Kaelen's pulse thundered in his ears.
The truth—his truth—weighed on him like a stone, pressing into his very soul.
He had seen the Black Sun Empire at its height. He had seen himself standing at its throne, commanding an entire kingdom built upon power and shadow.
He had not just been a part of it.
He had ruled it.
And now, the past had come knocking at his door.
Lirien's voice cut through the fog in his mind. "Kaelen. Say something."
He looked up at her, his hands still trembling. "I—" He stopped, swallowed. What was there to say?
Lirien narrowed her eyes, studying him. "What did you see?"
Kaelen exhaled sharply. "A city. A kingdom. A throne. I was…" His voice faltered. "I was its ruler."
Lirien took a step back. "Wait. You're telling me you were a king?"
"An Emperor," one of the shadows corrected.
Lirien shot it a glare. "You stay out of this."
The shadow tilted its head but said nothing.
Kaelen ran a hand through his hair. "I don't understand. I don't remember any of this. But that city… I knew it. And when I saw myself, it wasn't like watching a stranger. It was me."
The kneeling shadows remained silent, watching.
And then the first one—the one that had spoken—took a step forward.
"Your memories are not gone," it said. "They were locked away. For a reason."
Kaelen clenched his fists. "What reason?"
The shadow hesitated.
"Because you made a choice."
---
The Price of the Eclipse
Kaelen frowned. "What choice?"
The shadow remained still for a long moment. Then, as if reaching deep into something unseen, it raised its hand.
The air shimmered, and suddenly, the ruins around them shifted again—not a vision, but something else.
This time, Kaelen was not pulled into the past.
Instead, the past was brought to him.
The shadows of long-forgotten buildings flickered in and out of existence, the outline of a palace standing where crumbling stone had once been.
And in the center of it all—
A throne.
Not gold. Not iron.
But black stone, carved with glowing runes of power.
Kaelen felt his breath catch.
He knew that throne.
And as he stared at it, a whisper slithered through his mind—
"You were the greatest ruler of the Black Sun Empire."
"You were its strength, its heart, its shadow."
"But then, you chose to forsake it."
Kaelen's head snapped up. "What?"
The shadow's voice was calm, patient.
"You sealed away your own power. Your own past. You turned away from the throne, and in doing so, the Black Sun fell."
Kaelen's body tensed. "Then why am I remembering now?"
The shadow lowered its hand, and the vision flickered out of existence.
"Because the Black Sun is rising again."
"And it will not let you run any longer."
---
The Road Ahead
Lirien had gone silent, her expression unreadable. When she finally spoke, her voice was cautious. "So let me get this straight. You were an emperor. You ruled over some shadowy kingdom. And at some point, you decided to give it all up and erase your own memories?"
Kaelen nodded slowly.
Lirien folded her arms. "Then what happens now?"
Kaelen looked at the shadows. "What do you want from me?"
The lead shadow knelt once more.
"To guide you back to your throne."
Kaelen's jaw tightened.
Because deep down, beneath the fear and uncertainty—
Beneath the lost memories—
A part of him recognized the truth.
And a part of him was afraid.
Because if the Black Sun had fallen without him…
What would it mean if he rose again?
The Path of the Fallen Emperor
Kaelen stared at the kneeling figure, the weight of its words pressing down on him like an unseen force.
"To guide you back to your throne."
The air around him felt thicker, like the world itself had tightened in anticipation of his next words.
Lirien broke the silence first. "That's a terrible idea."
Kaelen exhaled, shaking his head. "You think I don't know that?"
She stepped forward, voice sharp. "You don't remember who you were, Kaelen. Maybe you were some great emperor, maybe you were a tyrant. Hell, maybe you burned the world down. But whatever happened, you chose to leave it behind. And now, after gods know how long, these things show up and want you to just… walk back to that throne?"
She turned to the shadow. "Why now? Why is the Black Sun rising again?"
The figure slowly lifted its head, its form flickering like a dying flame.
"Because the seals are breaking."
Kaelen's heart skipped a beat. "Seals?"
"The ones you placed upon yourself. The ones you placed upon the empire."
He clenched his fists. "I don't remember doing that."
The shadow's voice was patient. "But you will."
The others around them began to stir, their forms shifting like restless spirits. And then, for the first time, the lead shadow extended its hand toward Kaelen.
"Come with us."
"See what you have forgotten."
Kaelen stared at the outstretched hand, uncertainty clawing at him.
If he took that hand, there would be no turning back.
But if he didn't…
Would the past come for him anyway?
---
A Choice Made in Shadows
Lirien's hand found his wrist, stopping him before he could move.
"Don't," she warned, her grip firm.
Kaelen met her gaze. "I need to know the truth, Lirien."
She shook her head. "No. You need to be careful. You don't know what's waiting for you on the other side of this."
Kaelen hesitated.
He didn't want to lose himself.
Didn't want to become something he didn't understand.
But the whisper of the Black Sun pulsed inside him, a hunger that refused to be ignored.
He exhaled sharply. Then—
He took the shadow's hand.
---
The Descent into Memory
The world vanished.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
For a brief moment, there was nothing—no sound, no sight, just an endless void pressing in on him from all sides.
And then—
A city.
Not the ruins from before.
Not the empire at its height.
But something in between.
Kaelen stood in the center of a crumbling palace, the great obsidian towers cracked and broken. Fires burned in the distance, and the banners of the Black Sun lay tattered and torn.
And before him, standing on the steps of his once-great throne—
Was himself.
Not the powerful Emperor from the last vision.
Not the man he was now.
But a version of him broken, bleeding, and weary beyond words.
The past Kaelen clutched a blade, its edge coated in dark blood. His robes were torn, his once-golden eyes now dimmed, as if the fire within him had burned itself out.
And in that moment—Kaelen understood.
This was the moment he had sealed himself away.
The moment he had chosen to abandon the throne.
And before his past self spoke, Kaelen already knew what words were coming.
"This must end."
---
The Price of Abandonment
Kaelen's past self drove the blade into the ground. The very air shook, and the black stone beneath his feet cracked apart.
The city groaned, as if alive, as chains of dark fire erupted from the ground, wrapping around the throne, the towers, the very heart of the empire.
Sealing it away.
Sealing himself away.
Kaelen's breath caught. He had done this.
He had willingly given up everything.
But why?
His past self turned, as if sensing his presence. Their gazes locked, and Kaelen felt something stir deep inside him—a memory not yet fully returned.
"You were right to leave it behind."
The words weren't spoken aloud. They echoed inside him, overlapping with the whispers of the shadows.
"But now the chains are breaking."
"The Black Sun is waking up."
"And it will not stop until you return."
Kaelen's surroundings shattered.
---
The Road to Reclamation
He hit the ground hard, the air rushing from his lungs as he snapped back into reality.
Lirien was above him, shaking him. "Kaelen! Damn it, wake up!"
He gasped, the taste of ash still thick on his tongue. His head throbbed, his limbs shaking.
The shadows were still there, watching.
The lead figure tilted its head.
"You see now."
Kaelen pushed himself up.
He had seen.
He had sealed away the Black Sun Empire with his own hands.
But it wasn't just coming back.
It was breaking free.
And now, he had to decide.
Would he fight to keep it buried?
Or would he take back the throne that had been waiting for him all this time?