The Blackstone Chasm pulsed like a living wound, its depths glowing with an unholy crimson light. Shadows moved across the jagged walls like crawling serpents, and the air reeked of sulfur and blood. Here, the world bent. Here, the old gods whispered through cracks in reality.
Rael stood at the edge of the Binding Forge, his new wings unfurled like an omen—feathers wrought of shadow and ember, flickering as if alive. The power in his veins roared like a storm caged inside his bones, but the chains… gods, the chains burned louder than ever.
Malrik approached, his armor slick with blood, his smile carved in cruelty. His voice slithered like molten steel:
"Your strength grows, Rael. But strength without will is a blade without a hand. And I will not have a hollow king."
Rael's mismatched eyes—gold rimmed in black and silver drowned in flame—lifted to his father's gaze. His voice was calm, but beneath it smoldered something sharp, dangerous. "What do you want from me?"
Malrik's grin deepened. "Loyalty. Proven not with words, but with blood."
He gestured, and two Hollow Flame warriors dragged a figure from the shadows. A woman—bound, gagged, her pale hair matted with blood. Her torn cloak bore the sigil of Vaeloras.
Rael's pulse stumbled. That sigil. The same crest Selene wore the day she crowned herself.
The woman lifted her head, and through the grime, Rael saw her eyes—silver-gray, wide with terror. For a heartbeat, his breath caught. She wasn't Selene, but gods, she looked enough like her to tear something raw inside him.
"Who is she?" His voice came out hoarse.
"A spy," Malrik said, circling like a viper. "One who would slit your throat in your sleep if given the chance. The queen sends them because she fears you, Rael. Because even she knows what you are destined to become."
Malrik's words coiled around him like smoke, choking thought, twisting truth. The queen. The mother he could barely remember. The woman whose voice still haunted his dreams.
"She's nothing," Rael said through clenched teeth.
Malrik's smile was a blade. "Then kill her. End her life, and end your doubt."
The woman whimpered against her gag, tears streaking her dirt-stained cheeks. For a moment, Rael saw Selene in her eyes—the same fire, the same stubborn hope. His hand trembled as he reached for the blade Malrik extended.
The Blade of Oaths pulsed in his grip, hungry for blood, whispering promises of power if he obeyed. The chains in his soul tightened, searing his thoughts.
Do it. Do it. Do it.
But another voice rose in the cracks—a whisper softer, but fiercer than steel:
"Hold on, Rael. I'm coming for you."
Selene's voice.
Rael froze, the blade hovering inches from the woman's throat. His chest heaved as war raged inside him—chains against memory, oath against blood.
Malrik's voice turned sharp, venomous. "What are you waiting for? Kill her, or I will carve the weakness from you myself."
Rael's wings flared, embers scattering like dying stars. The blade shook in his grasp. Slowly, he turned—not to the prisoner, but to Malrik.
And when he spoke, his voice was low, lethal. "You want me to prove I'm yours? Then understand this—I am no one's weapon."
Malrik's grin faltered. Just for a second.
Then Rael dropped the blade.
The sound of steel hitting stone rang through the chasm like a death knell.
Malrik's eyes darkened, his aura swelling like a tidal wave of shadow. "You defy me?"
Rael met his gaze, his voice a quiet storm. "I make my own choices."
Malrik's laughter split the air, harsh and cold. "Then bleed for them, boy."
And with a flick of his hand, the chains in Rael's soul ignited, pain tearing through every nerve like wildfire. Rael collapsed to his knees, his scream swallowed by the roar of the abyss.
Malrik leaned close, his whisper colder than steel:
"You think you're strong enough to fight me? Then watch as I burn the world your mother loves—starting with her."
The words seared deeper than the chains.
Through the agony, Rael's heart beat a vow—a silent, savage promise:
If you touch her, I will kill you. Even if it destroys me.
And far away, under the storm-lashed skies, Selene felt the echo of that vow like fire in her blood.
She didn't know what had just happened. But she knew this:
Her son was still in there.
And she would tear the realms apart to bring him back.