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Chapter 12: The Trial Begins
Last Updated:
2025-02-21 15:44:06
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The Howling Throne Chapter 13: The Abyss Stares Back
Pain was the first thing I felt.A slow, crawling agony that pulsed through my body like poison, sinking into my bones. My mind wavered between consciousness and the abyss, each breath a battle. Voices murmured around me—distant, distorted, like echoes in water.Then, a sharp pressure against my side. Fire bloomed beneath my skin.I gasped, jerking upright. Hands pushed me down.“Stay still, you idiot,” Bram growled.My vision swam before sharpening into focus. We weren’t at the outpost anymore. A flickering fire illuminated a cave’s jagged walls, its warmth doing little to chase away the damp cold seeping into my skin. My shirt was torn, my side wrapped in crude bandages, blood seeping through.Sienna sat beside me, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion. Her hands glowed faintly with residual embers, the telltale sign she’d used her flames to cauterize my wound.“You nearly got yourself killed,” she muttered.I tried to speak, but my throat was dry as sandpaper. Freya handed me a flask,
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The wind howled through the mountain pass, biting through our cloaks like unseen claws. Dawn had barely touched the horizon when we set out, the remnants of sleep clinging to our limbs like chains. The Temple of the Hollow lay far beyond the valleys, nestled in the heart of a cursed land where even the most fearless hunters dared not tread.I walked at the front, my body sore, my mind heavier than ever. The weight of the Crown’s power still clung to me, whispering just beneath my skin. The voice I had heard during the battle echoed in my skull—The vessel must feed.I shivered.Sienna walked beside me, her keen eyes scanning the treeline. She hadn’t said much since we left the cave, but I felt her presence like an anchor, grounding me in a way I couldn’t explain.Bram grumbled behind us. “So let me get this straight—we’re heading to a cursed temple that no one has set foot in for centuries, where the last mad king to wear the Crown was buried, all based on a legend?”Rael didn’t even l
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Darkness swallowed us whole.The entrance to the Temple of the Hollow was a gaping maw in the mountainside, its stone archway carved with symbols worn smooth by time. Mist curled around our feet as we stepped inside, the scent of damp earth and something ancient thick in the air.My breath came in shallow gasps. My muscles still ached from the climb, and the wound on my arm burned like fire. But I couldn’t stop moving. Not with the Revenant still shrieking somewhere in the distance.Rael led the way, their silver eyes gleaming in the dim torchlight. “Keep close,” they murmured. “This place is not as empty as it seems.”I didn’t doubt it.Sienna walked beside me, her expression unreadable. The encounter with the Revenant had shaken all of us, but her silence felt heavier. I wanted to ask her if she was all right, but the words stuck in my throat.Instead, Bram was the one to break the silence. “Well, this is nice. Just casually walking into an ancient, probably haunted death trap.” He
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Elior’s breath came in ragged gasps as he pressed a hand against his side, feeling the warmth of fresh blood seeping through his fingers. The pain was sharp, but it wasn’t what unsettled him most. It was the silence that followed the battle—the eerie, suffocating quiet when death had claimed too many.Rael remained at his side, silver eyes flickering in the dim moonlight. “We need to move. Now.”Freya and Bram stood nearby, their weapons slick with blood. Sienna lingered at the treeline, her gaze darting to the path ahead. The Bloodfangs had retreated, but Elior knew they weren’t done hunting him. They never would be.“We can’t keep running,” Bram muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. “They’ll just keep coming.”Rael shot him a sharp look. “And what do you suggest? We wait until they rip us apart?”Elior barely heard them. His pulse thundered in his ears, whispers from the Crown slithering through his mind. The power was there, waiting. It had abandoned him once. Could he trust it aga
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Elior’s breath hitched as the words echoed through the mist-laden forest.Welcome home.It shouldn’t have been possible. That face—that voice—it belonged to a ghost, to someone long lost in the blood-soaked pages of his past. His pulse thundered as he stepped forward, drawn by something he couldn’t explain, couldn’t fight.Sienna grabbed his wrist. “Elior, don’t.”He barely heard her. The figure in the mist remained still, his features identical to Elior’s. The same sharp jawline, the same storm-gray eyes—except where Elior’s gaze carried the weight of battle and loss, this version of himself stared back with something else. A knowing. A certainty.Rael shifted beside him, one hand on his weapon. “That’s not you.” His voice was firm, unwavering. “It’s something pretending to be.”Elior swallowed hard. “Then why does he know me?”The other Elior—if that’s what it was—tilted his head slightly, the edges of his mouth curving into something that was almost a smile. “Because I am you,” he
