Shadows of the Past

The night air was thick with tension, the distant ruins of Veldrath barely visible against the horizon. Kael steadied his breathing, his heart still racing from the escape. Selene stood beside him, her expression unreadable as she studied the forest around them.

Kael finally broke the silence. “You said we need to find the one who brought me back. Do you know who it is?”

Selene hesitated. “Not exactly. But I know where to start.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. Another mystery. Another unanswered question. “Then let’s move.”

They navigated through the dense undergrowth, the forest eerily quiet. No insects, no rustling leaves—just an unnatural stillness. Kael’s instincts screamed at him. Something wasn’t right.

Then he heard it. A whisper, faint yet chilling, like voices carried by the wind.

Selene stiffened. “They’re here.”

Kael reached for his dagger. “The Keepers?”

“No.” Her eyes darkened. “Worse.”

The shadows between the trees thickened, twisting unnaturally. Then, shapes emerged—figures draped in tattered cloaks, their faces obscured by darkness.

Kael’s grip tightened on his weapon. “What are they?”

Selene’s voice was low. “The Forsaken.”

The name stirred something deep within Kael’s fragmented memory. He had heard of them before—beings lost between life and death, cursed to wander the void between time. Servants of the Keepers, but more than that… enforcers of fate.

One of the Forsaken stepped forward, its hollow voice sending a chill down Kael’s spine. “You should not exist.”

Kael smirked despite the weight of the moment. “Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

The Forsaken raised a skeletal hand, and the air itself seemed to freeze. A pulse of energy surged toward Kael, but he dodged just in time. The tree behind him withered instantly, its life drained away in an instant.

Selene moved swiftly, drawing a pair of curved daggers. “We can’t fight them here. We run.”

Kael cursed but followed her lead. They weaved through the trees, the Forsaken gliding effortlessly behind them. The forest itself seemed to warp in their presence, the paths shifting, twisting, as if reality itself bent to their will.

A cliff’s edge came into view ahead. Below, a river raged, its waters blackened by the night.

Selene turned to Kael, urgency in her voice. “Jump.”

Kael glanced back. The Forsaken were closing in, their whispers growing louder.

No choice.

With a deep breath, he leaped.

The cold water swallowed him whole, pulling him into its depths. The river’s current was relentless, dragging him beneath the surface. Kael fought to swim, but the weight of his cloak and armor slowed him. Darkness pressed in, his lungs burning for air.

A hand grabbed his wrist. Selene. Even in the chaos, she had found him.

She pulled him upward, and together they broke through the surface, gasping for breath. The river carried them swiftly, the moonlight barely breaking through the mist that clung to the water.

Kael coughed, struggling to keep afloat. “Where… does this lead?”

Selene glanced ahead, her expression grim. “Somewhere we might not survive.”

The river bent sharply, and Kael barely had time to react before they were pulled into the unknown.

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