Embracing the Darkness

The air inside the ruined church felt heavier after Drest's revelation.

Kalen stared at the old prophecy, his mind racing.

Shadowborn.

The word sent a shiver down his spine.

He didn't believe in prophecies. Didn't believe in fate. But he couldn't ignore the truth:

The Temple believed it.

And that was enough to put a price on his head.

Renna was still reading the text, her fingers tracing the faded ink. "This is insane," she murmured. "If this is true, Kalen, you're not just a fugitive. You're—"

"A monster?" he cut in, his voice cold.

Renna looked up. "That's not what I meant."

Drest cleared his throat. "The Shadowborn is not a monster," he said. "It is a force—a power that exists beyond the gods' control. That is why the Temple fears it."

Kalen exhaled. "And how do they plan to kill me?"

Drest's one good eye gleamed. "They don't want to kill you."

Silence.

Kalen's fingers curled into fists. "Then what do they want?"

Drest flipped another page. "The prophecy says that if the Shadowborn is captured before he awakens, he can be bound. Controlled. Turned into a weapon."

A slow chill crawled down Kalen's spine.

The bounty. The assassins.

The Temple didn't just want him dead.

They wanted him alive.

Renna stiffened. "Then we can't let that happen."

Varik, who had been silent until now, smirked. "Oh, I'd love to see them try."

Kalen forced his thoughts into order. He had two choices:

Run, and they would never stop hunting him.

Fight, and embrace the power he didn't understand.

There was only one real option.

"We need to leave," he said.

Drest watched him carefully. "Where will you go?"

Kalen tore the bounty poster in half.

"To the Temple itself."

The Unseen Path

They left the city at dawn.

The streets were swarming with bounty hunters, but Kalen had spent years mastering the art of invisibility.

They moved like ghosts through the alleys, slipping past watchful eyes.

Renna led the way, her knowledge of the city's hidden routes unmatched.

Varik kept watch from the rooftops, daggers in hand, his grin never fading.

And Kalen?

Kalen was changing.

Something inside him stirred with every step. A presence beneath his skin. A whisper in his mind.

The prophecy haunted him.

One will walk unseen, and where he treads, the gods shall tremble.

His grip tightened around his dagger.

The Temple feared him.

And maybe, just maybe—

They were right to.

The Temple's Walls

They reached the outskirts of the city by nightfall.

The Temple loomed on the horizon, a fortress of marble and gold.

Massive gates. Unbreakable walls. A place built not just for worship—but for war.

Renna studied it with narrowed eyes. "Getting inside will be impossible."

Varik grinned. "Impossible? I love impossible."

Kalen took a breath.

He wasn't worried about getting inside.

He was worried about what would happen when he did.

The Temple had spent centuries preparing for the Shadowborn.

What would they do when he walked right into their hands?

Breaking In

The plan was simple.

Step 1: Find a hidden entrance.

Renna knew of an old passage beneath the Temple, long abandoned. A series of tunnels used by priests centuries ago.

They reached the entrance—a half-buried stone archway hidden beneath vines.

Varik whistled. "Creepy."

Renna ignored him and started moving.

Step 2: Get past the guardians.

The tunnels were filled with traps, wards, and ancient defenses.

Renna disabled the mechanical traps.

Varik disarmed the poison darts.

But the magical wards?

Those were another problem.

Kalen felt them before he saw them—shimmering barriers of light, woven with divine energy.

The moment he stepped close, they reacted.

The light flickered.

The air rippled.

Renna gasped. "Kalen, what's happening?"

His breath hitched.

The wards were rejecting him.

No, not rejecting.

Fearing him.

The golden light flickered—then shattered like glass.

Silence.

Renna stared. "What the hell was that?"

Varik let out a low whistle. "I think our boy just scared a god."

Kalen didn't answer.

He just stepped forward.

And the shadows followed.

The Chamber of Chains

They reached the heart of the Temple.

A vast underground sanctuary of stone and fire.

At its center stood a single throne.

Not golden. Not ornate.

A throne made of chains.

Kalen's breath caught.

Something about it felt… familiar.

Drest's words echoed in his mind:

If the Shadowborn is captured before he awakens, he can be bound.

This was it.

This was where they planned to break him.

Renna's voice was tense. "Kalen, we shouldn't be here."

Varik twirled a dagger. "Too late for that."

Then, before any of them could react—

The doors slammed shut.

And the priests stepped into the light.

The Trap

The Grand Inquisitor stood at the head of the priests.

A tall, skeletal man, draped in white and crimson robes. His eyes burned with zeal.

"Shadowborn," he said. "You walked right into our hands."

Kalen's fingers tightened around his blade.

The priests spread out, forming a circle of light.

Behind them, guards appeared, armed and ready.

Renna cursed. Varik smirked.

Kalen didn't move.

"You think you can bind me?" he asked.

The Grand Inquisitor smiled.

"No, boy. We already have."

A pulse of magic filled the air.

Pain exploded through Kalen's body.

He collapsed to his knees, gasping.

Chains.

Not physical.

Chains of light, wrapping around his soul.

Renna shouted. Varik lunged.

The priests raised their hands—and the world shattered.

Awakening

Kalen's mind was fire and darkness.

He saw flashes—

The Temple.

The chains.

The prophecy.

And then, something deep inside him snapped.

The pain vanished.

His heartbeat slowed.

The shadows… welcomed him.

When Kalen opened his eyes, the priests recoiled.

Because his eyes were no longer human.

They burned like embers.

Like the prophecy.

Like the gods' worst nightmare.

The chains of light shattered.

Kalen rose to his feet.

And the shadows answered his call.

The Fall of the Temple

The Grand Inquisitor screamed, ordering his men to attack.

Too late.

The shadows swallowed them whole.

Kalen moved like smoke, his blade cutting through the priests before they could chant their spells.

Varik laughed, leaping into the fray, daggers flashing.

Renna fought beside him, eyes wide with shock—but unshaken.

The Grand Inquisitor tried to run.

Kalen appeared before him.

The old man trembled. "You don't understand—"

Kalen didn't give him a chance to finish.

The shadows did.

They consumed him.

When the battle ended, the Temple was silent.

The chains were broken.

The prophecy was fulfilled.

And Kalen?

Kalen had embraced what he was.

The Shadowborn had awakened.

End of Chapter 9