"They were banished," Silas said sadly. "They were thrown down into the deepest, darkest hole in the world. The Eternal Ossuary. The Usurper told the world that the true family had died in a fire. He erased us from history."Lucien felt a hot, burning anger rising in his chest. His entire life was a lie. The empire that rejected him was built on stolen blood and lies."But we did not die," Silas said, sitting up a little straighter. "We survived. We became the Living Ghosts. We changed the banner. We drew broken chains around the lion. It means that even though we are trapped in the dark, our spirits are free. We will never submit to the false kings above."Lucien stared at the old man. The core struggle inside him finally made sense. He was not a mistake. He was just born into a family of thieves and murderers. His dark power was not a curse; it was the exact weapon needed to break the false sun."Tell me everything," Lucien demanded. "I want to know the names of the ones who were be

The impact was incredibly heavy. The giant bug threw its thirty-foot body against the bone shields. The hunters groaned, digging their boots into the dirt to hold the line.The bug snapped its giant pincers at Kael’s face. Green, smoking acid dripped from its mouth, sizzling as it hit the dirt.Lucien moved fast. He did not use a massive wave of absolute destruction. He used a tiny, controlled bit of shadow magic.Lucien flicked his left fingers. A small, hard wall of black shadow appeared in the air, right in front of Kael’s face.The Crawler spit a stream of bright green acid. The acid hit the shadow wall instead of melting Kael’s face off. The acid hissed and smoked, but Kael was perfectly safe."Now!" Lucien shouted.Kael did not hesitate. He thrust his bone spear forward, driving it right through the shadow wall and directly into the giant bug’s cluster of yellow eyes.The Crawler shrieked in pain and twisted away."Hold the line!" Elder Silas commanded from behind them. "Do not

The warning from the broken iron wolf changed everything in the camp. The air inside the giant ribcage was no longer filled with the happy sounds of children playing. It was filled with the sharp sounds of weapons being sharpened and armor being tied tightly.The Emperor’s hunting dogs were coming."We must move now," Lucien said. He stood near the dead, broken pieces of the iron wolf. His voice was hard and serious.Elder Silas nodded slowly. The old man leaned on his wooden staff. His golden eyes looked very tired, but he was not scared. He looked like a man who had been waiting for this war his entire life."I am too old to climb the deep paths quickly," Elder Silas said. He turned to look at the young hunter with the scarred face. "Kael. You are the fastest scout we have. You know the dark tunnels better than anyone. You will guide Lucien to the Forgotten Village."Kael stood up straight. He pounded his fist against his chest armor. "I will not fail you, Elder. I will guide him s

The loud roaring from the chasm vanished. Then, the wind started blowing again, but it blew from the opposite direction. It was blowing out of the dark tunnel they needed to enter. And the wind was not empty.A thick, heavy cloud of dark yellow fog rolled out of the tunnel. It moved fast, pouring over the stone platform like a slow-moving river of sick, yellow water.The smell hit them instantly. It smelled like rotting eggs, burning hair, and old copper.Kael’s eyes went wide with absolute, screaming horror. He stumbled backward until his back hit the edge of the chasm."No!" Kael screamed, his voice breaking in panic. "Grave-Mist! It is Grave-Mist!"Lucien quickly stood up. He reached for his God-Slaying Spear. "What is it? A monster?""Worse!" Kael cried, covering his mouth and nose with his hands. "It is a toxic cloud! It is the breath of dead demons! If you breathe it, your lungs turn to ash! If it touches your skin, it melts your flesh to the bone! We are dead! There is nowhere

Lucien nodded. He let his shadow-cloak settle quietly on his shoulders. He did not want to scare them.The guards led Lucien and Kael down a set of winding, carved stone stairs.As they walked through the village, Lucien saw the harsh reality of their society. The glowing blue mushrooms were beautiful, but they could not hide the truth.This was a culture built entirely around surviving the dark.They walked past a group of children playing near a deep water well. The children were incredibly pale. Their skin looked almost clear, showing the blue veins underneath. They had never seen the sun. They had never felt warm grass or seen a blue sky. They were playing with toys carved out of rat bones.When the children saw Lucien, they stopped playing. They stared at him with wide, curious eyes. One little girl, holding a small doll made of moss, took a step forward.Lucien stopped. He looked down at the little girl. He slowly reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, smooth piece of