The night had fallen over the ruined plains of Eldrin, silver mist curling around the dead grass like breath from forgotten gods. The wind whispered ancient hymns, and beneath the pale moon, the exiled king walked — cloak torn, eyes burning with quiet purpose.
Kael stopped at the ridge. The valley below was littered with remnants of his past — broken towers, buried statues, the bones of loyalty long forgotten. The scent of ashes still clung to the soil, even though decades had passed.
He kneeled, pressing his palm against the earth.
"I was once your king…" he murmured, voice low."And I will be again."
But the wind carried another voice this time.A soft, almost melodic whisper.
"Do you truly believe time forgives kings?"
Kael's head snapped up. The mist parted, and from the shadows stepped a figure cloaked in black — the edges of her robe shimmering like ink under moonlight. Her eyes glowed faintly violet, reflecting something far older than her appearance suggested.
"You…" Kael whispered. "You shouldn't be alive."
She smiled. "Neither should you."
The woman's name echoed in his memory like a curse — Seris, the Oracle who once betrayed him to the Council of Light. The one who sealed his fate and turned his kingdom to dust.
"Time has its reasons for everything," she said softly, circling him. "Even for forgotten kings. You walk in a world that has already moved on. What will you do when no one remembers your name?"
Kael rose slowly, his sword glinting under the moon.
"Then I'll carve it into the bones of this world."
Their eyes met — past and future colliding.
The silence broke as thunder rumbled across the distance. Lightning flashed, revealing the ruins of Valis Keep, his once-golden fortress now devoured by vines and shadows. Seris turned to it, her tone colder now.
"If you seek the throne, you must face what still guards it."
Kael's gaze followed hers.Through the fog, faint blue light pulsed — not fire, not human… something else.
"What is that?" he asked.
"Not what," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Who."
The realization struck like lightning.The light belonged to his most trusted knight — Darian, the man who once swore to protect his king till death… and apparently, beyond it.
Kael clenched his fists, heart pounding.
"So even the dead stand against me."
Seris' smile vanished. "No, Kael. The dead remember you. But memory… is a dangerous thing."
The mist swirled again, and before he could reply — she was gone. Only the echo of her voice lingered, carried by the wind.
"Find me when the moon bleeds. Only then will you understand what you truly are."
Kael stared into the darkness, the cold wind tugging at his cloak. He looked toward the fortress once more, where the light flickered like a heartbeat.
He whispered to the night — not as a king, not as a ghost, but as a man chasing his destiny.
"Then let the dead remember their king."
And he walked forward.
The mist closed behind him.