The Omen

The wind howled through the ruined halls of the Citadel, carrying the scent of rain and ash. The once-mighty fortress of Eldrath stood broken but victorious—its walls scarred, its people few, yet hope had returned.

Kaelen stood atop the highest tower, watching the horizon. For weeks, the land had remained quiet. The shadowborn were gone. Varik was gone. And yet, something in his gut refused to settle.

Behind him, Lyria approached, her emerald cloak fluttering in the night breeze. "You're thinking too much again."

He smirked. "That obvious?"

She leaned against the stone railing. "We won, Kaelen. The Heart of Eldrath did what it was meant to do. Varik is gone."

Kaelen's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. "Then why does it feel like something is still watching us?"

Lyria sighed, following his gaze. "Maybe because we've spent too many years fighting. It's hard to believe it's really over."

A silence settled between them—until the earth rumbled beneath their feet.

Kaelen's eyes snapped to the sky. Storm clouds gathered unnaturally fast, swirling in a vortex of violet lightning. A chill ran down his spine. He had seen this before.

"Lyria—"

A scream echoed from the city below.

Without a word, they ran.

As they descended the Citadel's crumbling stairways, Kaelen's worst fears came true. Shadows twisted through the streets, forming grotesque figures—twisted, writhing things of black smoke and jagged bone. But these were different from the shadowborn they had fought before.

Their eyes burned with a new fire.

And at their center, rising from a fissure in the ground, stood a figure draped in a cloak of pure darkness. A figure Kaelen had never seen before.

Lyria skidded to a stop beside him. "Who…?"

The figure lifted its head, revealing a face hidden behind a mask of black metal. When it spoke, its voice echoed with ancient power.

"You thought you destroyed the darkness." A chuckle. "But you only severed its hand."

Kaelen raised his sword, his heart pounding. "Who are you?"

The figure stepped forward, unfazed. "I am Malakar, Herald of the Abyss." He gestured to the swirling shadows behind him. "And I have come to finish what Varik started."

Kaelen's grip tightened. The war wasn't over. It had only just begun.