LEGACY OF THE NEXUS

The cold wind bit deeper the longer Caden stood beneath the broken arch of the watchtower. The woman's words lingered in his mind—you are a fracture.

He clenched his fists to steady himself. "What does that mean?" he asked, the echo of his voice swallowed by the night.

The woman circled him slowly, her silver hair catching the moonlight. "The worlds are not as separate as most believe. Long ago, barriers were forged to keep them apart.

But those barriers weaken in places—and when they do, power leaks through."

"Like with the Hekar," Caden murmured, remembering the monster that had nearly killed him.

She inclined her head.

"And like you." Her eyes gleamed. "The power inside you isn't natural to this world. Something—or someone—has broken that boundary."

Caden shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. "Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you helping me?"

The woman hesitated.

"You may call me Seris," she said. "As for why—I know what it is to be hunted by the Nexus. And if you continue down this path, they will come for you."

His stomach twisted. "And if they do?"

"Then you fight," she said simply. "But fight blindly, and you'll fall. I can teach you to harness that spark before it consumes you."

He hesitated. Fear gnawed at the edges of his resolve—fear of the power, of the Nexus, of what he might become. But beneath it burned something else.

A need to understand.

"Teach me," he said at last.

Seris smiled faintly. "Good. Then let us begin."

She raised her hand, and power swelled in the air. Caden felt it ripple over his skin—a sharp, electric force, different from the warmth that stirred in him.

Shadows lengthened around her fingers, curling like living things.

"Magic is not just strength," she said. "It is intent. Focus. You cannot wield it if you do not know it."

She gestured to the air between them. "Summon the spark again. This time, hold it. Control it."

Caden swallowed hard and reached inward. The heat flickered to life beneath his ribs, wild and untamed.

He drew it up, shaping it as best he could. Light flared in his palm, golden and raw.

"Hold it," Seris instructed.

His muscles trembled as the energy pushed against him, threatening to break loose. Sweat beaded on his brow. "It's—it's too much," he gritted out.

"No," she said sharply. "It is yours. It obeys you."

A spark of anger flared with the power, and he clenched his fist. The light steadied, becoming a smooth, pulsing glow.

Seris's expression softened with approval.

"Better," she said. "But there is much more to learn."

For hours, she pushed him.

Caden struggled to hold the spark longer, to shape it into different forms.

By the time dawn crept over the horizon, exhaustion hung heavy on his limbs, but something else filled him too.

A sense of possibility.

"Rest now," Seris said, lowering her hands. "You'll need your strength for what comes next."

The days that followed blurred together in a haze of training and secrecy. By day, Caden played the part of an ordinary village boy, helping his father repair broken fences and hauling wood to the blacksmith.

But by night, he returned to the watchtower.

Seris taught him to channel his magic in finer ways—to feel the currents beneath the surface of the world. With each lesson, the spark inside him grew easier to grasp.

And with it came new abilities.

One night, she showed him how to extend his senses. Caden closed his eyes and reached outward, feeling the world hum against his skin.

He could sense the faintest heartbeat of a fox moving through the underbrush, the chill where the magic of the Hekar had scarred the earth.

"You see?" Seris said. "Power is not just strength. It is awareness."

But the more he learned, the more questions burned inside him.

"Why am I like this?" he asked one night. "What caused the fracture?"

Seris's expression darkened.

"I do not know," she admitted. "But I have suspicions. The Nexus guard their secrets well—and whatever you are, they will not allow it to remain free."

The thought sent a shiver through him. "And if they find me?"

"They will try to bind you," she said. "Or destroy you."

Caden clenched his fists. He would not be bound. Not after everything he'd endured.

It was a week later when the first sign of danger arrived.

Caden was returning from the watchtower when he saw the lights in the village square.

A dozen riders in black cloaks stood among the merchant wagons, their armor etched with the sigil of the Nexus—a circle pierced by three blades.

He ducked behind a cart, his heart pounding.

"Search everything," the leader ordered. "If the fracture is here, we will find it."

Fear curled like ice in his stomach. They know.

Caden slipped back toward the forest, moving as quietly as he could. He had to warn Seris.

At the watchtower, he found her waiting, her expression grim.

"They've come," he said breathlessly.

"I know," she replied. "We don't have much time."

She turned to a small chest hidden in the shadows and drew out a slender, curved dagger.

The blade shimmered faintly with runes. "Take this," she said. "It is bound to magic. If they find you, it may be your only chance."

Caden hesitated before taking the weapon.

"And what about you?"

Seris smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

"I have evaded them before. But you are their true quarry. You must survive."

The weight of her words settled heavy on his shoulders.

He slipped the dagger into his belt. "What do I do?"

"Trust your instincts," she said. "And when the time comes, fight."

The wind howled as he fled into the night, the Nexus close behind.

He was no longer just an outcast.

He was a threat.

And the hunt had begun.