章 26: Chapter 26: Identity

The sun dipped lower on the horizon, bleeding streaks of amber and crimson across the sky. The desert stretched endlessly, dunes rolling like frozen waves under the fiery glow. Heat shimmered off the sand, distorting the barren expanse as if it were alive. Kael sat cross-legged on a flat rock, his skeletal form cloaked in a ragged shroud that rippled faintly in the warm breeze. His scythe rested across his lap, its dark, curved blade absorbing the fading light like a void.

Opposite him, the raven tore into its meal, the wet squelch of flesh and bone breaking the oppressive silence. Its sleek feathers caught the sun's dying rays, each quill shining with an iridescent sheen that seemed almost otherworldly. Kael's eyeless sockets remained fixed on the bird, his bony fingers tapping an erratic rhythm on the shaft of his weapon. Though his skeletal face betrayed no expression, his posture radiated irritation tempered with grudging interest.

"So," Kael finally rasped, his voice dry and coarse, as if dragged through centuries of dust, "are you going to tell me what little details you know about yourself, or are you just some random bird who never bothered to figure itself out?"

The raven paused mid-peck, its beak still clutching a sinewy strip of meat. Tilting its head, it regarded Kael with an inscrutable gaze, the depths of its black eyes shimmering like pools of ink. When it finally spoke, its tone was sharp yet tinged with a mournful undertone. "I don't know much about myself. I just… am."

Kael leaned back slightly, his spine creaking like brittle timber. One skeletal hand resumed its restless drumming on the scythe's handle. "So you're random," he said flatly.

The raven resumed eating, tearing at the flesh with precise, deliberate movements. "What do you want me to say?" it asked, its voice muffled by its meal. "I woke up one day, aware and alone. I don't know why I can't remember myself or how I lost my memories. All I know is I have… this ability."

Kael shifted, the fabric of his cloak whispering against the rock. His empty sockets narrowed slightly, as if scrutinizing something unseen. "Ability? What kind of ability?"

The raven's feathers bristled, a ripple of unease passing through its body. Its sharp gaze darted around, scanning the empty desert for unseen dangers. Only the faint sigh of the wind answered. "I don't fully understand it," it admitted, hopping down from the rock onto the sun-warmed sand. Its talons left shallow impressions as it began pacing, wings occasionally twitching. "It's like... I can deal damage without hitting my enemy. I don't know how else to describe it."

Kael tilted his skull, curiosity sparking like embers in the void of his gaze. 'How can a bird have an ability? It's not human or monster, just a raven.'

"That's vague," Kael said, his voice cutting through the growing dusk. "Can you give me an example?"

The raven exhaled a sound eerily close to a human sigh, its head dipping briefly. "I've been wandering this desert for as long as I can remember. It's dangerous monsters, traps, the heat. Every time I've faced something I couldn't fight or escape, the ability... activates."

Kael's grip tightened slightly on the scythe. "Activates how?"

The raven paused, its talons tracing the same path in the sand over and over. "It's not something I control," it said slowly, its voice laden with frustration. "The moment I look at my enemy, something happens. One instant I'm cornered, the next, they're defeated. Or gone."

Kael's hand tapped his jawbone rhythmically, the sound faint but deliberate. "Sounds powerful. Can you show me?"

The raven stopped pacing abruptly, turning its unblinking stare onto Kael. "No."

"Why not?"

The raven hesitated, its wings fanning out briefly before folding tightly against its sides. "Because it's dangerous. I don't understand it, remember? If I use it on you, who knows what could happen? You could die or worse."

Kael leaned forward slightly, the shadows of his cloak pooling around him like spilled ink. "Worse? Worse than death, you mean?"

The raven fluttered its wings in a nervous gesture, its head dipping as if weighed down by the question. "I don't know what I mean. All I know is it affects my enemies in ways I don't fully grasp. Mentally, physically… something else. It's saved me, yes, but I don't think it's meant to be used lightly."

Kael studied the raven in silence, his skeletal frame as still as the desert around them. The last rays of sunlight bled away, leaving the world bathed in the muted hues of twilight. A distant, cry of mosters echoed through the air, the sound swallowed almost instantly by the endless sands.

The raven shifted uneasily under his silent scrutiny, its talons scraping faintly against the sand. The breeze stirred once more, but Kael remained motionless, a grim sentinel lost in thought.

'What kind of power could be so dangerous that even its wielder fears it?'

Kael's thoughts churned like a storm trapped in a bottle. His gaze lingered on the raven.

'What is this creature? And why has fate bound us together?'