The first clash of steel shattered the silence. Elior barely had time to parry as the scarred man lunged, his curved blade a blur of motion. Sparks flew as their swords met, and the force of the impact sent tremors up Elior’s arms.Behind him, the others had already engaged the Forgotten Hand. Myrra struck first, slamming her staff into the ground. A ripple of force sent one of their enemies stumbling, but another darted in, daggers flashing. She twisted away, deflecting the strike with a muttered incantation.Sienna danced through the fray, knives glinting like fangs in the firelight. She moved with deadly precision, slashing a robed figure across the thigh before pivoting to hurl a dagger into another’s throat. A choked gurgle, and the assassin collapsed.Bram fought like a battering ram, plowing through opponents with sheer brute force. His greatsword cleaved through the air, scattering foes like brittle kindling.Rael fought at his side, his movements swift but methodical. Unlike
Elior’s heart pounded as Erythos’s words settled over them like a shroud. Destroy the Crowns, and Erythos would fall, but so would the world they were trying to save.Silence stretched in the Hall of Kings, heavy with the weight of the impossible choice before them. The flickering torchlight cast deep shadows across the ancient stone, twisting the unreadable expressions on his companions' faces.Bram was the first to break the silence. “There has to be another way,” he said, voice rough with exhaustion. He was still gripping his greatsword, but the force of Erythos’s attack had left his arm trembling. “Some way to bind him again.”Myrra, her eyes locked on the inscriptions at the altar’s base, shook her head. “The Veil is broken. We can’t undo that.” She turned to Elior, her gaze intense. “But we still have the Crowns. If we act now, we control what happens next.”Sienna stood apart from the group, her face unreadable. “Destroying the Crowns would collapse the very forces holding the
Elior gasped as he awoke, choking on dust and the taste of iron. His entire body ached as if he had been torn apart and pieced back together in a way that no longer fit. The air around him was thick with silence, an unnatural, suffocating quiet that made his skin crawl.Where was he?He forced his eyes open. The sky above him was wrong. It wasn’t the deep, endless blue he had known, nor was it the swirling darkness that had heralded Erythos’s return. Instead, it was fractured, shattered into shifting plates of sky, some showing the golden glow of dawn, others the eerie, endless black of night. It was as if the heavens themselves had splintered, caught between worlds.Elior pushed himself up, wincing as his muscles protested. The Hall of Kings was gone. In its place was an expanse of jagged rock and floating debris, pieces of stone and earth suspended midair as if gravity itself had forgotten its purpose. The air smelled of burnt magic, sharp and electric.His mind raced. The Crown had
Elior kept his grip firm on his sword as they trudged through the Hollow Realm. The fractured sky above them shifted unpredictably, dawn and dusk colliding in strange, swirling mosaics of light. The ground beneath their feet was unsteady, floating shards of stone and earth reforming with each step. Every breath felt heavy, laden with the remnants of magic that had been torn apart.No one spoke for a while. Even Bram, usually quick to fill silence with his dry humor, kept his eyes scanning the horizon warily. Myrra walked with purpose, but Elior could see the way her fingers twitched over her staff, her grip uncertain. Rael, his expression tight, kept glancing over his shoulder, as if expecting something, or someone, to appear.Elior exhaled sharply. "We need to figure out what this path of the First actually means."Myrra nodded. "The First King was the only one who ever spoke of destroying the Throne. If this place exists because we broke the Crowns, maybe he knew what would happen a
Elior’s breath came shallow as he stared at Sienna, standing against the fractured backdrop of the Hollow Realm. The power emanating from her was suffocating, pressing against his skin like a storm about to break. Her silver eyes gleamed, not with malice, but with something far more dangerous: certainty.“Sienna,” he said carefully, gripping his sword. “What have you done?”She tilted her head slightly, as if surprised by the question. “I’ve accepted the truth.” Her voice was calm, unwavering. “The world as we knew it is gone. The Crowns were never salvation. They were shackles. Now, we have the chance to build something new.”Rael stepped forward, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword. “And what exactly do you mean by ‘we’? You abandoned us.”Sienna let out a quiet sigh. “You think too small, Rael. This isn’t about us. This is about what comes next.” She turned her gaze to the ruined throne behind them. “The Hollow Realm exists because the world was built on a flawed founda
The Hollow Realm trembled.The jagged ground beneath Elior’s feet cracked further, pieces of stone breaking away into the abyss below. The fractured sky above twisted, dawn and night swirling like an unsteady reflection in shattered glass. The throne loomed behind him, an ancient, unfinished thing waiting for its new ruler.And Sienna stood before him, power crackling at her fingertips, her silver eyes unreadable.“I won’t let you take the throne,” she said.Rael’s sword was already in his hands, but Myrra placed a hand on his shoulder, silently urging caution. Bram stood rigid, gripping his greatsword, his muscles tense with restrained fury.Elior stepped forward. “Sienna, this isn’t the way.”She shook her head, a bitter smile playing on her lips. “Isn’t it? Look at this place, Elior. It’s broken, just like our world. The Crowns were never meant to exist, and yet we fought for them. Killed for them. And for what?”“To free the world from Erythos,” Myrra said.Sienna’s expression dar
Elior gasped as the weight of the Hollow Realm collapsed around him, his body reeling from the choice he had made. He had reached for the throne, felt the raw power surge through his veins, and then, nothing. The world had shattered like fragile glass, reforming in an instant, yet something was wrong.He opened his eyes to a sky that was neither fractured nor whole. It stretched infinitely in all directions, a swirling expanse of color and shadow, like a dream caught between waking and oblivion. The air was thick, humming with a pulse that resonated through his bones.Where was he?He turned sharply, his gaze searching for the others. They were there, Rael, Myrra, Bram, and Sienna, all suspended in the strange, shifting void, their bodies grounded but their outlines flickering like candle flames.Rael was the first to stir. “Elior?” His voice was distant, as if carried by a wind that didn’t exist. “What… what just happened?”Myrra pressed a hand to her temple, eyes narrowed. “We were
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
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 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 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 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 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 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 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
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
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