Chapter 121 - Glowing Ring and Terrible Plans
The team had spent a full day resting in their hidden sanctuary. A deliberate choice. Everyone needed time. Not just to recover, but to meditate, realign, and plan their next move now that they had a safe place to retreat to.
And then night came.
Under the darkness, Tave felt himself sharpen. It was like the world itself had slowed, and every fiber of his being moved in perfect clarity. He stepped lightly outside the cave, his movements fluid, precise. Every sound, every shift in the wind, every flicker of light in the shadows. They all felt heightened.
His vision cut through the dark like it was nothing. His hearing picked up even the faintest rustle of a leaf. His instincts hummed with an edge he hadn’t known before.
This... this is the peak.
He was alone now. On purpose.
Because tonight, he was going to activate his new sigil.
He closed his eyes, steadying his breath, focusing his Gaia Force inward. Slowly, he directed the flow toward the back of his neck, where the sigil pulsed faintly, hidden beneath his skin.
And then it awakened.
A surge of energy tickled across his spine, then burned hotter as it reached the sigil. His heart pounded faster. His breath hitched.
Then the pain hit.