Night again.
But this one was different.
The sky wasn't just dark—it felt like it was watching.
Kael crouched behind the coral ridge overlooking the Tidefang Fortress, a hidden outpost run by one of the Warlord's lieutenants—Commander Syllith, the Butcher of the Broken Shoals.
This was Kael's first infiltration.
No Lirien. No Gravik.
Just him.
And Nocth.
"Blend. Observe. Learn," Kael whispered.
"And if needed… erase."
---
🌫️ Phase I – Infiltration
The fortress wasn't built with walls.
It was a living reef, shaped by magic and blood. Its halls pulsed with bioluminescent veins, and the guards—part human, part crustacean—moved like insects on patrol.
Kael slipped through the mist, wrapped in Veil of the Fog Maw, steps silent, heart steady.
Nocth dissolved into tiny droplets and scattered.
"Enemy count: Thirty-six. Three commanders. One war mage," whispered the fog.
Kael nodded.
He didn't need to kill.
He needed one thing:
The location of the Warlord's next raid.
---
🧩 Phase II – Deep Entry
He reached the inner sanctum.
A biolocked shell blocked the main chamber.
Kael studied it for seconds—then rewrote the rune sequence with a touch from the Void Ring. The shell peeled open.
Inside: a water-sphere of floating runes—the strategic core.
And behind it: Commander Syllith.
"I felt you the moment you arrived, little shadow," he growled.
Kael didn't flinch. "Then you know how this ends."
"I do. With your bones in my stew."
---
⚔️ Phase III – The Dance of Fog and Bone
Syllith charged. His arm twisted into a blade of coral and flame.
Kael sidestepped, eyes cold.
> Mirror Fang.
He matched Syllith's attack perfectly, twisting under the blow and cutting deep into the commander's thigh.
> Stillwater Execution.
But Syllith didn't hesitate.
He smiled.
Kael backed off, blood on his blade.
Then whispered, "Now."
From the walls, Nocth emerged as a dozen fog-tentacles, gripping Syllith's limbs and draining his memories in flashes.
Kael touched his temple, absorbing the images.
Map. Raid plans. Location: Silent Archipelago. Target: Civilian island.
"Enough," Kael ordered.
Nocth released the half-conscious Syllith.
"W-why spare me?" the commander gasped.
Kael leaned close.
> "Because dead men can't spread fear."
---
🧠 New Tactic Unlocked: "Fogborne Extraction"
Allows Kael to enter enemy minds during combat, using Nocth's tendrils, and pull crucial information or implant terror-based hallucinations.
---
Kael vanished into the mist.
Behind him, Syllith screamed for hours—at things no one else could see.
---
📜 End of Chapter Ten
Not every war is fought with swords.
Some are won with fear, silence… and the right kind of monster.