Episode 24 – The Name That Shakes the Heart
A storm of black clouds gathered over the ruins of the abandoned arena. The sky churned with unnatural lightning, the color of ghostly violet. Kael stood at the center, blood trickling down his cheek, his cloak torn, and his breath heavy. Around him, his team struggled to get up—wounded, exhausted, but alive.
Tunde was the first to speak. "Bro... remind me again why we didn't just stay in bed today?" He winced, clutching his arm, which had a faint scorch from dark magic. "I swear even the lightning here insults you."
Lana chuckled weakly, still clutching her side. "Because we're stubborn and stupid."
Suddenly, the sky cracked open—not metaphorically, but literally. A rift, shaped like a jagged mouth, tore the heavens apart. Thunder rolled out, and then it came—a roar that was not from any creature on Earth.
The ground beneath Kael trembled. The very stone split in a perfect circle around him.
Kael's mark—the one from the werewolf bite and the chosen sigil—blazed with fire and ice. His eyes rolled back briefly, and then snapped forward, glowing pure white.
Tunde backed up, squinting. "Hey! Is it just me or is Kael about to explode?"
"No," Rhea said, shielding her face. "He's… unlocking it."
The storm intensified, the rift above glowing like a second sun.
Suddenly, a voice echoed—not in the air, but in every one of their heads. Deep. Ancient. Like the whisper of a mountain older than time.
**"Velmorth'Rael."**
A pulse of energy blasted out from Kael, sending his team flying. Even the nearby demons staggered.
Kael fell to one knee, panting. From the vortex of lightning above, a single bolt struck the earth and forged itself into metal. Fire twisted. Wind screamed. Stone fused. And when the light cleared, it stood—embedded in the ground.
A sword. Massive. Glowing with runes not of this world.
Tunde blinked. "That… is not just a sword. That is trauma wrapped in steel."
Kael reached out. The moment his hand touched the hilt, visions struck him: a colossal thunder dragon, wings spanning galaxies, roaring as it hammered the sword in the Heaven-Heart Arena nine thousand years ago.
"Velmorth'Rael," the dragon had named it.
**The Sword of Echoing Judgment. The weapon whispered by gods and dragons alike. Said to shake the heart of any who witness its summoning.**
Kael gripped it.
Lightning slammed the arena again. The earth cracked. Wind howled. Demons watching from the shadows began screeching.
Kael rose, sword in hand, eyes burning. "Let's finish this."
**---**
A portal burst open on the far side of the arena. Demons with twisted horns and skin like molten stone marched through. Behind them, robed humans chanted in forgotten tongues, blood running down their arms into ritual bowls.
"They're summoning again!" Lana yelled.
"They're using human blood to open more vortexes," Rhea said. "We have to stop the ritual!"
Kael charged forward, and every step with Velmorth'Rael in hand echoed like a quake. His swing tore through the first wave of demons, the force sending shockwaves that shattered stone and magic alike.
Lana and Rhea followed, casting sigils mid-air. Barriers clashed against spells. Tunde—still holding a staff way too big for him—charged at a demon yelling, "For breakfast and chaos!" before getting tossed back into a wall.
"Okay! That didn't work!" he shouted.
One of the robed humans, eyes completely black, grinned and raised his hands. From his shadow, a creature began to rise. Eight legs. No face. A hissing body made entirely of darkness.
Kael looked at it and narrowed his eyes.
"Velmorth'Rael," he whispered. The sword's runes glowed, and a dragon's roar echoed faintly.
He vanished—superspeed—and reappeared behind the summoner, sword already slicing through the air. The demon shrieked as it was obliterated in one swing.
The portal began to collapse.
But something was wrong.
The sword pulsed too hard. Energy flared. Kael staggered, screaming.
His team ran to him. The power—uncontrolled—had blasted outward again. Lana and Tunde were hit by the pulse and knocked out cold. Rhea barely managed to shield herself.
Kael dropped the sword, panting.
"It… it's too strong. I wasn't ready."
From the shadows, a deeper voice laughed. A tall figure stepped forward. Horned. Cloaked in fire.
"You hold the blade of the Heart," the demon said. "But do you understand its price?"
Kael raised his head, blood dripping. "No. But I will."
The demon raised a hand—and the vortex flared again.