Episode : 3

The Weight of Silence

The world outside had never felt so bright.

Kael stumbled through the collapsing Gate, the violet light dissolving behind him. The sudden rush of sunlight stung his eyes, and for a heartbeat, he just stood there, breathing in the air like a man reborn.

But the silence struck him first.

The raid had entered the dungeon with twelve Wardens. Only he remained.

The Association’s observers—clerks and healers stationed near the Gate—rushed toward him, confusion and horror etched on their faces.

“W-where are the others?” one demanded.

Kael opened his mouth but no words came. Images flashed behind his eyes—the throne of shadows, the burning gaze, his comrades’ bodies crumbling to ash. His throat tightened.

“They’re… gone,” he finally whispered. “All of them.”

The crowd erupted. Some gasped in disbelief, others shouted accusations. A few healers ran toward the Gate, but it had already dissolved into nothingness, leaving no trace.

Gone. Just like the dead.

A man in a gray uniform pushed forward—an Association inspector, clipboard in hand, face pinched with suspicion. “You expect us to believe that only you survived?” His eyes flicked over Kael’s ragged armor, the faint runes still glowing along his forearm. “Explain.”

Kael’s mouth went dry. He couldn’t tell them. Couldn’t admit that he had bound a shadow, that something monstrous now whispered in the back of his mind. If the Association knew, they’d lock him in chains or worse.

“I… I don’t know,” Kael said, forcing his voice steady. “The chamber… it collapsed. The others didn’t make it out.”

The inspector narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He scribbled furiously on his board.

Behind Kael, his shadow shifted. He froze, heart hammering. The goblin—his first summoned shadow—crouched low, its body hidden in the darkness at his heels. None of the others seemed to notice, their focus consumed by the disaster.

Kael tugged his cloak tighter around himself, praying no one would see.

Hours later, he sat alone in the back of an Association transport, the city skyline rising in the distance. Towers of steel stretched toward the fractured sky, their tips crowned with runes meant to repel stray Gates. Between them, giant holographic screens broadcast news of the latest raids, victories, and casualties.

His reflection in the window stared back at him: tired eyes, pale skin, streaks of blood across his cheek. But the faint glow in his irises betrayed something new. Something inhuman.

Lyra’s face flashed in his mind. Her fragile smile, her voice soft even in sickness. You’ll come home, won’t you, Kael?

He clenched his fist. Whatever this power was, he would use it—for her. Even if it cursed him.

The Association headquarters was chaos when he arrived. Reporters swarmed, hurling questions.

“Why did only one survive?”

“Was it sabotage?”

“Did the Association cover up a failed raid?”

Guards shoved them back, clearing a path. Kael walked with his head down, shadows curling faintly at his feet.

Inside, he was ushered into a cold office where the inspector from before sat waiting. The man folded his hands.

“You understand how this looks,” he said. “Eleven Wardens dead. You alive. No witnesses.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “I told you the truth.”

The inspector studied him for a long moment. Then, with a sigh, he tapped his pen. “We’ll keep you under observation. You’ll receive temporary suspension from raids until our investigation concludes.”

Suspension. That meant no income. No dungeon pay. No money for Lyra’s treatment.

Kael’s stomach turned cold.

The inspector continued, voice flat: “You’re free to go. But if we find evidence of foul play…” His eyes hardened. “Pray that we don’t.”

Kael stepped out of the office, the weight of the world pressing on his shoulders. Hunters passed him in the halls—some casting pitying looks, others glaring with suspicion.

In the shadow at his feet, the goblin shifted again, invisible to all but him.

Kael swallowed. His secret was too dangerous. If anyone discovered it, he’d be branded a monster.

Yet as he walked out into the neon-lit streets of the city, another thought echoed in his mind, unshakable.

If this is what it takes to survive… then let them fear me.

His shadow stretched longer than the lamplight should allow, curling like a beast hungry for blood.

Kael Ardyn—the Forgotten Warden—had stepped into darkness.

And the world would soon remember his name.

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