🔥 The Shattered Sky Chronicles – Volume 2: Rise of the Harrowed
Chapter 1 — Shadows of the King
The sky above Ardentreach was quieter than Kael had ever seen it—and that silence made him uneasy. The crack overhead, once a pulsing heartbeat of menace, now throbbed slowly, almost contemplatively. It was waiting. Watching.
Kael sat atop the ruins of the old village watchtower, training his arm, feeling the Ember surge through him even when he wasn't calling it. The fire had matured, but controlling it fully was another matter. Each attempt still left him drained, leaving his muscles shaking and mind foggy.
Rhyne approached silently, carrying a leather satchel of strange instruments that glimmered faintly in the morning light. "The calm before the storm," he muttered. "But it won't last."
Kael didn't respond. He was still haunted by the last battle—the Harrowed Knight's molten eyes and the way the Ember had flowed through him. Am I ready for what comes next?
Rhyne knelt beside him, pulling a small crystal from the satchel. It hummed faintly. "This is a Seer's Lens. It can glimpse the cracks before they fully form. We've intercepted a pulse near the northern highlands. Something… massive is coming."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Another Riftspawn? Another Shadeborn?"
Rhyne shook his head. "Worse. The pulse is alive, but intelligent. I think… it's a vanguard. A general of the Harrowed King himself."
The Ember along Kael's arm flared at the words, sensing the threat, warning him.
Kael rose, gripping his blade tightly. "Then we go to them first. Before they reach the villages."
Rhyne nodded, his expression grim. "Good. But be careful, Kael. The Harrowed King has begun sending pieces of his army ahead. Each one will test your limits—physically, mentally… spiritually."
As they mounted their horses, the wind carried a distant roar—a sound that froze Kael's blood. It was neither beast nor human. It was the echo of something ancient, something that had once shattered worlds.
And now, it had marked him.
The first mission of Volume 2 had begun.