ShadowBound: The Need For Power

"So how long can you keep this... Ember Sight and Heat Barrier thing running?" Liam asked, glancing at Galen.

"For as long as I want. But to be exact, no more than a day," Galen replied with a shrug.

"So not exactly as long as you want, then," Liam muttered. "Anyway, you mentioned something about sensing heat signatures, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you show up sooner when I was dealing with that Moan guy?" Liam asked, frowning. "I mean, if you can read heat trails, you should've been on the scene the second I launched my first attack. But you weren't. Makes me wonder if something blocked your Ember Sight."

"Something did block me," Galen said casually. "The hybrid used spatial magic, and I'm pretty sure he had a specialty in veil casting. Dropped one over a hundred-meter radius—an illusion that kept everything looking normal regardless of the destruction happening inside."

"But once the veil's dropped, everything inside becomes visible?" Liam asked.

"Exactly," Galen answered. "The good news? No civilians were caught inside the range—just you and your hybrid buddy. If that veil hadn't been up, I would've gotten to you way faster."

'A veil, huh?' Liam thought. 'So, either I was trapped in it too, or it only affects those outside. Either way, guess going full suicidal was still the best option I had.'

"By the way," Liam said, raising an eyebrow, "if the veil was strong enough to fool your Ember Sight, how'd you end up breaking it?"

"With your help," Galen replied without missing a beat, catching Liam off guard. "You probably didn't even notice it, but one of your attacks hit the veil's gravity center. Weakened it just long enough for me to break through."

"I see," Liam said thoughtfully. "I launched that strike to trigger an explosion and draw attention to my location… but hey, whatever gets the job done, I guess."

"So," Liam continued, tone leveling out, "are we still sweeping Zone 8, or do you want to drop Moan off with Dove and Mystica so they can do their thing?"

"We're still sweeping," Galen replied with his usual bored tone. "I already cleared the rest of Tynoon, so next is Nimbus. Lucky for us, Nimbus only has two districts—same with Aeris. If we move fast, we'll wrap this up a few hours past sunrise."

Liam gave him a confused look. "Hold on. What do you mean you already swept the rest of Tynoon?"

"I mean exactly what I said. I've already swept it," Galen answered flatly. "Oh, right—I forgot to mention. I've got Solar Step. Lets me cover over three hundred meters in a single stride. You can learn it too. Really handy once you get the hang of it."

"Now move. Let's get this done before your little hybrid trophy rots in your shadow," Galen added, already walking ahead.

'Solar Step?' Liam blinked, gears turning. 'Wait, is that what I've been trying to imitate this whole time—what I've been calling Flame Dash? Damn… three hundred meters in one step? How long would it even take to reach that level?'

"Hey," Liam called out, jogging after him, "if I can learn Solar Step, can I also unlock Ember Sight and that Heat Barrier of yours?"

"Nope. Not happening," Galen scoffed, chuckling under his breath. "Told you before—it's a gift from the Sun. Birthright stuff. Without that blessing, I'd just be another fire-slinger."

"So you're saying… without the sun's blessing, you wouldn't be known as the strongest?" Liam asked with a smirk.

"Don't twist my words, kid," Galen said, tone sharpening. "I don't need a blessing to be strong. I don't walk around looking to be called the strongest—it's just my standard. A default setting in my system.

"With or without the sun's favor."

Liam glanced sideways at Galen for a moment, studying the man's expression. 'Hmph. He really does believe in himself more than anything else in the world. And to be fair, he's got the feats to back it up. Still… makes me wonder if he was always like this. Or if life shaped him into what he is now.'

The two continued on, leaving behind the wreckage of the eastern district, their footsteps fading into the night.

***

After leaving Tynoon, Galen and Liam made their way to Nimbus and swept through it as quickly as possible. Just like in Tynoon, they encountered more of the weak hybrids, but unlike the ones they had faced earlier, the hybrids in Nimbus were more rogue and brazen—appearing openly in public spaces. This made their capture a bit more difficult due to the number of onlookers around.

However, things became manageable once the time passed an hour after midnight. With civilians finally retreating into their homes, handling the hybrids became significantly easier.

