Chapter 12
Kael stood there.
The battlefield was silent now, but inside him… something was gone.
Fear.
Anger.
Even the rush of victory.
Nothing remained.
Purple light glowed faintly in his eyes, casting long shadows across his face as he stared at the cracked heavens above. The air still smelled of scorched stone, and the distant rumbles of the god's death echoed like the last heartbeats of a dying world.
Nyx shifted uncomfortably beside Astrili. She was still catching her breath from the fight, her black hair stuck to her cheek with sweat, but her gaze never left him.
Astrili finally stepped forward. "Kael… are you—"
He didn't answer.
She tried again, softer this time. "Are you still with us?"
Slowly, his head tilted toward her — not in hostility, but in a way that made her pause. His gaze wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. It was… unreadable.
"I'm fine," he said at last. His voice carried no emotion, only resolve. "Let's go."
Nyx frowned. "That's it? You just killed a god and you want to 'go'?"
"Standing here won't change anything."
Before anyone could speak again, the sky above them cracked open.
The rift Kael had created didn't fade this time. Instead, light spilled from it like a bleeding wound in the heavens. The Cradle — now fully visible — floated there, an enormous, ornate structure of silver and gold, suspended in nothingness. Ancient runes burned faintly along its sides, and chains of light tethered it to somewhere far beyond sight.
Astrili's eyes widened. "…That's not supposed to exist."
Nyx tilted her head. "You know what it is?"
"I've only read about it. The Cradle of the Origin. They say it sleeps in the heart of the Dead World, guarded by something older than the gods." She hesitated. "…It's said that whoever touches it can leave this place."
Kael glanced at her, his voice quiet. "And the catch?"
Astrili's lips pressed into a thin line. "…The catch is that the path to it is sealed by the Gravekeeper. And no one… no one who's sought him out has returned."
Nyx smirked. "Sounds like fun."
Kael didn't respond. His gaze lingered on the Cradle until the rift finally closed, leaving the sky in its broken, crimson state.
They started walking again.
For hours, the only sounds were their footsteps crunching over shattered stone. The air was heavier here — each breath tasted of ash and something far older.
Nyx was the first to break the silence. "So, fearless leader… what's the plan? Go knock on the Gravekeeper's door and hope he doesn't kill us?"
Kael didn't look at her. "If that's where the path leads, then yes."
Astrili shot him a look. "You speak as though you know where the path leads."
"I don't," Kael replied flatly. "But something does."
Nyx raised an eyebrow. "…You mean that creepy voice you keep hearing?"
Kael finally met her gaze. "It hasn't been wrong yet."
Astrili muttered under her breath. "That's exactly what worries me."
They continued into the crimson haze, the jagged silhouettes of dead towers rising in the distance. Somewhere beyond that horizon, the Gravekeeper waited — and whether he was friend, foe, or something far worse… none of them could say.
But for the first time, Kael wasn't wondering if they could win.
He was wondering what would be left of him when they did.