The air inside the passage was thick, pressing against Kaelen's skin like unseen hands.
The walls of the corridor were smooth, unlike the ancient ruins above. Strange glyphs pulsed faintly, casting an eerie glow that illuminated their path.
But it wasn't the light that unsettled him.
It was the whispers.
Soft. Murmuring.
Not in any language Kaelen recognized.
But they carried meaning.
They spoke of things buried.
Of things waiting.
Lirien's hand hovered near her dagger. "Tell me you hear that too."
Kaelen nodded. "Yeah."
They kept moving.
And the whispers followed.
---
The Door of Echoes
The corridor ended at a massive door—smooth black stone, carved with the sigil of the Black Sun.
Unlike the others they had seen, this one wasn't shut.
It was cracked open.
A faint glow spilled from within, illuminating the chamber beyond.
Kaelen and Lirien exchanged a look.
Lirien exhaled. "We're really doing this, aren't we?"
Kaelen forced a smirk. "Didn't come all this way to turn back now."
Together, they pushed the door open.
And stepped inside.
---
The Hall of the Lost
The chamber stretched endlessly.
Rows upon rows of stone thrones lined the hall—each occupied by a figure.
Not statues.
Not quite corpses.
Something between life and death.
Their faces were hidden beneath black veils, their bodies still as the grave.
But Kaelen could feel them.
Watching.
Waiting.
Lirien swallowed. "I don't like this."
Kaelen barely heard her. His gaze was locked on the center of the room.
On the altar.
And the figure that stood before it.
---
The Keeper of the Forgotten
The figure was tall and cloaked, its hood concealing its face. A blackened staff rested in its hand, the metal twisting unnaturally, as if it were alive.
The air around it felt wrong—thick with something ancient.
Kaelen clenched his fists. "Who are you?"
The figure lifted its head.
And for the first time—
Kaelen saw no face beneath the hood.
Only shadows.
And then it spoke.
"You have come seeking truth."
Its voice echoed through the chamber, a sound that was not entirely human.
Kaelen's heart pounded. "Truth about what?"
The figure tilted its head.
"The Black Sun."
---
The Warning
The Keeper took a step forward, and the whispers in the room rose.
"You walk a path that should not be walked."
Kaelen tensed. "Then why let us come this far?"
The Keeper's form shifted, as if the very air around it was resisting its presence.
"Because fate has already chosen you."
Lirien's voice was tight. "Chosen for what?"
The Keeper raised its hand—and the glyphs on the walls flared to life.
And Kaelen saw.
---
Visions of the Black Sun
It wasn't a memory.
It wasn't a dream.
It was something deeper.
He stood beneath a sky that burned black.
The sun was gone.
Or maybe it had never been there at all.
The world was cracked and broken, the land consumed by shadow. And in the distance—
A throne of obsidian stood atop a ruined city.
And something sat upon it.
Kaelen couldn't see its face.
But he knew its name.
And it knew him.
A voice whispered in his ear—
"You are not ready."
---
The Choice
Kaelen gasped, stumbling back into the present. His breath was ragged, his hands shaking.
Lirien grabbed his arm. "Kaelen! What did you see?"
He barely heard her. His gaze snapped to the Keeper.
"What was that?"
The Keeper did not answer immediately.
Then—slowly—it extended its hand.
And in its palm, something glowed.
A black sigil—the same mark as the Black Sun.
Kaelen instinctively took a step back. "What are you—"
"The time is coming."
The sigil flared, its light pulsing in time with Kaelen's own heartbeat.
"You must decide."
Kaelen clenched his fists. "Decide what?"
The Keeper's head tilted.
"Whether you will fight… or become what you were always meant to be."
The chamber shuddered.
And the thrones began to stir.
The figures were waking up.
And Kaelen's choice was no longer a future concern.
It was happening now.
---
The Awakening of the Lost
The air cracked with unseen force.
The figures in the thrones—those silent watchers of the temple—stirred.
One by one, their veiled heads lifted.
One by one, their bodies shifted.
And then, as one, they rose.
