Echoes of the Damned

Chapter 5: Echoes of the Damned

The ruins of Veldrath seemed darker now, as if the vision had drained the very light from the air. Kael’s breath came slow and measured, but inside, rage and confusion churned like a violent storm. He had seen it—the betrayal, the punishment. His past had been stolen from him, not by fate, but by those who once stood as his allies.

Selene watched him closely. “You saw something, didn’t you?”

Kael nodded, his jaw tight. “I was there. They erased me… but I still don’t know why.”

Selene’s expression was unreadable. “Some memories are best left buried, Kael.”

He met her gaze, sharp and unyielding. “Not for me. I won’t stop until I know everything.”

Selene sighed and turned away. “Then there is one last place in these ruins you must see.”

She led him through a crumbling corridor, the walls lined with faded symbols. Some glowed faintly, pulsing like dying embers. They reached a vast chamber, its ceiling shattered, allowing streaks of pale sunlight to cast eerie patterns across the floor. At the center stood a pedestal, cracked and worn, yet still pulsing with strange energy.

Kael approached it cautiously. “What is this place?”

“The Hall of Reflections,” Selene murmured. “A fragment of the past remains here, locked in time. If you open yourself to it, you may glimpse more of what was taken from you.”

Kael hesitated. Every vision so far had only deepened the mystery, showing him pain but no answers. Still, he had come too far to turn back now. He reached out, pressing his palm against the pedestal.

The world twisted.

Darkness engulfed him, then light exploded in his mind.

He stood in the same chamber, but it was whole, untouched by time. The torches burned with blue fire, illuminating figures cloaked in black. A man stood before them—Kael’s past self. His face was set in grim determination.

“You think you can defy the order?” a hooded figure demanded.

Kael’s past self sneered. “The Keepers of Time are cowards. You claim to protect history, but you do nothing but chain it.”

A murmur ran through the gathered figures. The air grew thick with tension.

“You do not understand the consequences,” the figure warned.

Kael stepped forward. “I understand them better than you. Time is not meant to be controlled—it is meant to be lived.”

The vision shattered. Kael gasped, stumbling backward, his pulse pounding. The chamber around him was silent once more.

Selene stepped closer, her voice careful. “What did you see?”

Kael clenched his fists. “I defied them.” He exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t just erased. I was punished… because I rebelled.”

Selene’s eyes darkened. “Then you were marked for death long before they erased you.”

Kael’s breath steadied. He had feared he was merely a victim. Now, he knew better. He was once a warrior against fate itself.

And now, he would finish what he started.

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