Chapter 5: The Shadow’s Warning

Kael's pulse quickened. The raspy voice echoed through the ruins, its tone neither hostile nor friendly but ancient. As if it had seen countless ages pass.

"You are not meant to be here Celestial Sovereign."

The words sent a chill through him. Celestial Sovereign. That name again. He didn't know what it meant, but whoever or whatever had spoken did.

Kael's instincts screamed danger. His body tensed, ready to react. He reached out with his newly awakened power, feeling the flow of time around him. If needed, he could freeze or accelerate his own movements.

From the shadows of a ruined archway, a figure emerged.

A wraith-like being, shrouded in tattered robes of black mist, its face obscured beneath a deep hood. Two piercing silver eyes glowed from within the darkness. The air around it crackled with an eerie energy, ancient and suffocating.

Kael took a slow step back. "Who no, what are you?"

The entity tilted its head, those glowing eyes never blinking.

"A remnant. A guardian. A witness to what was and what must never be again."

Kael's jaw clenched. "Enough riddles. What do you mean I'm not meant to be here?"

The wraith exhaled, a sound like the wind rustling through the void.

"Because you are the last piece of a prophecy long buried. The Celestial Sovereign was not supposed to rise again."

The weight of those words settled over Kael like an iron shackle. He didn't believe in fate. He had been a man of science in his past life. Yet, here he was reborn in a world of magic, wielding a power that defied all reason.

And now, something ancient was telling him he wasn't supposed to exist.

Kael took a step forward, defiance burning in his eyes. "Then tell me who was the Celestial Sovereign?"

The wraith's silver eyes flared.

"The one who once held dominion over time, space, and fate itself. A ruler feared by gods and emperors alike."

Kael felt his breath catch. That sounded dangerously close to the abilities he was beginning to unlock.

"And the one who nearly unmade the world."

Kael's fists clenched. "So what? You think I'm going to destroy everything?"

The wraith's form flickered, its voice dropping to a near whisper.

"That is what remains to be seen."

The air around them shifted Kael barely had time to react before the shadows twisted, and the wraith began to fade.

"Wait!" Kael took a step forward, but the figure was already dissolving into mist.

The last words it spoke sent a shiver down his spine.

"Beware the ones who sealed you away before for they will come again."

Then, silence.

Kael stood alone in the ruins, his mind racing. If what the wraith said was true, then his rebirth was no accident. Someone or something had tried to erase the Celestial Sovereign from existence.

And now, he had returned.

Kael exhaled slowly, his grip tightening.

"Then let them come."