**Chapter 34: Whispers in the Dark**

**Chapter 34: Whispers in the Dark**

The low hum that had rippled through Eldrin sent shivers down Jack's spine. He scanned the darkened streets, the golden flames flickering as if disturbed by an unseen force. Shadow remained still beside him, his golden eyes locked on the horizon, ears twitching with anticipation.

Marik tightened his grip on his spear. "That wasn't the wind."

Jack nodded, his body tensed. The fire of Eldrin had returned, but something in the air told him it had not gone unnoticed. He had been so focused on restoring the city that he hadn't considered what it might attract.

The survivors gathered near the brazier at the plaza's center, their murmurs laced with fear. Hellen, her wrinkled hands gripping the edges of her shawl, took a hesitant step forward. "What was that?"

Jack exhaled, keeping his voice steady. "I don't know. But we'll find out."

The hum came again, lower this time, almost as if whatever had caused it was waiting—**listening.**

Jack turned to Marik. "Get everyone inside. Lock the doors. If anything moves that shouldn't, don't hesitate."

Marik hesitated, but after one look at Jack's expression, he nodded and began ushering the survivors toward the nearest intact buildings. Some resisted at first, whispering prayers, but when the sound returned, no one argued.

Jack placed a hand on Shadow's back. "Let's go."

Together, they moved toward the outer edges of Eldrin. The streets were eerily quiet, the once-lifeless city now humming with something unseen. The firelights flickered, casting moving shadows along the walls, making it hard to tell what was real and what was illusion.

Jack's grip on his sword tightened. **If there was something here, he wasn't going to let it catch them off guard.**

As they reached the eastern gate, Shadow suddenly stopped, his body rigid. A growl rumbled from his throat, low and threatening.

Jack followed his gaze.

At the edge of the fire's reach, just beyond the city walls, **a figure stood in the darkness.**

It wasn't a Veilborn—Jack knew their presence, the way the void seemed to seep into existence around them. No, this was something else. A person, hooded and still, watching.

Jack took a step forward. "Who's there?"

The figure didn't move.

Shadow's growl deepened. The golden flames along the streets flared higher, as if responding to the tension in the air.

Jack exhaled slowly, resisting the urge to immediately go on the offensive. **If this was an enemy, they would have already attacked.**

"Eldrin has returned," Jack called out. "If you're here to threaten its people, you've already lost."

Finally, the figure moved. Slowly, deliberately, they stepped forward into the firelight.

Jack's breath caught.

The figure pulled back their hood, revealing a face **marked with the sigils of Eldrin.**

A survivor—**but not one of the refugees he had brought back.**

Their eyes met Jack's, unreadable but intense. Then, they spoke.

"You've woken something, Keeper."

Jack's heart pounded. "Who are you?"

The figure studied him, then looked past him toward the city, their expression grim. "A warning."

Jack frowned. "A warning about what?"

The figure's gaze flickered toward the sky, as if searching for something unseen. Then, they looked back at Jack. **"You brought the fire back… but the fire was what kept them away."**

Jack's stomach twisted. "Who?"

The figure hesitated, then whispered a single word.

"The Forsaken".

A cold wind rushed through Eldrin, and for the first time since its rebirth, **the flames trembled.**

The stranger's words lingered in Jack's mind as the firelight wavered. The Forsaken. He had never heard that name before, yet something about it sent a chill through him, deeper than any fear he had known.

He took a cautious step forward, eyeing the stranger carefully. "Who are the Forsaken?"

The hooded figure remained still for a long moment before answering. "They were once Keepers."

Jack's breath hitched. "What?"

The figure nodded. "Long ago, before the Veilborn, there were those who tried to claim the fire of Eldrin for themselves. They sought to bend its power, to reshape it into something greater."

Jack could feel the weight of history pressing down on him. "And what happened to them?"

The figure's expression darkened. "They were cast out. Stripped of the fire's blessing. But they did not perish."

Jack clenched his jaw. "You're telling me there are exiled Keepers still out there?"

"They are not just out there," the stranger said. "They are watching. And now that Eldrin has returned… they will come."

Shadow let out a low growl, his ears twitching toward the darkened horizon. The fire along the streets burned lower, as if reacting to the weight of the words spoken.

Jack took a slow breath, steadying himself. "If they wanted Eldrin, why didn't they come for it when it was abandoned?"

The stranger's voice was barely above a whisper. "Because the fire kept them at bay. So long as Eldrin was lost, they had no claim. But now, Keeper, you have brought it back."

Jack's grip on his sword tightened. He had fought against the Veilborn, faced trials beyond anything he could have imagined—but this? **This was something new. Something far worse.**

"They will come for what they believe is theirs," the stranger continued. "And they will stop at nothing to take it."

Jack exhaled sharply. He turned his gaze toward Eldrin, where the first of its people now slept, unaware of the danger that lurked beyond the city walls.

**He had brought them home. He had restored the fire. And now, he had to defend it.**

Jack met the stranger's gaze. "Then tell me how to stop them."

The stranger studied him for a long moment before nodding. "You must understand them first."

They turned toward the horizon, where the darkness loomed beyond the reach of the city's flames. "Come," they said. "There is much you need to learn."

Jack hesitated for only a second before following, Shadow at his side. Whatever was coming, he wouldn't face it unprepared.

As he stepped into the shadows beyond Eldrin, he knew one thing for certain—**his fight was far from over.**

**To be continued…**