All Chapters of THE DRAGONFORGE HEIR: A BLOODLINE OF FIRE AND RUIN: Chapter 61
- Chapter 70
75 chapters
Chapter 61: The Price of the Cycle
The Heart of the Forest was a place where the air felt heavy, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath. The standing stones towered over the villagers, their runes pulsing with a faint, golden light, casting eerie shadows across the clearing.Dain stood at the center of the circle, the Blade of Severing gripped in his hand, its runes flaring faintly in the dim light. The scar on his arm ached, the King’s name pulsing beneath his skin like a dormant storm, waiting to unleash.Serra stepped beside him, her sword ignited, its blue flame casting sharp shadows across the ground. The villagers gathered around the altar, their faces pale in the torchlight, their eyes wide with awe and fear.Garrick clutched his hammer, his knuckles white, while Mira pressed a poultice of burning herbs to the altar, her lips moving in a silent prayer. Taren hovered at the edge of the group, his dagger unsheathed, his eyes fixed on the runes as if they held the secrets of the world."This place fee
Chapter 62: The Last Seal
The Heart of the Forest trembled as the King’s presence erupted from the altar, a pillar of black smoke coiling into the night sky like a serpent.The villagers scattered, their torches flickering in the sudden gale, casting wavering shadows across the standing stones.Dain stood at the center of the clearing, the Blade of Severing raised, its runes flaring golden against the darkness. The scar on his arm burned, the King’s name pulsing like a second heartbeat, syncing with the rhythm of the earth itself.The King emerged from the smoke, his form taller than before, his armor black as void, his crown a twist of thorns and bone. His eyes were voids, swirling with galaxies of darkness, and his voice, when he spoke, was a chorus of whispers that shattered the silence:"You dare to bind me, Heir?"Dain didn’t flinch. "I dare to end you."The King laughed, the sound like cracking glass. "Then watch your people burn."The villagers rallied around Dain, their weapons raised, their faces set
Chapter 63: The Weapon of the Fallen
The return to Black Hollow was not a triumphant one.The villagers moved through the gates like ghosts, their faces streaked with soot and blood, their eyes hollow with exhaustion. The warding stone in the center of the square pulsed with a steady, golden light, but the cracks in the ground lingered, black vines creeping along their edges like scars.Dain walked at the front of the group, the Blade of Severing sheathed at his side, its runes dormant but humming with residual energy. The scar on his arm ached, the King’s name pulsing beneath his skin like a dormant storm.Serra stepped beside him as they entered the square, her cloak damp from the morning mist, her sword sheathed but her stance alert. She didn’t speak at first, just stood beside him, her eyes scanning the horizon as if expecting the King to emerge from the shadows."You look like you’ve seen the end of the world," she said finally, her voice low.Dain exhaled, rubbing the scar on his arm. "I feel like it.""The village
Chapter 64: The Weight of the Fallen
The night was still as Dain sat in his hut, the dagger of the Fallen resting on the rough-hewn table before him. The fire in the hearth had burned down to embers, casting flickering shadows across the walls.The Blade of Severing lay beside the dagger, its runes pulsing faintly, as if sensing the presence of its ancient counterpart. The scar on his arm ached, the King’s name pulsing beneath his skin like a slow, steady heartbeat. He flexed his fingers, tracing the runes on the dagger’s blade, feeling the cold energy that thrummed through the metal.A knock at the door shattered the silence.Serra stepped inside, her cloak damp from the evening mist, her sword sheathed but her stance alert. She didn’t speak at first, just stood in the doorway, her eyes fixed on the dagger. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost," she said finally, her voice low.Dain didn’t glance up. "I feel like one."She shut the door behind her, the latch clicking into place. "The stranger told me about the Weapon.""D
Chapter 65: The Tomb’s Whisper
The forest swallowed them whole.Dain led the villagers along the narrow path, the trees arching overhead like the ribs of some ancient beast. The air was thick with the scent of wet moss and iron, and the ground squished beneath their boots, releasing the earthy perfume of decay. The map the stranger had given him pulsed faintly in his hand, its blood-red lines glowing like veins beneath skin.Taren walked beside him, his dagger drawn, his eyes darting between the shadows. "This place feels wrong," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.Dain didn’t answer. He felt it too, the weight in the air, like the forest itself was holding its breath.Ahead, the stranger paused, their cloak stirring in a wind no one else could feel. "We’re close," they said, their voice like dry leaves scraping stone. "The Tomb is just beyond the veil.""What veil?" Garrick growled, his hammer clutched in his fist.The stranger didn’t answer. Instead, they stepped forward and the world shifted.The tree
