The storm had quieted by the time Kael and Selene emerged from the Sanctum. A thin mist clung to the cliffs, rolling low across the ravine like smoke over a battlefield. The world smelled of rain, iron, and old stone.Kael paused at the mouth of the ruin, his breathing still uneven. His arm throbbed beneath the new sigil, the faintly glowing mark pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, every flash sending a small ache deep into his core.Selene adjusted her cloak against the drizzle and cast him a sideways glance. “You should let me take another look at that wound,” she murmured.“It’s not a wound,” Kael said. His voice came out rougher than he intended. “It’s… a key.”Selene frowned. “A key to what?”Kael didn’t answer right away. His gaze was locked on the horizon distant mountain ridges, fractured by lightning, where the mist met the clouds in a dull shimmer. “To the Dominion itself,” he said finally. “Whatever the anchors are, they’re bound to this mark. I can feel them… like faint e

The Fortress of Chains trembled.Every link, every rune, every echo of stone seemed to pulse with the same heartbeat of Kael’s and Veylan’s.The air between them warped, heavy enough to crush bone. Chains cracked from the ceiling, glowing veins of light bursting as two Dominions collided in pure, unrestrained fury.Kael moved first. His aura erupted in a spiral of red and black, the mark on his arm blazing like molten fire. He dashed forward, every step leaving ripples in the floor and brought his blade down in a furious arc.Veylan raised his hand.The air solidified into a wall of luminous chains. The impact sent a shockwave through the hall, hurling Selene backward. She slammed against a pillar, gasping as energy crackled through the air like lightning.“Kael!” she shouted, but her voice drowned in the roar of power.Veylan’s eyes narrowed. “Still relying on rage, I see.”Kael snarled, aura flaring hotter. “And you still rely on control.”The two clashed again. Kael’s strikes were

The morning came gray and silent, a rare moment of stillness after the storm’s fury. Mist crawled over the ruined valley, wrapping the broken fortress in a shroud of smoke and memory.Kael sat by the dying embers of a small fire, tightening the straps on his armor. His hands moved automatically, but his thoughts were elsewhere, caught between what he had done and what he had become.Across from him, Selene tended to her blade, the steel glinting faintly in the muted light. She hadn’t said much since dawn. Neither had he. Words, it seemed, had no place in the space between survivors.When the fire hissed out, Kael rose. “Time to move.”Selene looked up, eyes shadowed by fatigue. “You sure you can travel that far?”“I’ve had worse.”“Liar,” she said softly, but the faint smile that touched her lips was genuine.They set off northward through the mist. The path was uneven, covered with wet stones and broken roots. Every few