Blade of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 9 – Shadows Among Men

Dawn crept reluctantly into the gorge, spilling pale light across damp stone and shivering pools. Mist clung to the walls, heavy with the memory of the water-being. Every drop that dripped from the cliffs seemed alive, as though the gorge itself watched.

Kael tightened his cloak and scanned the survivors. They were exhausted, hollow-eyed from fear and sleeplessness. Yet a strange energy pulsed among them—not hope, but something sharper. Suspicion. Division.

He felt their stares. Some carried gratitude in their eyes, but many more whispered when they thought him out of earshot. The cursed blade… the chosen one… a savior… a demon.

Mira noticed too. She walked beside him, her voice low. “They’re afraid, Kael. Afraid of you.”

“They should be,” he muttered.

The Blade pulsed at his hip, smug. Yes. Let them fear. Fear makes them bend.

Kael forced the thought away. “We climb today. Out of the gorge. Once we reach the forest, we’ll move faster.”

The climb was brutal. Rocks slick with dew, handholds crumbling with each grip. More than once, a cry split the air as someone slipped, only to be dragged back by trembling hands. Kael moved among them, steadying, guiding, though every touch drew flinches.

By midday, they reached a ledge where the mist thinned. From there, the gorge stretched behind them, endless and dark. Ahead, the faint line of trees beckoned. Freedom.

But freedom came with new dangers.

As the group rested, Kael noticed three men whispering apart, their eyes darting to him. One held a crude dagger carved from bone. Another clutched a shard of iron.

Mira followed his gaze. “You see it too.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Desperation breeds betrayal.”

Before Mira could answer, a cry rose from below. A young survivor slipped during the climb, dangling from the cliff by a single rope. His screams tore through the gorge.

Kael rushed forward, gripping the rope and hauling the boy up with raw strength. As he pulled him onto the ledge, the boy clung to his chest, sobbing.

“Thank you,” he whispered, eyes wide with awe.

But behind them, the three men stood, daggers drawn.

“This ends now,” one spat. His face was gaunt, his eyes bloodshot. “You’re no savior. You’re a curse. That sword—” He pointed at the Blade. “—it will damn us all.”

Mira stepped in front of Kael, steel flashing in her hand. “Back down. Now.”

The leader sneered. “Stand aside, woman. Or die with him.”

The Blade’s whispers filled Kael’s mind, silky and eager. Kill them. Spill their blood. Show them what defiance costs.

Kael’s pulse thundered. His grip hovered over the hilt. He wanted—needed—to strike. But another voice, his own, fought back: If I draw it again, I’ll lose myself.

The standoff cracked when one of the rebels lunged at Mira. She parried, sparks flying as steel clashed against crude iron. The ledge erupted into chaos—survivors screaming, scrambling back, some shouting for Kael to save them, others shouting for him to die.

The leader charged Kael directly, dagger raised. Kael sidestepped, catching the man’s wrist and twisting hard. The dagger clattered to the stone. Kael slammed him into the cliff wall, his forearm pressing against the man’s throat.

“Why?” Kael growled.

The man’s eyes blazed with hatred. “Because I’d rather die free than follow a demon.”

Kael froze. The words pierced deeper than any blade.

In that heartbeat of hesitation, another rebel struck from behind. Pain flared across Kael’s shoulder as a jagged shard tore flesh. He staggered forward, nearly releasing the leader.

The Blade shrieked in his skull. Draw me! End them all!

Mira shouted his name, fighting to keep two attackers at bay.

Kael’s blood dripped onto the stone, and something inside him snapped. He ripped the Blade free. Shadows poured from it like smoke, swallowing the ledge in darkness.

The rebels froze, terror etched across their faces.

Kael’s voice came out colder than steel. “Run.”

Two fled instantly, scrambling down the ledge like rats. The leader, trembling, raised his empty hands—but too slowly. The Blade swung of its own hunger, severing his arm at the elbow. He screamed, collapsing, blood splattering the rocks.

Kael’s chest heaved, his vision swimming with shadows. The Blade pulsed, alive with ecstasy. Yes… more… more!

But through the haze, Kael saw the survivors. Mothers clutching children, men shielding wives—all staring at him as though he were the monster.

Mira touched his arm gently. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were sharp with fear. “Kael. Enough.”

The word cut deeper than the rebel’s dagger. Enough.

Kael forced the Blade back into its sheath. It fought him, shrieking in his mind, but at last it quieted, purring in resentment.

The ledge fell silent except for the groans of the wounded leader.

Kael turned to the survivors, his voice ragged. “Anyone else?”

No one spoke. No one moved. Fear hung thick in the air.

Mira stepped forward, addressing the group. “We keep moving. Together. If you can’t stomach Kael, leave now. But if you stay, understand this—the Blade may be cursed, but without it, you’d all be corpses in that gorge.”

The words silenced further dissent, though not the fear in their eyes.

As the group began moving again, Mira lingered by Kael’s side. “They won’t stop testing you,” she murmured.

Kael nodded grimly. “Then the real enemy isn’t just the creatures or the curse. It’s the fear inside these people. And fear is harder to kill than any beast.”

Mira studied him for a long moment. “Or maybe it’s harder to kill because it’s inside you too.”

Her words haunted him as they climbed the final stretch. At the top, the forest stretched before them—vast, dark, whispering with secrets. Freedom. Or so it seemed.

But as Kael looked back one last time, he saw the gorge shrouded in mist, and in its depths, faint ripples stirring.

The water-being’s final cry echoed in his mind. Free us.

And Kael realized with a chill that the gorge was only the beginning.

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