The march back to the stronghold was slow, every step heavy with exhaustion and unspoken questions. The Shadowguard carried their wounded, dragging broken weapons and shattered banners through the mud. The battlefield’s silence still clung to them like frost, and not even the victory chants that usually followed a battle dared to rise.Kael walked at the front, his cloak torn, his aura restrained to the faintest possible flicker. Even so, shadows curled at his heels, forming shapes that slithered and dispersed when looked at directly. He felt the weight of every gaze on his back. Reverence. Fear. Curiosity. Distrust. They all burned against his skin, and though his new power hummed like a second heartbeat, he wished he could tear the attention away.When the stronghold’s gates loomed in the distance, their massive stone arches cracked but still standing, the weary army let out a collective breath. The banners of the Voidguard still fluttered from the ramparts, scorched but unfallen. S

The ashes of Ironmask still lingered in the courtyard carried by the faintest breeze Soldiers who had once looked at Kael as a savior now avoided his eyes entirely They whispered but this time their fear carried the weight of truth They had seen him unleash power no mortal should wield and though he had slain the traitor their minds could not separate him from the same corruptionKael stood motionless staring at the scattered remnants of the man who had once sworn loyalty to the stronghold His fists trembled against his sides Shadows still twitched at his heels like hungry beasts straining against a chain He forced them down again and again until the air around him felt almost stillAria stepped closer She said nothing but her presence steadied him Darius leaned heavily on his spear his face pale with both exhaustion and worry No words could change what the soldiers had seen No excuse would erase the memory of void chains strangling one of their ownThe Marshal’s voice carried sharp a

The horns of the stronghold wailed across the mist drenched valley Soldiers tightened their belts pulled down their visors and gripped their weapons with trembling hands The dawn had not yet broken but the sky already churned with the smoke of distant firesKael stood at the head of the vanguard Cloak drawn about his shoulders his void touched eyes burning faintly in the half light The men behind him did not speak Some averted their gaze others stared at him with the desperation of drowning men clutching at a rope They feared him but they also needed himThe Marshal rode out on her warhorse her armor darkened steel glinting faintly She raised her hand to the gathered host and her voice carried like iron through the morning haze“Beyond this bridge waits the horde If they cross into our valley there will be no farms no villages no homes left to save Today we hold or we fall There is no third path”The soldiers roared in answer but it was thin strained Kael heard the fear in their throa

Kael’s boots slammed against the war beast’s armored hide as he leapt from the battlements, his blade blazing with void fire. The monster roared, swinging its massive head, and Kael was hurled through the air. He twisted mid flight, landing hard on the churned mud below, his body rattling from the impact. Soldiers scattered around him, their screams lost in the clash of steel and the thunder of the beast’s chains dragging across the ground.The creature loomed above him, towering higher than any siege engine. Plates of blackened iron covered its shoulders, and its tusks curved like scythes, dripping with ichor that sizzled against the earth. Its eyes glowed the same unnatural violet as the power surging inside Kael, and when it roared again, the sound rattled through his bones.The enemy soldiers cheered, emboldened by the beast’s arrival. Their commanders shouted for the charge, and a tide of armored warriors surged forward, the ground trembling beneath their boots.Kael gritted his

The night pressed heavy upon the stronghold, the kind of silence that carried both exhaustion and dread. The wounded moaned softly in the infirmary halls, the smiths’ hammers rang faintly as they worked through darkness, and the smell of smoke lingered in the cold air. Victory had been claimed, but peace was nowhere to be found.Kael did not sleep. He stood on the battlements where the moonlight stretched across the battlefield, where shadows clung to the ruined earth like scars. His armor had been stripped away, leaving only the thin linen tunic beneath, damp with sweat. His body begged for rest, but the void coursing in his veins would not let him yield.The memory of those violet eyes burned inside him. They had called to something in him, something deeper than flesh or bone, as though the abyss itself had recognized him.A whisper slid across the wind.Kael.He spun, his hand flying to the hilt of his blade, but the walls were empty. The torches sputtered against the stone, and sh