---
The structure loomed beyond the ridge,
a fortress broken not by time, but by purposeful hands.
Vines crawled across crumbling archways.
Windows gaped like empty sockets.
The iron gate was twisted, scorched at its hinges.
Kael stood at its edge, unsure if the cold he felt came from the wind… or the memory the keep exhaled.
---
He stepped inside.
Dust scattered.
The halls were too wide for a castle… too narrow for a cathedral.
It felt more like a tomb pretending to be a palace.
Symbols were carved into the stone, most unrecognizable. But one caught his eye:
> A circle of thorns, pierced by a single fang.
It made his skin prickle.
The book vibrated slightly but refused to open.
> "Why are you hiding this from me…" he whispered.
It gave no answer.
---
In the great chamber, Kael found remnants of thrones.
Three of them.
Carved from obsidian.
Cracked.
One shattered entirely.
No banners. No names. No seals.
Only one line remained on the wall behind them, barely visible through grime and decay.
He wiped it clean.
It read:
> "Let them forget. We will not kneel."
---
Something stirred above.
Kael tensed.
He wasn't alone.
---
From the ceiling, a soft scuttling echoed, followed by a hiss.
Then another.
Then many.
Dozens of glowing red eyes flickered along the stone beams.
They dropped in silence — human-like bodies twisted with bone-stitched limbs and fanged mandibles.
Bloodspawn.
But not natural.
These had been made.
---
Kael drew his blade.
They didn't roar.
They waited.
Then one stepped forward and spoke.
> "He has returned."
Its voice was not its own.
It echoed… multiple layers behind it.
A blend of voices, as if one will was puppeting them all.
> "Blood recognizes blood. But he is… incomplete."
Kael raised his guard.
> "Who are you?"
> "We are the Watchers of the Hollow Throne."
> "You were meant to die in the forest. Not… awaken."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
> "Why do you speak like this? Why do you know me?"
> "Because your blood is not yours alone."
The Bloodspawn shuddered, then burst into flame.
One by one, the rest ignited silently, vanishing without screams, as if their presence had broken some sacred limit.
And Kael was left in silence once again.
But the words… stayed.
> "Your blood is not yours alone."
---
End of Chapter 17
---