2025-09-16 12:33:03The journey back to civilization took three days of steady travel through forest paths that seemed friendlier now that they were heading away from Shadow Moon territory. The wagon was lighter without all their excavation equipment, but heavier with the weight of Valdris's recovered journals and scrolls.
"I still can't believe someone got there before us," Lady Celestine said as she carefully wrapped another ancient text. "Three years of research, and we arrive to find empty pedestals.""At least we got the scholarly materials," Lady Evelyn pointed out. "Those journals might contain information more valuable than any artifact.""To academics, maybe. But not to treasure hunters."Marcus guided the wagon around a fallen log. "Could have been worse. We could have run into whoever looted the place while they were still there.""True," Robert agreed. "Tomb robbers aren't usually the friendly type."Draven walked alongside the wagon, lost in thought. The pendant had
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Chapter 144
The walk back felt longer than it should have.Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the weight of what they'd left behind. Either way, every step dragged, and the silence between them stretched thin.Draven led the way, his sword heavy at his hip. Behind him, Jin limped slightly, favoring his left leg. Lyra kept checking her daggers like she expected them to break. Sera walked without a word, her eyes distant.None of them had slept well. None of them would admit it.The sun climbed higher as they followed the dirt road back toward the staging area where Varen had set up base camp. Three miles, maybe four. Not far. But it felt like walking through mud."How long do you think he's been waiting?" Lyra asked eventually."Varen?" Jin snorted. "Probably pacing holes in the ground. That man doesn't sit still.""He's going to have questions," Sera said."He always has questions," Draven muttered.They crested a small hill, and the valley below came into view. The camp should've been visible
Chapter 143
The wind was colder when they reached the edge of the cemetery.Not the chill of night — this was deeper, the kind that came from the ground itself.The kind that meant something ancient was finally dying.They didn’t talk much as they packed their gear. Sera’s cloak was torn. Lyra’s daggers were dull from striking enchanted armor. Jin’s axe had a split down the handle. None of it mattered; they were alive.“Let’s get out of here before the ground decides to eat us,” Jin said, slinging his pack over his shoulder.Draven nodded, but his gaze stayed on the hill. The soil where the tomb entrance had once been glowed faintly under the moonlight — a slow pulse, like a heartbeat fading away.Sera followed his eyes. “You think it’s over?”“No,” he said quietly. “But it’s ending.”They started the trek back down the narrow path that wound through the old gravestones. The silence felt heavy, too complete. Even the insects had gone quiet. Every few steps, a low rumble rolled underfoot — the tom
Chapter 142
The new passage breathed like a living thing.Each exhale stirred dust that hadn’t moved in centuries. The air grew colder with every step, damp stone giving way to smooth marble veined with faint gold light.No one spoke. Words felt wrong down here.Only their footsteps and the hiss of torch-flame echoed off the walls.Sera finally broke the silence. “This tunnel wasn’t carved—it was grown.”She ran a hand along the wall. “See the texture? Magical crystallization. The tomb rebuilt itself.”“Then it wanted us to find this,” Jin muttered. “Great.”They emerged into a vast circular chamber. The ceiling arched high overhead, engraved with constellations that shimmered faintly when their torches flared. At the center stood a dais of cracked marble, and on it… a throne.King Aldrich sat there. Or what was left of him.The crown was broken cleanly in half across his brow. His armor gleamed like molten silver, but his face—his face was hollow light, flickering like a candle trapped in glass.
Chapter 141
The marching didn’t stop. It echoed beneath the academy, faint and rhythmic, like footsteps underwater. The kind of sound that didn’t belong in the world of the living.For two nights, none of them slept properly. Even the city’s noise couldn’t mask it. Merchants said it was the wind in the old pipes. The guards blamed underground tremors. But Draven knew better. So did Sera.By the third day, he made the call. “We’re going back.”Jin dropped his cup. “Back where?”“Aldrich’s tomb.”Lyra stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You mean the one that tried to bury us alive?”“Yeah, that one.”Sera didn’t look surprised. She’d already packed her gear. “You’ve been hearing it too, haven’t you?”He nodded. “The sound. It’s spreading. If it reaches the city, we’ll have a problem no one can contain.”Jin groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “And you think four people are going to fix what an entire kingdom couldn’t?”Draven buckled his sword. “I think we’re the only ones who know how.”T
Chapter 140
They met in the middle like two storms looking for a spine to break.The first ranks hit hard—shields of scorched iron, spears of bone and light. The dead didn’t shout or snarl. They moved in silence, each step measured, each strike precise, like a memory looping on command.Jin broke the line with a roar and an axe swing that cratered the ground. Shock ripples knocked three soldiers sideways. Lyra slid through the opening he made, twin blades flashing, wrists turning sharp and clean. Knees first. Necks next. Back out before the formation closed.Sera didn’t rush. She spread her hands and let the shadows drop like a curtain, a wall of black that swallowed the first volley of light-spears and spat them back as slivers of night. A dozen undead fell, headless, their bodies hanging upright for a beat before folding as one.Draven stepped into the space they’d carved and the world bent toward him.The air around his blade shivered. Golden lines ran along the steel like veins, brightening w
Chapter 139
The next morning, the city didn’t wake normally.At first, it was quiet. Too quiet for a place that usually came alive before sunrise with bells, merchants, and the sound of training in the academy courtyards.Then came the horns.Three long notes from the northern watchtowers—an old signal. One that hadn’t been used in centuries.Draven was already up when it started. He and Sera were standing on the roof of their dormitory, watching the horizon. The towers along the outer walls were lit one by one, torches flashing like warning stars.“What do you see?” Sera asked.“Smoke,” Draven said. “North ridge. Same direction as Aldrich’s tomb.”Sera’s voice was calm but low. “That ridge was empty. Nothing should be burning there.”“Something is.”The door below creaked open. Jin climbed up, armor half-buckled, eyes still heavy with sleep. “What now?”Lyra followed, tightening the straps on her gloves. “Please don’t say we’re going north again.”Draven didn’t answer. The smoke rising in the di
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