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The world felt wrong.Elior could still feel the remnants of the strange power thrumming beneath his skin, something dark and ancient lingering in the air around him. The mist had thinned, but its presence clung to the trees like an unshakable omen. He exhaled sharply, willing his heartbeat to slow.He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there, staring at the spot where his ghostly reflection had disappeared. The others were waiting—watching.Sienna’s golden eyes held an emotion he couldn’t quite place. Fear? Doubt? He didn’t blame her. What had just happened wasn’t natural.Bram shifted uneasily, gripping his sword. “Someone needs to start talking.”Rael’s silver gaze flicked between them before settling on Elior. “That wasn’t an illusion, was it?”Elior swallowed, his throat dry. “No.”A tense silence followed. The wind carried the scent of damp earth and blood, but something else tainted the air—something old.Freya stepped forward, her fingers still wrapped tightly around th
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The forest was dead silent.No more growls. No more whispers in the wind.Only the echoes of Elior’s power remained, crackling in the air like a storm that had just passed but left destruction in its wake. The others hadn’t moved—not yet. They stood frozen, their expressions shifting between awe and unease.Sienna was the first to break the silence. “Elior…” Her voice was soft, hesitant.He barely heard her.His body still hummed with power, every nerve alight with the force he had just unleashed. The Crown had awakened—and it had answered him.Rael was watching him carefully, his silver eyes unreadable. “You felt it, didn’t you?”Elior clenched his jaw. “I controlled it.”Rael’s lips twitched, not quite a smirk. “Did you?”Elior exhaled sharply. He wanted to say yes, to claim that the power was his, that it had bent to his will and not the other way around. But something about Rael’s tone made him pause. Had he truly commanded the Crown? Or had it simply tested him, letting him belie
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The moment Elior embraced the Crown’s power, everything changed.The forest, the battle, the fear—none of it mattered. All he could feel was the raw, electric energy coursing through him. It pulsed like a second heartbeat, filling the space around him with silver light. The air crackled as if the very world was reacting to the force he had unleashed.The Hollow Stalker snarled. For the first time, there was hesitation in its movements. The runes on its massive body pulsed erratically, reacting to Elior’s power.It recognized him.That thought sent a cold shiver through Elior’s spine, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The beast lunged again, its massive claws slicing through the air.Elior moved instinctively. His enhanced speed carried him forward, his blade glowing with the same eerie energy that hummed beneath his skin. He swung—not to deflect, not to defend, but to strike.The blade met the Hollow Stalker’s thick hide, and the moment of impact sent a shockwave through the cle
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The Howling Throne Chapter 70: The Forgotten City
The city stretched before them like a forgotten monument to a time long past. Towering spires, cracked and crumbling, reached toward the twilight sky, their surfaces worn smooth by the passage of ages. The streets were paved with obsidian stone, each step echoing unnaturally through the silence. Buildings leaned at odd angles, some suspended mid-collapse, held aloft by unseen forces. Shadows danced where no light shone, shifting as if aware of their presence.Elior took a slow breath, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. The city pulsed with power, not the raw, overwhelming might of Erythos, but something older, something watching.Rael exhaled sharply beside him. “Well, this place is cheerful.”Myrra’s gaze swept over the ruins, her fingers brushing the air as if testing for magic. “It’s not just a ruin. Something lingers here.”“Ghosts?” Bram asked, rolling his shoulders. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”“Not ghosts,” Myrra murmured. “Memories.”Elior stepped forward cautiously,
The Howling Throne Chapter 69: The Precipice of Fate
The void was endless.Elior’s breath caught in his throat as he plummeted through the swirling abyss. The battlefield was gone, the ground shattered beneath them, leaving only the vast nothingness of space stretching infinitely in all directions. Stars flickered in the distance, distant pinpricks of light in the consuming dark. Wind, if such a thing existed here, whipped past him, a formless force dragging him downward.Then, with a jarring pull, he stopped.The impact sent a sharp jolt through his body, but there was no ground beneath him, only the illusion of it, a shimmering platform of condensed magic holding him aloft. Around him, the others landed in a similar fashion, some less gracefully than others.Rael let out a sharp grunt as he hit the surface, rolling before pushing himself to his feet. His twin blades remained in his grip, but there was an uncertainty in his eyes, his stance uncharacteristically shaken.Bram hit hard, letting out a pained growl as he struggled to rise.