Their movements were slow at first, their forms stiff with the weight of centuries. But as the energy of the Black Sun pulsed through the chamber, their hesitation vanished.
A low, haunting chant began to rise.
Lirien grabbed Kaelen's arm. "Tell me you have a plan."
Kaelen barely heard her.
His gaze was locked on the Keeper.
The sigil in its hand still burned—waiting.
And Kaelen knew.
This was the choice.
Take the sigil—accept the path offered to him.
Or fight.
---
The March of the Forgotten
The first of the veiled figures moved.
It stepped down from its throne, its form shifting like smoke wrapped in cloth.
And then—it lunged.
Kaelen barely had time to react. He brought his sword up in a desperate block, but the moment his blade met the figure's arm—
It passed through.
Not like cutting air. Not like cutting flesh.
Like cutting through shadow itself.
The figure's head snapped toward him, the veil rustling.
Then—
Its hand reached for his throat.
---
An Unseen Force
Kaelen felt it before he saw it.
A force rushed through his veins—not his own.
The sigil in the Keeper's hand flared.
And before Kaelen could think—
His body moved on its own.
A surge of black energy burst from his palm, slamming into the veiled figure.
The shadow-wrapped being shrieked, its form twisting violently—before it was pulled backward, vanishing into the dark.
The air rippled.
And the others turned their heads toward Kaelen.
He had their attention now.
And something inside him whispered—
"This power is yours."
---
Lirien's Fury
Lirien cursed. "Kaelen, what the hell was that?!"
Kaelen staggered, his hand still tingling. The energy—the power—it had been instinctive. Like something woken up inside him.
The Keeper remained silent. Watching.
Waiting.
But there was no time to understand what had happened.
Because the other figures were moving.
Lirien didn't hesitate. She rushed forward, blades flashing as she struck.
Unlike Kaelen's sword, her daggers connected—but instead of slicing through, they burned.
A golden light rippled along the edges of her weapons.
The veiled figure she struck shuddered, its form flickering before it collapsed into nothingness.
Kaelen's eyes widened. "How—"
Lirien didn't glance at him. "You think I don't come prepared for cursed things?"
The figures hesitated now.
But only for a moment.
And then—
They rushed forward all at once.
---
A Battle of Fate
Kaelen and Lirien stood back-to-back.
The forgotten figures closed in, their shadows stretching unnaturally across the floor.
Kaelen's breath was ragged. His mind screamed at him to run, but something deep inside told him—
"This is your test."
He focused.
The sigil's energy still lingered inside him.
He reached for it.
And this time, he controlled it.
Dark energy crackled at his fingertips.
And then, just as the veiled figures struck—
Kaelen unleashed it.
A shockwave ripped through the chamber, slamming into the figures like a storm of unseen hands.
They writhed.
They shrank away.
And then—one by one—they fell.
The shadows that made them dissipated, leaving only empty thrones behind.
Silence fell over the chamber.
Only Kaelen's ragged breathing remained.
---
A Price for Power
Kaelen dropped to one knee. His vision blurred.
His body felt heavy—like the power had taken something from him in return.
Lirien knelt beside him. "Kaelen—"
She stopped.
Because the Keeper was stepping forward.
The sigil in its hand dimmed, and Kaelen felt the energy inside him fade.
He looked up.
The Keeper's hood remained empty. No face. No eyes.
Only shadows.
"You have taken the first step."
Kaelen's hands clenched into fists. "What the hell is happening to me?"
The Keeper was silent for a long moment.
Then, finally—
"The Black Sun remembers you."
Kaelen's heart skipped a beat.
"And soon… you will remember it."
---
📚Threads of Fate📚.
The forgotten figures awaken, attacking Kaelen and Lirien.
Kaelen instinctively taps into a hidden power, tied to the Black Sun.
Lirien's weapons burn with light, revealing she has her own methods for fighting the darkness.
Kaelen harnesses the sigil's energy, destroying the figures—but at a cost.
The Keeper confirms Kaelen is changing, and that his fate is tied to the Black Sun.
The past is resurfacing.
And Kaelen may not be who he thought he was.