Chapter 25 - Raid on Black Hallow

The night air was thick with tension.

The group stood in silence at the edge of the Black Hollow stronghold.

A fortress built of dark stone, hidden in the eastern mountains.

A place where the Keepers kept their prisoners.

Where they buried the past without killing it.

And tonight—

Kieran was going to burn it down.

Kieran checked his weapons.

A dagger at his belt.

A short sword on his back.

And most importantly—a plan.

Selene stood beside him, eyes sharp.

"We do this fast. No drawn-out fights. Get in, get them out, disappear."

Veyren—**a ghost who had already died once—**gripped the hilt of his blade.

"And if things go wrong?"

Kieran smirked.

"Then we make sure the Keepers regret ever building this place."

No more running.

Tonight, the war became real.

The fortress loomed above them, built into the mountainside.

Guards patrolled the walls—shadowed figures moving with precision.

Too many to fight head-on.

Selene pointed to the western ridge.

"That's our way in. There's a drainage tunnel that leads into the lower halls."

Kieran nodded.

"Then let's move."

They moved silently across the ridge.

One misstep, and the entire mission would be over.

The entrance to the tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough to crawl through.

Cold water flowed beneath them, slick stone walls pressing in.

It was a tight, suffocating space.

A place meant to keep people out.

But tonight, it was letting them in.

They emerged into a dimly lit chamber.

Stone corridors stretched before them—

Old. Cold. Unmarked.

A place meant to be forgotten.

Selene whispered.

"We split into two groups. One frees the prisoners. The other sabotages the stronghold."

Kieran smirked.

"I assume I'm on the fun team?"

Selene grinned.

"You're always on the fun team."

Kieran and Veyren moved deeper into the halls.

The walls were lined with iron doors.

Cells.

Places where history had been locked away.

Kieran stopped at the first one.

A single, heavy iron lock.

Nothing magic.

Nothing special.

Because the Keepers didn't expect anyone to come for them.

That was their first mistake.

Kieran drove his dagger into the lock.

With a sharp crack, it broke.

The door swung open.

And inside—

A pair of hollow eyes stared back at him.

A man, thin and pale, chained to the wall.

A man who had been erased.

And now?

He was coming back.

The prisoner flinched at the light.

Kieran knelt down.

"Can you stand?"

The man's voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

"Who… are you?"

Kieran smiled.

"The one who's setting you free."

He cut the chains.

And just like that—

The Keepers lost their first prisoner.

The doors began opening.

One by one.

Each cell held a survivor.

Men. Women. Some too weak to stand.

Some who had fire in their eyes.

Kieran moved fast, freeing as many as he could.

Because soon, the Keepers would realize what was happening.

And when they did—

This entire fortress would become a battlefield.

Selene's voice echoed in his earpiece.

"We've rigged the lower halls. We're set to blow."

Kieran smirked.

"Then let's make this quick."

But before he could say another word—

A horn sounded.

A deep, echoing alarm.

The Keepers knew.

And now?

The real fight was about to begin.

Kieran turned.

Footsteps thundered down the halls.

Black-cloaked figures—blades drawn.

The Keepers' enforcers.

Kieran grinned.

"Veyren. Take the prisoners and run."

Veyren hesitated.

"You're staying behind?"

Kieran drew his sword.

"Someone has to slow them down."

Veyren cursed.

But he didn't argue.

He knew this was the only way.

And with that—

He led the freed prisoners out of the hall.

And Kieran?

He turned to face the storm.

The Keepers rushed him.

Blades flashed.

Kieran moved.

The first fell fast—his throat cut before he could strike.

The second swung high.

Kieran ducked, slamming his dagger into the man's ribs.

They weren't used to fighting in close quarters.

They were used to silencing from a distance.

Kieran was faster. Meaner. Desperate.

And for the first time, the Keepers were on the losing side.

Then—

A rumble beneath his feet.

The halls shook.

An explosion ripped through the lower levels.

Selene had set the charges.

The entire fortress was coming down.

And Kieran?

He still had to get out.

He ran.

Flames licked the walls.

The corridors collapsed behind him.

