The echo of chains breaking had barely faded when the scent of danger returned to the wind.
Kael stood tall in the wreckage of the High Court, blue energy flickering around him like living fire. Lord Veylan lay unconscious, the demonic presence exorcised but the battle had stirred something else. Something ancient. Something bound to awaken if Kael ever did.
And it had.
Eva's expression darkened as the wind howled through the broken windows of the throne hall. "They're coming."
Kael turned sharply. "Who?"
Eva's voice was quiet, but filled with weight. "The Sentinels. The ones who sealed you. The ones who swore to keep you buried."
The Return of the Sentinels
Beyond the shattered court, a tremor rumbled through the stones of Velinar. Bells tolled without reason. The air turned cold and metallic, as if magic itself had recoiled.
Then came the flash silver lights streaking down from the clouds, slamming into the earth like divine judgment.
Five figures emerged from the smoke, clad in black armor etched with golden runes, their eyes hidden behind helms of polished obsidian. Their presence silenced the city. Birds fled. Magic flickered.
Eva's face tightened. "The Order of the Shackled Flame. They were once guardians of the realm. Now, they serve silence."
One stepped forward. A woman, tall and sharp like a blade. "You should not exist," she said, voice emotionless. "The seal was absolute. You were not meant to awaken."
Kael's voice was calm but firm. "I wasn't meant to be forsaken, either."
The woman's helm tilted slightly. "You pose a threat to the balance. The Sovereign blood must never rise."
"I didn't ask for this power," Kael said. "But I won't run from it. Not anymore."
Trial by Flame
The Sentinels raised their hands. Rings of sealing magic burst into the sky, forming a massive dome of energy around the court. Sigils of ancient laws and lost oaths pulsed in the air.
"They're going to bind you again," Eva warned, stepping in front of Kael. "They think they're protecting the world."
Kael's eyes flashed. "But they're just protecting a lie."
The first Sentinel moved. She struck with speed Kael barely saw, her blade humming with suppressive magic. Kael parried with instinct, the Sovereign energy guiding him—barely deflecting the blow.
Another came from the side, chain-whip gleaming with nullification runes.
Kael dodged and retaliated, his magic slamming the ground and flaring upward like a geyser of light. The court exploded with force, tossing several of the Sentinels back—but they rose unfazed.
Eva flanked one, using her spells to disrupt their formations, casting mirage and fire illusions. "You have to leave, Kael!" she shouted. "You're not ready—not yet!"
Kael's pulse thundered in his ears. Power surged through him, but it was raw, unstable. The seal might be broken, but his control wasn't complete.
One Sentinel drove a sealing spear toward his chest.
Eva intercepted it with a roar of flame—but she was struck in the process, flung across the chamber.
Kael rushed to her, catching her before she hit the wall.
"Eva!" he whispered.
"I'm fine," she hissed. "But you have to go. These are not enemies you fight half-awake. Not yet."
Kael hesitated. Every instinct screamed to stay and fight. To finish what had begun.
But Sylara's voice echoed in him again.
"Sometimes a king must retreat not in weakness, but in wisdom."
He gritted his teeth. Then nodded.
Eva conjured a glyph beneath them—an emergency rift spell.
The Sentinels charged.
Just as the dome cracked, Kael and Eva vanished in a blaze of azure light.
Aftermath
The court was left in ruins. One of the Sentinels kneeled where Kael had stood, touching the fractured marble.
"He's no longer asleep," she murmured.
Another nodded. "If he masters it, not even the Demon Lord will be able to stop him."
Their leader stood silent for a long moment.
Then she said coldly, "Then we must destroy him before he does."