kael didn't scream.
That was the worst part.
He lay collapsed in the frost-bitten dirt, body trembling violently as shadows peeled away from him in slow writhing strands. The forest groaned under the pressure of it,branches creaking, roots cracking, fog swirling upward like smoke drawn to flame.
Liora knelt beside him, frozen in place.
Every instinct she had screamed at her to run.
She didn't.
"Kael," she whispered.
His name didn't calm him anymore.
The shadows recoiled sharply, snapping back into his chest like whips. Kael gasped, arching violently, fingers clawing into the earth as black veins surged up his neck.
Aldric stumbled backward, staff slipping in his grip. "This shouldn't be possible," he murmured. The vessel is destroyed. The entity should have dissipated.
Serin's bow was already raised, hands shaking just enough to betray her fear. "Tell me where to shoot.
Aldric didn't answer.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
They weren't black anymore.
They were deep.
Depthless, like staring into a night sky with no stars,no reflection, no end. Liora sucked in a sharp breath as something inside her chest twisted painfully, as if that gaze had brushed against her soul.
"Kael?" she tried again.
His lips moved.
Nothing came out.
Then,slowly,he smiled.
It wasn't cruel.
That frightened her more than anything.
"I can hear them," he said.
His voice echoed wrong,not layered like before, but stretched, distant, as if it traveled a long way to reach them.
Serin drew the bowstring tighter. "Aldric."
"I know," Aldric said hoarsely. "I feel it too."
The forest answered Kael's words with a low hum, vibrations rippling through the ground beneath their feet. Liora's breath caught painfully as the pressure inside her chest intensified, spreading outward like roots.
"Who?" she asked. "Who can you hear?"
Kael's gaze flicked to her.
For just a moment, something human flickered there,fear, confusion, guilt.
Then it vanished.
"Everything that was bound," he said softly. Everything that was sleeping.
Aldric's face drained of color. "That's not possible. There was only one sealed entity here.
Kael tilted his head, listening.
"No," he replied. There were many.
The ground shuddered.
Far away, something answered.
Serin swore under her breath. We need to restrain him. Now.
She stepped forward.
Kael's head snapped toward her.
Serin froze mid-step, breath catching sharply as if something had wrapped around her lungs. She staggered, dropping to one knee, bow clattering to the ground.
"Serin!" Liora cried.
Kael flinched.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Serin collapsed forward, gasping for air.
"I didn't," Kael whispered, horror bleeding into his voice. I didn't mean to.
Aldric stared at him, equal parts awe and terror. You commanded her body without touching it.
Kael looked down at his hands. "I didn't command," he said. I reached.
Liora's hands trembled. Kael… what are you becoming?
He didn't answer.
The black symbol on his chest pulsed again, spreading outward in branching patterns that looked disturbingly like veins,or roots.
Aldric swallowed hard. "The Nightbeast wasn't the curse," he said slowly. It was a lock.
Kael nodded faintly. "A crude one."
Liora's heart slammed painfully. A lock on what?
Kael met her gaze.
"On me," he said.
The fog shifted violently, retreating in a wide circle around them as if afraid to come closer.
Silence followed.
Then footsteps.
Dozens of them.
Aldric spun, staff flaring faintly with rune-light. "We're not alone."
Figures emerged from the trees,cloaked shapes moving with disciplined precision, weapons gleaming dully in the frost-lit darkness. Their presence felt heavy, oppressive, like iron pressing against the lungs.
At their center walked a woman dressed in black and silver, her long coat embroidered with sigils that made Liora's eyes ache to look at directly.
Her gaze locked onto Kael instantly.
And she smiled.
"Well," the woman said coolly. It seems we're late.
Serin struggled to her feet, snatching up her bow. Inquisitors.
Aldric's jaw tightened. Nightbound Order.
The woman inclined her head slightly. "High Inquisitor Maeven," she said. And you've made quite a mess of things.
Kael pushed himself upright unsteadily, shadows curling lazily around his shoulders like living smoke.
Maeven's smile widened.
"Oh," she breathed. You're even better than the reports suggested.
Liora stepped in front of Kael without thinking. Stay back.
Maeven's gaze slid to her, sharp and assessing. "You're the anchor."
Liora stiffened. I don't know what you're talking about.
"You don't need to," Maeven replied pleasantly. "Your soul already knows.
Kael's fingers twitched. Don't look at her.
Maeven laughed softly. "How touching. The awakened still clings to his tether.
Serin hissed, She's provoking you.
"I know," Kael said.
And still the shadows around him surged violently.
Aldric stepped forward, voice strained. "High Inquisitor, this situation is unstable. Any aggressive containment could cause,
"Containment?" Maeven interrupted. "Oh no, Archivist. We're far past that."
She raised one gloved hand.
The Inquisitors spread out instantly, forming a sigil-ring around Kael and Liora.
The air locked.
Liora gasped as pressure slammed down on her chest, pinning her in place. Kael snarled, shadows lashing outward,only to rebound violently off an invisible barrier.
Maeven sighed. "You see? Still untrained. Still dangerous.
Kael glared at her. You used the Nightbeast.
Maeven arched a brow. We kept the Nightbeast. You were its purpose.
Aldric went pale. You engineered the vessel.
"Of course," Maeven said. We needed to see what would happen when the lock broke.
Liora's blood turned to ice. "You used him."
Maeven's gaze softened mockingly. "We used many like him."
Kael's breathing grew erratic. "How many?"
Maeven hesitated.
Then smiled wider.
"Enough."
The shadows around Kael exploded outward, cracking the sigil-ring and throwing several Inquisitors backward. The ground split, frost racing across the soil.
Maeven laughed, delighted. "There it is."
Kael screamed,not in pain, but in fury.
Liora felt the bond wrench violently.
Something pulled at her.
Aldric shouted, Liora,if he loses control now, the anchor will burn!
Kael turned toward her, terror flooding his expression. I can't stop it!
She grabbed his hand.
"I'm here," she said fiercely. I won't let go.
For a moment, everything stilled.
The shadows recoiled.
Maeven's smile faltered,just barely.
"How interesting," she murmured.
Then the sigils flared again,stronger, sharper.
Kael screamed.
Liora screamed with him.
The bond ignited.
Light and shadow collided, ripping upward into the sky like a pillar.
The forest shattered.
And somewhere far beyond the trees,
Something ancient answered the call.
Maeven's eyes widened in awe.
"Oh," she whispered. You've called them.
Kael collapsed forward, dragging Liora down with him as darkness swallowed the world.
The last thing Liora felt,
Was something vast and watchful turning its gaze toward her.