The tenth whisper;The beast that eat the memories.

The Altar of Ash

"They were supposed to call me hero today."

Ethan stood tall on the cold stone of the High Altar, heart hammering against his ribs as the ritual drums pounded. The entire square of Aethelgard had gathered to watch him bind his first beast and cement his place in the clan. His father, Lord Harlan, watched from the steps with that same unreadable stare he'd worn all Ethan's life.

"Father, this is it," Ethan said, voice cracking with excitement. "Watch me. I'll make you proud. The strongest bond in a generation."

Harlan didn't smile. "Just finish it clean, boy. No mistakes. The clan name doesn't forgive weakness."

The high priest raised his arms, chanting the old words that would tear open the veil. Ethan lifted the ceremonial blade, ready for whatever creature stepped through. A wolf maybe. Or a shadowcat. Something fierce he could tame and ride into battle.

The air ripped apart with a sound like breaking bones.

Black smoke poured out, thick and choking. It twisted, clawed, and formed into something that shouldn't exist. Umbra. Towering, eyeless, its body a mass of shifting darkness and jagged bone. The creature let out a scream that scraped the inside of Ethan's skull.

The crowd's cheers died instantly.

"What... what the hell is that?" a woman shouted from the front row. "That's no beast! That's a nightmare!"

"Monster!" another voice yelled. "It's a monster from the void!"

Ethan stumbled back, blade slipping from his sweaty grip. "Father! I didn't... I don't know what happened! It was supposed to be normal!"

Harlan's face had gone white. His eyes locked on the creature, then on his son. For one second Ethan thought he saw fear. Then it hardened into something worse.

"Guards!" Harlan bellowed. "Take him down! Now!"

Ethan's stomach dropped. "What? Father, no! It's just a mistake! Help me bind it! We can still fix this!"

Two imperial guards rushed forward, swords already drawn. Their captain, a man Ethan had trained with since he was twelve, looked almost sorry.

"Sorry, Ethan," the captain muttered. "Orders."

"Orders?" Ethan backed away, hands up. "He's my father! Tell him to stop this!"

Harlan stepped closer, voice low and cold. "You brought that thing here. You tainted the altar. The clan can't carry that shame. Better one son dies than the whole house falls."

The words hit harder than any punch. Ethan felt his chest cave in. "You'd kill me? Your own blood? Over this?"

"I have no son who summons abominations," Harlan said flatly. "Kill him quick. Make it clean."

The first guard lunged. Ethan dodged, barely, the blade whistling past his ear.

"Stop!" Ethan shouted, voice breaking. "Dad, please! Look at me! I'm still me! I didn't mean for this!"

The creature Umbra roared again behind him, but the guards didn't care. They came at him together now, faces set like men doing dirty work.

"Stand still, boy," the captain growled. "Don't make this harder. Your father gave the word."

"Harder?" Ethan laughed, a wild, terrified sound. "You're trying to murder me and you want easy?"

He grabbed a fallen banner pole, swinging it wildly. It cracked against one guard's arm with a sickening thud. The man cursed and dropped his sword.

"Traitor!" the injured guard spat. "You're a stain on the family name. We're cleaning it up!"

Ethan swung again, breathing hard. "A stain? I was going to be your champion! I trained every day for this!"

Harlan watched from the altar steps, arms crossed. "Enough talk. End it."

Another guard tackled Ethan from the side. They crashed to the stone together. Fists flew. Ethan tasted blood in his mouth as a punch split his lip.

"Get off me!" he screamed, kneeing the man in the gut. "I won't die for this! Not like some dog!"

The crowd had turned into a storm of voices.

"Kill the tainted one!"

"Protect the clan!"

"Don't let it spread!"

Ethan shoved the guard off and scrambled up, legs shaking. His eyes met his father's one last time. The man who'd taught him sword forms at dawn, who'd clapped him on the back after every victory. That man was gone.

"You heartless bastard," Ethan whispered, tears cutting through the dirt on his face. "I loved you."

Harlan didn't flinch. "Love is for poets. Honor keeps us alive."

Ethan ran.

He bolted down the altar steps, dodging hands that reached for him. Someone in the crowd tried to trip him and he stomped their fingers without slowing. Shouts chased him through the square.

"There he goes!"

"After him!"

"Shoot him if he reaches the edge!"

His lungs burned as he sprinted toward the old district where the sewers emptied. Boots pounded behind him. An arrow zipped past his head and shattered on the wall.

"Stop running, Ethan!" the captain shouted, voice carrying over the chaos. "Your father wants this over fast! Don't make us hunt you like an animal!"

Ethan didn't answer. He couldn't. His throat was too tight with rage and terror. He skidded around a corner, nearly colliding with a fruit cart. The owner yelled something he didn't hear.

Another arrow. This one grazed his shoulder, burning like fire. He gasped but kept moving.

"Why won't you just die?" one guard panted, closer now. "Save us all the trouble!"

"Because I want to live!" Ethan roared back, voice raw. "Even if he doesn't want me to!"

The sewer grate was just ahead, half-hidden behind broken crates. He'd played here as a kid, exploring the dark tunnels when his father wasn't watching. Never thought he'd need them to survive.

He wrenched the grate up, muscles screaming. Footsteps thundered closer.

"Down there!" someone yelled. "He's going for the sewers!"

Ethan dropped into the darkness without looking back. Cold, filthy water splashed around his ankles. The smell hit him like a wall but he didn't care. He started running again, splashing through the narrow tunnel.

Above, he heard his father's voice echo down, amplified by the stone.

"Shoot him on sight! Bring me his head if you have to! No one shelters the boy! He is no longer my son!"

The words bounced off the walls, following Ethan deeper into the dark. He kept running, tears streaming, chest heaving with sobs he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Father..." he whispered to the empty tunnel, voice small and broken. "What did I do to deserve this?"

His foot slipped on something slimy and he caught himself against the slick wall. Pain flared in his wounded shoulder. Behind him, distant shouts said the guards were coming down too.

Ethan clenched his jaw and pushed forward into the blackness, the sound of his father's final order still ringing in his ears like a death sentence that wouldn't end.

He was alone now. Completely, terrifyingly alone.

And the nightmare he'd summoned might be the only thing left that didn't want him dead.