The stone doors groaned open, revealing a breathtaking sight.
A vast kingdom stretched before them, bathed in twilight. Towering castles loomed in the distance, their banners tattered and forgotten. Streets, once bustling, now lay silent, the remnants of a fallen civilization. The air was thick with a strange golden mist, swirling like echoes of the past.
Kael stared, his heart pounding.
It looked so much like his homeland.
Stormreaper whistled. "Well, would you look at that? Fancy place."
Kael took a cautious step forward. The cobblestone streets were worn, ancient. He could almost hear the laughter of a long-gone people, see the ghosts of a forgotten era.
Stormreaper stretched. "Alright, dragon boy. What's the plan?"
Kael clenched his fists. "We find out what this trial is about."
As they moved deeper into the city, they noticed something strange—there were no bodies. No skeletons. No signs of battle. Just… emptiness.
Then—
A soft voice echoed through the mist.
"You shouldn't be here."
Kael and Stormreaper stopped immediately.
From the shadows of an abandoned library, a figure stepped forward.
A girl.
She was young—no older than Kael. Her long midnight-blue hair fell past her shoulders, her piercing silver eyes filled with intelligence. She wore a dark scholar's robe, marked with ancient symbols. In her right hand, she held a floating tome, pages turning by themselves.
She studied them carefully.
"...You're not like the others."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "The others?"
The girl's eyes flickered. "The ones who come here don't leave."
Stormreaper grinned. "Well, that's depressing. Who are you, book girl?"
She hesitated. Then—
"...Seren."
Kael took a step forward. "Seren, do you know what this trial is?"
Seren's expression darkened. She raised her tome, the pages glowing faintly.
"The Trial of the Forgotten Kingdom is not about strength. It is about wisdom."
Stormreaper sighed. "Ugh. Guess that means dragon boy's out."
Kael shot him a glare.
Seren ignored them. "This city holds a mystery. If you cannot solve it, you will be trapped here forever."
Kael frowned. "And if we solve it?"
Seren closed her book.
"Then you will be worthy."
The golden mist thickened. The city whispered around them.
The trial had begun.
The golden mist thickened, curling around Kael, Stormreaper, and Seren like unseen hands. The kingdom felt alive, as though it were watching them.
Kael tensed. "This place… it's unnatural."
Seren's silver eyes flickered. "It is a graveyard of memories." She motioned toward the empty streets. "No war. No plague. No corpses. An entire kingdom vanished overnight. Why?"
Stormreaper smirked. "You tell us, book girl. This your thing, right?"
Seren ignored him. She raised her hand, and her floating tome flipped its pages on its own. A faint blue glow traced ancient words, whispering secrets.
Kael watched. "Your book. It's magic?"
Seren nodded. "It records knowledge. Every place has a story, and this tome allows me to read the echoes of the past."
Stormreaper folded his arms. "Neat. So, what's it saying?"
Seren frowned. "It's… fragmented. Something is interfering." She closed the book. "We need to find the source."
Kael exhaled. "Then let's move."
The three pressed forward.
---
The Heart of the City
They arrived at the central plaza, where a massive black obelisk stood in the center. Faint runes shimmered along its surface.
Seren stepped closer. "This is the core of the kingdom's history."
Kael touched the stone. It was ice-cold.
Then—
A whisper slithered into his mind.
"We were betrayed."
Kael jerked back, eyes widening.
Seren's eyes sharpened. "You heard it too?"
Kael nodded. "A voice. It said… 'We were betrayed.'"
Stormreaper raised an eyebrow. "By who?"
Before Kael could answer—
The mist shifted.
Figures appeared—translucent shapes, flickering like dying flames. They had no faces, only shadows where their eyes should be.
A low chorus of whispers filled the air.
"The King."
"The Council."
"The Forgotten Queen."
Kael's breath caught. This trial wasn't just about solving a mystery.
It was about revealing a betrayal buried by time.
Seren turned to Kael. Her silver eyes burned.
"If we don't uncover the truth…"
The figures loomed closer.
"...we'll become part of the forgotten, too."
The mist thickened as the shadowy figures loomed closer. Their whispers clawed at Kael's mind, begging to be heard.
"Find the truth…"
"Uncover the sin…"
"Or be forgotten…"
Kael gritted his teeth. He had fought monsters, faced the Abyss, and survived the Warden's wrath—but this? This was different.
Seren, however, remained calm.
Her floating tome flipped open, pages glowing faintly. She traced a symbol in the air, and the whispers distorted, as if struggling against an unseen force.
Stormreaper leaned toward her. "Alright, book girl. Any idea what the hell we're dealing with?"
Seren's voice was steady. "A curse. This kingdom was erased from history, and these spirits are fragments of what was lost."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Then how do we break it?"
Seren glanced at the black obelisk. "We need to uncover the truth. The betrayal that led to their fate."
Kael turned back to the restless spirits. "Then let's start with the king."
At his words, the mist shifted.
The shadows twisted, forming the shape of a throne room.
---
Echoes of the Past
They were no longer in the plaza. Instead, they stood in a massive golden hall, its towering pillars stretching toward an unseen ceiling. At the far end sat a throne of obsidian and gold.
A ghostly figure sat upon it.
The King.
His face was hidden beneath a shadowed crown, but his presence weighed on the room.
Seren's tome glowed brighter. "This is an echo of the past. A memory sealed within the obelisk."
Kael stepped forward. "Then let's hear what happened."
The scene came to life.
The throne room doors burst open, and a woman strode in.
She was clad in royal robes, her presence commanding. Unlike the king, her features were clear—sharp silver eyes, long dark hair cascading down her back. A queen.
The moment Kael saw her, his chest tightened.
She reminded him of someone.
The queen's voice rang through the hall.
"You would trade our people for power?"
The king's voice was heavy. Cold.
"It is the only way."
The queen shook her head. "You have doomed us all."
The king raised his hand—
And black flames erupted around the throne.
Kael's eyes widened. He knew that power.
The queen turned to leave. Her final words echoed like a prophecy.
"Then we will be forgotten."
The memory shattered.
The golden hall dissolved, and Kael, Seren, and Stormreaper were back in the plaza.
Seren's expression darkened. "That was it. The moment that sealed this kingdom's fate."
Stormreaper let out a low whistle. "So, the king sold out his own people. Classic."
Kael's fists clenched. Why did the queen seem so familiar?
Seren's tome flipped to another page. "There's still more to uncover. We need to find out what happened to the queen after this."
The mist swirled once more, revealing a new path.
A massive cathedral loomed in the distance, its doors creaking open.
Kael exhaled.
"The truth is waiting for us inside."
They pressed forward, unaware that something else was watching them from the shadows.
---