Kaelen sat in silence, his hands gripping the cold stone beneath him. His body still trembled from the vision, his mind struggling to process the truth.
The Black Sun Empire had not been destroyed.
It had been sealed away—by his own hand.
And now, the chains that held it were breaking.
Lirien knelt beside him, her expression unusually serious. "Kaelen. Talk to me."
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself. "I saw it. The moment I sealed everything away. I chose to abandon the throne, to lock away the empire. But I still don't know why."
Lirien frowned. "Then let's hope you figure it out before the past swallows you whole."
Kaelen looked up at the shadows. "You knew all of this, didn't you?"
The lead figure nodded. "It was not our place to reveal what was taken. But now, the seals weaken. The memories will return, whether you wish them to or not."
Kaelen clenched his fists. "And if I refuse to take back the throne?"
The shadows did not speak.
But the silence was enough of an answer.
The Black Sun would rise again—with or without him.
---
The Unfinished War
Kaelen pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the way his muscles ached.
"If my memories are returning, then I need to understand everything," he said. "I need to know who I fought, what led to the empire's fall, and—most importantly—what I was trying to prevent."
The shadow inclined its head. "Then you must return to the ruins of the capital."
Kaelen's breath caught.
The Black Throne.
Even in his fragmented memories, he felt a strange pull toward it. He could still see the ruined city, the cracks in the obsidian palace, the towering throne carved from dark stone.
But there was more to it.
A presence. A lingering echo of something far greater than himself.
And something told him that once he stepped into those ruins…
There would be no turning back.
Lirien crossed her arms. "So, let me get this straight. Your cursed, sealed-away empire is coming back, the throne you abandoned is waiting, and the only way to figure out what the hell is going on is to go right into the heart of it?"
Kaelen nodded.
She sighed. "Of course it is."
---
The Journey Begins
The ruins of the Black Sun Capital lay beyond the Wastes of Nethras, a desolate stretch of land where even magic twisted and warped.
No one ventured there anymore.
Not since the fall of the empire.
The shadows guided them to the edge of a vast, barren landscape, the air thick with an unnatural stillness.
Lirien pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. "I don't like this place."
Kaelen didn't either.
The land itself felt… wrong.
As if something ancient was watching.
The deeper they traveled, the stronger the sensation became. Whispers drifted on the wind, too faint to understand. The ground beneath their feet was cracked, scorched by time and something far worse than fire.
And then—
The ruins came into view.
At the heart of the desolation stood the shattered remains of his empire.
The Black Sun Capital.
Kaelen's pulse quickened as he took in the sight of the once-magnificent city. Towers of dark stone stood broken and hollow, their skeletal remains reaching toward the sky like pleading hands. The streets were buried beneath the weight of time, covered in thick layers of ash and dust.
And at the center of it all—
The Black Throne.
It sat upon a raised dais, untouched by time, its presence suffocating even from a distance. The moment Kaelen laid eyes on it, a pulse of memory surged through him.
He had stood there before.
He had ruled from that throne.
And now, it was calling him back.
---
The Throne Awakens
Kaelen stepped forward, but before he could move closer, the air shuddered.
The whispers grew louder, twisting into something almost recognizable.
And then—the shadows moved.
Figures stirred in the ruins, rising from the dust like forgotten ghosts.
But these were no mere echoes of the past.
They were guards.
Guardians of the Black Sun Empire, bound to protect what had been lost.
And they had not forgotten their emperor.
The lead guardian, clad in fractured obsidian armor, raised its sword. Its voice echoed across the ruins.
"Who dares trespass upon the Black Sun's domain?"
Kaelen swallowed hard.
The guardians did not know who he was.
Not yet.
And if they didn't recognize him…
They would kill him where he stood.
The Emperor's Trial
The obsidian-armored guardian took a step forward, its massive blade scraping against the ruined stone. Its voice, hollow and ancient, echoed through the empty streets.
