THE CITIES OF THE DAMNED

The silence of Oraveth was suffocating.

Seraphine and Caius stood amidst the towering ruins, their breath visible in the unnaturally cold air. Around them, the stone figures loomed, frozen in expressions of terror—victims, not statues.

Seraphine's fingers twitched toward the dagger at her waist.

The air felt wrong.

Thick with something unseen. Heavy with whispers that she couldn't quite hear.

Caius exhaled sharply. "This place reeks of death."

She didn't disagree.

She could feel the presence in the city, an ancient force lingering in the broken streets. It wasn't just watching them.

It was waiting.

And then, something moved.

A flicker of shadow in the corner of her vision.

Seraphine tensed. "Did you see that?"

Caius had already drawn his sword. "Yes. And I don't think it was friendly."

A whisper curled through the air, slithering between the ruins.

You should not have come.

Seraphine's blood went cold.

The voice wasn't spoken aloud—it was in her mind, brushing against the edges of her thoughts like a hand reaching from the dark.

Caius stiffened beside her, his grip tightening on his blade. "Did you hear that?"

Seraphine nodded. She could feel something pressing against her mind, something old and filled with malice.

Then the statues moved.

A soft cracking sound echoed through the empty streets as one of the stone figures trembled—then turned its head.

Seraphine inhaled sharply, taking a step back.

The frozen faces were shifting, eyes flickering with faint light. One by one, the statues began to stir, their limbs cracking free from the stone.

Caius swore. "That's enough nightmare fuel for one day."

Seraphine gritted her teeth. "Run."

---

The Chase

They sprinted through the ruins as the stone figures lurched into motion. Their movements were unnatural—jerking, halting, wrong.

But they were fast.

Seraphine's heartbeat pounded in her ears as she dodged past a crumbling pillar, Caius right behind her. The streets of Oraveth twisted in ways that made no sense—passages that should have led outside only looped them back into the city.

The magic of this place was not just ancient.

It was alive.

You cannot escape.

The whisper curled against Seraphine's thoughts again, thick with amusement.

She forced herself forward, pushing through the dizziness creeping at the edges of her mind. She could feel it—the city trying to keep them inside.

Then, up ahead, she saw it.

A bridge.

Spanning a deep chasm, leading toward a towering structure half-buried in the ruins. An old keep—one that had not crumbled like the rest of Oraveth.

Seraphine didn't know why, but she knew—that was where they needed to go.

"That way!" she shouted.

Caius didn't argue.

They ran.

The statues—no, the cursed souls—were closing in. One of them lunged from the side, its hand grazing Seraphine's arm.

Ice shot through her veins.

Her entire limb went numb for a terrifying second before she tore free, nearly stumbling.

Caius cut down another creature with a sharp swing of his blade. "Go!"

Seraphine didn't hesitate.

She bolted across the bridge, Caius right behind her. The creatures followed—but the moment the two of them crossed the threshold of the keep—

The doors slammed shut.

And the city fell silent.

---

The Keep of Oraveth

Seraphine's chest heaved as she leaned against the cold stone walls of the keep.

The whispers were gone.

The cursed souls had not followed them inside.

Caius ran a hand through his hair. "Well. That was horrifying."

Seraphine nodded, catching her breath. "We need to find whatever's hidden in this city and get out."

Caius glanced around. "What even is this place?"

The keep was ancient, yet untouched by the decay outside. Tattered banners still hung from the high ceilings, the sigils barely visible.

Seraphine stepped forward, her fingers brushing over the surface of an old, wooden table—

And the moment she touched it—

A surge of memories crashed into her.

---

Echoes of the Past

She saw flames.

A city burning, screams tearing through the air. Warriors clad in dark armor fought in the streets, their blades clashing against monstrous figures wreathed in shadows.

And standing at the heart of it all—

A woman.

She was tall, her dark hair whipping in the wind, her eyes burning with silver light. She wore the sigil of the First Seal, her hands raised as magic crackled around her.

Seraphine's breath hitched.

Her mother.

She watched as her mother fought.

Not against soldiers. Not against men.

But against something else.

A being wreathed in darkness, its voice curling like smoke.

"The Seal is breaking."

Her mother stood firm. "Then I will mend it."

The figure laughed, shadows coiling around it. "You cannot stop the inevitable."

Then the vision shattered.

---

Revelations

Seraphine gasped, stumbling back.

Caius caught her arm. "What happened?"

She swallowed hard. "I saw her. My mother. She was here."

The weight of it settled in her chest.

Her mother had fought to protect the First Seal. She had fought against something ancient.

Something that had been trying to escape.

Caius exhaled slowly. "Then we're in deeper trouble than I thought."

Seraphine nodded.

Because now, she understood.

Oraveth was not just a city.

It had been a battlefield.

And whatever had been sealed away here—it was still waiting.