Chapter 26 - Keepers Retaliation

The fires of Black Hollow still burned in the distance.

Smoke curled into the night sky, a silent declaration of war.

Kieran stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the ruins.

For the first time, the Keepers had bled.

For the first time, they had lost.

But he knew—this wasn't over.

The Keepers never allowed defiance to go unanswered.

And soon, their retaliation would come.

The freed prisoners were gathered below, tending to the wounded.

Some whispered in awe.

Others in fear.

Because they knew.

This wasn't just a battle.

This was an act of war.

Selene approached, arms crossed.

"They'll move fast. We need to be gone by sunrise."

Kieran nodded.

"Then let's not waste time."

But before they could leave—

The first sign of the Keepers' response arrived.

A raven.

Black as the void.

It landed on a broken tree stump, staring at Kieran.

Something was tied to its leg.

A parchment, sealed in red wax.

Selene exhaled.

"They never send messages."

"They erase."

Kieran untied the parchment.

Broke the seal.

And as he read the words, his hands tightened.

Because the Keepers weren't just responding.

They were making this personal.

"You have taken something from us, Kieran."

"Now we take something from you."

"Come alone, or we will erase them all."

There was no name.

No location.

Just a mark at the bottom.

An insignia older than the kingdom itself.

Selene leaned over his shoulder.

Her voice was cold.

"They've taken someone."

Kieran's jaw clenched.

Because he knew who.

There was only one person the Keepers could use to strike at him directly.

Calderon.

Kieran exhaled slowly.

He had known.

From the moment he burned Black Hollow, he had known.

The Keepers would strike back.

But he hadn't expected this.

Not yet.

Selene watched him carefully.

"You know where they're keeping him?"

Kieran nodded.

"I have a guess."

Because the Keepers didn't kill their leverage.

Not right away.

They took them somewhere no one could reach.

Somewhere meant to break them.

And if Kieran was right—

Calderon was already on his way to the Vault of Silence.

Selene folded her arms.

"Then we move now."

But Kieran shook his head.

"No."

Selene frowned.

"You're not seriously thinking of going alone?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking."

Selene cursed.

"This is a trap. You know that, right?"

"Of course it's a trap."

Kieran smirked.

"That's why I'm going to spring it."

The Vault was a Keepers-only facility.

A place where information was extracted.

Where people weren't just forgotten.

They were rewritten.

If Calderon was there, he wasn't just a hostage.

He was a target for erasure.

And Kieran had one chance to get him out.

Selene grabbed his wrist.

"You don't have to do this alone."

Kieran met her gaze.

"I know."

"But if we move as a group, we risk everyone."

"This is between me and them."

Selene's fingers tightened.

Then—she let go.

Her voice was quiet.

"You better come back alive."

Kieran smirked.

"That's the plan."

And with that, he turned toward the shadows.

Because the Keepers thought they had trapped him.

But they were wrong.

Because this wasn't his execution.

This was his next move.

And by the time he was done—

The Keepers would wish they had never sent that raven.

The Vault of Silence was more than a prison.

It was a place where history disappeared.

Where the Keepers unraveled identities, memories, and names.

And if Calderon was inside, time was running out.

Because soon, he wouldn't just be a hostage.

He would be erased.

Kieran moved like a shadow.

The Vault was hidden beneath an abandoned monastery, carved into the mountainside.

No banners.

No guards in plain sight.

Because the Keepers didn't defend this place.

They didn't need to.

No one who entered ever left.

But tonight, Kieran would change that.

He scaled the outer wall, his breath steady despite the cold wind.

The monastery loomed above him, its stone towers barely visible in the mist.

A single window—his way in.

He reached it, carefully prying open the rusted iron bars.

Then—he slipped inside.

And for the first time, he stepped into the Vault of Silence.

The air was heavy. Wrong.

The halls were lined with torches that didn't flicker.

Not natural flame.

Something else.

Something watching.

Kieran moved carefully, avoiding the robed figures drifting between rooms.

They didn't speak.

