The forest had gone quiet.
Not the peaceful silence of nightfall, but the kind of stillness that presses against the skin and squeezes the breath from your chest. Even the wind held its breath. Shadows deepened unnaturally as if they too feared what lurked beyond.
Kael stepped carefully over a tree root, his sword held low but ready. Mira, beside him, whispered something under her breath and a soft shimmer pulsed around her hands faint, silvery lines that danced like fireflies. Tarn trailed behind, his staff gripped tightly. His shoulders were tense, and he kept glancing back at the path that had vanished behind them.
"Something's following us," Tarn said.
Kael didn't answer, but he'd felt it too. The moment they passed the black stone arch half-sunk into the forest floor, the air had shifted. Heavy. Watching. The realm of Vehl'Tharun wasn't asleep anymore.
Without warning, the earth buckled.
Trees cracked and splintered as something massive burst from beneath the ground a jagged nightmare of bone, rusted iron, and writhing smoke. Its form twisted in and out of focus, like a half-remembered thought refusing to settle. It let out a screech that shattered branches and made Mira drop to her knees, clutching her ears.
Kael reacted first. He lunged forward, blade flashing as it struck the creature's leg a solid hit that should have crippled it. Instead, the metal and bone reformed with a hiss, the wound vanishing like breath on glass.
"What the hell is that?!" Mira screamed, stumbling back as the creature's maw snapped in her direction.
Tarn raised his staff, panic etched into his face. "I... I don't know, but it's not natural. Not alive."
The creature slammed its limbs down, sending shockwaves through the ground. Kael was thrown off his feet and hit a tree trunk hard. Mira, recovering quickly, thrust her hands forward. Silver light burst from her palms, slamming into the creature's chest. It reeled back, howling in pain this time.
"Magic!" Tarn shouted. "Mira, do that again!"
"I... I don't know how I did it!" she yelled.
The creature lunged, a jagged limb slicing toward her. Kael intercepted, his sword glowing faintly now blue runes flickering along the blade's edge. It wasn't glowing before. It hadn't been enchanted.
The realm, he realized. It's doing something to us.
The monster roared again, this time changing. Its form melted like wax, reshaping into something leaner, faster. Eyes too many opened along its shoulders.
"We can't beat this thing!" Tarn shouted, voice hoarse.
But they had no choice.
Mira raised both hands now, closing her eyes. Her silver light brightened, forming a barrier around the group. The creature slammed into it, and for a moment, it held. Then cracks began to splinter through the glowing shield.
Tarn, teeth gritted, slammed the butt of his staff into the ground. Vines surged up, wrapping around the creature's limbs. It shrieked in fury, tearing through them, but slowed just enough.
Kael saw the opening. He ran forward, leapt, and drove his blade through the creature's core.
There was a burst of light white and cold and then silence.
The monster collapsed, fading into ash and rust.
The three stood in silence, breathing hard. Kael's sword returned to its normal steel. Mira sank to the ground, shivering. Tarn leaned on his staff, pale and wide-eyed.
"What was that?" Kael asked quietly.
Tarn shook his head. "Something old. Something wrong."
"We're not ready for this," Mira whispered.
"But it found us anyway," Kael said.
They turned as the forest shifted again. This time, it wasn't a monster that emerged, but light.
A figure stood ahead a woman draped in green robes, face hidden beneath a hood. She stepped forward, eyes glowing with pale light.
"You have awakened Vehl'Tharun," she said. "And now it begins."
"Who are you?" Tarn asked.
"A watcher," she replied. "The realm remembers you. It has given you gifts, but it also tests you. That creature was but a shadow. Others will come."
Kael frowned. "Why us?"
"You were chosen once before. In another life. But you forgot. This realm does not."
She turned, gesturing for them to follow. "Come. There is much to learn. And not much time."
Kael looked at the others. Mira nodded. Tarn hesitated, then followed. Together, they stepped after the woman.
As they walked, the light shifted. Trees shimmered and faded. The sky darkened unnaturally. They were leaving the world they knew and entering Vehl'Tharun fully.
Soon, they reached ruins massive, ancient, and half-buried in the hillside. Machines lay scattered, vines coiling through gears. Symbols they couldn't read glowed faintly on the stone.
"This is one of the forgotten cities," the woman said. "You were born here. Not in this life but in the last. And it is here you must begin again."
They entered the hall. Inside, more of the past waited. Echoes of memory. Glimpses of who they had been.
Kael saw flashes of himself wearing dark armor, standing atop a mountain. Mira saw a circle of women casting spells around her, symbols etched into their skin. Tarn saw cities growing from vines, and beasts made of bark bowing before him.
They had been powerful. They had been dangerous. They had fallen.
Now, they had returned.
The woman turned to them. "Your powers will grow as the realm remembers you. But so too will the enemies that once brought ruin."
"Who were they?" Kael asked.
"The Forsworn," she said, her voice a whisper now. "Exiled gods, sealed by your past selves. But the seal weakens. And now... they hunt again."
Outside, the wind howled.
Above the ruins, in the high mountains, something opened its eyes slitted, glowing red.
It smiled.
Far below, Kael felt the shiver run through his bones.
He gripped his sword tighter.
This was just the beginning.