---
The road was ancient.
Worn down by time, blood, and forgotten wars.
Kael followed it under cloudy sky half dimmed with ash.
His mantle, worn by his haste, adhered to the healthy surface which he had spared the fiery contact of the Divine.
Every step was painful.
His Crimson Heart smouldered… reluctantly,-not overworked, but held back.
For days the fight had occurred.
And still…
He couldn't forget the name.
> "Kael Vire…"
---
He had never spoken it aloud.
Had never written it.
And yet the inquisitor said it with certainty… as if it were carved into some divine ledger.
Kael kicked a stone aside, fangs clenched.
> "Why would they name me before trying to kill me?"
---
That's when he saw it.
The crossroads.
A crumbled shrine sat in the center.
A rusted sword stabbed into its base - once holy, now blackened and broken.
But it wasn't the shrine that made him stop.
It was the figure standing before it.
Wrapped in gray robes.
Masked. Still as stone.
No heartbeat. No aura.
Yet Kael knew… the figure saw him.
The book flared in warning.
> [Unknown Entity Detected]
▸ Designation: Phantom-Class Bloodbound
▸ Power Level: Unmeasurable
▸ Behavior: Non-hostile… for now
---
Kael reached for his blade.
The figure raised a gloved hand.
> "I would not draw steel, Progenitor."
"Your heart burns… but it is not ready."
---
The voice was genderless. A whisper. A breath. A memory.
> "Who are you?" Kael growled.
> "A shadow from the old world."
"One who served the throne you have forgotten."
---
Kael froze.
> "What throne?"
---
The phantom tilted its head.
> "You ask the right question… too early."
---
The shrine pulsed.
Kael stepped back, instincts bracing for a trap.
But the figure didn't move toward him. It stepped aside.
> "At the next blood moon, travel north."
"There, your past waits to bleed again."
---
Kael opened his mouth to speak - to demand more.
But the figure dissolved into smoke.
And where they had stood…
The shrine had changed.
The rusted sword now burned faintly red.
And carved into its stone base:
> VIRE
---
End of Chapter 15
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/> Lore Fragment – Chronicle of the Throne-Bound
"Not every one serving the blood does so faithfully. Some are sworn by covenants even older than the world, some of times long since shaken off or swept away for even thrones were not the rulers of kingdoms at that time, not even kingdoms, but destiny itself. To call back, to make awake All who are still upon its knee."
---