Cloaked in dark gray. A breathing mask covered his face, but his voice cut through the wind like a knife.
"Subject 7-KR12-13. Kael Riven. Return with me. Or bleed."
Kael's blood ran cold, his fingers started shaking. That voice… it wasn't just any enforcer.
This one knew who he was.
Aria stepped in front of him. "You're not taking him."
The stranger raised his hand.
The air bent.
Kael saw it, barely. The man moved so fast, two of Aria's soldiers were on the ground before they could even aim. Their guns twisted apart, melted into useless pieces.
"He's not normal," Kael thought. "He's something else. A weapon."
Aria fired, three perfect shots.
The stranger dodged each one like he'd seen them coming before she pulled the trigger.
Then he was in front of her.
A blade of light formed in his hand, aimed straight for her heart, so fast that aria was not even able to see or move an inch to prepare,
Just when she thought she was going to die here,
Kael moved.
Or rather, the Spiral moved.
Red light burst from his chest, a loud crack echoing through the rocks. Time slowed. He could see the man's muscles tensing, the exact path of the blade, the pressure points in the air itself.
He raised his hand.
The blade stopped midair, trembling, then shattered into dust.
The Spiral mark glowed bright on his skin.
"I told you," it whispered again inside his mind.
"I don't obey the order of things. I define them."
Kael stepped forward, his eyes glowing crimson.
The spy backed away, just slightly with little caution. "The Spiral... You're not ready."
"Maybe not," Kael growled. "But I'm not alone."
The outpost team opened fire.
The spy vanished in a blur, disappearing into smoke.
Before leaving he said "Run however much you want and where ever you want, i want you to run so that you can control your power and then when you are able to control it, I'll feel the satisfaction of defeating you and taking you away, I'll let you feel the wind of freedom for sometime."
Kael collapsed to one knee, breathing hard.
Aria grabbed him. "What was that?"
He didn't answer.
Not yet.
"We need to move. Now," she said.
As the crawler roared back into motion, Kael sat in the back, holding his chest. The Spiral was quiet again. But he knew that if time comes that he needs help it will pulse with energy again, to protect, to conquer, to dominate.
It had protected him.
It had revealed itself.
And now, nothing would be the same again.
Not for Kael.
Not for Aria.
And not for the world.
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End of Chapter 8 of volume 2