Shadows of the Forgotten

The ruins of Veldrath loomed around Kael like silent sentinels of a lost era. Selene’s words echoed in his mind—the past was rewritten. If that were true, then his entire existence was a lie. Someone had erased him, stripped him of his past, and cast him into the unknown. But why?

He clenched his fists, his breath steady despite the storm raging within him. “How do I undo it?”

Selene watched him carefully. “You can’t simply reclaim what was taken. Time does not heal—it buries. If you dig too deep, you may not like what you find.”

Kael took a step closer. “I don’t fear the truth.”

A flicker of something—perhaps pity—crossed Selene’s gaze before she nodded. “Then you must follow the path where time first fractured.” She turned toward a collapsed archway, its surface still humming with ancient energy. “Beyond this point lies the remnants of a forbidden chamber. The Keepers of Time once gathered there, and it is said that their last echoes still linger.”

Kael didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward, the ground shifting beneath him as if the ruins themselves were testing his resolve. A strange sensation washed over him, like stepping through an unseen veil. The air grew denser, colder, and a dull hum vibrated in his skull.

Then, he heard it.

Whispers.

Not the howling wind, nor the distant calls of the forest—these voices were inside the ruins. They murmured in a language he didn’t recognize, yet somehow understood. Words of warning. Of loss. Of betrayal.

Selene placed a hand on the stone wall, her voice barely above a whisper. “They remember.”

Kael felt his chest tighten. He reached out, fingers grazing the ancient carvings. The moment he touched them, the world around him shifted.

A vision erupted in his mind—

Torches burned brightly in a grand hall, their flames casting long shadows across the stone. Hooded figures stood in a circle, their voices rising in a solemn chant. At the center, a man knelt, bound in chains of silver. His face—Kael’s face—was bruised, his eyes filled with defiance.

“You have defied the sacred order,” a deep voice declared. “For this crime, your name shall be erased from time itself.”

Kael tried to speak, to plead or fight, but the chains tightened. A searing pain shot through him as an ethereal blade was plunged into his chest. Darkness swallowed him whole.

The vision shattered. Kael gasped, stumbling backward as reality came rushing back. The ruins stood silent once more, but the weight of the past pressed heavily upon him.

Selene’s voice was distant, yet urgent. “What did you see?”

Kael’s hands trembled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “I was there,” he whispered. “They erased me. But why?”

Selene’s gaze darkened. “Because you were never meant to return.”

Kael exhaled, steadying himself. Then I will find those who did this… and make them remember.

The whispers of the past had awakened something within him. And now, there was no turning back.

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