The ruins of Ashmoor were quiet — too quiet.
Kael stepped carefully through the ancient vault corridor, torch in one hand, his sword in the other. The air was thick with dust and the stench of old blood. Every inch of stone here whispered of something that should've stayed buried.
"The Obsidian Vault," he muttered. "This is where he hid it…"
He had found the remnants of his father's secret journal — pages torn, half-burned, scrawled with warnings:"Never awaken what sleeps beneath the vault."
But Kael wasn't here for safety. He was here for truth. For answers. For power.
As he passed beneath a collapsed archway, the temperature dropped.Then he heard it — a growl.
Low. Wet. Ancient.
From the shadows, it crawled out: a massive beast, its body made of twisted bones, old armor, and blackened flesh. Its face was a skull of a forgotten warrior, fused with something not human. Glowing eyes locked onto Kael, dripping with hunger.
"What the hell is that..."
The beast leapt.
Kael barely dodged, his sword clashing against the monster's bone-claws. Sparks flew. The impact sent him crashing into a pillar.
Blood from his lip dripped onto the floor — and the shadows responded.
From his back, dark tendrils lashed out, wrapping around the beast mid-air, slamming it to the ground.
"What the—" Kael froze.The shadows weren't following his commands — they were acting on their own.
The beast shrieked, broke free, and charged again. Kael rolled to the side, striking its leg — a clean cut, but the wound didn't bleed. It laughed.
"You can't kill what's already dead..." a voice echoed, not from the beast, but from within Kael's own head.
Meanwhile... high above, on a ruined balcony
Lyra crouched, cloaked in black, her dual daggers sheathed, observing every movement below.
"That's him," she whispered. "Ten years later... still alive."
She couldn't believe it.Kael Raventhorn.Alive. Fighting. And wielding something dark — something not of this world.
But something else caught her attention:The way the shadows moved around him.
"He's not just reborn. He's cursed."
She could see his struggle — his pain, his confusion, his power spiraling.And for the first time in years, her fingers hesitated to draw blood.
"Finish the job," she reminded herself."He's a threat. Nothing more."
Yet still, she didn't move.
Back in the vault...
Kael screamed as the beast pinned him, jaws snapping inches from his face.The shadows inside him burst out, not in defense, but in rage.
"You want control?" he snarled."Then take it!"
The chamber went dark.
A shockwave of shadow erupted, throwing the beast across the room. Kael rose, glowing like a being forged in darkness — his eyes violet fire, his veins burning with cursed magic.
He walked toward the beast slowly.
"You were guarding something... weren't you?"
The beast growled weakly. Behind it, a hidden altar — once concealed — was now glowing faintly.
Kael extended his hand, the last threads of shadow slicing the monster's neck. It crumbled into ash.
Kael limped to the altar. On it lay a black crystal, cracked, but pulsing.
"Godshard Fragment," he breathed. "The first one..."
He reached out, and as his fingers touched it, visions flooded his mind — war, fire, gods falling from the sky... and at the center of it all, a man who looked exactly like him, but wasn't him.
"Who are you...?"
Back on the ledge... Lyra's POV
She gritted her teeth.
"He's not a prince anymore. He's something else. Something dangerous."
But even now, with a perfect shot, she didn't move.
"He's collecting Godshards…" she whispered. "If he succeeds… he could destroy kingdoms."
She turned to leave — the wind catching her cloak.
"I'll kill him...""But not today."
Far away... in the royal palace
Lord Thorne stood before a mirror.
He smiled faintly as a raven landed on the windowsill — with a scroll tied to its leg.
He opened it.
A single message:
"The prince lives."
Thorne's smile faded.His hand crushed the scroll.
"So… the game begins again."