The air in Limbo had never felt stiller. After Kael's sudden appearance and disappearance, Sera found herself unable to shake his lingering presence. There was something unnerving about him, something beyond the cryptic smiles and unsettling charisma. It was the way the shadows seemed to bend to him, like they were his to command. Even Damian, with all his control over Limbo, had shown an unusual level of caution around Kael. That alone was enough to leave her on edge.
Sera sat beside a twisted stone pillar, her mind churning with questions. "Who is Kael, really?" she whispered to herself.
The shadows didn't respond. But just as she was settling into the silence, Damian reappeared from the thick fog, his expression as unreadable as ever.
"We're leaving," he said abruptly, his voice carrying an edge of tension.
Sera stood up, frowning. "Where are we going?"
"To Thalios," Damian answered. "Kael's presence is never random. He was here for a reason."
"Thalios?" Sera repeated, her brow furrowing. "What's that?"
Damian glanced at her briefly before turning his gaze toward the distance. "The Ruins of Thalios. A place long forgotten by most souls in Limbo, but Kael… he's always drawn to it."
Something in his tone sent a shiver down Sera's spine. She knew by now that when Damian avoided explaining something in detail, it meant danger.
"And what is Thalios?" she pressed, following him as he began walking.
"It was once a stronghold," Damian said, his voice tight. "A place where souls would gather, hoping to find peace. But something happened there—something dark. Now, only the restless souls linger, and the shadows are thick with memories of the past."
Sera swallowed hard. Every step they took seemed to drag them deeper into the unknown, and she couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. But she had no choice. Whatever Kael had planned, it was tied to this place, and the only way to understand him was to follow.
As they walked, the landscape around them began to change. The barren wasteland gave way to crumbling structures, ancient walls that had long since decayed into rubble. The air grew heavier, thick with the weight of memories that weren't her own. Every stone seemed to hum with the echo of lost souls, whispering fragments of forgotten lives.
They reached the heart of the ruins—an open courtyard surrounded by towering pillars, each one cracked and blackened with time. In the center, a large stone archway stood half-collapsed, the remnants of what might have once been a grand entrance to another world. And standing before it, bathed in the eerie glow of Limbo's dim light, was Kael.
He turned toward them, his ever-present smile curling on his lips. "Ah, Damian. Sera. You're right on time."
Damian's eyes narrowed, his posture tense. "What are you doing here, Kael?"
Kael spread his arms wide, as if welcoming them to his personal kingdom. "Just wandering, as I always do." His eyes flicked to Sera, glowing faintly beneath the hood of his cloak. "But Thalios is special, isn't it? It holds so many secrets… so much power."
Sera stepped closer to Damian, instinctively feeling the need to stay within his reach. "Why do you care about this place, Kael?"
Kael's smile didn't falter, but there was something darker behind his eyes now. "Thalios was the last bastion of hope for many souls. They came here seeking redemption, hoping to escape Limbo's grasp. But it failed. The corruption took root, and now the ruins are all that remain." He stepped toward the stone archway, his fingers brushing against the ancient stone. "But not everything here is dead."
Sera's heart raced as she followed his gaze to the archway. Something about it felt… wrong. The air around it seemed to ripple, distorting the space like a mirage. "What's behind that archway?" she asked quietly.
Kael's eyes gleamed. "That, my dear, is the question. Thalios may be in ruins, but its power lingers. And I suspect that power is why Damian is so keen to keep me away from it."
Damian's jaw tightened, and Sera could feel the tension radiating from him. "You're playing a dangerous game, Kael. Thalios is not yours to claim."
Kael chuckled softly. "And yet here I am. Unscathed. Unbothered by the shadows that linger here. Why is that, Damian? Why does Thalios welcome me?"
Sera looked between them, the weight of their words pressing down on her. Kael wasn't just wandering—he was searching for something. Something tied to Thalios, and whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Damian stepped forward, his voice cold. "Thalios is cursed. Whatever power you think it holds, it will destroy you."
"Perhaps," Kael mused, turning his gaze back to the archway. "Or perhaps it will free me."
Sera's breath caught. "Free you from what?"
Kael's smile returned, but this time it didn't reach his eyes. "From Limbo, of course. From the shackles that bind us all." His fingers brushed the stone again, and the archway seemed to pulse, the air around it warping even more.
Damian's hand shot out, grabbing Sera by the arm and pulling her back. "Get away from him," he ordered.
Kael's laughter echoed through the ruins, dark and unsettling. "Come now, Damian. I'm not the enemy here. I'm just trying to find my way out, same as you."
"You're lying," Damian spat. "Thalios isn't a gateway. It's a trap."
Kael's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "Then why don't we test that theory?"
Before either of them could react, Kael stepped through the archway, disappearing into the distortion. The air around the arch shimmered violently, and the ground beneath them trembled as if the ruins themselves were coming to life.
Sera's heart pounded in her chest. "What just happened?"
Damian's expression was grim. "He's opened something he was never meant to touch. If we don't stop him, Thalios will collapse, and whatever power he's unleashed will consume everything in its path."
Sera's blood ran cold. "Then what do we do?"
Damian's eyes flickered with determination. "We go after him. And we stop him before it's too late."