Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece

The sky was still dark when the horns sounded.

A long, deep blast rolled across the camp like thunder.

It shook the air. The ground, and the pit of Kyle's stomach.

He snapped awake. His hand already gripping Zalrielle's hilt before his eyes had fully opened.

Around him. The others stirred.

Cassian let out a groan, trying to sit up without putting pressure on his injured leg. "Damn it—already?"

Serena was upright in a second, quiet and alert. Her glaive already in her hands.

Eleanora was even faster. She rose without a sound, eyes sharp, adjusting the belt of her estoc like she'd never been asleep at all.

Cedric sat up slower. But his expression was calm. Focused. He grabbed his sword and stood without a word.

No one needed to speak.

They knew what this was.

Outside the tent. The camp had come alive. Shouts rang out. Armor clanked.

The trample of boots thudded like distant drums. The sharp scent of metal, sweat, and smoke filled the air. Mixed with something deeper. Fear.

Kyle pushed to his feet. His limbs stiff and sore.

His muscles ached from the cold, and his forearm pulled tight where the stitches held.

But the worst of the pain had faded overnight. His Awakener blood had done its work. Not a full recovery, but enough to fight.

Cassian flexed his knee and let out a short breath. "Still hurts like hell. But I can stand. That's enough."

Serena checked the wrappings on her ribs, then slung her glaive over her shoulder without a word.

Her face was as blank as ever. But her fingers clenched the weapon's shaft tightly. Like she needed to feel its weight.

Eleanora adjusted her chestplate and fastened the last buckle with quick, practiced hands. Her lips were tight. Eyes unreadable.

Cedric rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and strapped his scabbard back on. He didn't say anything either.

There was nothing to say.

They stepped out into the cold morning air, and into chaos.

The Black Legion was moving in every direction. Soldiers rushed past in tight groups, strapping on armor, carrying weapons, shouting orders.

Some of them were barely awake, others already had blood on their boots.

The eastern sky was still dark. But a pale blue line had started to bleed into the black, hinting at dawn.

Fog clung to the ground like a ghost, curling around boots and tents.

A soldier jogged past them. "Forward unit to the pass! Move it!"

Kyle met the eyes of the others.

This was it.

The eastern pass was exactly like Commander Halric had said. A narrow stretch of land between two tall ridges.

The terrain sloped upward, rough and uneven, with jagged rocks and old, brittle grass. There was nowhere to run. No flanks. No cover.

A natural choke point.

A place to kill, or be killed.

Barricades had been thrown together quickly. Logs sharpened into spikes.

Walls made of boulders and broken carts. Archers crouched behind them, already nocking arrows. Their faces pale in the early light.

Kyle and his team were placed right at the front.

Of course they were.

Halric's voice echoed in his head.

"You hit harder than most. I need you where it counts."

Kyle said nothing as he took his place behind the barricade. He pulled Zalrielle free from its sheath.

The blade shimmered faintly, reacting to his mana. A low hum rose from it. Ice curling along the edge like breath on glass.

Cassian stood beside him. He stretched his arms and let fire spark to life around his gauntlets.

"If I die here," he muttered, "I'm haunting every single one of you."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Shut up and focus."

She spun her glaive once, purple lightning crackling along its curved blade.

Eleanora said nothing. She stood still, estoc resting over one shoulder.

Her breathing slow and steady. Like she was meditating. Like she was already in the fight.

Cedric held his longsword low, tip angled toward the dirt. His stance had changed. No more wide-eyed panic. No more hesitation.

Kyle glanced down the line.

Every soldier wore the same look. Tired. Focused. Bracing themselves.

Then—

The wind stopped.

Just like that. Gone.

No rustling grass. No flapping banners. Not even the creak of leather.

Everything went quiet.

Too quiet.

Even the soldiers stopped breathing for a second.

And then, far away—

BOOM.

The earth shook beneath their boots. A sound like a giant heartbeat rolled over the hills.

Then another.

And another.

Kyle tensed.

A deep roar followed. Too many voices to count. Screaming. Howling.

From the ridge ahead, shapes began to move. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

Red armor. Marching in formation.

Blades drawn.

And then they came.

———

The Red Legion poured into the pass like a flood.

A sea of red armor crashed forward, loud and unstoppable. The ground trembled beneath their boots.

Steel caught the faint light of dawn. Making it look like their blades were already stained with blood.

Even though the real killing hadn't begun.

Kyle felt his heart hammer in his chest. His breathing sped up. Every part of him screamed to move.

The archers fired first.

A wave of black arrows flew from the ridges above. They whistled through the air, darkening the sky for a moment.

