Kaiza's heart thumped in his ears as he yanked Mina to running. When they burst into the forest, the world about them became a smear of shadow and flickering light. The howls of the Voidborn filled the air between the trees, and his skin crawled with each one. Whatever those creatures were, they were closing in fast."Keep moving!" he said, his fingers tightening around Mina's hand as they dodged gnarled roots and twisted branches. The ground was treacherous: damp and uneven, but they couldn't slow down. Not when death was closing in.Mina's breathing was labored. "Kaiza… how much longer?"He looked over his shoulder. The far-off shine of the Guardians' blades quivered with light through the trees, keeping at bay the relentless slaughter. Not near enough."I don't know," he admitted as frustration clawed at his throat. "But we have to.A monstrous shriek cut the air, and as if out of nowhere, a cacophony of movement unleashed itself in every shadow. It was twisted bodies of pure empti

Darkness clung to the periphery of the Sanctum, an uncomfortable stillness falling over the formerly thronged grove. Kaiza and Mina stood in the wake, panting and weary, their minds still reeling from the discovery of Mina's awakened power. Aelthir lingered as a ghostly presence at their side, his ethereal form trembling in the flickering light of the obelisk's dying radiance.Mina's golden eyes, dulled by the blinding rush of energy she had released, flashed with doubt. She laid a hand against her chest, sensing the lingering heat of power running beneath her skin. The flame within her had flared up without warning, uninvited and unstoppable. And now, it had marked her as a target.Kaiza brushed the sweat from his forehead, his hand clenched around his sword. He could still feel the cold lingering of the Voidborn's claws scraping against his ribs. He had battled hundreds of wars in centuries past, but never before had he battled an enemy so unrelenting, so voracious. And now, they ha

The sun had not yet risen when Kaiza and Mina arrived at the forest edge, their bodies throbbing and their breaths heaving. The cover of trees had kept them safe through the night, but now, exposed in the open, they were at risk. Mina's golden eyes flashed with anxiety. "Kaiza, what if they find us again?" Kaiza swiped the sweat from his forehead and looked out at the barren wasteland before them a destroyed village, reduced to ashes, bony outlines of buildings reaching for the sky like shattered fingers. There was no life in this place, only the specters of the dead. "We don't have a choice. We have to rest," he grumbled. "Come on." They made their way through the wreckage, wary of the shifting ground. The acrid smell of burned wood and something much worse hung in the air. Kaiza tightened his hold on his sword, every muscle in his body alert. Then they heard it. A slow, methodical scraping noise. Kaiza pushed Mina back behind him as he turned to face the sound. From the

Mina's flames still smoldered on the battlefield, with glowing embers illuminating the wreckage they had left behind. Kaiza clamped his jaws shut, laying a hand across his wound. He could already sense his body mending itself, his curse of immortality protecting him from death. The agony was no less real for that, and it served to remind him of his own vulnerability.Mina knelt beside him, her golden eyes filled with worry. “You’re hurt.”“I’ll live.” He exhaled sharply, forcing himself upright. His gaze flickered to the hooded figure who had emerged from the chaos. The Order of the Hollow’s leader was gone, but this new presence exuded something far more unsettling.The hooded man took a step closer, and a ripple of abnormally cold air moved through the air. "You do not realize what you have done."Kaiza clutched his sword harder. "Then tell us."For a long time, the figure didn't say anything, as if considering whether they were worth the trouble. Then, with a voice that was as empt

The stench of burnt flesh was the only fresh smoke rising from the battlefield from their clash against the Order of the Hollow. Burned bodies of assassins lay among the ashes ahead of his forces, their black robes turned to cinders. The stench of burnt flesh and blood hung in the air, mingling with the golden embers of Mina’s magic. Kaiza, bandaged but still coming to terms with the fight, observed the hooded apparition that had materialized at the end of the confrontation.“The one who sets fate to happen as it ought to,” the stranger had called themselves.Now, by pale moonlight, Kaiza looked at the newcomer. Their face was shrouded beneath the hood, but their energy emanating from their body was dizzying. The voice of the wind was the only sound, the voice of the wind through the ruins as the silence lengthened."Who are you really?" Kaiza asked as he tightened his grip around his sword hilt.The hooded figure cocked its head, voice level and cold as death. "A keeper of balance. Y