BLADE OF THE FALLEN

Chapter 9 – The Ring in the Rift

Axel couldn’t move. The hand was still there, emerging from the dark seam in the ground, fingers flexing slowly, the silver ring glinting in the moonlight, It was his mother’s ring, It had to be.

Every detail was exact, the thin, delicate band etched with the same tiny swirl pattern she used to say looked like a galaxy. He remembered holding it between his fingers as a child, the way she’d laugh and pretend to spin it to “start the stars moving.”

Kael was already pulling him back, but he dug his heels into the cobblestones. “Wait!”

“Axel, that’s not”

The hand twitched, then curled in a beckoning motion, Don’t, the goddess’s voice coiled around him, sharp now. That’s not your mother. Axel’s throat tightened. You don’t know that.

I do, she said flatly. I know what the Seal takes, and I know what it gives back. That thing in the rift? It’s neither alive nor dead, it’s a message, Kael’s grip on his arm was firm. “If you go near it, you might not come back.”

Axel’s eyes stayed locked on the hand. “Then why does it have her ring?”

Kael’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t answer, The fissure widened slightly, a low hum vibrating in the stones beneath their feet. From the darkness below came a voice, soft, cracked, but unmistakably hers.

“Axel…”

He froze. The voice was exactly as he remembered, gentle, warm, with that faint trace of humor she always carried, even in her most serious moments.

Kael’s face went pale. “She’s dead.”

“I know,” Axel whispered.

That’s not her, the goddess repeated. That’s her memory, stolen and wearing her skin, The voice came again, more urgent. “Axel… take my hand.”

He took a step forward before Kael moved, slamming him back against the wall of a narrow alley. “You want to die? Because that’s how you die.”

Axel’s chest heaved. “What if it’s a way back? What if she’s”

“She’s not,” Kael snapped. “I’ve seen the Seal reach into people’s pasts. It takes the most painful thing it can find and shoves it in your face until you can’t tell what’s real anymore.”

Kael’s right, the goddess murmured. But she’s also wrong. Sometimes, if you’re strong enough… you can pull something back, Axel’s pulse spiked. Back?

Pieces. Fragments. Enough to hurt you. Or help you.

The fissure began to close. The hand gripped the stone edges, as though resisting being pulled down. The voice grew sharper now. “Axel! Please!”

Kael swore under her breath and shoved him toward the opposite street. “Move. Now. If it finishes closing while you’re near it, you’ll be pulled in.”

They were halfway down the street when a shockwave of cold rolled over them. Axel glanced back and froze, The rift had sealed completely. The hand was gone.

But lying in the center of the street… was the ring, Kael saw it too. “No. Don’t”

But Axel was already moving. He bent, snatching it from the stone. The metal was ice-cold, almost painful against his skin, For a moment, he thought it was just that a ring, nothing more.

Then it shifted. The swirling pattern began to move, just as his mother had pretended all those years ago. Tiny arcs of silver light swirled inside the band.

Words bloomed in his mind, not spoken aloud: “The First Wielder is not your enemy.”

The goddess’s reaction was immediate and violent. A surge of heat flooded the sword, nearly burning his hand. Throw it away. Axel clenched his fist. Why?

Because it’s poison. Kael was staring at him. “What is it?”

He slipped the ring into his pocket. “Nothing.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me.”

Good, the goddess whispered. Keep it close. Don’t let her touch it, They made their way toward the outskirts of the city, where the walls were lower and the streets narrower. Kael led him through a series of back alleys, her pace brisk but controlled.

Finally, they stopped in front of what looked like an abandoned granary. Kael unlocked the heavy door with a key she kept hidden in her boot and ushered him inside.

It was warmer than he expected, lit by a single lantern hanging from the ceiling. Wooden crates were stacked high along the walls, and in the far corner, a narrow cot was pushed against the stone.

“This will do for tonight,” Kael said. “Tomorrow, we head for the Iron Marsh.”

Axel frowned. “What’s in the Iron Marsh?”

“Someone who owes me answers.”

The goddess’s voice was quieter now, almost distant. You won’t find what you’re looking for in the Marsh. But you will find the First Wielder sooner than you think.

Axel rubbed his temple. You still haven’t told me why she brought me here, A pause. Then: Because you’re the only one who can break her chain, Before he could ask what that meant, a sound cut through the granary a faint tap-tap-tap against the wood.

Kael’s hand went to her dagger instantly. “Someone’s outside.”

They moved toward the door in silence. The tapping stopped, Then a voice came from just beyond the door. “Axel.”

His heart stopped. It was his mother’s voice again, clearer this time, no cracks, no distortion, Kael’s expression turned lethal. She mouthed: Don’t answer.

The voice came again. “It’s safe now. Open the door.”

Axel’s hand hovered near the latch, If you open that door, the goddess said softly, you’ll never close it again, Kael stepped between him and the door. “That thing is not your mother.”

The voice outside sighed. “I knew you’d be difficult.”

The lantern flickered violently. Shadows crawled up the walls, stretching long and sharp. From somewhere above, a deep creak sounded, like the rafters themselves were bending under a heavy weight.

Kael shoved Axel back toward the cot. “Stay behind me.”

The wood of the door began to blacken, spreading from the center outward, as though burned by an invisible flame, And then without warning, it split in two.

Standing in the doorway was a woman, She was tall, her skin pale as moonlight, her hair silver and loose around her shoulders. Her eyes were a swirling storm of silver and black. On her right hand, she wore a ring identical to the one in Axel’s pocket.

She smiled faintly. “You’ve grown, Axel.”

Kael swore under her breath. “First Wielder.”

The woman’s gaze slid past her, locking on him. “Come. We don’t have much time before she wakes.”

Axel’s blood ran cold. “Before who wakes?”

The woman’s smile widened. “The goddess in your hand.”