The Sovereign’s Shadow: Awakening the Primordial Void

The Assassin’s Eye

The gold Kaelen had brought back from the deep dungeons was a lot, and it opened doors that had been slammed in his face for years. He didn't go back to that rusted house. He found a high-end inn on the edge of the merchant district. The floors were covered in soft rugs, and the bed was filled with feathers.

But as he sat on the edge of the mattress, Kaelen realized he couldn't sleep. The silence was too loud. For four years, his ears had been tuned to the sound of monsters breathing in the dark.

"It’s a waste of coin," Erebos grumbled in his mind. "You’re sitting on a soft bed like a king, but you’re still holding your breath like a rat."

"I'm not used to being safe," Kaelen whispered.

"Safe?" Erebos laughed. "You’re never safe. Look at the window."

Kaelen didn't move his head, but his eyes shifted. The curtains were closed, but a tiny sliver of moonlight was cutting through the gap. Suddenly the light changed direction, into his room.

A cold presence filled the room. It was not the type he was used to of beasts, no this is something new.

Kaelen threw himself backward just as a thin, silver blade lunged through the air where his throat had been a second ago. The blade sliced through the headboard of the bed smoothly.

He rolled across the floor, his black cloak falling around him. From the shadows near the window, a girl stepped out. She was slim and athletic, wearing a dark cloth that made her nearly invisible. Her hair was a striking, pale silver, and her eyes were a piercing violet.

She didn't have a beast with her.

"No beast?" Kaelen said, his voice low. He stood up, his hands hanging loosely at his sides.

The girl didn't answer. She moved again, and Kaelen’s eyes struggled to keep up. She was fast—faster than any human he had ever seen. She lunged, her blade aimed for his heart. Kaelen stepped to the side, but she adjusted her strike in mid-air, her sword following his movement as if she knew exactly where he was going to be.

"She can see your mana, boy," Erebos warned, his voice sharp. "She isn't looking at your body. She’s looking at the flow inside you."

Kaelen realized she was using "Mana Sight." She could see the black energy pulsing under his skin, predicting his every move before he even made it.

The girl swung her sword in a wide arc. Kaelen ducked, the air from the blade cutting a few strands of his hair. She followed up with a kick that sent him stumbling back toward the wall. She was good, her movements were too clean.

"Who sent you?" Kaelen asked, his breath coming steady. "Caspian? The Association?"

The girl finally spoke. Her voice was calm, but it held no emotion. "You are a stain on the world. You shouldn't exist."

She lunged one more time, putting all her weight into a final thrust. This time, Kaelen didn't dodge. He didn't move his feet at all.

He reached out his right hand, the black veins on his palm glowing with a dim light.

CLANG.

The room went silent. The girl’s violet eyes went wide. Kaelen had caught the silver blade with his bare hand. The sharp edge was pressed against his palm, but it didn't draw a single drop of blood. The black mist around his fingers was eating the impact, holding the sword in a grip of iron.

"My turn," Kaelen said.

He didn't strike her. He simply let a small amount of his power leak into the room.

The shadows in the corners of the inn room began to stretch around them. The darkness crawled up the walls like living vines, weaving together until they surrounded the silver-haired girl. The shadows hissed, moving on their own as if they were hungry.

The girl gasped, her sword trapped in Kaelen’s grip. She looked at the shadows, then back at Kaelen’s black eyes. Her stoic mask finally broke, replaced by a look of pure terror.

"You..." she whispered. "The shadows... they obey you."

Kaelen tightened his grip on the blade, and the silver blade began to bend under his fingers. "I asked you a question. Who are you?"

The girl’s hands began to shake. She let go of the hilt of her sword, and the weapon clattered to the floor as Kaelen tossed it aside. She fell back against the window, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

"My name is Lyra," she said, her voice trembling. "From the Thorne Clan. My grandmother... she saw this in her visions. She said a boy would return from the grave with the night in his blood."

She looked at the black veins on Kaelen’s arms, her violet eyes filling with a strange, haunting light.

"The prophecy was true," Lyra whispered, her voice barely audible. "The one who carries the Void has awakened. My clan was right to fear you. You aren't a man... you’re the end of everything."

Kaelen looked at her for a long moment. He felt the shadows recede, pulling back into the corners of the room. He didn't feel like a monster. He just felt tired.

"Go," Kaelen said, turning his back on her. "Tell your clan I don't care about their prophecies. I just want to be left alone."

"They won't leave you alone," Lyra said, her voice stronger now. "Neither will the Association. You've shown your face. The hunt has already started."

Kaelen didn't answer. He walked to the bedside and picked up his heavy bag of gold. By the time he turned back, the window was open, and the silver-haired girl was gone.

He knew she was right. This inn wasn't safe. The city wasn't safe.

He left the inn before the sun came up. He didn't go back to his old life. He spent that night traveling, using his wealth to buy a small, quiet house deep in the Valley of Slumber, miles away from the noise and the eyes of the Empire.

It was a lonely place, surrounded by tall trees and the sound of a river, but it was far from the reach of Caspian and the mages.

He stood on the porch of his new home, looking at the distant lights of the city.

"Is this far enough?" Kaelen asked.

"For now," Erebos replied.

Kaelen stepped inside the house and locked the door. He sat on the floor, his back against the door. Finally, silence.

“Hang on there Elara, I'm coming.” He whispered.

"We are safe here," Kaelen said to himself.

"Are we?" Erebos asked.

Kaelen stood up to check the window, but as he turned, he saw a flash of silver hair in the corner of the room. He realized he hadn't been as fast as he thought. He hadn't escaped at all.

Kaelen lunged, his body moving fast, he thought she ran away. He caught the figure before she could jump back out the window. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her back against the wall, his eyes glowing with anger and confusion.

"You followed me," Kaelen hissed, his breath hot against her face. "How did you find me so fast?"

Lyra looked at him, her violet eyes deep and full of a strange sadness. She didn't even try to reach for a weapon. She just stood there, pinned against the wall, as the air in the room began to grow heavy and thick with his power