The last remnants of the battle dissipated into the thick, unnatural mist surrounding the ruins. Adrian stood amidst the debris, his chest rising and falling with the weight of what he had just done. The bodies of the shadow creatures he had vanquished had dissolved into nothingness, leaving behind only the eerie silence of the forsaken city.
The silver-haired woman stepped forward, her piercing violet eyes studying him with curiosity. "You have begun to awaken."
Adrian's hands still crackled with lingering energy. His mind screamed for answers, yet all he could do was stare at his trembling fingers. "What was that? I didn't mean to do it... I just-"
She raised a hand to silence him. "Your power is instinctual. You have used it before, even if you do not remember."
Adrian clenched his jaw. "I don't understand any of this. Who are you? What is this place?"
She sighed, her expression darkening. "I am Selene, last guardian of the Shadowborn. This," she gestured to the ruined city around them, "is Valmorra, the capital of your lost kingdom."
"My... kingdom?" Adrian whispered, feeling as though the ground beneath him had vanished.
Selene nodded solemnly. "You were its ruler, before the fall. Before the betrayal."
Adrian shook his head, his mind refusing to accept what she was telling him. "No. That's impossible. I was just a regular guy. I-"
Selene's gaze sharpened. "Are you? Do you still believe that?"
Adrian faltered. After everything he had seen, everything he had felt, could he truly claim to be ordinary?
Selene took a step closer. "You were not merely a king. You were the strongest of our kind. The Shadowborn were once a proud and powerful people, wielders of darkness and light alike. But we were betrayed from within. You were struck down, your soul fractured, and your memories stolen."
She exhaled slowly, her voice laced with sorrow. "The usurpers feared what you could become, so they ensured you would never remember who you were."
Adrian gritted his teeth. "Then why am I here now? Why did I awaken?"
Selene's lips curved into the faintest smile. "Because fate cannot be denied forever. And because your return was always inevitable."
Adrian's heart pounded in his chest. He had spent his life feeling out of place, as though he didn't belong. Was this why? Had he been living a life that wasn't truly his?
Selene turned away and motioned for him to follow. "Come. There is still much to see."
A City of Ghosts
Adrian trailed behind Selene, his thoughts racing as they ventured deeper into the ruins. The remnants of once-great towers loomed around them, their surfaces covered in vines and glowing runes that flickered faintly. The air was thick with an otherworldly presence, as if the city itself was whispering to him.
Selene stopped before a grand structure-one still partially intact, unlike the others. Its entrance was marked with a massive crest, the same symbol that had been on the book he touched in the archives.
Adrian reached out, running his fingers over the emblem. A sudden jolt shot through him, and his vision blurred.
-
He was no longer in the ruins.
Instead, he stood in a vast, golden palace, its halls filled with people draped in flowing garments of black and silver. He recognized none of their faces, but something in his heart ached at the sight of them.
"My king."
A voice echoed behind him. Adrian turned and saw her.
A woman with long obsidian hair, her eyes the color of the midnight sky. Her expression was one of love-and sorrow. "They have come. The traitors. You must leave."
Adrian felt himself step forward, reaching for her. "Who-?"
Before he could finish, the vision shattered, and he was back in the ruins.
Selene was watching him closely. "You saw something."
Adrian rubbed his temple, his head pounding. "A woman. She was warning me about... a betrayal."
Selene exhaled softly. "Your queen."
The words struck him like lightning. "My what?"
"She was your wife. And she died protecting you."
Adrian staggered back, his breath catching in his throat. The ache in his chest intensified, a loss he had never known before now threatening to consume him.
"She was the last to stand by your side before the usurpers struck," Selene continued. "And she was the one who ensured your soul would survive-even at the cost of her own life."
Adrian's vision blurred again, but this time from rage. "Who did this?"
Selene's expression darkened. "The one who sits upon your stolen throne."
The False King
Adrian barely felt his feet move as Selene led him to the heart of the ruins. The mist thickened, and suddenly, the city fell away, revealing a colossal fortress standing untouched by time. Its spires loomed against the stormy sky, its black stone walls pulsing with an eerie energy.
Selene stopped at the edge of a shattered bridge. "Beyond those gates sits the man who betrayed you. The false king. The one who stole your power and your throne."
Adrian's fists clenched. A storm raged inside him, his memories still fragmented, but his anger very real.
Selene's gaze never wavered. "You are not yet strong enough to face him. If you march into that fortress now, you will not return."
Adrian exhaled sharply, trying to still his racing heart. "Then what do I do?"
Selene turned to face him fully. "You must reclaim the rest of your power. You must awaken fully. Only then will you be able to take back what was stolen."
Adrian closed his eyes, feeling the weight of destiny pressing down on him. He had never wanted to be a king. He had never wanted power.
But now, as he stared at the fortress that held the answers to his past, he realized that he wanted justice.
And he would not stop until he had it.
Selene placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?"
Adrian met her gaze, fire burning in his veins. "Yes."
She nodded, stepping back. "Then let us begin. Your true power awaits."
The ruins trembled, the wind howled, and the shadows of the past rose once more.
Adrian was ready.
To Be Continued...