The creature stepped fully into the weak morning light, and even the fog recoiled from its presence. Arianna had seen terrifying things before, like spirits whispering from mirrors and shadows moving where they shouldn't, but the Harbinger was different.
It wasn't a ghost. It wasn't a remnant. It wasn't even a monster.
It was a promise.
A promise of destruction.
Its form was humanoid only in mockery—a tall, sinewed silhouette stitched together from darkness and ember. Its skin rippled like molten tar, veins glowing faintly like dying coals. Where its eyes should have been, two vertical slits pulsed with harsh, devouring light.
It did not walk. It glided.
Every step cracked the ground beneath it.
Kaelith's shadow blade hummed, the air vibrating with its barely contained power. His stance was rigid, protective, shoulders angled to block every possible path to Arianna. But even he took one step back.
Arianna felt it—his fear.
Kaelith was afraid.
The Harbinger chuckled, the sound like metal scraping over stone. "How many years has it been, Fallen King?" its voice rasped, dripping with mockery. "A thousand? Or did you lose count in your exile?"
Arianna's gaze snapped to Kaelith.
Fallen King.
He didn't flinch, but the shadows around him pulled tighter, like armor forging itself.
"That name," Kaelith said quietly, "no longer belongs to me."
The Harbinger tilted its head. "Oh, but it does. You cannot cast off what the stars branded you. You can run from your throne, your crown, your crimes"
Its glowing slits shifted toward Arianna.
"But you cannot run from her."
Arianna's heart lurched painfully.
"Don't look at her," Kaelith hissed, stepping forward. "Speak to me, creature. Leave her out of your venom."
The Harbinger's lips if they could be called lips—peeled back in a smile too wide, too full of jagged obsidian teeth.
"She is the point of all of this, Kaelith. You know that."
Arianna swallowed hard, voice barely a whisper. "What… what do you want from me?"
The Harbinger drifted closer, and Kaelith's shadows rose like spears—hundreds of them, all targeting the creature's core.
The creature ignored them.
"I want nothing," it said softly. "It is the one above me who wants you returned. Dead or alive makes no difference."
Kaelith's shadows surged—but the Harbinger lifted a hand lazily, and the spears turned to ash midair.
Arianna's breath stopped.
Kaelith stiffened, jaw clenched, eyes burning brighter.
The Harbinger's gaze returned to Arianna. "Do you know why the remnants hunt you? Why does the sky tear itself open when you breathe too loudly? Why do your dreams bleed into reality?"
Arianna could barely breathe. "No."
"You are waking," the Harbinger whispered. "And when you remember who you truly are… everything collapses. Realms. Thrones. Kingdoms. Laws as old as creation."
Its grin widened.
"You were not just a queen. You were the Queen."
Kaelith shot forward, darkness ripping from his hands like a storm, slamming into the Harbinger with force that split the nearest gravestone in half.
"Stop," Kaelith snarled. "You will not speak to her."
The Harbinger only laughed, its body reforming as though the attack was nothing more than an inconvenience. Arianna grabbed Kaelith's arm instinctively.
"Kaelith don't"
He didn't look at her. His attention never left the beast.
"She is not ready," he growled. "You will not poison her with half-truths."
The Harbinger flicked a finger.
Kaelith flew backward.
Arianna screamed as he hit a tree with a sickening crack, then slid to the ground.
"KAELITH!"
She ran toward him, but he pushed himself up with a grimace. Shadows trembled around him like wounded wings.
"Stay back," he choked. "Arianna—don't touch me—don't come near—"
His voice broke on the word near, as if the idea of her being within reach terrified him more than the Harbinger itself.
Arianna froze, torn between instinct and fear.
The Harbinger drifted closer, its ember-light gaze settling on her wrist. The mark beneath her sleeve throbbed painfully, as if reacting to it.
"You feel it, don't you?" it whispered. "The pull. The ache. The truth is trying to claw its way through the cracks of your fragmented soul."
Arianna clutched her arm. The pain sharpened, flaring into something scorching. "Stop… stop talking…"
"You were carved from celestial flame and shadow," the creature continued. "Born to rule the realms that birthed you. And when your enemies feared your rise, they destroyed your throne, slaughtered your guard, shattered your crown—"
"No!" Kaelith's voice cut through the fog like a blade. "Do not listen to it! Arianna, look at me."
She turned.
Kaelith was on his knees, trembling, but his eyes, bright silver, burning with pain and devotion held hers fiercely.
"Listen to me," he said, panting. "Not to it. You are strong. You are more than your past. You are more than destiny. Do not let it anchor fear into your heart."
Arianna nodded shakily, breathing hard.
The Harbinger hissed. "Always playing the savior, aren't you? And yet you were the one who failed her. Failed your queen. Failed your kingdom."
Kaelith's jaw shook.
Arianna's eyes widened. "Kaelith… what is it talking about?"
He didn't answer.
Not fast enough.
The Harbinger spoke first.
"Tell her," it crooned. "Tell her who held the blade that struck her down."
Arianna's breath vanished.
She turned to Kaelith. "What does it mean? Kaelith… Kaelith, look at me."
Kaelith's eyes closed.
"Don't," he whispered. "Please don't make me"
"Tell her!" the Harbinger roared, the sound crashing through the cemetery like thunder.
Arianna flinched.
Kaelith opened his eyes.
And for the first time, she saw shame in them.
Raw. Shattering.
"Arianna…" His voice cracked. "I didn't save you."
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
"I failed you the night you died."
Her heart stopped.
Kaelith bowed his head, shadows collapsing around him like dying wings.
"I was the last one to reach your throne room," he whispered. "And I was too late."
The Harbinger let out a satisfied hum.
Arianna stepped back. The ground felt unsteady, her body trembling.
"You… were supposed to protect me," she said, voice barely audible.
"I know," Kaelith whispered. "I have carried that failure through ten lifetimes. It has carved itself into my bones. And I have spent every century praying for a chance to make it right."
Arianna's eyes burned.
The Harbinger drifted closer, voice dripping like venom.
"He does not want you to know the truth. That he was not only too late… but that your death freed him."
"Enough." Kaelith's voice was hollow, breaking. "Do not twist the past."
"You were the greatest weapon of the Celestials," the creature continued, ignoring him. "And he—your devoted king—was the first they targeted."
Arianna pressed a shaking hand to her head. "Stop… all of you—please stop—"
Her mark surged with blinding pain.
The Harbinger leaned in, whispering softly:
"You were betrayed by those closest to you. And the truth is—"
A blast of light erupted from Arianna's wrist, cracking open the earth beneath them.
The Harbinger screeched, recoiling. Kaelith shielded his face, shadows swirling violently to protect them both.
Arianna's knees buckled as the light flared again, stronger, brighter—forcing the Harbinger backward inch by inch.
It snarled, its form glitching like a corrupted shadow.
"This is not over," it hissed. "You cannot run from what you are. Or from what he is."
The fog collapsed inward, swallowing its shape until it vanished completely.
Silence.
Arianna collapsed to the ground, chest heaving.
Kaelith was beside her in an instant, though his hands trembled as he reached for her.
"Arianna," he whispered, voice raw. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
She stared at him, tears burning her eyes, aching like a wound that had finally been torn open.
"Kaelith…" Her voice cracked. "What aren't you telling me?"
His breath shuddered.
Everything about him—his shadows, his expression, the way he touched her like she was both sacred and fragile—seemed to break.
"There are truths," he said quietly, "that will destroy you before they free you."
Arianna shut her eyes.
"Then tell me anyway."