Chapter 24 - Ones Who Watch From Below

The underground passage stretched into the darkness, the air thick with the scent of damp stone and forgotten time.

Kieran kept his pace steady, his eyes locked on the woman leading him deeper into the unknown.

Selene.

A name he didn't recognize.

A face he had never seen.

And yet—she had saved him.

Which meant one of two things.

Either she was an ally he didn't know he had.

Or she was another player in a game he still didn't fully understand.

They moved through the tunnels for what felt like hours.

The deeper they went, the colder it became.

Not just the damp chill of underground stone.

Something else.

Something older.

Something watching.

Kieran felt it.

Like the walls themselves were listening.

He kept his voice steady.

"Where are we going?"

Selene didn't slow her pace.

"To the only place the Keepers can't reach."

The tunnel finally opened up.

And Kieran stilled.

Because before him was a city.

Or what was left of one.

Massive stone pillars stretched high into the cavern above, supporting the remains of crumbling buildings.

Bridges and walkways connected different levels, forming a maze of pathways above an underground lake.

Faint lights flickered in the distance—signs of life.

This was no ordinary hideout.

This was something far older.

Something not meant to be found.

Selene finally stopped, turning toward him.

"Welcome to the Undercity."

Kieran exhaled slowly.

"This place… it shouldn't exist."

Selene smirked.

"And yet, here we are."

Her voice was laced with something amused.

Something that told Kieran this was only the beginning.

Figures moved in the shadows.

People.

But not ordinary people.

Kieran recognized the way they moved.

Silent. Careful. Watching.

Survivors.

Rogues.

People who had learned to live beneath the surface of the world.

And suddenly, he understood.

"You've been hiding from the Keepers."

Selene chuckled.

"Not hiding. Waiting."

Kieran's stomach tightened.

Because the way she said it—

The way these people watched him—

They weren't just survivors.

They were waiting for him.

Kieran folded his arms.

"You knew I was coming."

Selene's smirk didn't fade.

"We knew someone like you would come."

"We just didn't know if you'd make it this far."

Kieran's mind raced.

The Keepers had spent years erasing people like him.

But these people?

They had been collecting them.

"Who are you?" Kieran finally asked.

Selene's expression shifted.

"We are the ones who remember."

She gestured to the city around them.

"We are the ones the Keepers could not erase."

Kieran's pulse quickened.

He had spent his second life alone.

Fighting in the dark. Searching for answers.

But now, standing here—

He realized he wasn't the only one.

The Keepers had been burying the past.

But the past had not been destroyed.

It had been waiting.

Growing.

Preparing.

And now, it was waking up.

Selene's gaze hardened.

"You've been looking for answers, Kieran."

"You've been fighting a war you barely understand."

She stepped closer.

"But the truth is—this war has been waiting for you."

Kieran exhaled.

He didn't like where this was going.

"What do you mean?"

Selene smiled faintly.

"You already know."

"You read the prophecy."

Kieran's chest tightened.

The one who returns shall stand at the crossroads.

One will bring the kingdom to ruin.

One will bring war beyond reckoning.

And one shall decide the fate of all.

And suddenly, he understood why they were waiting.

Selene's voice was quiet.

"You think the Keepers fear you because of what you've learned."

"But they fear you because of what you might become."

Kieran's hands clenched.

He had never wanted this.

Never asked for it.

But it didn't matter.

Because whether he wanted it or not—

The war had already chosen him.

Kieran took a deep breath.

"So what now?"

Selene studied him.

"Now, we prepare."

"Because the Keepers will not stop."

"And if we don't strike first—"

"We won't get another chance."

Kieran exhaled.

He had spent so much time searching for the truth.

And now that he had it?

It was heavier than he ever imagined.

Selene turned, leading him deeper into the Undercity.

"You have a choice, Kieran."

"You can run. Disappear. The Keepers will keep hunting, but maybe—just maybe—you'll survive."

She paused.

"Or you can fight."

She met his gaze.

"And finally take back what they stole from you."

Kieran inhaled slowly.

He had spent two lifetimes running.

Two lifetimes losing.

And for the first time, he realized—

He wasn't running anymore.

"I've made my choice."

Selene nodded.

"Then we begin tonight."

Because the war that had been erased?

It was about to be written again.

And this time—Kieran would make sure no one forgot.

Kieran followed Selene deeper into the Undercity, the weight of her words settling into his bones.

The Keepers had spent centuries rewriting history.

But here, in this hidden place, the truth had survived.

And now?

It was preparing to rise again.

They stepped into a massive underground chamber.

Dozens of figures stood in the dim firelight, their faces shadowed beneath hoods and scarves.

Some were warriors, blades strapped to their backs.

Others were scholars, clutching old tomes.

And at the center, a stone map of the kingdom stretched across a great table.

A battlefield.

Kieran recognized what this was immediately.

A war room.

And he was standing in the heart of it.

Selene gestured to the gathered figures.

"These are the ones the Keepers tried to erase."

A man with burns along his arms stepped forward.

"I was a historian. I uncovered records that didn't match the official stories."

A woman with one eye and a jagged scar across her throat spoke next.

"I was a knight who asked the wrong questions."

Then, another—a former noble, dressed in ragged finery.

"I tried to warn the war council about the prophecy."

One by one, they told their stories.

One by one, Kieran realized—

He was not the first to seek the truth.

But he was the first to survive this long.

Selene exhaled.

"The Keepers think they control the past."

"But they don't realize—"

She gestured to the people before them.

"The past is still alive."

Kieran felt it.

This wasn't just a resistance.

This was a reckoning.

And for the first time, he wasn't the only one fighting.

Kieran leaned over the stone map.

Dozens of markers were placed across key locations in the kingdom.

But one in particular stood out.

A fortress near the eastern border.

"What's this?" he asked.

Selene's expression darkened.

"One of the Keepers' hidden strongholds."

"It's where they take the people they erase."

Kieran's stomach twisted.

"You mean—"

Selene nodded.

"Not everyone they erase is killed outright."

"Some are kept alive."

Kieran felt a slow burn of rage.

The Keepers weren't just silencing voices.

They were holding prisoners.

"Who do they have there?"

Selene met his gaze.

"People like you."

A heavy silence settled over the chamber.

Then Kieran exhaled.

"Then that's our first target."

A few of the others tensed.

"We've never launched a direct strike before," one of them said.

"We don't have the numbers," another added.

Kieran smirked.

"Then we don't fight them like an army."

He pointed to the map.

"We strike like a ghost."

"Get in. Get the prisoners out. Leave them nothing but ashes."

Selene grinned.

"I like the way you think."

Kieran's mind raced.

This was his first move.

His first real strike against the Keepers.

If they pulled it off—

They wouldn't just save the prisoners.

They would show the world that the Keepers were not untouchable.

But if they failed…

They wouldn't get another chance.

Kieran turned to Selene.

"How soon can we move?"

Selene didn't hesitate.

"Tomorrow night."

"We'll need to be fast, quiet. If we do this right, they won't even realize we were there until it's too late."

Kieran nodded.

"And if we do it wrong?"

Selene grinned.

"Then we make sure we take as many of them down with us as possible."

Kieran chuckled.

"I think I'm starting to like you."

The gathering dispersed.

The plan was set.

Tomorrow night, they would strike the Keepers for the first time.

And as Kieran sat alone in the dim candlelight, he let the reality of it settle.

He had spent his life searching for answers.

Now, he had them.

And soon, the Keepers would feel the consequences of their lies.

Because the war they buried was coming back.

And Kieran?

He was done running.