He reached the main gate—

Only to find one last enemy standing in his way.

A Keeper.

Not just any.

One of the elites.

A man in silver-lined robes, sword glowing with magic.

Someone who wasn't just here to stop him.

Someone who was here to kill him.

The fire reflected in his dark eyes.

"You should not have come here, Kieran."

Kieran grinned.

"And you shouldn't have let me live."

Then—

The final battle began.

The fire raged behind him.

Smoke curled through the corridors, turning the fortress into a burning maze.

And yet—Kieran barely felt the heat.

Because standing between him and the only exit was death itself.

The Keeper Elite.

A man clad in black-and-silver robes, his blade humming with arcane power.

This wasn't some faceless enforcer.

This was a high-ranking hunter.

One of the men who had erased people like him.

And now, he was here to finish the job.

The Keeper raised his sword.

"You were never meant to exist."

Kieran exhaled slowly.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

Then—the man struck.

Kieran dodged left—barely avoiding the first slash.

The blade cut through stone like butter.

Too fast. Too strong.

This wasn't a fight Kieran could win with brute force.

So he wouldn't.

He would outthink him.

The Keeper came again.

Kieran feinted right—then twisted under the attack.

His dagger flashed, slicing through fabric—

But not flesh.

The man was too fast.

He spun, kicking Kieran square in the chest.

Kieran crashed against the stone wall, the impact rattling his ribs.

Pain.

But he'd felt worse.

The Keeper didn't press the attack.

He just watched.

"You think you are different, don't you?"

"You think you can break the cycle."

Kieran wiped blood from his lip.

"What cycle?"

The Keeper's gaze darkened.

"You know exactly what I mean."

"You were never supposed to wake up."

"You are a mistake."

Kieran grinned through the pain.

"Then let's see what happens when a mistake fights back."

The next strike came hard.

Kieran rolled low, dodging the blade by inches.

This time, he didn't counter.

He kept moving.

Forcing the fight into tighter spaces.

Cutting off the Keeper's room to maneuver.

And then—

He saw it.

A weakness.

The man's left foot dragged slightly when he stepped.

A minor detail.

A small flaw.

But in a fight like this—small flaws were fatal.

Kieran waited.

Then, when the Keeper lunged—

He struck first.

A quick, sharp kick—right at the man's weakened stance.

The Keeper's balance shifted.

Just enough.

Kieran didn't hesitate.

He slammed his dagger up, right into the man's ribs.

Deep.

Precise.

Lethal.

The Keeper staggered back, eyes wide.

"Impossible."

Blood spilled from his lips.

His sword arm trembled.

Kieran stepped forward, yanking his dagger free.

"Nothing is impossible."

The Keeper collapsed.

And just like that—the last obstacle was gone.

Smoke choked the hall.

The fortress groaned.

The fire had spread too far.

Selene's explosives had done their job.

If Kieran didn't move now, he'd be buried with the rest of this place.

He ran.

Jumped over fallen beams.

Dodged crumbling debris.

The heat seared his lungs.

Then—

He saw it.

The exit.

The iron gate stood half-open, flames licking at its edges.

Beyond it—fresh air.

Kieran pushed forward.

The ground shook beneath him.

Stone collapsed behind him.

With one final burst of strength, he threw himself through the gate—

And rolled into the dirt outside.

A second later—

The fortress caved in.

Black Hollow was gone.

Silence.

Then—a voice.

"Took you long enough."

Kieran groaned, pushing himself up.

Selene stood nearby, arms crossed, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Behind her, Veyren and the freed prisoners watched in stunned silence.

They had won.

They had done what no one else had ever dared.

They had struck the Keepers.

And worse?

They had lived.

The raid on Black Hollow wasn't just a victory.

It was a message.

The Keepers had ruled through silence.

Through erasing threats before they could grow.

But tonight—

They had failed.

And now, the world would know.

Veyren exhaled.

"They won't let this go unanswered."

Kieran smirked.

"Good."

He turned toward the road ahead.

"Let them come."

Because for the first time—

The hunted had become the hunters.

And the war that had been erased?

It had just begun again.