The cavern groaned as though the earth itself resented what was clawing free from its depths. Every pillar trembled, runes sparking weakly as they struggled against the surge of dark power.
Lianna's pulse hammered in her ears. The hand—if it could be called that—was monstrous, skeletal, its surface carved with ancient runes that pulsed with chains of lightless steel. It dug into the fractured seal, each pull widening the fissure further.
Beside her, Yichen bared his teeth, every trace of his usual cockiness stripped away. "That's not a man. That's not even a god. That's something that should've stayed forgotten."
The cloaked elder—Shen—was nearly trembling with ecstasy. He had dropped his hood entirely now, revealing hollow cheeks and fever-bright eyes. "Witness, witness the ascension! Kneel before your true king!"
The shadows hissed and writhed around him, bowing low to the skeletal hand.
Lianna's throat was tight, her chest screaming for air. But the silver light still blazed faintly across her wrist, anchoring her. That mark—whatever curse or blessing it was—reacted violently to the Forgotten King's presence, not shrinking from it but flaring brighter, as if challenging the abyss itself.
Yichen nudged her shoulder. "Don't freeze up now, Lianna. If you stop moving, you're dead."
"I'm not—" She swallowed, her voice cracking, then steadied. "I'm not freezing."
---
The Forgotten King's voice filled the chamber again, low and resonant, curling like smoke around every word.
"Who… dares resist…?"
The sound scraped against bone, shuddering through muscle and marrow. Lianna bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, forcing herself to stay grounded.
Shen laughed, raising his arms as though in prayer. "My king! I have prepared your throne! These insects cannot stand before you—"
"Silence."
The word struck like a hammer. Shen's body convulsed, his mouth snapping shut mid-sentence. He collapsed to his knees, blood dripping from his nose.
The Forgotten King hadn't even touched him. Just a word, a thought, and Shen was broken.
Yichen's eyes narrowed. "So much for loyalty. He's not even a servant, he's a puppet."
Lianna glanced at Shen, watching him struggle to breathe. Her stomach twisted—not with pity, but with dread. If that was what a single word could do…
---
The skeletal hand rose higher, dragging more of its master into sight. A second hand emerged, chains snapping as the fissure widened. Then came the beginnings of a face—half-formed, as though pulled from a nightmare. Hollow sockets where eyes should be, jagged bone, a crown of rusted metal fused to its skull.
The chamber's air curdled. Torches sputtered out. The shadows roared in reverence.
Lianna's knees buckled for a split second. She fought it, planting her blade in the ground to hold herself up.
Yichen's hand steadied her shoulder. His voice was a low growl. "We don't get to back down. Not here. Not now."
Her eyes met his, and for the first time, she didn't see arrogance or mockery—only steel.
---
The King's voice rippled again. "The bloodline awakens…"
Lianna stiffened. She felt its attention fix upon her, like a predator sighting prey. Her mark blazed so fiercely it burned, silver light searing across her skin.
The Forgotten King's hollow face twisted, as though amused.
"Yes… child of the seal."
Lianna's mouth went dry. "What do you mean?"
Shen managed a broken laugh from where he knelt. "You still don't know, do you? Foolish girl. That mark on your hand—it is not a blessing. It is a chain. You were chosen, not for glory, but as the lock that binds him."
Her heart lurched. A chain? A lock?
Yichen swore violently, swinging his blade toward Shen. "Keep your lies to yourself—"
But Shen only laughed harder, blood spraying from his lips. "Strike me down, boy! It changes nothing. The moment she was wed, the chain was set. She is his prison—and his key."
Lianna staggered back, clutching her wrist. The mark burned hotter, almost blistering. Was that why the shadows recoiled from her? Not because she was chosen to fight—but because she carried a piece of his prison within her?
Her mind spun, reeling with questions, but the King's gaze pinned her in place.
"Yes… my bride of fate. Break, and the world breaks with you."
---
The fissure erupted.
Chains snapped like thunder. Shadows screamed, scattering and reforming. The skeletal frame of the Forgotten King surged upward, dragging a body half-formed of bone and mist. Every motion sent tremors through the cavern.
Yichen grabbed Lianna's arm. "Move, now!"
They dove aside as a massive chain whipped across the chamber, carving a trench into solid stone. Dust rained from the ceiling, cracks spidering through the walls.
Lianna rolled to her feet, blade clutched tight, heart slamming. The King's presence was suffocating, but her mark flared brighter every time the chains lashed out, as though resisting him.
Yichen charged, his sword glinting. He slashed at one of the chains, sparks flying as steel met ancient metal. The force knocked him back, but the chain recoiled, slowed by the strike.
"Keep hitting them!" he shouted. "Those chains are his strength!"
Lianna hesitated only a heartbeat before raising her sword. Silver light surged from her mark into the blade. She swung, releasing a crescent of radiant energy that slammed into the nearest chain.
The chain shrieked—actually shrieked—and retracted, black smoke hissing from the wound.
The King's hollow face turned toward her. For the first time, the voice cracked with something other than amusement.
"…Defiance."
Lianna's chest heaved. Sweat stung her eyes, her arm aching, but she raised her sword again. "I'm not your bride. And I'm not your key."
Yichen's grin returned, sharp and reckless. "That's the spirit."
Together, they braced as the King roared, chains lashing in all directions.