"Who dares trespass upon the Black Sun's domain?"
The air around them tightened, the presence of the guardians pressing down like an invisible force. These were not mere echoes of the past; they were sentinels, bound by duty even beyond death.
Kaelen felt the weight of those words settle in his chest. The Black Sun Empire had been sealed away for centuries, its very existence erased from history. And now, he stood before its last remaining defenders—forgotten warriors who did not recognize their own emperor.
Lirien's hand hovered over her dagger. "Kaelen," she whispered. "Do they know who you are?"
Kaelen shook his head. "No. Not yet."
He stepped forward, raising his hands slightly in a gesture of peace.
"I am Kaelen," he said. "I have come to reclaim what was lost."
The guardian's grip on its blade tightened. The air trembled.
"Lies."
Kaelen's pulse quickened.
"The Emperor of the Black Sun is gone. He abandoned his people. He abandoned us."
A second guardian emerged from the ruins, then another. Soon, there were dozens, their armor fractured but their presence unwavering. The darkness of the ruined city pulsed around them, as if feeding off their existence.
The lead guardian took another step forward.
"You are not him."
---
A Test of Blood and Will
Lirien's stance shifted slightly. "This is bad."
Kaelen exhaled slowly. He had expected this.
His memories were returning, but these warriors had spent centuries in the darkness of forgotten time. Whatever had happened on the day he sealed the empire, it had left them believing their emperor had abandoned them.
And now, they saw him as nothing more than an intruder.
Kaelen clenched his fists. "If words won't convince you," he said, "then what will?"
The lead guardian's eyes burned with a deep, unnatural glow.
"Prove yourself."
The ground beneath them cracked, a surge of dark energy rippling through the air. A ring of lightless fire erupted around them, sealing Kaelen inside with the armored warriors.
The Trial had begun.
---
Battle Among Ghosts
The first guardian moved fast, faster than any normal warrior should have been capable of. Kaelen barely had time to react before the massive sword came crashing down toward him.
He dodged to the side, but the force of the strike split the ground open, sending cracks through the stone. Dust and debris exploded into the air.
Lirien drew her dagger, ready to move, but the flames at the edge of the battlefield flared violently.
"He must fight alone," the shadows whispered.
Lirien cursed. "Of course."
Kaelen steadied himself, his instincts kicking in. The shadows whispered in his mind, memories flickering in and out of reach.
He had fought these warriors before.
Not as enemies—as his soldiers.
The guardian lunged again, its blade flashing like a falling star. Kaelen caught the strike with his own sword, the clash ringing through the ruined city. Sparks flew, and the impact sent a shockwave rippling outward.
The guardian's strength was monstrous. Inhuman.
Kaelen was driven back, his boots skidding against the cracked stone. Another attack came—relentless, merciless.
But something inside him awakened.
A flicker of a past long buried.
His grip tightened.
And then—his blade moved on its own.
A perfect counterstrike, an arc of black steel cutting through the air like it had done a thousand times before. The guardian recoiled as Kaelen's sword tore through its armor, sending shards of obsidian scattering like glass.
He had fought these warriors before.
He had trained them.
And now, he was remembering.
---
The Unraveling of Time
The shadows pulsed, and more memories rushed in.
Kaelen saw his past self standing before an army of warriors, giving commands with a voice that carried absolute authority. He saw himself leading battles against forces that sought to consume the empire.
And he saw something else—
The moment he turned his blade against them.
The moment he sealed them away.
"You were our Emperor," the guardian said, staggering back. Its voice was no longer filled with rage, but something closer to recognition.
Kaelen's chest tightened.
"I was," he admitted. "And I failed you."
The warrior stared at him for a long moment, then slowly lowered its weapon.
The other guardians followed, their movements slow, hesitant.
The darkness around them shifted, the flames that had imprisoned him fading into embers.
The lead guardian knelt.
"Then rise again, my Emperor."