The Sovereign’s Shadow: Awakening the Primordial Void

The Ghost in the Cloak

(4 years Later)

Kaelen walked out of the dungeon, light was the first thing that hit him. It was too bright, and it hurt his eyes.

Kaelen stood at the mouth of the cave, squinting at a world he hadn't seen in four years. The air smelled just like how he remembered. He pulled his heavy black cloak tighter around his shoulders. The cloak was tattered at the bottom, stained with the blood of things that didn't have names, but it was thick enough to hide the man he had become. Under the dark cloth, his body was filled with muscles, his skin marked by the ink-colored veins that never went away.

He bad become a different man.

"It’s too quiet out here," Kaelen whispered. His voice was gravelly, a sound he barely recognized.

"That is because nothing is trying to kill you for once," Erebos said in his mind. The beast sounded bored. "Go on. Walk. I want to see if they still smell like fear."

Kaelen began to walk. He felt like a stranger in his own skin. As he reached the main road leading into the town, he saw people. They were dressed in bright colors, laughing and talking about the weather. They looked small. They looked fragile.

He walked past a fruit seller he used to know. The man looked up, saw the tall, hooded figure, and quickly looked away, his hands shaking as he rearranged his apples.

"Do you see?" Erebos mocked. "They don't even know you. To them, you are just a ghost."

Kaelen didn't answer. He followed the sound of music. It was coming from the town square, the same place where his life had been ruined. The streets were lined with blue and white banners. A parade was moving through the center of town.

"What is all this?" Kaelen asked a young boy standing by a fence.

The boy looked at Kaelen’s tattered cloak and backed away a step. "It’s the Engagement Day! Lord Caspian is celebrating. He’s going to marry the most beautiful girl in the city."

Kaelen felt a cold feeling in his chest. "Caspian?"

"Yeah! He’s a hero now," the boy said, his eyes wide. "He cleared out the East Woods dungeons years ago. He even saved a girl whose fiancé died there. Everyone loves him."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. He moved toward the square, pushing through the crowd. People grumbled as he passed, but one look at the dark shadow under his hood made them move out of the way.

He reached the front of the crowd just as the main carriage stopped. Caspian Vance stepped out, wearing a shining white armor. He looked exactly the same, only more arrogant. He turned and reached into the carriage, helping a woman step down.

Kaelen’s breath caught. It was Mila.

She was wearing a long, flowing dress that must have cost more than a hundred houses. There were diamonds around her neck and gold rings on her fingers. She looked healthy. She looked happy. She was leaning against Caspian’s arm as if he were the sun itself.

"Look at her," Erebos whispered, his voice dripping with malice. "She looks like she missed you a lot, doesn't she?"

Kaelen stepped out of the crowd. He walked slowly toward the couple. The music seemed to fade as people noticed the tall, tattered man approaching the nobles.

"Hey! Back off, beggar!" a guard shouted, stepping forward.

Caspian held up a hand, a smug smile on his face. "It’s fine. Let him come. Maybe he wants to beg for a coin to celebrate my lucky day."

Kaelen stopped five feet away from them. He didn't look at Caspian. He looked at Mila.

"Mila," he said.

Mila flinched at the sound of the voice. She looked at the hooded man, her eyes searching the shadows of his cloak. "Do I know you?"

Kaelen reached into the pouch at his belt. He pulled out the cheap ring, the metal dull and scratched from years in the dark. He held it out in his open palm.

"I told you I would come back," Kaelen said. "I told you I would get us out of the dirt."

Mila’s face went pale for a second. She stared at the ring, then at Kaelen’s hidden face. Slowly, the shock on her face turned into a look of pure disgust. She didn't cry. She didn't run to him. She let out a short laugh.

"Kaelen?" she asked, her voice mocking. "Is that really you under those rags?"

"Mila, I—"

"Don't," she snapped, stepping closer to Caspian. "Kaelen is dead. He was a weak, E-rank boy who died because he wasn't strong enough to survive a simple task. And even if he were alive, do you really think I would want that?"

She pointed at his tattered cloak and his dusty boots.

"Look at me, Kaelen," she said, touching the diamonds at her neck. "I am going to be the wife of an S-rank Lord. Caspian is a hero. He gives me everything I ever wanted. You? You were always just a burden. You were just trash I felt sorry for."

She reached out and took the copper ring from his hand. Kaelen felt a hollow ache in his chest. He watched as she held it up, showing it to the laughing crowd.

"This is fake," she said. "Just like your promises."

She dropped the ring into the mud at her feet. She stepped on it with her expensive shoe, pressing it deep into the dirt.

"Go away, ghost," Mila said, turning her back on him. "You mean nothing to me."

Caspian laughed, a loud, barking sound. He stepped forward and clapped a hand on Kaelen’s shoulder. "You heard the lady. You’re a dead man, Kaelen. And dead men don't belong at parties."

Kaelen looked down at the mud where the ring was buried. He felt something shifting inside him. The cold spot near his heart was growing. The black veins under his cloak began to throb.

"Are you going to cry?" Caspian mocked. "Maybe I should give you a few coins so you can go buy a new life. Guards! Get this filth out of my sight. He’s ruining the smell of the flowers."

A large guard stepped forward. He was a head shorter than Kaelen but twice as wide. He reached out with a thick, heavy hand, intending to grab Kaelen’s shoulder and throw him into the street.

"Move it, beggar," the guard growled.

Kaelen didn't move. He didn't even look at the guard.

The guard’s hand slammed into Kaelen’s shoulder. There was a loud, sickening crack.

The guard let out a scream of pure agony. He pulled his hand back, but it was dangling at a weird angle. His wrist was shattered, his fingers bent backward. It was like he had tried to punch a mountain.

Kaelen stood perfectly still. The wind caught his hood, pulling it back just enough to show his eyes. They weren't brown anymore. They were a deep, terrifying black.

"I'm not a beggar," Kaelen said, his voice shaking the air. "And I'm not dead."

The crowd went silent. Caspian’s smile vanished. He stepped back, his hand going to the sword at his waist.

"What did you do?" Caspian hissed. "Guards! All of you! Kill him!"