The Howling Throne Chapter 68: The War Begins
The moment Sienna unleashed her power, the world erupted into chaos.A wave of golden energy exploded from her palms, crackling like a living storm. Elior barely had time to react before the force slammed into him, sending him skidding backward across the glass-like surface. The impact rattled through his bones, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself upright.Sienna was no longer their ally.She stood beside Erythos now, her form wreathed in shimmering gold, the remnants of the shattered Seal swirling around her like a cloak of divine fury. She was no longer just a strategist, no longer just a wielder of magic, she was something more.A force to be reckoned with.Erythos, standing tall and terrible beside her, lifted his hand. The darkness that bled from his form coiled outward, consuming the light around them. “You were fools to think you could change fate,” he said, his voice reverberating across the void. “Fate belongs to those strong enough to claim it.”Elior tightened his g
The Howling Throne Chapter 66: The Door of Eternity
The great door loomed before them, pulsing with a golden radiance that seemed to breathe like a living thing. The sheer size of it dwarfed them, stretching high into the misty void above, its surface carved with symbols that shifted as if whispering their secrets.Elior took a step forward, feeling the weight of the moment settle on his shoulders. The trials had tested them, tearing through their doubts and weaknesses. And yet, this felt like the true threshold—the point of no return.Rael let out a slow breath. “So… this is it.”Myrra traced the shifting patterns on the door with her fingers. “The Final Seal lies beyond this,” she murmured. “We break it… and we change the world.”Bram crossed his arms. “No turning back now, is there?”Sienna stood slightly apart, her gaze fixed on the symbols. Elior had noticed her silence more and more lately, but now, her stillness unsettled him.“We need to be ready,” he said. “We don’t know what’s on the other side.”Sienna finally spoke, her voi
The Howling Throne Chapter 65: The Path of the Architect
The stone steps stretched endlessly before them, winding upward through the ruins in a spiral that seemed impossible in its vastness. The air was thinner here, charged with an unnatural energy that made the hairs on the back of Elior’s neck stand on end.As they climbed, the ruins around them seemed to shift, warping with each step. The sky above was no longer the deep blue of night, nor the pale glow of dawn, it was something else entirely, a swirling expanse of stars and golden light.“This place feels... wrong,” Rael muttered, glancing around. “Like it’s not part of our world.”“That’s because it isn’t,” Myrra said. She touched one of the stone walls, watching as her fingers passed through it like mist before solidifying again. “We’re somewhere in between.”“Between what?” Bram asked.Sienna, who had been silent for most of their ascent, finally spoke. “Between what was and what will be.”Elior glanced at her, noticing the way she kept her gaze fixed ahead, determined but distant.
The Howling Throne Chapter 64: The Trials of the Worthy
The air was thick with tension as Elior and his companions stood before the three doors. Each was adorned with shifting symbols, their patterns writhing like living things. The Architect loomed before them, their presence both commanding and ethereal, as if they existed beyond the confines of time itself.“The Trials of the Worthy will test more than your strength,” the Architect intoned, their voice reverberating in the vast emptiness. “They will weigh your purpose, your conviction, and the burdens you carry. Choose wisely, for only those who pass may proceed.”Rael ran a hand through his hair, his jaw set. “And what happens if we fail?”The Architect’s celestial mask tilted slightly. “You will not leave.”A heavy silence fell upon the group.Elior took a steady breath, staring at the doors. “There are three. Does that mean we each face them alone?”“No,” the Architect answered. “Each door presents a different trial. You may choose to enter as a group or face them separately, but kno
The Howling Throne Chapter 63: The Journey to the Celestial Ruins
The sun hung low in the sky as Elior and his companions made their way through the craggy hills leading toward the Celestial Ruins. The wind carried the scent of earth and distant rain, a stark contrast to the eerie stillness they knew awaited them beyond the horizon. They had been traveling for hours, their boots kicking up dust as they walked along the uneven path.Rael exhaled sharply. "I still don’t understand why the First King left such cryptic messages. If he wanted us to find the ruins, why not just say so?"Myrra, adjusting the strap of her satchel, glanced at him. "Maybe he wanted to make sure only the right people could reach it.""Or maybe he just enjoyed watching people struggle," Bram muttered. He wiped sweat from his brow. "Either way, I’d rather have a proper map than riddles."Sienna, who had been walking slightly ahead, came to a stop near a cluster of trees. "We need to gather supplies before we go any farther. There’s no telling what we’ll face inside the ruins, an
The Howling Throne Chapter 62: Echoes of a Broken World
Elior awoke with a gasp, the taste of lightning on his tongue. His chest ached, his head spun, and for a moment, he couldn’t tell if he was still standing in that vast luminous space or if he had been thrown somewhere else entirely. The ground beneath him was solid, but cracked, ashen dust rose around him as he pushed himself upright.He wasn’t alone.Rael lay sprawled a few feet away, groaning as he sat up, rubbing his temples. Myrra’s fingers twitched, her breath shallow as she stirred. Sienna was the last to move, her dark hair spilling over her face as she slowly lifted her head.Elior’s heart pounded. They were back.But something was wrong.The city of Dawnfarc stretched out before them, but it was empty, silent. The streets that had once been teeming with life were barren. The air was thick with dust, and the sky…Elior’s breath caught.The sky was broken.One half blazed red, a sun frozen at the edge of dusk. The other was swallowed by darkness, the moon looming too large, sur
The Howling Throne Chapter 61: The Path
Light surged around Elior as he stepped forward, his senses overwhelmed by the sheer force of it. It wasn’t painful, nor was it warm or cold, it was simply there, wrapping around him, filling every space, stretching infinitely in all directions. The void had vanished, replaced by something greater, something older.His footsteps echoed on unseen ground, each step resonating through the vast expanse. Ahead of him, the First King waited, unmoving, his presence as unwavering as the stars themselves.“You have taken the first step,” the king said, his voice a deep hum within the luminous space. “But you have yet to understand the path you walk.”Elior squared his shoulders, determination hardening his stance. “Then tell me.”The First King’s gaze was unreadable, his expression carved from centuries of knowledge and sacrifice. “To rule is to bear the weight of all things. To shape the world is to accept its burdens, its flaws, its endless contradictions. What you seek is not a throne, not