Some Red Knights fell, arrows sticking from their necks or shoulders. But most of them kept running, barely slowing down.

Then a voice roared from behind.

"HOLD THE LINE!"

The Black Legion braced. Shields slammed together. Spears lowered. Everyone dug in.

Kyle didn't.

He stepped forward, his sword already crackling with energy.

[Lightning Step]

A flash of blue-white light burst from beneath his feet.

He vanished.

And reappeared in the middle of the Red Legion charge.

Zalrielle cut across the first knight's chest in one smooth motion.

Ice burst from the wound, spreading over the man's armor. He froze in place, falling like a statue knocked from its base.

The second knight raised his sword.

Kyle turned, slashing upward. Lightning surged through his blade, exploding into the man's chest.

The knight spasmed, screamed. Then dropped like a sack of stone.

Kyle didn't stop moving.

Another lunged.

Kyle ducked, rolled beneath the blade, and slashed low.

His sword cut through the back of the knight's knee, snapping bone.

The man screamed. But Kyle was already up, spinning, and stabbing Zalrielle through another's throat.

Blood sprayed across his face.

He didn't feel it.

Didn't think.

Only moved.

Only killed.

———

To his left. Cassian fought like a wild beast.

Flames wrapped around his arms, dancing with every punch.

A Red Knight slashed at him. Cassian caught the blade barehanded.

The metal sizzled as his heat warped it, and with a roar. He yanked it free and drove it back into the knight's stomach.

Another came at him. Cassian slammed his fist into the ground.

BOOM.

A wave of fire burst outward, roaring like a dragon's breath. Three knights were caught in it. Screaming. Burning. Falling.

He didn't look back.

Just kept swinging.

———

Serena moved like lightning.

Her glaive flashed with every step, purple energy trailing behind it. One knight lunged.

She slid past his blade and sliced clean through his side. The arc of her swing too fast to follow.

Another swung a mace.

She caught it with her bare hand.

Lightning shot through the weapon and into the man's body. He jerked and twitched, eyes wide in horror.

Before Serena ripped the mace from his hands and crushed his skull with it in one smooth blow.

She didn't speak.

Didn't grunt.

Her face was still.

Cold.

Deadly.

———

Eleanora was quieter than all of them.

She didn't shout or cry out. Just moved in silence. Her estoc stabbing between plates of armor like a surgeon's blade.

A knight raised his sword. She slipped under it, quick as a shadow, and drove her blade through his eye.

Another tried to grab her from behind.

She didn't turn.

She just reached back, and tendrils of darkness snapped out from her palm. They wrapped around the man's throat and pulled tight.

He choked. Gagged.

Then her sword found his chest.

No words.

No sound.

Just death.

———

Cedric fought like he'd been doing it his whole life.

He moved with purpose. Heavy, controlled swings. No wasted effort.

A Red Knight came charging. Cedric caught the man's blade on his own, shoved him back, and slammed an elbow into his jaw.

The knight stumbled. Cedric stepped forward and slashed.

The head hit the dirt before the body.

Another knight screamed and charged. Cedric met him without blinking.

He knocked the man's shield aside and drove his sword into his gut. Then turned to meet the next.

He wasn't the fastest.

Wasn't the flashiest.

But he didn't stop.

Didn't flinch.

———

The fight turned savage.

The pass became a river of blood and broken bodies. The sharp rocks below turned slick.

Every breath tasted like smoke, sweat, and iron.

Kyle didn't know how long they had been fighting.

Time blurred.

His arms ached. His shoulders burned. His legs felt heavy, like lead.

But his blade still moved. He ducked under a heavy swing from a knight with a massive axe.

Just barely. The edge scraped his shoulder, tearing through cloth and skin.

Pain flared.

He gritted his teeth, ignored it, and slashed back.

The sword caught the knight's ribs. Ice spread through the wound, locking the man's body in place.

Kyle followed up with a thrust to the heart.

The knight dropped.

Another came.

———

Then—

A horn.

Different from before. Deeper. More resonant.

The Red Knights hesitated.

For half a second, the battle paused.

Then—

They retreated.

Not in panic. Not in defeat.

In formation.

Step by step, shields raised, backing away from the carnage.

Kyle panted, his arms trembling. His vision swam with exhaustion.

What the hell?

Why were they—

Then he saw it.

At the far end of the pass, where the Red Legion's forces parted like a tide.

A single figure stepped forward.

Clad in crimson and gold.

A sword burning in his hand.

The air around him shimmered with heat.

Kyle's blood turned to ice.

'The Red Commander.'

———