Chapter 7: Into the Ruins of Varrenthia

The road to Varrenthia was anything but easy.

Kael and his newfound team left the Watchers' underground hideout before dawn, slipping through the slums before the city fully awoke. Selene led them to a hidden escape route—an abandoned aqueduct beneath the capital, long forgotten by the empire.

By the time they emerged, the sun was rising, casting a crimson glow over the landscape.

Kael took in his first real look at the world outside the capital. Rolling hills stretched toward a distant, jagged mountain range. Beyond them, half-buried in the shadow of ancient cliffs, lay the ruins of Varrenthia.

Nyssa, the Hexborn sorceress, adjusted the straps on her satchel. "It'll take us two days to reach the ruins on foot. Three if we run into trouble."

Kael exhaled. "And let me guess—trouble is guaranteed."

Lysara, the Runeblade, smirked. "Always."

Raith, the rogue, was already checking his weapons. "Then let's hope we're the kind of trouble that survives."

Kael's fingers tightened around the Voidfang Dagger. We better be.

A Land Cursed by Time

By nightfall, they had crossed into the ashen fields of Varrenthia.

The air grew thicker, heavy with something Kael couldn't name. The land here was wrong—too quiet, too still. No birds. No wind. Just emptiness.

It wasn't natural.

Lysara touched the hilt of her sword. "This place stinks of old magic."

Nyssa nodded. "Cursed magic."

Kael clenched his jaw. The fractures in his mind itched the moment they stepped onto the dead soil. As if the very air here recognized him—recognized the power inside him.

The same power that had destroyed this place.

The thought made his stomach twist.

Raith's voice broke the silence. "Looks like we're not alone."

Kael snapped his gaze forward.

Figures stood in the ruins ahead.

At first, they looked like statues, their bodies draped in tattered robes, their faces hidden behind cracked, featureless masks.

But then—one moved.

A low, rattling breath echoed through the ruins, and Kael realized—

They weren't statues.

They were watching him.

The Forgotten Sentinels

Kael drew his dagger, the cursed blade humming in his grip.

The masked figures stood unmoving, but their presence alone sent a chill down his spine.

Nyssa murmured, "They shouldn't be here."

Lysara tightened her grip on her runeblade. "What are they?"

Kael's system pinged.

[New Enemy Identified: The Forgotten Sentinels]

[Ancient guardians of the Abyssal Archive. Bound by fractured oaths.]

Kael exhaled slowly. Guardians.

That meant one thing—they weren't leaving without a fight.

One of the Sentinels shifted, its masked face tilting toward Kael. Then, without warning, it moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

Kael barely had time to react before the creature lunged, its skeletal fingers stretching toward his throat.

[Skill Activated: Shadow Step]

Kael vanished, reappearing ten feet away, but his breath hitched as the fractures inside him deepened.

[Warning: System Instability Increasing.]

Damn it. He was already breaking, and the fight had just started.

Lysara roared and swung her blade, runes igniting in golden light. The Sentinel blocked the strike with its bare hand, black veins crawling up its arm.

Nyssa raised a hand, muttering an incantation—arcane fire erupted from her palm, slamming into the creature's chest.

It barely flinched.

Kael gritted his teeth. This wasn't going to be easy.

Then Raith appeared behind the Sentinel, two daggers flashing. A precise strike to the back of the neck.

The creature froze, then collapsed into dust.

Kael's system chimed.

[Enemy Defeated: 1/??]

[Warning: Additional Sentinels Approaching.]

He looked up.

The remaining Sentinels were moving now, their slow, deliberate steps echoing through the ruins.

And more were rising from the rubble.

Kael exhaled. Of course it couldn't be that easy.

"Hope you're all warmed up," he muttered.

Lysara cracked her knuckles. "Now it's getting fun."

Nyssa's eyes glowed. "Focus. These things aren't normal undead."

Raith twirled his daggers. "I noticed. You think they can feel pain?"

Kael smirked. "Let's find out."

The Sentinels charged.

And the real battle began.

End of Chapter 7

Now Kael and his team face The Forgotten Sentinels, ancient guardians of the Abyssal Archive. But what secrets are they protecting? And what truly happened in Varrenthia?