Chapter 66: Echoes of the First Heir
The tomb shuddered as the Blade of Severing pierced its surface, a crack spiderwebbing across the black stone like lightning frozen in time. The ground beneath the villagers’ feet vibrated, sending ripples through the blackened earth, and the air thickened with the scent of ozone and old blood.Dain gripped the Blade, its runes flaring golden, casting flickering shadows across the glade. The scar on his arm burned, the King’s name pulsing like a drumbeat in his veins.A voice, not the King’s, but older, wearier, whispered through the glade:"You have come far, child of my blood."Dain staggered back, the Blade slipping in his grip. The villagers tensed, their weapons raised, their eyes darting between the tomb and the forest. Serra stepped beside Dain, her sword ignited, its blue flame cutting through the gloom."Who spoke?" she demanded, her voice sharp.The stranger stepped forward, their cloak stirring in a wind no one else could feel. "The first Heir," they said, their voice hollo
Chapter 67: The King’s Gambit
The vortex of shadows coiled like a serpent, its edges flickering with crimson light. The King emerged from its depths, his armor black as void, his crown a tangle of thorns and bone. His eyes burned like dying stars, and his voice, when he spoke, was a chorus of whispers that shredded the air:"You chose wisely, Heir."Dain stood at the center of the glade, the Blade of Severing raised, its runes pulsing golden in his grip. The villagers gathered behind him, their weapons drawn, their faces set with grim determination. Serra stood at his side, her sword ignited, its blue flame casting sharp shadows across the blackened earth."You think this ends here?" the King asked, his voice dripping with amusement.Dain didn’t flinch. "I know it does."The King laughed, the sound like shattering glass. "You sealed me in the sanctuary. You bound me in the tomb." He spread his arms, his cloak billowing like smoke. "But you cannot erase me, Heir. I am older than this land. I am older than your bloo
Chapter 68: The Hollow Victory
The return to Black Hollow was not the triumph the villagers had imagined.The gates stood open, the warding stone in the square pulsing with a faint, unsteady light, golden, but weak, like a heartbeat after a long illness. The villagers trudged through the village, their shoulders slumped, their faces streaked with soot and exhaustion. The air smelled of burnt herbs and damp earth, but beneath it, something older lingered, something metallic, like blood left too long in the sun.Dain walked at the front, his steps slow, his hand clutching the Blade of Severing. The scar on his arm was gone, but the skin beneath it ached, phantom pain where the King’s name had once burned. His eyes were dull, the fire that had burned in them after the glade now extinguished. He felt hollow, like a vessel drained of its purpose.Serra stepped beside him, her sword sheathed, her expression grave. "You look like death," she said, her voice low.Dain didn’t glance at her. "I feel like it."The villagers g
Chapter 69: The Thing Beneath the Roots
The village awoke to a silence so deep it felt like a warning. The warding stone in the square pulsed with a faint, uneven light, its golden glow flickering like a dying ember. The villagers moved through the morning with quiet urgency, their eyes darting to the forest as if expecting the trees to reach out and drag them into the dark.Dain stood at the edge of the village, his gaze fixed on the tree line, where the shadows seemed to shift even in the still air. The Blade of Severing rested at his side, its runes dormant, but the air around it hummed with a tension that set his teeth on edge.Veyth stood beside him, their cloak blending with the gloom, their ember-red eyes glowing faintly in the dawn light. "It stirs," they said, their voice like gravel and ice. "The thing that made the King."Dain didn’t turn. "What is it?""A hunger," Veyth replied. "A void that feeds on fear and blood."The villagers gathered in the square, their faces pale in the morning light, their voices hushed
Chapter 70: The Void’s Hunger
The clearing trembled as the figure emerged from the pit, its form wrapped in shadows that twisted like living smoke. The villagers recoiled, their weapons raised, their breaths ragged in the cold air. The thing stood taller than the King, its presence pressing down on the glade like a storm gathering. Its voice, when it spoke, was not a sound but a vibration in their bones:"You have woken me."Dain stepped forward, the Blade of Severing clutched in his hand, its runes flaring golden against the dark. The scar where the King’s name had once burned ached, a phantom pain that echoed the void before him. "We didn’t wake you," he said, his voice steady. "We came to end you."The thing laughed, a sound like stones grinding together. "You cannot end what you do not understand, little Heir."The villagers shifted, their grips tightening on their weapons. Serra stood at Dain’s side, her sword ignited, its blue flame casting eerie shadows across the clearing. Garrick clutched his hammer, his