Reawakening: I Can Absorb Infinite Skills
Chapter 32: Echoes and Sparks
CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: ECHOES AND SPARKS
A few hours after Arden’s group disappeared into the forest, the cave wasn’t empty for long.
Another group arrived, five men, cloaked and sharp-eyed. Their boots stopped just short of the blood-soaked dirt.
"Dead," one muttered, crouching to inspect a body, already cold. "Whoever did this didn’t leave much behind."
They fanned out quickly, scanning the battle-scared cave. One of them pushed deeper inside and froze when he saw the shattered chains. The corner where the boy had been held was empty. All that remained was the faint shimmer of drained aether in the air.
"Gone," he said, panic bleeding into his voice. "The test subject is gone."
That got their attention.
The leader barked orders. "Two of you, follow the trail. Check the east slope. You—send a signal to the nearest base. They need to know we’ve been compromised."
There was no time to waste. Whoever did this hadn’t just killed their men; they had taken something far more important.
Far away, nestled under a rock outcrop shielded by thick brush, Arden’s group had set up camp. A crackling fire sat between them, smoke blending with the lazy wind as they sorted through the loot they’d collected from the bandits.
Most of it was junk of rusted weapons, spare rations, and scorched artifacts. But a torn and water-stained map caught Arden’s attention.
He spread it on the flattest stone he could find, tracing the faded ink. Several marks dotted the Outlands, circles with crude symbols next to them. None of the names meant much, but something about it felt deliberate.
"Think these are other bases?" Nyra asked, kneeling beside him.
"Could be. Either way, it’s not a coincidence," Arden said. "We hold on to this. When the time’s right, we’ll check them."
Zephyra grunted, not with words but enough to let them know she agreed.
"But for now," Arden said, folding the map and slipping it into his satchel, "we keep a low profile. They’ll come sniffing, and we’re not ready for all-out war."
Nyra nodded. Her mind was already in tune with his, this wasn’t a battle they could rush. They needed strength, patience, and allies maybe.
A sudden sound broke their quiet.
It was the boy.
He stirred from where he’d been laid beside a stack of supplies, eyes flying open with a sharp breath. For a split second, he looked around, dazed. Then fear gripped him.
"No.. don’t come near me!"
A violent pulse burst from his body. Lightning cracked from his skin in bright, jagged lines while ice crystalized beneath his feet, spreading fast.
Nyra flinched as a streak of lightning shot toward her, but Arden was quicker. With a flicker of movement, he leapt between them, palm outstretched. His life signature flared to life, a faint glow pulsing from his chest to his limbs as he absorbed the impact and grounded the energy with a smooth control.
Zephyra was already out of range, crouched behind a fallen tree, watching with slit-pupiled eyes. She didn’t flinch.
Arden approached the boy slowly.
"Easy," he said, his voice calm but steady. "You’re not in that cave anymore."
The boy trembled, eyes darting between the firelight and Arden’s face.
"You don’t have to be scared," Arden added. "We pulled you out. You’re safe here."
He crouched beside him, the glow of life energy still faint on his hands as it faded.
"I’m not the bad guy."
The boy blinked, unsure and breathing hard. But the storm around him hadn’t stopped.
And with every step Arden took, the outbursts only grew worse. Lightning cracked louder and ice crawled faster across the ground, wild and unstable.
"Hey.. calm down," Arden called out, not moving any closer. "You’re only straining your core more."
The boy flinched at the sound of his voice, eyes flickering in pain. Arden’s tone wasn’t harsh, but it struck something in him. He looked down at his hands, trembling, pulsing with uncontrolled energy, yet he couldn’t stop.
"Don’t say that," the boy muttered, more to himself than to Arden. "You don’t know anything."
Arden’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he stayed patient. "Then tell me."
The boy shook his head, frustrated. "What’s the point? I’ve always been this way. A threat to everyone. They said I couldn’t be fixed, just like the others. Banished... then caught like a thing to be tested on."
His voice cracked, and the ground beneath him shimmered with bursts of lightning.
"I’m not like you. I’m not normal," he said, almost shouting now, a mess of grief and anger fueling the storm inside him.
Arden opened his mouth to respond, but Nyra stepped forward first. Her eyes held no judgment, only understanding.
"Enough," she said gently, though a strand of lightning lashed across her arm. She flinched but didn’t move back.
The boy stared at her, confused, watching as she took another step forward through the storm.
"I was like you," she said. "Still am."
She didn’t try to convince him with empty words. Instead, she raised her hands. A wave of wind swirled around her, controlled and focused. It spun with grace until frost followed, mixing into the wind as it wrapped around her like a dance. Ice formed and shattered in her grasp without hurting a thing.
His eyes widened. "How...?"
"They told me I couldn’t control it either," Nyra said, letting the display fade. "Told me I was a danger. I lived every day like I was cursed. But I found someone who didn’t see me that way. Who didn’t run."
She looked toward Arden, who said nothing but gave her the smallest nod.
"You don’t have to trust us right now," Nyra added. "But if you want a chance at peace... or at revenge... we’re your best shot."
The boy stood frozen, not physically, but emotionally. The storm still pulsed around him, though weaker now, like it was listening too.
Arden didn’t waste the moment.
He stepped closer, slow and steady, then reached out, his palm glowing faintly. "Let me try again."
The boy didn’t answer, but he didn’t stop him either.
Arden placed his hand on the boy’s chest, where the unstable energy clashed. His life energy flowed in, a steady current of warmth. Slowly, the lightning dulled. The frost receded. And for the second time, silence replaced the storm.
The boy exhaled sharply, blinking at his hands. He wasn’t shaking anymore.
He looked up, first at Nyra, then at Arden, his voice quiet. "Why would you help me?"
Arden sat back, expression calm. "Because i can.. and someone should’ve helped you a long time ago."
The fire crackled in the background, the only sound for a moment.
The boy stared at them, filled with questions but too tired to ask any. For now, the storm had passed, and that was enough.
A/N:
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