Ether: Pulse of the Forgotten

The silence after the fight wasn't the good kind.

It clung to the air like fog, thick and heavy, everyone pretending the Zephyrfang Stalker lying in a crumpled heap wasn't the least of their problems now.

Reed's group was all smiles again, fake and smooth, like they hadn't just spent the last thirty minutes "accidentally" stepping in the way, missing shots, and leaving openings that almost got people killed.

"Hell of a hit," Reed said, clapping Kai on the shoulder a bit too hard to feel friendly. "Knew you had it in you."

Kai just shrugged. "Yeah, well… lucky day."

They all laughed. Everyone but Kai's group.

Sasha was off cleaning her arrows, acting casual while tracking the five with those sharp, calculating eyes of hers.Brant shot her a look. She didn't bother returning it.

Lira and the other three had moved toward the remains of the beast, busying themselves with salvaging what they could, speaking low and quick. Probably already recalculating whatever plan they'd been cooking.

It was only a matter of time now.

Kai dropped into a crouch by his pack, pretending to check supplies. Talia eased down beside him like it was nothing, stretching out her legs. Then, quiet as the wind:

"So… we killing them or what?"

Kai snorted under his breath. "Talia, please. We haven't even finished lunch."

She grinned. "Just thought I'd ask."

Kai glanced up. Reed was pretending not to be watching, which meant he was watching.

"Not yet," Kai said softly, voice low and even. "But... keep your shoes on. Might turn into that kind of day."

Talia nodded, leaning back like they'd just been talking about the weather. "Copy that."

The cracks were already spiderwebbing through the group.

Sasha noticed the glances, the whispers. The way Reed's people started staying in pairs, how their hands kept drifting toward their weapons a second too early.

Everyone was playing nice.

But not for long.

Kai stretched his arms over his head and gave Reed a lazy grin. "So, what's the plan? Find another monster? Maybe one a little bigger this time?"

Reed laughed. "Ha, yeah. Maybe. Could do us all some good."

Reed's group passed glances like secret notes in class. Lira checked her spear for the fifth time. Brant flexed his hands like he was itching for something, and the other three lingered just a bit too close, like they were waiting on a signal.

Kai leaned against a tree, arms crossed, pretending to be exhausted. "Man... think we can get a break after that one? I mean, c'mon. We just killed a walking blender."

Reed chuckled, fake and easy. "Yeah. Yeah, you earned it. Rest up. You must be running on fumes after pulling off those moves."

Kai smirked. "Oh, absolutely. Barely standing." He exaggerated a stumble, dusted himself off. "Might just take a nap right here next to the corpse. Nice breeze. Real comfy."

Sasha snorted softly but didn't look up from checking her arrows. Talia, leaning against a log, yawned like she was about to doze off.

Reed stepped a little closer. "Y'know... crazy how far you three have made it. Just the three of you, holding your own against monsters like that."

Kai nodded. "Crazy, right? Guess we're just built different."

Lira gave a polite laugh. Brant didn't bother.

And then it shifted.

Quick.

Sharp.

Like someone flicked a switch.

One of the unnamed three slid behind Sasha. Another to Talia's side. Reed's hand drifted down, hovering just a little too close to the dagger at his belt.

Kai's grin widened, lazy and unbothered. "So... how long you been planning it? Before the Stalker? Or were you hoping it would soften us up first?"

Reed's smile didn't move, but his eyes flickered. "Hey, no need for that kind of talk. We're all friends here."

"Right. Friends," Kai echoed, shifting just slightly, weight on the balls of his feet. "Who surround us. After a fight. While we're 'tired.'" He exaggerated the word with air quotes. "You're real subtle. Top marks."

Kai caught Sasha's eye. She didn't smile back. Talia shifted slightly, just enough to put a hand near her dagger without looking obvious.

Reed took a step closer. Then another. Lira drifted toward the opposite flank, spear twirling lazily in her hand. Brant cracked his knuckles like a man getting ready for work.

Kai felt the moment they made the decision.

The last piece slid into place.

And then Lira gave the line, cool and practiced. "Nothing personal. Just business."

Kai tilted his head. "But why?"

Reed grinned, like Kai had asked his favorite question.

"Monsters are unpredictable," he said with a shrug. "Sure, they're strong. But people? People are easy. Levels are easier to take from the living than from some overpowered beast. Especially when they don't see it coming."

"Oh man. That's adorable. You really thought we didn't see this coming?"

Reed's smirk faltered.

Kai rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. "Lemme guess... figured we were tired. Worn out. Perfect moment to clean us up before lunch."

Brant moved first. A twitch. A step.

Talia caught it, voice low as she leaned near Kai. "So... are we killing them or what?"

Kai flashed a grin. "Please. We haven't even finished looting the corpse."

Talia snorted, already shifting into the shadows.

Reed's eyes narrowed. "Last chance to make this easy."

Kai spread his arms, mock surrender. "Oh, buddy... easy's overrated."

Then his hand dropped, and Ether flared across his palm.

"You had your shot."

The clearing erupted.

The moment the tension snapped, Kai moved. Faster than any of them expected. Faster than Reed's cocky grin could even fall from his face.

Lira lunged, spear whipping toward Kai's ribs. He twisted, pivoting on his heel, and her spear tip grazed nothing but air.

Kai's palm snapped out.

Air Palm.

The blast detonated point-blank against her chest. The sound cracked like a thunderclap. Lira's body sailed backward, crashing through a tree trunk, the splinters raining down like brittle hail.

