Empire of Blood

Jack did not keep testing the scythe once he understood how it moved, because repeating the same motion would not teach him anything new, and the difference had already settled into his awareness in a way that did not require further confirmation.

Instead, he let the weapon rest in his grip as he walked, the blade angled slightly behind him in a natural carry that did not interfere with his movement, and with each step the balance became more familiar, less something he had to think about and more something that simply worked.

That was the real difference.

Not power.

Fit.

Sophie walked beside him, her attention drifting between the scythe and the people around them, her expression relaxed in a way that suggested she was no longer expecting anything to go wrong immediately.

“You’re getting used to that fast,” she said.

Jack glanced at her briefly.

“It’s built right,” he replied.

“That helps,” she said.

It did.

Behind them, the rest of their group followed at an easier pace than before, the tension from earlier fully gone now that the fight and the crafting were both behind them, though no one dropped their awareness entirely, because even here, within Silver Vale, the idea of complete safety still felt temporary.

Kael moved with them, not leading, not escorting, but present in a way that made it clear he was still paying attention to how Jack carried himself, how he moved, and how quickly he adapted to the new weapon.

“You adjusted quickly,” Kael said.

Jack nodded.

“I’ve used something close before,” he replied.

Kael’s gaze shifted briefly to the scythe.

“Not like that,” he said.

“No,” Jack agreed.

There wasn’t any point pretending otherwise.

The difference between familiarity and refinement was clear enough.

They slowed slightly near the central section of Silver Vale, where the crafting stations blended into the rest of the settlement more naturally than Jack had first realized, the boundaries between roles less rigid here, because everything was built to support everything else instead of separating into distinct zones.

Lira didn’t follow them.

She had already returned to her work fully, her attention absorbed by the next process before the previous one had even settled, which told Jack everything he needed to know about where her priorities were.

Sophie glanced back once.

“She’s not even watching to see if it works,” she said.

Jack shook his head slightly.

“She already knows it does,” he replied.

That was the kind of confidence that came from repetition, not arrogance.

Riven remained at the edge of Jack’s awareness, never fully stepping into the group, but never leaving either, his position shifting subtly as they moved, always maintaining a line of sight without making it obvious.

Jack let him.

If anything, it confirmed that Silver Vale hadn’t relaxed its caution just because the immediate interaction had gone well.

That was good.

It meant they understood the same thing.

Trust wasn’t automatic.

It was built.

Slowly.

Sophie’s attention shifted forward again.

“So,” she said, “we heading back now?”

Jack didn’t answer immediately.

He let his gaze move across Silver Vale one more time, taking in the structure, the pacing, the way people worked without rushing, the way everything held together without needing constant pressure to keep it from slipping.

Different.

Effective.

But not what he was building.

“Yeah,” he said. “We’ve got what we came for.”

Sophie nodded.

“More than that,” she said.

Jack didn’t disagree.

Kael stopped walking.

Jack did the same.

There was no formal gesture, no structured ending to the interaction, just a pause that marked the point where continuing together stopped making sense.

“You know where we are,” Kael said.

Jack met his gaze.

“Same for you,” he replied.

Kael inclined his head slightly.

“That’s enough for now,” he said.

It was.

No promises.

No agreements.

Just awareness.

Sophie shifted her weight slightly, glancing between the two of them.

“That’s it?” she asked.

Kael almost smiled.

“For now,” he said.

Jack didn’t add anything to that.

There was nothing that needed to be said.

He adjusted his grip on the scythe slightly, not preparing for a fight, but settling it into place as he turned toward the forest, his focus already shifting ahead rather than lingering on what was behind him.

Sophie fell in beside him without hesitation.

The rest of the group followed.

Jack didn’t look back immediately.

Not because it didn’t matter, but because it did, and that meant it was something he would keep in mind rather than something he needed to watch in the moment.

After a few steps, he did glance over his shoulder once.

Silver Vale stood the same as before.

Controlled.

Stable.

Focused.

Then he turned forward again.

The forest waited.

And this time—

He had more than just strength to bring into it.