I. Fire from the Trees
The cultists struck just as the last ray of sun slipped behind the mountain.
From both sides of the clearing, black-cloaked figures erupted from the underbrush—half-glimpsed shadows with blades and twisted relics, moving in perfect silence until the first sword clashed.
Aren was the first to meet them, steel already drawn, his shout echoing through the glade.
"Form up!"
Corin stepped in front of Kai without hesitation, drawing his longsword in one clean motion, his eyes sharp and unreadable.
Lina raised her staff, glowing with divine light, and threw up a shimmering barrier around their left flank. A cultist's spell struck it with a hiss, scattering sparks across the old stone.
"There's too many!" she yelled.
"They're not here to kill us," Kai breathed. "They're trying to stop us. Delay us."
But as he said it, he knew—they didn't care who got hurt in the process.
II. The Scarred One
A man emerged from the crowd—bald, with a lattice of scars across his scalp and neck, tattoos crawling like black vines into the collar of his robes.
He didn't wear a mask.
He wanted them to see his face.
"Kai Ardyn," the man said with reverence and venom. "Kalai's memory stirs in you. And we… are here to test it."
Lina's light flared in response to the name, her hand tightening on her staff.
"We don't want this!" Kai shouted. "You don't even understand what you're awakening!"
"We understand enough," the cultist replied.
He raised a crystalline shard—dark, jagged, and pulsing with malevolent energy.
"Witness the echo we bring!"
III. A Remnant Unleashed
The shard shattered in his hand.
Black mist surged from the fragments, swirling toward a kneeling cultist who screamed as the fog engulfed him. His body seized, then stilled.
Then convulsed.
Then changed.
The figure that rose was no longer human.
It stood tall and bloated, muscles warped by divine corruption. Ghostly wings burst from its back, dripping black light, and its eyes glowed with fractured silver.
A mouth opened in its chest, weeping mist and whispers.
It was a fused remnant—part man, part divine echo, entirely unstable.
"By the gods," Seren murmured.
"Karos," Lina breathed. "That was once Karos the Dawn Herald…"
"Not anymore," Kai whispered. "It's hollow."
And it was charging.
IV. Battle in the Glade
The creature moved fast for its size.
Aren barely blocked its first swing, his blade sparking off claw-like arms. Corin ducked low and slashed at its side, but the wound closed before the blood hit the ground.
"Physical attacks won't hold it!" Corin shouted.
"Then we need to hit what it used to be," Kai muttered.
Lina's eyes met his. "Echo magic."
She planted her staff into the earth.
"Divine light, bind the forgotten!"
"Aetha vel'numin!"
A net of golden threads shot from her staff, wrapping around the creature. For a heartbeat, it howled—and faltered.
But then it roared, flaring its wings and breaking free with a shockwave of force that knocked Lina off her feet.
"Lina!" Kai shouted.
Aren caught her before she hit the stone.
"She's okay!" he grunted. "But she can't cast again too soon."
V. The Memory Within
The shard at Kai's chest flared.
Not hot.
Not cold.
Alive.
Kai's vision blurred. He saw flashes—not of the present, but memories not his own:
A golden temple at dawn
A figure made of fire and sky, offering light to pilgrims
A name whispered over centuries: Karos, Guardian of Wayrest
"You're not this," Kai whispered to the creature. "You were a protector. You watched over travelers."
The creature hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Kai stepped forward, ignoring Corin's shout.
The creature's mouth opened—too wide, too deep—and the voice that came out was twofold: a man's scream and a divine weep.
"The gate… the gate must stay closed…"
"Who are you really?" Kai said. "What do you remember?"
He raised his hand.
Felt the shard hum in response.
And spoke without thinking:
"Vera'tai Kalem."
The words glowed in the air, seared in silver fire.
The creature reeled.
Light cracked along its limbs.
"He's cleansing it!" Seren yelled.
"Keep the others back!"
Aren and Corin clashed with cultists still trying to flank, blades flashing.
Seren threw a knife through one's hand, dropping a spell mid-cast.
But all eyes were on Kai.
He stepped forward again.
Each word burned on his tongue, but it felt right.
"Karos, I call your memory. You were the light. You were the watcher. Remember yourself!"
The creature screamed—this time in pain, not rage.
And light burst from its core.
VI. A God Unbound
The remnant peeled away from the host, rising like smoke into the air.
Its true form flickered—a great winged being of light and fire, mournful and serene.
Its voice whispered through the clearing:
"Thank you."
Then it vanished, leaving behind the cultist's unconscious body, trembling but alive.
The cult froze.
Then broke.
Some fled.
Others dropped their weapons.
Even the scarred leader hesitated.
"He… he remembered it," one whispered.
"He brought it back," said another.
The scarred one hissed.
"We're not done. The gate will open."
But he, too, vanished into the trees.
VII. Smoke and Silence
The clearing was still.
The fight had ended.
But the war had started.
Kai dropped to his knees, exhausted.
The shard at his chest dimmed, quiet again.
Lina limped over, blood at her lip, and sank beside him.
"You did it."
He nodded, barely able to speak.
Aren sheathed his sword, breathing hard.
Corin stood in silence, eyes fixed on the burned grass.
Seren looked out into the forest.
"They'll come again."
"I know," Kai whispered.
"But next time," he said, standing with difficulty, "I won't just remember."
"I'll be ready."