Their method was straightforward: once they located a hybrid, either Nyxie or Smoke would be attached to the hybrid's shadow to track its movements. When the target eventually moved into a more isolated location, Liam would engage them, since Galen had no interest in wasting energy on such low-tier threats.

While Liam handled the fights, Galen would cast a Silent Spell to prevent any noise from carrying to nearby civilians. Usually, he observed the battles from atop a building, a meat skewer in hand, watching Liam fight and gather experience.

In truth, this was one of Galen's reasons for bringing Liam along on the sweep in the first place. He wanted Liam to gain more real combat experience. Despite knowing that Liam trained with his protector girlfriend, Galen firmly believed that the best training came from real-life battles—especially those balanced on the edge of life and death.

So, Galen let Liam handle all the hybrid encounters solo.

By the time they had finished clearing Nimbus, they had taken down nearly fifteen hybrids. Most of them were weak, though a few showed signs of being more advanced—likely hybrids for at least a month or two.

Still, none of them compared to the strength of Gordon or Ember, which kept stirring a recurring thought in Liam's mind:

Had Gordon and Ember been hybrids longer than anyone had assumed? Or were they just naturally stronger individuals, making the burden of controlling demonic energy far less significant for them?

Alternatively, were these current hybrids weak simply because Sylvathar wasn't the one who created them? And if that was true, then who was making these hybrids? More concerning—if someone other than Sylvathar had the power to create them, were they operating at a demon lord level as well?

And reflecting on what Mourne had said, Liam realized that Sylvathar clearly knew about these hybrids. Which meant he either didn't see the other creator as a threat… or, more disturbingly, he was the one who granted them the power to make hybrids in the first place.

Two hours before sunrise, they were done with Nimbus and moved on to Aeris.

Of all the districts they had swept, Aeris was by far the easiest. This was mostly due to the complete lack of civilians awake during the sweep. There were also significantly fewer hybrids present, which made the process quick and efficient. With Nyxie and Smoke assisting, locating the hybrids became even easier. It took only an hour and a half to complete the Aeris sweep—prompting Galen to decide it was a good time to teach Liam the Silent Spell, in case he ever needed to move or fight without drawing attention.

Liam had always seen others cast the Silent Spell without words or gestures, which made it look easy.

But for a beginner like him, it wasn't so simple. He had to speak the incantation and use hand gestures—an irony not lost on him, considering this was a spell meant to produce silence, yet required the caster to speak.

Galen began by teaching him the incantation: Silentium... Umbra loquitur terminus.

Then came the gestures:

First, form a circle in the air using the index fingers—this represented the "zone" of silence. Next, close the right fist and pull it down to the chest—symbolizing the act of drawing in sound. Then, extend the left hand outward to project the null field. Finally, end with the palm facing downward. If performed correctly, the air would feel thick and heavy—like walking into a fog made of silence.

Liam managed to pull it off, though his maximum range was only four meters. Still, for a first attempt, it was genuinely impressive.

But Galen didn't acknowledge that.

He didn't plan to offer praise—even though he knew it wouldn't go to Liam's head. It wasn't that he doubted Liam's potential… Galen just wasn't in the mood to say anything. Or maybe he simply didn't want to sound impressed.

***

As the sun finally rose over the city of Aeris, Galen and Liam sat atop a rooftop, gazing out over the awakening skyline. Galen looked as disinterested as ever—his posture relaxed, eyes half-lidded with boredom. Beside him, Liam appeared worn down, his clothes dust-covered and torn in places, his face smudged with dirt and fatigue. A few minor cuts marked his arms, but nothing critical—except for the three broken ribs he had suffered when Mourne had slammed him hard into the ground.

Still, he managed. Using the Mend spell, he had reduced the swelling along his side, which was the only reason he'd been able to push through the rest of the night without his injuries slowing him down.

"Hey," Galen said suddenly, breaking the long silence between them, "between a sunrise and a sunset, which one's better?"

"Huh?" Liam blinked. "I don't know... sunset, I guess. Yeah. Sunset."

"Yeah, same," Galen replied, standing up and walking to the edge of the building. "Alright, time to head back to the palace before Lucy sends her Corps after me for running off with her shiny new asset."

"You say that like they'd actually be a problem for you," Liam said as he rose to his feet as well.

"Of course... they're not." Galen replied with a smug grin.