Didn't acknowledge each other.

Because in the Vault, names were meaningless.

Only silence remained.

Kieran scanned the long corridors, searching for signs of imprisonment.

No cells.

No chains.

Because this wasn't a dungeon.

It was a factory.

And its purpose wasn't punishment.

It was erasure.

Then—he heard it.

A voice.

Weak. Strained. Barely human.

"…you should kill me now… because I will never… never… break."

Kieran's blood ran cold.

Calderon.

Kieran followed the voice deeper.

Until he reached a great, circular room.

At the center, Calderon knelt.

Arms bound.

Eyes dark with exhaustion.

But he was alive.

And standing over him—a Keeper.

One unlike the others.

Not an enforcer.

Not an elite warrior.

But something worse.

A Rewriter.

A man who didn't kill.

A man who unmade.

The Keeper's voice was smooth. Detached.

"Memory is fragile, you know."

"A name. A face. A past."

He touched Calderon's forehead, and the man shuddered.

"With enough time, even the strongest minds can be reshaped."

Kieran felt rage coil in his chest.

They weren't torturing Calderon for information.

They were breaking him apart.

And soon—he wouldn't even remember who he was.

Kieran moved.

Fast. Silent. Lethal.

The Keeper barely had time to react before Kieran's dagger found his throat.

A sharp gasp—

Then silence.

The Rewriter collapsed, blood spilling across the cold stone.

Calderon blinked blearily.

"…Kieran?"

Kieran cut his bindings.

"It's me."

"Let's get out of here."

The moment Calderon stood, the air shifted.

A deep, unnatural hum.

As if the Vault itself had sensed the intrusion.

And then—the alarms began to ring.

Not bells.

Not horns.

But whispers.

Hundreds of them.

Rushing through the halls like a storm of voices.

Kieran grabbed Calderon.

"We run. Now."

Because the Vault of Silence was waking up.

And they had only seconds before it consumed them.

The Keepers were coming.

Kieran and Calderon moved fast, dodging through the corridors.

Figures in black robes emerged from hidden alcoves, their hands crackling with dark energy.

Kieran cut the first down before he could react.

Calderon, despite his exhaustion, grabbed a fallen blade.

"I'm not dead yet."

And then—they fought.

They reached the exit.

A massive, iron door—already beginning to close.

Their last way out.

Kieran pushed forward, his body screaming with exertion.

The Keepers were closing in.

He could feel their presence.

Their whispers turning into screams.

Then—

They burst through the doors.

And the cold night air rushed over them.

They were out.

But they weren't safe yet.

The Keepers poured from the Vault like shadows given form.

No hesitation.

No fear.

Just relentless pursuit.

Kieran turned, panting.

"We can't outrun them."

Calderon wiped blood from his brow.

"Then we make sure they don't follow."

Kieran grinned.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

The monastery was old. Fragile.

And it only took one spark.

Kieran pulled an explosive charge from his cloak.

A gift from Selene.

He lit the fuse.

And threw it into the entrance.

For a moment—nothing.

Then—

Fire.

A deafening blast.

The entire entrance collapsed, burying the Keepers inside.

Sealing them in their own grave.

And just like that—

The Vault of Silence was no more.

The dust settled.

The flames flickered.

And Kieran and Calderon stood victorious.

Calderon exhaled.

"Remind me never to get kidnapped again."

Kieran chuckled.

"Deal."

But he knew—this wasn't over.

The Keepers had just lost another stronghold.

And they wouldn't let this slide.

Their retaliation had failed.

Which meant the next time they struck?

They wouldn't hold back.

As they walked away, Calderon glanced at him.

"What now?"

Kieran tightened his grip on his blade.

"Now?"

"Now, we stop waiting for them to strike."

"We take the fight to them."

Because this wasn't just about surviving anymore.

This was about finishing what they started.

And for the first time—the Keepers were afraid.

Because Kieran wasn't just trying to escape them anymore.

He was coming for them.

And when he was done—

There would be nothing left of their legacy.