Chapter 6: The Forgotten’s Grasp

The world around him lurched.

One moment, he stood amidst the ruins. The next—darkness swallowed him whole.

A void. Silent. Infinite. Suffocating.

Then, a voice. Whispering. Echoing.

"Not yet. You are not yet whole."

Pain stabbed through his skull. Visions—flashes of something ancient—flickered before his eyes.

A ruined throne. A shattered crown.

A name—his name—lost to time.

His body convulsed as unseen forces dragged him deeper.

Deeper.

The whispers grew louder. "Break. Be forgotten."

Something coiled around his limbs—cold, inhuman.

Panic surged through him. He struggled, but the grip only tightened.

Then—

A golden spark ignited within his chest.

Heat rushed through his veins.

The darkness recoiled. The whispers screamed.

And then—he was falling.

The void shattered.

He gasped, air flooding his lungs. His vision swam, the ruins reappearing around him.

The stranger was watching. Unmoved. Calculating.

"You're resisting," they murmured. "Good. But it won't be enough."

The whispers hadn't vanished.

They had simply retreated.

And he knew—they would return.