Blade of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 13 – The Storm Gathers

The air in the ruined courtyard was thick with silence, broken only by the low hum of torches burning in the distance. Adrian’s blade rested at his side, but his grip on the hilt was tight. Every shadow seemed alive, whispering warnings of what was coming.

He remembered the words of the seer before she vanished into mist: “The kingdom falls not by steel alone, but by the storm that walks among men.”

That storm, Adrian realized, was already here.

“Stay close,” he muttered to Kael and Mira. His companions exchanged uneasy glances but obeyed. The three of them moved carefully through the crumbling stone arches, where vines clung to forgotten walls, and banners of the fallen kingdom fluttered like ghosts.

Mira broke the silence. “Why do I feel like the dead are watching us?”

“Because they are,” Kael said grimly, pointing to the far wall. Carved into the stone were dozens of faces—etched by fire, their mouths twisted into silent screams. They weren’t just decorations; they were remnants of a forbidden magic, preserved as warnings.

Adrian’s chest tightened. This was no ordinary ruin.

Suddenly, the ground shuddered. A ripple of energy ran beneath their feet, and the torches lining the walls flared violently. Mira stumbled, clutching Adrian’s arm.

“Something’s awakening,” she whispered.

Adrian unsheathed his blade. “Then we face it head-on.”

The floor cracked, dust spiraling into the air as a dark mist seeped upward. From the mist rose armored figures—hollow knights with no flesh, only bones wrapped in shadow. Their swords gleamed with unnatural light.

Kael cursed. “Spectral guardians. They were bound to the king’s last command—to protect this place until the end of time.”

“Then tonight,” Adrian growled, raising his blade, “time runs out.”

The knights moved as one, their advance silent, relentless. Adrian met the first with a swift strike, sparks flying as steel clashed against cursed iron. The force rattled his arm, but he pushed through, twisting and slashing across the knight’s chest. Instead of falling, the creature hissed, smoke pouring from the wound before it sealed again.

“They heal?” Mira gasped, unleashing a wave of fire magic that engulfed three of them. For a moment, the shadows shrieked, retreating from the flames—then they surged forward, unburned.

“Not fire, not steel!” Kael shouted, dodging a blade that narrowly missed his neck. “The guardians can only be broken by shattering the bond that holds them.”

“And where’s that bond?” Adrian demanded, parrying another strike.

Kael’s eyes flicked to the stone wall where the screaming faces were carved. “There!”

Adrian didn’t hesitate. He carved through the swarm, every strike fueled with sheer willpower. Mira covered him with bursts of magic, Kael with precise arrows, but the knights pressed closer. One blade nicked Adrian’s shoulder, searing pain into his flesh. He gritted his teeth, refusing to fall.

Finally, he reached the wall. With a roar, he drove his blade deep into the largest carving. The stone cracked, a thunderous echo shaking the courtyard. The faces twisted, shrieking in agony before shattering into dust.

The guardians froze mid-strike, their forms unraveling into black smoke that dissolved into the night sky.

Silence fell again, broken only by Adrian’s heavy breathing.

Mira knelt beside him. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing,” Adrian muttered, though the wound burned deeper than any normal cut. It wasn’t just physical—it felt as though the blade had sliced into his very spirit.

Kael scanned the courtyard warily. “We shouldn’t linger. If guardians were here, then something far worse is buried deeper inside these ruins.”

Adrian nodded, though his gaze lingered on the shattered wall. Among the rubble, something gleamed faintly—a shard of crystal, pulsing with dim light. He reached for it, and the moment his fingers touched the surface, a voice whispered inside his mind.

“Bearer of the blade… you are chosen, but you are not ready.”

Adrian staggered, clutching his head. The voice was neither male nor female, but ancient, carrying the weight of centuries.

“What happened?” Mira asked urgently.

Adrian stared at the crystal, his breath uneven. “This… isn’t just a ruin. It’s a seal. And whatever it’s holding back is trying to speak to me.”

Kael’s expression darkened. “If that’s true, then the storm hasn’t even begun.”

Adrian closed his hand around the crystal, its cold energy searing into his skin. He could feel it—the pull of destiny dragging him deeper into the darkness of the fallen kingdom.

The storm was gathering, and he was standing at its heart.

---