Aelric's voice trembled with something far older than fear recognition. "He called himself the Hollow Seer. Said I was the key to something locked beneath the world."
Evren's heart dropped. That name… it was not one people spoke aloud. Not anymore. The Hollow Seer was a myth whispered to frighten children an omen tied to the fall of kingdoms and the madness of kings.
Kaelion turned sharply, blade raised as more of the masked figures closed in. "Evren, get him out. Now."
"No," Aelric said, his small voice firm. "If I leave… they'll follow. You don't understand this place chose me. They won't stop."
Kaelion grabbed the boy's shoulder. "You don't get to sacrifice yourself, Aelric. We decide how this ends not some ghost in a mask."
The masked figures began to chant, low and eerie, like the groaning of a dying world.
Evren held his dagger tighter. "They're summoning something."
A deep rumble shook the stone beneath their feet. Cracks splintered across the chamber floor, glowing with a hellish red light. From the rift came a fetid heat and the smell of burning flesh.
Then a hand reached out from the crack.
Not human.
Scaled, clawed, and wrapped in chains that rattled with every movement.
Kaelion stepped in front of Evren and Aelric, his eyes blazing with fury. "No more."
With a roar, he unleashed everything. Flame erupted from him like a storm, searing the masked entities. The stone walls cried out in protest, but he didn't stop. Fire devoured the mist. Ash choked the chants.
And then, silence.
Only the sound of their ragged breathing remained.
Evren moved to Kaelion's side, his eyes darting to the now-sealed crack in the ground. "You okay?"
Kaelion nodded slowly, his gaze flicking to Aelric, who looked hollow drained, as if something vital had been taken from him.
"They were coming for me," the boy whispered. "And they'll come again."
Kaelion knelt beside him. "Then next time, we'll be ready."
Evren placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're not alone, Aelric. We're in this together."
And as they left the crumbling chamber behind, none of them saw the single masked figure that remained watching from the shadows with empty eyes.
The sun had long set by the time the trio made it back to the edge of the enchanted forest. Aelric barely spoke, his small frame swaying with exhaustion, but he refused to be carried. Evren walked beside him, alert to every rustle in the dark, while Kaelion kept a hand on the hilt of his sword, his jaw a hard line.
They reached an ancient watchtower carved into the cliffs, abandoned since the last border wars.
"Inside. We rest here," Kaelion said, kicking the heavy door open.
Aelric slumped against a crumbling wall, curling in on himself like a fallen leaf. His usual playfulness had vanished, his wide eyes now wary and dimmed.
Evren sat across from him and pulled out a cloak, wrapping it gently around the boy's shoulders. "You did good today. You stayed brave."
Aelric looked at him slowly. "They said I'd open the door to something worse. That I'm not real. That I was made."
Evren frowned. "Made?"
Kaelion crouched beside them, his gaze hardening. "They were trying to poison your mind, kid."
"But… what if they weren't?" Aelric looked up, his expression cracking. "What if that's why I can hear magic when no one else does? Why I never sleep through the night?"
Evren and Kaelion exchanged a glance. It was the first time the boy had ever admitted how different he truly felt.
Kaelion exhaled slowly. "Even if that's true... you're still you, Aelric. And I don't give a damn if you were born from magic or gods or the ashes of a dying world you're one of us now."
The words hung in the air, solemn as an oath.
Aelric blinked fast. "You mean that?"
Evren gave him a small, soft smile. "You're ours to protect. No more running alone."
The moment held a fragile thread of warmth in the dark.
But outside the tower, something stirred in the forest.
Something that had followed their scent.
Something… hunting.
The air shifted.
Kaelion was the first to rise his instincts too honed to ignore the sudden stillness. His eyes narrowed as he moved to a broken window slit, scanning the darkness.
"Something's out there," he muttered.
Evren stood immediately, gripping his twin blades. "Magic?"
Kaelion shook his head. "No. Worse. Teeth and hunger."
Aelric, now half-asleep, stirred. "Wolves?"
"No," Kaelion replied, his voice grim. "Wargborn."
Evren's face paled. The Wargborn were no ordinary beasts. Cursed creatures that roamed the wild edges twice the size of a man, with crimson eyes and the cruel intelligence of soldiers twisted by dark alchemy. They hunted in silence. And they never left witnesses.
'Stay here," Kaelion ordered Aelric, pulling his sword free in a single, fluid motion.
Evren met his eyes. "We do this together."
Outside, the wind howled.
Then they heard it.
Low growls. One. Then two. Then many.
The tower shook as heavy paws pounded the earth.
Evren gritted his teeth. "We're surrounded."
