The walls of the ruin shuddered as the crystal sphere splintered into dust, its faint glow vanishing into the shadows. Kael knelt on the cracked stone floor, breathing heavily as fragments of the vision still burned behind his eyes. His heart thundered with a fear he didn't want to admit.
Liora hovered close, her expression a mix of worry and frustration. "A curse? A warning? What does that even mean?"
Kael forced himself to his feet, gripping Eidolon like a lifeline. "It means the past isn't done with us. The Forgotten Court died, but its shadows didn't. Someone—or something—is bringing it back."
"And you think it's tied to the Rift?"
He nodded, his gaze hard. "It has to be. The Rift feeds on broken time, fragmented memories… The Forgotten Court's fall was one of the greatest fractures in history. If it's awakening, it's because something is making it."
Liora glanced back toward the entrance, her unease palpable. "Then we should leave. Now."
They moved quickly, the ruin's oppressive weight growing heavier with every step. As they approached the exit, Kael felt the air shift—cold, sharp, like the edge of a blade pressing against his thoughts.
A voice echoed from the shadows, soft as silk and filled with malice. "Did you truly think you could enter this place without consequence, Keeper?"
Kael spun, Eidolon flashing in his hand. His eyes narrowed as a figure emerged from the darkness. Cloaked in flowing crimson, its face obscured by a mask carved in the likeness of a weeping king, the figure moved with unnatural grace.
"The Covenant," Kael growled.
The masked figure inclined its head. "The Covenant remembers what the world has chosen to forget. We watch. We wait. And now, we act."
"What do you want?"
"Not what you think, Kael Ardyn," the figure whispered. "You walk a path already written. The blade you carry hungers for the truth, but truth is a burden few survive. Will you?"
Kael's grip on Eidolon tightened. "Try me."
The figure chuckled softly. "Bold, as all who fall are." It raised a hand, and the shadows behind it writhed, forming into a monstrous shape—a towering figure with skeletal limbs and eyes that burned like twin suns.
Liora gasped, stepping back instinctively. "Kael—"
"Stay behind me." His voice was iron.
The creature lunged. Kael met it head-on, Eidolon flaring with light. Shadows and flame clashed in a torrent of power, and the ground beneath them cracked with the force of their battle. Each strike sent memories screaming through Kael's mind—faces he didn't know, lives he hadn't lived, all falling to ruin.
The creature's claws raked the air, inches from his throat. Kael ducked and drove Eidolon upward, the blade slicing through dark flesh. It howled, reeling back, but its form didn't dissipate.
"It's not enough!" Liora cried.
Kael's eyes blazed with fury. "Then help me!"
Her hands trembled as she summoned the power within her, silver light crackling at her fingertips. She focused, aiming not at the creature but at the place where the masked figure stood. Her attack struck true, shattering the illusion and revealing… nothing.
The masked figure was gone.
The creature faltered, its form losing cohesion. Kael seized the moment, driving Eidolon deep into its core. The runes burned brighter than ever before, consuming the shadow from within.
With a final, piercing shriek, the creature collapsed into ash.
Silence fell.
Kael stood, breathing hard, his eyes scanning the ruins for any sign of movement. "It was playing with us. Testing us."
Liora clenched her fists. "And now it knows what we can do."
He sheathed Eidolon with a grim expression. "Then we need to be faster. Stronger. The Covenant isn't just watching anymore. It's moving pieces on the board."
"And we're the pawns?"
"No." He met her gaze. "We're the ones who break the board."