The silver feather began to grow and transform into a terrifying mechanical giant. Its joints hissed with white steam while its metal skin reflected the orange glow of the dying city.
"Witness the peak of human ingenuity and tremble before the iron justice of the empire!" Commander Valerius shouted from within the machine.
The giant raised a massive fist that was crackling with blue electricity and slammed it down toward the courtyard floor. Kaelen felt the stones shatter beneath his feet as he rolled away with a burst of shadow speed.
"Your toy is loud but it still moves with the clumsiness of a child," Kaelen mocked while his eyes glowed purple.
Kaelen signaled his shadow dragon to attack the mechanical legs of the giant with its powerful and jagged tail. The sound of metal screeching against ancient scales filled the air like a choir of dying birds.
"Master, the heat from its core is boiling the very shadows around its feet!" the shadow dragon roared in pain.
Kaelen realized that the light energy inside the machine was designed specifically to neutralize his dark and forbidden powers. He looked at his shadow soldiers who were beginning to flicker and fade under the intense white glare.
"Retreat to the sewers and do not look back at the palace!" Kaelen commanded with a voice of absolute authority.
The nobles did not need to be told twice and they scrambled into the dark tunnels while clutching their stolen gold. Kaelen stood his ground alone against the mechanical monster to buy his remaining brothers more time.
"You are a captain without a ship and a king without a throne," the commander sneered through the metal speakers.
The iron giant opened its chest plate to reveal a glowing crystal that pulsed with the rhythm of a heartbeat. A beam of pure solar energy shot out and turned the palace balcony into a puddle of molten glass.
"A throne is just a seat for those who are too tired to keep fighting," Kaelen replied while raising his broken blade.
Kaelen plunged his sword into the ground and summoned every ounce of shadow energy left in his decaying body. A massive wave of darkness erupted from the earth and formed a wall of smoke between him and the machine.
The city around them was a skeleton of wood and stone that continued to moan under the heat of the fires. Kaelen felt the ground give way beneath him as a hidden tunnel collapsed from the weight of the giant.
"You cannot run from the light because it reaches every corner of the world!" the commander bellowed with mechanical fury.
Kaelen fell into the cold and damp darkness of the underground waterways while the palace above him finally crumbled. He hit the freezing water with a loud splash and felt the weight of the debris trapping him below.
"The hunt is far from over and I will find you in the dark," the commander promised while his machine stomped above.
Kaelen struggled to move his heavy limbs as the water filled his lungs and the shadows in his blood began to quiet down. He saw a faint light coming from deeper in the tunnel that did not belong to the empire or the sun.
"Follow the sound of the falling water if you still wish to keep your life," a mysterious voice whispered.
Kaelen turned his head and saw a figure standing in the shadows with a cloak made of black feathers. He felt a strange and ancient connection to this stranger that made his heart beat with renewed vigor.
"Who are you to offer help to a monster like me?" Kaelen asked while coughing up thick and dark fluid.
The stranger did not answer but instead reached out a hand that was covered in strange and glowing runes. Kaelen took the hand and felt a surge of energy that was neither light nor shadow but something entirely different.
"I am the memory of what you used to be before the world broke you," the figure replied with a soft voice.
They moved quickly through the labyrinth of tunnels while the sounds of the mechanical giant grew distant and muffled. Kaelen looked back at the burning capital one last time before the darkness of the cave swallowed him.
"The capital is a grave and we must find the ghost of the black falcon," the stranger whispered while they walked.
Kaelen felt the cold wind of the dead forest blowing from the exit of the tunnel ahead of them. He knew that his journey had only just begun and the world would soon learn the true meaning of fear.
The ghost of the black falcon was waiting in the silence of the trees.