THE FORGOTTEN GUARDIAN

Chapter 15

The air hummed with energy, heavy and expectant. Aya stood frozen at the edge of the reflecting pool, her heart hammering as she stared at the armored figure that had emerged from the depths.

His body, encased in ancient, water-worn metal, was unlike anything she had seen before. Golden inscriptions flickered across the plating of his armor, mirroring the symbols beneath the water's surface. His eyes, glowing with an unnatural light, locked onto Aya with an intensity that sent a chill down her spine.

Idris reached for his dagger, stepping protectively in front of her. "Aya… who the hell is this?"

Aya swallowed hard. "I don't know."

The figure tilted his head, observing them as if seeing through them. When he finally spoke, his voice was a whisper of ages past, low and resonant.

"Who dares awaken the Forgotten?"

Aya clenched her fists. The words coiled in her mind, familiar and foreign all at once.

She forced herself to speak. "Who are you?"

The figure took a slow step forward, the water parting beneath his feet as though it recognized him. "I am what remains."

Aya's pulse quickened. What remains of what?

Kael, who had been standing a few feet behind them, stepped forward now, his scholar's curiosity burning in his eyes. "Remains of what, exactly?"

The armored man's gaze flicked to Kael, and for a moment, Aya swore the light in his eyes dimmed, as if he were remembering something.

Then, slowly, he lifted a hand.

Aya tensed.

But instead of attacking, the figure traced a symbol in the air. The golden markings shimmered to life, forming a shape Aya didn't recognize.

A name.

Then he spoke.

"I was once called Varos."

Aya exchanged a glance with Idris. The name meant nothing to her. But the weight in Varos' voice… it meant everything.

"Varos," she repeated as if testing the sound. "What are you doing here? What is this place?"

Varos studied her for a long moment, then finally answered. "This is a sanctuary." His voice darkened. "And a tomb."

Aya's breath hitched.

"Tomb?" Kael echoed. His expression sharpened, and he stepped forward as if he had been waiting for this revelation. "Whose tomb?"

Varos's gaze didn't waver. "Mine."

The wind howled through the oasis.

Aya's mind raced. Varos had been buried here? But why?

The answer came before she could ask.

"You have broken the first seal," Varos said. His voice was calm, but there was something beneath it, something like… sorrow. "You do not understand what you have done."

Aya's stomach turned.

"What seal?" Idris demanded. "You mean," He cut himself off, eyes narrowing. "The thing we fought before. The shadow."

Varos nodded. "One of many."

Aya's hands went cold. "There are more."

Varos's glowing eyes locked onto hers. "Yes."

The weight of his words settled heavily in the silence that followed.

Kael took another step forward. "Tell me, what exactly was sealed here?"

Varos regarded him with something like… recognition. A faint trace of sadness.

Then he spoke.

"The Forgotten."

Aya's breath caught.

Kael stiffened. "The Forgotten…" He whispered the word as if he had heard it before. His fingers curled into a fist. "You mean the ones erased from history. The ones the Archive has no record of."

Varos inclined his head slightly. "Because they were not meant to be remembered."

Aya could feel the weight of his words. The Forgotten had been erased for a reason.

And she had awakened them.

Varos stepped toward her now, slow but purposeful. "You hold the key," he said, his gaze dropping to her palm.

Aya looked down. The black stone still rested there, cold as ice.

"You were chosen."

Aya met his gaze, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest. "Chosen for what?"

Varos was silent for a moment. Then he said:

"To finish what I could not."

Aya's heart skipped a beat.

Before she could respond, a sudden crack split the air.

Aya spun around just in time to see the golden inscriptions on the pool flicker violently, then fade.

The oasis shuddered beneath their feet.

The second seal was breaking.

And they weren't ready.

The Second Seal

The golden light of the inscriptions snapped out like dying embers. Aya felt the shift in the air before she saw it, a pull as if the oasis itself was being drained.

Then the shadows returned.

They spilled from the water, twisting and writhing like living ink. They were stronger this time, moving with purpose, their forms shifting too quickly to track.

Aya's pulse pounded. "Idris"

"I see them." He already had his blade drawn.

Varos took a step forward, his glowing eyes narrowing.

Then, without hesitation, he lifted a hand—and the symbols on his armor flared to life.

Light met shadow.

The moment the two forces clashed, a shockwave ripped through the oasis, sending sand and wind spiraling into the air.

Aya staggered back, shielding her face. She heard Idris curse, and Kael shouted something she couldn't make out.

Then, silence.

When Aya finally opened her eyes, the shadows were gone.

The oasis still.

Varos stood at the water's edge, his breathing heavy. The light in his eyes had dimmed slightly.

Aya took a slow step forward. "Are they"

A crack.

Her blood ran cold.

She turned just in time to see the ancient stone at the center of the oasis splinter.

Then, slowly, it began to crumble.

Aya felt it then, a presence, deep beneath the earth.

A voice, not like Varos's, not like the shadows, something older.

It whispered into her bones.

"The Third Seal awaits."

Aya's breath caught.

This wasn't over.

It had only just begun.

What's Next?

What happens when the third seal breaks?

Who, or what, are the Forgotten?

Is Varos truly an ally, or is he hiding something? 👇