Chapter 21: The Forgotten Battlefield

The sudden attack jolted Adrian out of his thoughts. He barely had time to raise his blade before the skeletal warrior's rusted sword clashed against his own. The impact sent a jolt through his body, and he gritted his teeth as the vibrations raced down his arm. The skeletal soldier didn't hesitate. It swung again, its movements erratic but unrelenting, as though driven by some dark force.

Kael was quick to react, swinging his axe and cleaving through another soldier's ribcage. But it wasn't enough. More soldiers rose from the dust, their hollow eyes empty but filled with an unmistakable hunger. Their numbers were endless, and with each passing moment, the weight of the past grew heavier.

"We can't kill them all!" Kael shouted, his voice strained. He swung again, his axe catching another warrior's skull, but still, more rose. The battlefield was alive with them, as though the very earth was producing them from the bones of those long dead.

Adrian's breath was labored, his body tense, as he parried another strike. He knew they couldn't win this fight. That much was certain. The skeletal soldiers were relentless, their hunger insatiable. But then, amidst the chaos, a deeper realization hit him.

This wasn't about fighting. It was about remembering.

His grip tightened around his sword, and as his mind cleared, the battlefield—the chaos—began to shift. The memories, buried deep within him, began to surface. The echoes of his past, the voices that whispered in the wind, became clearer.

And then, he saw it. His own reflection in the hollow eyes of the soldiers. A memory long buried surged up from the depths of his soul.

This wasn't just another battlefield. It was his battlefield.

He had led these soldiers. He had commanded them. And then, he had left them behind.