Chapter 6: The Chains of Fate

The wind howled through the ruins, whispering secrets of a forgotten age. Kael stood frozen, his mind turning over the wraith's final words.

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

Who were they? Gods? Kings? Something worse?

A surge of frustration burned in his chest. He had been thrown into this world, forced into a body not his own, granted a power that felt both limitless and unstable and now he was being warned of enemies he didn't even know existed.

He needed answers. But first, he needed to survive.

Kael turned his gaze toward the horizon. Beyond the Forsaken Lands lay the Border Cities, the last outposts before the great empires began. If he could make it there, he could gather information, find out who still remembered Kael Draven, and learn what had truly happened to the fallen prince.

But the Forsaken Lands weren't empty.

His inherited memories whispered of monsters lurking in the deeper ruins, creatures far worse than the Nightfang Stalker he had killed. Staying here meant waiting for something stronger to find him.

He moved.

His body, now enhanced by the mana core, felt lighter, faster, stronger. The Forsaken Lands stretched endlessly, but his new strength allowed him to traverse the shattered terrain with ease. Each step sent him soaring over broken pillars and jagged cliffs, his reflexes sharper than ever.

As he ran, he focused inward, trying to understand the force inside him.

The Celestial Sovereign The one who held dominion over time, space, and fate itself.

If he was truly inheriting this power, then he needed to master it before his enemies even realized he was alive.

But something else gnawed at him why had he been sealed away in the first place? If he had been some kind of unstoppable force in another lifetime, why had he been erased from history?

His thoughts were cut short when he sensed it.

A presence.

Not one. Many.

Kael skidded to a stop, dropping into a low stance. The ruins ahead were deathly silent, the air thick with tension.

Then movement.

From the shadows of the broken structures, figures emerged.

Humanoid. Cloaked. But not human.

Their limbs were too long, their fingers ending in curved claws. Their eyes glowed an unnatural violet, void of emotion.

Kael's breath slowed. He had seen these creatures before.

Shadeborn.

Assassins of the Ebon Court, an order of hunters who tracked and eliminated anything deemed a threat to the balance of the world.

Kael's jaw clenched. Did they already know?

One of the Shadeborn stepped forward. Its voice was a whisper, yet it carried across the ruins like a blade slicing through air.

"The exile still breathes."

Another figure tilted its head. "An error to be corrected."

Kael's pulse quickened. He was not ready for this fight. His power was still unrefined, and these assassins weren't mindless beasts.

They were killers.

One of the Shadeborn moved, vanishing in a blur of darkness.

Kael barely had time to react before a blade was already at his throat.

"Too slow."

No.

Not this time.

Kael's instincts ignited. The force inside him surged.

Time bent.