Kael's thoughts raced. The weight of the universe seemed to press down on him, the knowledge that something beyond gods was coming for him growing heavier with each passing moment. But one thing burned clearer than everything else: he needed to hide. If he stayed, they would find him, and the ancient force would tear through his refuge like paper.
"Hide the whole forest," Kael whispered to himself, as if speaking aloud would anchor the decision in his mind.
The woods around him were still, almost deceptively calm. The trees stood tall, casting their long shadows on the ground, the only sound being the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. But Kael could feel it—the approaching threat, the cosmic disturbance closing in from all directions. He could hear the whispers of the void in his mind, urging him to act.
He wasn't running; he was simply... hiding.
Gatekeeper, the voice of the System echoed again, you can still hide it. You have the power.
Kael closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming the storm within. He had not used his Gatekeeper abilities in a long while, not since he had severed his connection with the realms. But the gates were still part of him. The Rift was still within his soul, tied to his very essence. He could feel the pulse of the ancient power within him, still there, dormant, ready to be called upon.
A shiver ran down his spine. This wasn't just hiding a small area, it was hiding the entire forest. The very fabric of reality around him had to be altered—twisted, bent, obscured from the universe's prying eyes.
He knelt in the center of the clearing, the Riftblade gleaming beside him. The blade hummed, resonating with his thoughts. Kael's hand hovered over it, and a deep, primal power surged through him. He could feel the Rift, the very threads of space and time, calling to him.
"Gatekeeper," he muttered again. "Time to hide everything."
In that instant, Kael's presence seemed to expand. The ground trembled beneath him as the world around the forest began to shift. The trees grew taller, their trunks twisting in unnatural patterns, their branches stretching into the sky, creating a canopy of shadows that blocked all light. The earth itself began to warp as Kael reached deep into the fabric of the reality surrounding him.
He drew on the deepest depths of his power, his fingers trembling as he began to weave the gates once more. But this wasn't the opening of realms; this was the concealment of them.
Reality, Kael thought, bend to my will.
The trees groaned and cracked as the forest expanded and contracted, twisting as though the very laws of physics were breaking. The air grew thick with power. An invisible veil began to settle over the forest, wrapping it in a bubble of complete isolation. The sound of the outside world was muffled, and time itself felt distant, distorted. For all intents and purposes, the forest was now invisible to the universe.
Kael staggered back, feeling the strain of the immense energy he was pushing through his body. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. The power of the Rift was no small burden.
As the last of the veil settled, the forest was no longer visible or detectable by any force, godly or otherwise. The very essence of the place had been erased from existence. In its place was nothing but an empty void—a hidden sanctuary.
Panting, Kael fell to his knees, his body trembling from the exertion. The alcohol-induced haze was gone, replaced by a sharp clarity as the weight of what he'd just done set in.
The system gave a single notification:
[You have successfully hidden the entire forest from detection.]
You are now completely concealed from the outside world.
Kael took a moment to catch his breath, his fingers brushing the Riftblade. He didn't feel any immediate relief, though. His power still hummed in the air, and the deep-seated dread of the threat that loomed beyond remained. But for now, at least, they couldn't find him.
He was safe. For now.
"Don't come looking for me," he muttered, standing up shakily. "If I have to, I'll hide the whole damn world."
But Kael knew that was a lie. There were forces too great, powers too immense, that could never truly be hidden forever.
As he stumbled back toward the cabin, his mind was already racing ahead, thinking of what came next.
For even hidden, even safe for now, the war was far from over