📖 Chronicles of the Watchers
Chapter 17: The Hunters' Arrival
The chain had steadied at last.
Kairo lay flat, chest heaving, the mark still glowing faintly through torn cloth. His body felt hollow, as if every bone had been drained of strength. Yet inside him, something still pulsed—Azariel, whispering, waiting.
Selene knelt beside him, lantern dim in her lap. Her hands hovered over his chest but did not touch. Her face was pale, unreadable.
"You shouldn't be alive after channeling that much," she murmured. "No mortal could survive it."
Kairo closed his eyes. "Maybe I'm not mortal anymore."
Silence hung.
Then Liora's boots scraped against the iron as she stood, sword braced in the links. Her expression was sharp, her voice sharper.
"You've lied to us, boy."
"I didn't—" Kairo coughed, trying to sit up. "I didn't even know what I was until—until that happened."
"Until your wings tore half the Vale apart," she snapped. "You could have told us. You could have warned us."
"I didn't ask for this!" His voice cracked. "You think I want something living inside me? You think I wanted to be a cage?"
Selene's eyes softened, but her words did not.
"It doesn't matter what you wanted. What matters is what you are. Azariel is not a name to speak lightly."
The mark burned in answer, as if agreeing. Kairo clenched his fist, jaw tight.
"So what now? Do you kill me before I lose control again?"
Liora's silence was heavier than any reply. Her blade shifted an inch, gleaming in the dim lantern glow.
And then—
A sound split the abyss.
Clang. Clang.
Metal striking metal. Steady, rhythmic, unhurried.
Selene froze. Her eyes widened. "No… no, not here."
Kairo forced himself upright, squinting into the dark. At first he saw nothing—just chains swaying, red crystals glowing faintly in the distance.
Then shapes emerged. Figures walking across another chain above them, their outlines tall and jagged, cloaked in black iron. Masks glimmered, silver and faceless, reflecting the faint light.
The sound of their weapons dragging across the links was deafening.
Liora's hand tightened on her sword.
"The Hunters of Kronas."
Selene's lantern flickered violently, reacting to their presence. Her face went pale.
"They've found us."
The Hunters stopped. As one, they turned their blank masks downward, gazes locking onto Kairo.
The chain groaned under their weight as they began their descent.
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⚡ End of Chapter 17.