The past does not sleep beneath the earth. It waits.
It watches.
And when the right souls arrive, it awakens.
---
The Road to the Ruins
Kaelen's legs ached from hours in the saddle, but he did not slow. Neither did Lirien. The forest had long since given way to rocky terrain, the ground uneven beneath their horses' hooves.
The stars above flickered like dying embers, their light barely touching the land beneath the Black Sun's shadow.
Lirien had not spoken in nearly an hour. Her gaze remained fixed ahead, her expression unreadable.
Kaelen finally broke the silence. "These ruins," he said. "You're certain they'll hide us?"
Lirien did not answer immediately. When she did, her voice was quieter than before. "They were once a temple," she said. "A place of power, before the world forgot it."
Kaelen frowned. "And what happened to it?"
Lirien's fingers tightened around the reins. "It was abandoned."
Kaelen studied her. "You don't believe that."
She did not answer.
The wind howled through the cliffs, and Kaelen felt the unease settle in his bones.
The ruins lay ahead.
And something within them was waiting.
---
The Watcher in the Dark
Not far behind, the Hunter knelt at the edge of the forest. Its fingers, long and clawed, brushed the dirt.
It could feel their presence.
The scent of magic lingered in the air, carried by the wind.
They were close.
The High Priest had commanded their capture—or their death. The Hunter did not care which.
It stood, shifting between shadow and form, and began to move.
The hunt was nearly over.
---
The Ruins of Caer Lysara
The ruins emerged from the mist like jagged bones, towering over the cliffs. Ancient stone columns stood cracked and broken, their inscriptions worn away by time. The remains of a great temple loomed in the center, half-collapsed, its entrance shrouded in shadow.
Kaelen dismounted, his eyes scanning the ruins. "Charming place."
Lirien ignored him. She knelt, placing a hand against the cold stone of the temple's entrance. A faint pulse of energy vibrated beneath her fingers—weak, but still there.
"It's still alive," she murmured.
Kaelen stepped forward. "Alive?"
Lirien rose. "Magic never truly dies. It lingers. And sometimes, it remembers."
Kaelen exhaled. He did not like the sound of that.
They stepped inside.
The air was thick with dust, the scent of old parchment and forgotten prayers. Faint carvings lined the walls—depictions of stars, of a black sun rising above a kneeling people.
Kaelen's stomach twisted. "This… this temple belonged to them, didn't it?"
Lirien nodded. "The first ones to worship the Black Sun. The ones who tried to control it."
Kaelen exhaled. "And what happened to them?"
Lirien turned to him, her eyes dark.
"They were consumed."
---
The Hunter Arrives
Outside, the wind shifted.
A shadow moved through the ruins, its form barely solid, flickering between this world and something beyond.
The Hunter had arrived.
It did not hesitate. It did not wait.
It stepped forward.
And the ruins reacted.
The old stones trembled. A deep, guttural sound echoed through the temple, as if something long buried had stirred.
The Hunter paused.
It had not expected this.
And neither had the thing that had awakened.
---
The Whispering Dark
Deep beneath the temple, something stirred.
A whisper—soft, broken, desperate.
Not words. Not yet.
But soon.
It had been waiting.
And now, it was not alone.
---
A Choice in the Shadows
Kaelen felt it before he saw it.
The air in the temple shifted—became thicker, darker. A slow hum filled his ears, like a distant voice calling through water.
Then he saw Lirien's expression.
She had gone pale. Her lips parted slightly, her breathing uneven.
"Lirien?" Kaelen stepped closer.
She did not answer.
Instead, she raised a trembling hand to the wall.
The carvings were moving.
The black sun in the stone twisted and shifted, the kneeling figures beneath it writhing as if they were still alive. Shadows crawled along the temple walls, stretching toward them.
Then, in the silence, a voice—soft, cold, ancient—whispered.
"You should not have come."
Kaelen's blood ran cold.
Lirien staggered back, her eyes wide. "It's awake."
Kaelen turned sharply toward the entrance. "We need to leave. Now."
But as they turned, the shadows at the temple entrance deepened.
And from them, the Hunter stepped forward.
Kaelen drew his sword.
Lirien whispered a curse.
The chase was over.
Now, they would fight.
---
Threads of Fate
Kaelen and Lirien uncover the ruins of Caer Lysara—once a temple to the Black Sun's worshippers. But something ancient is still there. Watching. Whispering.
The Hunter arrives, prepared to finish the hunt. But even it is not prepared for what the ruins hold.
Something beneath the temple stirs—a presence that has not spoken in centuries.
The past is awakening.
And the war for the Black Sun has truly begun.