---
The battle had begun.
---
The cavern shook like the heart of a storm. Each lash of the Forgotten King's chains cracked stone, split pillars, and tore through the very air as though it were parchment. The ground heaved beneath Lianna's boots, nearly pitching her onto the jagged rocks.
Still, she held her sword firm, knuckles white. The mark on her wrist pulsed in time with her heart, searing, but no longer overwhelming her. It was… guiding her.
Beside her, Yichen gritted his teeth, blocking another chain with his blade. The impact rattled his arms down to the bone, sparks flying as the ancient steel resisted him. "We can't keep this up forever," he barked, sweat streaking down his temple. "If he pulls his whole body free, we're done."
"I know!" Lianna shouted back, slashing through another chain. Silver light burst from her blade again, weakening the attack before it struck the wall. The cavern groaned, stones tumbling in a shower of dust.
The Forgotten King roared, the sound clawing at their skulls. His voice was like centuries of graves opening, like every oath broken in the dark.
"You cannot break what was forged in eternity. My chains are your doom."
---
Shen staggered to his feet, bloodied but alive, his laughter grating even over the chaos. "Don't you see? Every strike you land, every burst of light—it feeds him! You are not breaking chains, girl—you are feeding them! The seal weakens with every clash!"
Lianna froze. Her sword trembled in her grip.
Yichen cursed, shoving her aside as another chain ripped through the air. "Don't listen to him! He's already lost!"
But Shen's words burrowed deep. Feeding him? Each burst of silver light, each flare of her mark—it had hurt the chains, but had it also loosened the seal?
Her stomach twisted. She couldn't stop now, not when the cavern was falling apart around them. But the seed of doubt took root.
---
The King's skeletal visage loomed larger, dragging more of his form through the fissure. Bone fused with shadow, an abomination taking shape. His crown scraped against the cavern's ceiling, rusted yet radiant with a sickly glow.
Lianna's chest tightened. He was rising too quickly.
Yichen leapt forward with a reckless shout, swinging his blade in a two-handed arc. Sparks flew as steel cleaved into one of the chains. The chain buckled, recoiling with a thunderous crack.
Lianna's instincts screamed. "Yichen, stop! You're only—"
Too late.
The fissure yawned wider, chains snapping like brittle glass. The King's roar rattled the air, triumphant.
Shen collapsed, weeping with ecstasy. "Yes! Yes! Rise, my King! Rise and consume them all!"
---
Lianna's hand burned, the mark flaring with desperate urgency. Her vision blurred, flooded with images not her own:
A woman centuries ago, kneeling before a chained figure.
A circle of priests, their hands glowing as they pressed the mark into her wrist.
The woman screaming, bound by silver light as the King's prison sealed shut.
Lianna's breath caught. This wasn't just a mark. It was a curse passed down, generation to generation. A bloodline chain.
Her knees nearly gave way. "I'm… I'm the seal."
The King's hollow sockets fixed on her, his grin twisting wider. "At last… she remembers."
---
Yichen grabbed her arm, shaking her. "Lianna, don't you dare fold now! Whatever this mark is, it doesn't matter! You're here, you're you, and you fight on your own terms!"
His words slammed into her like cold water. Her lungs filled again, air rushing in. She tightened her grip on her sword, forcing herself to stand tall.
"No. I won't be your seal. I won't be your key. I won't be yours at all!"
The mark flared brighter than ever before, silver chains of light bursting outward from her wrist. They whipped around the cavern, striking against the black chains of the King.
The chamber erupted in a storm of light and shadow.
---
For the first time, the Forgotten King recoiled. His chains hissed, sparks of darkness scattering. His voice cracked in fury.
"Defiant… child! You dare oppose your fate?"
Lianna's entire body screamed in pain, but she stood her ground, forcing the light outward.
Yichen shielded her, fending off the shadows that tried to break through. His blade was steady now, not reckless, his strikes syncing with her rhythm. Together, they held the tide.
Shen howled, clutching his head. "No! No! She cannot resist you! The chain is yours! She belongs to you!"
The King's voice thundered, drowning him out. "Then let her prove her defiance. Let the chain choose… bride or key."
---
The fissure pulsed violently.
The skeletal hand reared back, then slammed into the ground. Cracks spiderwebbed across the cavern floor, forming a sigil that glowed with sickly black fire. The shadows shrieked, drawn into the mark.
Lianna's light met it head-on, the clash tearing the air apart.
Her vision blurred, pain tearing at her skull. She could barely see Yichen now, only the flash of his blade in the chaos.
The King's hollow sockets burned into her soul.
"Break… or bind."
---
The cavern seemed to collapse inward. Chains of black and silver collided, shredding the ground, consuming everything in their wake. Shen's scream was lost in the roar.
Lianna's mark seared with such agony she nearly blacked out. But somewhere, through the noise, she heard Yichen's voice.
"Lianna! Don't give in! Listen to me—listen to yourself! What do you want?"
Her chest heaved, vision white with pain. What did she want? Freedom? Strength? To end this curse? To survive?
The King's voice coiled inside her skull.
"You want me."
---
The world went still.
---
❓️❓️❓️❓️❓️❓️
When the clash ends, will Lianna's mark bind her even tighter to the Forgotten King—or will her defiance shatter the bloodline curse once and for all?