The forest exploded into chaos.

Brant roared, charging Sasha with all the subtlety of a warhammer. His fists gleamed, wrapped in faint blue energy, swinging wide and wild.

Sasha ducked the first swing. The second clipped her shoulder, but she rolled with it, coming up with an arrow nocked in one smooth motion.

"You're way too slow," she muttered.

The shot fired straight into Brant's thigh. He stumbled—another arrow struck his shoulder, then another in his opposite leg. Precise. Cruel. His body jerked with each impact as Sasha calmly picked him apart from a few feet away.

"Sit down," she whispered, loosing the fourth arrow into his gut.

Brant collapsed in a heap, groaning, hands grasping at the shaft protruding from his stomach.

The three nameless ones struck next.

Two darted at Talia, blades flashing in the sun. They came in fast, expecting a rogue to run.

She didn't.

She met the first with a dagger to the throat, stopping him mid-swing as blood sprayed across her hood. The second tried to flank her, but Talia was gone before his foot hit the ground.

One step. Vanished into the trees.

He spun in place, wide-eyed, searching shadows.

"Boo," she whispered behind him before her second blade slid into his back, clean and deep.

The last of Reed's group tried his luck with Kai.

Big mistake.

He came in high with a sword, screaming like volume could carry him to victory.

Kai ducked under the first swing, caught the man's arm mid-strike, and with a twist of his wrist, snapped it at the elbow.

The scream that followed was cut short by Kai's knee slamming into the man's jaw. The man crumpled at Kai's feet like discarded trash.

And just like that, it was down to Reed.

Still standing. Still watching.

But not smiling anymore.

He backed up slowly, hands raised, eyes darting to the bodies sprawled around them.

"Alright... hey... maybe we—"

Kai laughed. "Nah. No speeches."

Reed bolted.

Kai was faster.

One step. Then another. The Ether surged through his body like a storm given shape.

Kai's palm glowed, the air itself tightening around it, compressing like an invisible fist. The wind screamed as he closed the distance, his body sliding through the trees like the breeze carried him forward.

Reed glanced back just in time to see the shimmer of light around Kai's hand.

And then the palm hit.

Center mass.

Gale Palm – Evolved.

The force didn't just throw Reed off his feet—it folded him inward. The air pressure detonated inside his body, crushing his ribs like wet paper, rupturing organs in a single, perfect burst.

Reed's eyes went wide. Mouth open. No sound.

Just silence.

Then he hit the ground and didn't get back up.

Kai exhaled slowly, flexing his fingers as the Ether faded from his skin.

"Guess that's business," he muttered.

Behind him, the others regrouped.

Sasha checked her arrows. "Well. That was... something."

Talia wiped her dagger on a scrap of cloth. "So much for making friends."

Kai looked down at Reed's broken body, then to the others.

"Next group that wants to play nice?" he said, smirking. "They can keep walking."

No one argued.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, Kai knew this was only the beginning.

The clearing fell quiet, save for the wind slipping through the leaves like it had better places to be.

Kai wiped his hands on his pants, casting one last glance at Reed's crumpled body. The system didn't waste any time.

[You have slain Human Barbarian – Level 11.]

[You have slain Human Spearfighter – Level 12.]

[You have slain Human Scout – Level 10.]

[You have slain Human Duelist – Level 11.]

[You have slain Human Swordsman – Level 10.]

[You have slain Human Rogue – Level 11.]

Then the next screen blinked to life.

[You have leveled up.]

[Level 18 achieved.]

[Status Window – Kai]Name: Kai

Class: Ether Initiate

Level: 18

Cultivation Level: True Profound Realm – Stage 6

Health: 1,800/1,800

Skills:– Gale Palm– Air Palm– Ether Manipulation (Minor)

Kai felt the familiar rush, like fresh oxygen pumping through his veins. Power, steady and warm, settled into his muscles, smoothing out the aches from the fight.

"Level 18," Sasha said, her voice casual, like they'd just finished a jog. She plucked an arrow from Brant's corpse and wiped it clean on his shirt. "Not bad for a morning's work."

Talia crouched by one of the bodies, flipping it over to check the pouches. She didn't bother hiding her frown when she came up empty.

"Seriously?" she muttered. "Nothing? Not even a decent ring?"

Kai moved from one corpse to the next, checking belts, pockets, packs. Same story. Dried rations. Cracked weapons. A few scraps of cloth that might have been worth something if they hadn't been soaked through with blood.

"Whole crew of leeches and they didn't have a single thing worth taking," he said, standing and brushing his hands off. "Figures."

"Guess they were betting on us being the payday," Sasha said.

Talia snorted. "Joke's on them."

Kai kicked Reed's dagger away from the body, just in case. "If this is the best the other groups have to offer, we're gonna be fine."

"But they won't be the last," Sasha said, finally slinging her bow across her back. "Hard times. People get desperate. Someone else is gonna try."

Kai glanced at the bodies. "Then we make sure they get the same reminder."

Talia stood and stretched, rolling her shoulders like the fight had been more of a warm-up than anything serious. "What now?"

Kai scanned the tree line. The wind felt different again. Lighter, freer. For the first time in days, the forest wasn't pressing in on them.

"Now?" he said, smirking. "We clean up, move on, and see what else this place thinks it can throw at us."

Sasha nodded. "Next monster?"

Talia grinned. "or the Next idiots."

Kai laughed as they gathered their things and started walking, leaving the bodies cooling in the dirt behind them.

"Let 'em come."