Shadowbound: The Forsaken Path

The world was nothing but ash and whispers.Caelum's eyes snapped open to a gray sky blurred by swirling dust. His breath caught in his throat—not from fear, but a sharp sting of cold realization. He lay amidst shattered ruins, the weight of silence heavier than stone pressing down on his chest.Memories were shadows. Fragments of faces, names, and forgotten pain flickered like dying flames in a windstorm. There was a strange pulse beneath his skin—a slow, steady thrum of power not his own yet undeniably part of him.He pushed himself up, every movement tearing muscles raw. Around him stretched the burned-out city of Aseren, once a shining bastion of learning, now a skeleton of smoldering buildings and cracked cobblestone. The air smelled of leather, blood, and something ancient—like the earth exhaling a long-held curse."No," he muttered, voice rough. "Not like this."Staggering forward, Caelum's hands brushed a cracked amulet hanging from his neck—the faint glow of a runic symbol pulsing faintly beneath his fingers. The symbol shimmered like a heartbeat, anchoring his fractured mind.From the shadows emerged a figure cloaked in a heavy hood, steps silent but deliberate. "You're awake," the voice was low, edged with both relief and warning."Who... are you?" Caelum's gaze struggled to focus, nerves raw and senses humming with an unfamiliar alertness."A friend—if you can trust that word anymore." The figure's eyes briefly glinted with something unreadable. "The city falls, and so does everything with it. They will come looking for you, Caelum. The Forsaken Path you walk is stained with darkness and blood."A sudden, distant roar shattered the brittle calm—the sound of war reclaiming the skies. Caelum's blood quickened, fire igniting beneath the cold."What happened here?" he demanded, voice firmer now despite the fog inside his head."The Fall," the stranger answered grimly. "A siege of shadows and steel. You survived when others did not, but at a price."Caelum clenched his fists, struggling against the void within himself—a silent scream gnawing at the edges of his sanity. Memories refused to come, but the hatred was clear. A vengeance burning in his bones whispered truths he was not yet ready to face.The stranger extended a hand. "Come. There are answers beyond these ruins. But beware—trust no one, for the greatest monsters wear the faces of saviors."Caelum hesitated only a moment before grasping the outstretched hand, feeling an unexpected warmth settle in his soul.As they disappeared into the gathering dusk, the last flicker of the sun vanished behind dark clouds—a symbol that the path ahead would be shrouded in eternal night.And so the story began.