CITY OF ASH

Varos was burning.

Elara and Rael stood on the edge of the ruined passage, staring in disbelief at the city that had once been their battleground. Now, it was something else—something twisted. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the streets, clinging to buildings like living things. Fires burned without consuming, their eerie violet flames licking the night sky. The air crackled with an unseen energy, thick with the scent of scorched stone and iron.

The city was changing.

"We're too late," Rael muttered. His grip tightened on his blade, his crimson eyes scanning the chaos below. "The veil is breaking."

Elara's fingers dug into the pendant at her chest, its pulsing glow in sync with the tremors beneath her feet. "No," she whispered. "Not yet."

A scream echoed from somewhere deep in the city.

Elara and Rael exchanged a look. Then, they moved.

The streets of Varos were unrecognizable. The once-bustling alleys were littered with debris, and the people who had once ruled these shadows now ran in terror. But not all of them.

As Elara sprinted past a collapsed marketplace, she saw them—those who had been touched by the void.

Their eyes were empty, glowing with the same eerie darkness she had seen in the Forgotten One. Their bodies were human, but their movements were not. Twisted, unnatural, like puppets with strings half-cut. They moved through the city with an unsettling grace, whispering to themselves in voices layered with something inhuman.

Rael cursed under his breath. "They're not just infected."

"They're changing," Elara finished. Her stomach churned.

A group of survivors huddled behind an overturned cart, their terrified eyes locked on a lone figure standing in the street. One of the void-touched. He was a man once—his ragged clothing suggested a noble, or at least someone important. Now, he stood with his head tilted unnaturally to the side, black veins crawling up his neck.

The whispers around them grew louder.

Elara took a step forward. The man's head snapped toward her.

His mouth moved, but the words that came out weren't his.

"You carry the key."

Elara's blood turned to ice.

The man lunged.

She barely had time to react before Rael was moving, his blade flashing. The corrupted noble dodged impossibly fast, twisting his body in a way that should have been impossible. His hands clawed at the air, dark tendrils forming from his fingertips.

Elara raised her own hand, shadows swirling in response. The pendant at her chest burned, and suddenly, she felt it—

The same hunger. The same pull.

For a split second, she understood what they were feeling.

Rael shouted, snapping her back to reality. "Focus!"

Elara gritted her teeth, summoning her power. Shadows erupted from her fingertips, lashing out like whips. They collided with the noble's body, forcing him backward. He shrieked, his form flickering, as if he wasn't entirely there.

But he wasn't alone.

More figures emerged from the shadows, their hollow eyes locked onto her. The whispers grew deafening.

"The key has returned."

Rael swore. "Elara—"

"I see them!" she snapped.

They were surrounded.

Her breath came fast, her grip tightening on the pendant. It pulsed, whispering in return.

Use me.

Elara hesitated. Then, she let go.

Darkness exploded from her body, slamming into the void-touched in a wave of crushing force. The ground beneath them cracked, the very air shuddering. The creatures shrieked as their bodies disintegrated into mist.

The whispers stopped.

Silence stretched over the ruined streets.

Elara stood there, panting. The power was still inside her, coiling, waiting.

Rael stared at her, his expression unreadable. "That was different."

Elara swallowed hard. It was. It hadn't just been her shadows. The pendant had done something more.

Before she could respond, another sound cut through the silence—hoofbeats.

A lone rider approached from the far end of the street. Cloaked in black, moving with a presence that made the air thicker.

Elara narrowed her eyes.

She knew who it was before they even spoke.

Darius Vale reined in his horse, his piercing gaze locked onto her. "You made quite a mess, Shadowmarked."

Elara's fingers twitched toward her dagger. "You knew this was coming."

Darius smirked. "I did." He dismounted in a slow, deliberate motion. "But I didn't know you'd survive it."

Rael scoffed. "We don't have time for games, Vale. The city is collapsing."

Darius's smirk didn't fade. "Exactly." His gaze flicked to Elara's pendant. "And if you don't want it to finish collapsing, you'll come with me."

Elara tensed. "And why the hell would I trust you?"

Darius stepped closer, his expression darkening. "Because I'm the only one who can tell you what that thing around your neck really is."

The city rumbled beneath them. The sky cracked again.

And Elara knew she was out of time.