Kaelion smirked darkly, his eyes glowing faintly with fury. "Good. Then none of them will escape."
He kicked the door open, stepping out into the moonlight and there they were.
Six monstrous Wargborn, their twisted limbs dripping black venom, eyes fixed on the prince and the mage with ravenous intent.
Kaelion didn't wait.
With a roar, he launched forward, steel clashing against bone and claw.
Evren moved beside him, twin blades dancing with fire, slicing through the darkness like lightning.
Inside the tower, Aelric crouched near the wall trembling, terrified- but then he heard it.
A whisper.
Soft. In his mind.
"Say the words, little flame."
His eyes widened.
And deep within him, something ancient stirred.
Outside, the battle was brutal. Kaelion's blade cleaved through fur and sinew while Evren's fire danced in wild arcs, blinding and burning, the Wargborn howled, feral and unrelenting. But inside the ruined tower, something far more dangerous was waking.
Aelric clutched his chest.
The whisper came again, clearer now.
"Say the words. Unlock what was sealed."
"I... I don't know the words," Aelric stammered, fear coursing through him.
But the truth was, he did know.
They had been with him all along carved into his soul like a forgotten melody.
He stood, trembling, and opened his mouth.
A low chant echoed from his lips, old and aching, full of sorrow and light.
Outside, the wind shifted.
Evren paused mid-swing as the air thickened with power. "Kaelion do you feel that?"
Kaelion nodded, eyes glowing faintly. "It's him."
A burst of golden fire erupted from the tower.
The Wargborn recoiled, snarling, their fur singed by the light. One turned to run, but Kaelion hurled his sword, piercing it through the skull. Another lunged at Evren, only to be incinerated mid-air by a shockwave of radiant flame.
When the light dimmed, Aelric stood in the doorway barefoot, eyes shining with magic not seen in centuries.
His voice was small but unshaking.
"Don't touch them."
The remaining Wargborn snarled, confused.
Then one tried.
Aelric didn't flinch.
He raised his hand and the beast exploded into ash, scattering like black snow.
Evren stared, stunned. "What... the hell was that?"
Kaelion stepped forward slowly, watching the boy with a new, sharp intensity.
"That," he said, "was impossible."
Aelric blinked, suddenly unsteady. "I... I didn't mean to... I just-"
And then he collapsed.
Kaelion caught him before he hit the ground.
Evren approached, his expression grim. "We need answers."
Kaelion nodded, his gaze on the boy's pale face. "We'll get them. But first we protect him."
Far in the forest, unseen eyes watched from the shadows.
And a voice whispered in a forgotten tongue.
"The little flame has been lit."
Aelric stirred under a thick wool blanket. The fire crackled beside him, throwing long shadows across the cavern walls. He blinked slowly, his breath hitching as the scent of blood, ash, and damp stone filled his nose.
He wasn't in the ruined tower anymore.
He sat up fast only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Easy," Kaelion said, his voice low and rough.
Aelric looked up at him, eyes wide. "Did I... hurt anyone?"
"No," Kaelion replied. "You saved us."
Aelric lowered his gaze. "I don't remember much. Just... fire. And anger."
Evren sat nearby, arms crossed. His tone was less gentle. "That wasn't just fire, Aelric. That was magic old enough to scare the earth itself."
Kaelion shot him a warning look, but Aelric nodded.
"I know."
Evren narrowed his eyes. "How? What are you?"
"I'm no one," Aelric whispered. "Or at least... I was."
The cave fell into a heavy silence.
Kaelion stood and moved toward the entrance, pulling the flap of hide back to peer into the forest. "The Wargborn didn't come alone," he muttered. "Something worse is tracking us. I can feel it."
Evren moved to his side. "You think this is connected to Aelric?"
Kaelion glanced back at the boy. "It has to be."
Aelric's voice came again, quieter but laced with pain. "There's something inside me. Something that's... waking up. I don't want it. But it's there."
Evren turned fully to face him. "Then we find out what it is before it kills you. Or us."
Kaelion walked over and crouched in front of Aelric. "We're not leaving you behind."
"But you don't even know me," Aelric whispered.
Kaelion's gaze held him, fierce and unwavering. "You're ours to protect now. That's all I need to know."
Aelric's eyes glistened, but he nodded.
Suddenly branches snapped outside.
All three were on their feet in an instant. Kaelion drew his blade. Evren's fingertips sparked with nascent fire.
A shadow shifted at the cave mouth.
And a voice, soft and strange, echoed through the trees
"Aelric..."
The boy froze.
His lips parted.
"I know that voice," he whispered, the color draining from his face. "But... he's supposed to be dead."