Chapter 32: The Shadows Stir

A City on Edge

The golden spires of Solaria shimmered under the pale light of dawn, yet an eerie tension gripped the streets. The people of the once-proud Kingdom of Light had been preparing for the execution of their fallen king, Lucius, an event meant to signify the true dawn of the Noah Empire's rule. Instead, a far darker reality had taken hold.

Lucius had escaped.

David Haipoli stood in the grand war chamber, his sharp eyes scanning the map of the city. The air was thick with unease as his trusted advisors—Peter, Athena, Lily, and Jiang—stood around him, each wearing a look of grim determination. The Noah Empire had fought bitterly to bring down Lucius's corrupt reign, and now, just as justice was within reach, the former king had vanished.

Peter's voice was sharp, frustration seething beneath his words. "This was no ordinary escape. Someone orchestrated this."

Jiang, ever the strategist, laid a piece of parchment on the table. "Our investigations confirm there was no forced entry into his prison. The guards found dead had their throats slit cleanly, their eyes wide with terror—yet there were no signs of struggle." He hesitated. "It's as if they were killed before they even realized they were in danger."

Athena frowned. "An inside job?"

David shook his head. "No. If Lucius had human allies within the city, they would have tried to negotiate his release. This was something else."

The room fell into a heavy silence. Something unnatural had happened.

Lily stepped forward, placing another document before David. "Our scouts found strange symbols etched into the stone walls of Lucius's cell—symbols that match the ones from the ancient inscriptions beneath the temple ruins."

David's gaze darkened. The ancient texts had warned of the return of a forgotten force, of entities that had existed before the kingdoms of men. And now, those very same markings had appeared in Lucius's cell? Coincidence was a luxury they could no longer afford.

He turned to his generals. "We must assume that Lucius's escape is connected to the prophecy. If these 'Old Gods' are real, then we are no longer fighting just kings and armies. We may be fighting something far worse."

Pursuit into the Wastes

By midday, scouts returned with crucial intelligence—Lucius had been seen fleeing northward, into the Wastelands of Azareth.

The Azareth Wastelands were a cursed land, a place of abandoned ruins, shifting sands, and whispers of the forgotten past. Even the most hardened warriors refused to venture too deep, fearing the legends of lost civilizations and creatures that should not exist.

David mounted his warhorse, his cloak billowing behind him as he prepared to lead a handpicked force to hunt Lucius down before he vanished entirely.

Athena rode beside him, her sapphire eyes searching his face. "Are you certain about this, David? Chasing a man into lands spoken of only in myths?"

David's voice was firm. "I have no choice. If Lucius is tied to this prophecy, if something unnatural freed him, then leaving him unchecked would be the greatest mistake of our reign."

Peter, leading the vanguard, glanced back. "Then we must move quickly. The longer we wait, the closer Lucius gets to whatever force he's seeking."

With that, the hunt began.

---

The Dead Ruins of Azareth

By nightfall, David and his elite riders entered the outskirts of the Azareth Wastelands. The air was thick, almost suffocating, filled with the scent of dust and something more… decayed.

The ruins of an ancient city stretched before them, its titanic stone pillars cracked and weathered, half-buried beneath shifting dunes. Strange glyphs and symbols were carved into the rock, pulsing faintly under the moonlight.

Lily dismounted first, kneeling near one of the pillars. "These markings… they match the ones found in Lucius's cell. We're close."

David unsheathed his sword, the weight of it grounding him. "Stay together. We don't know what we're walking into."

The group advanced cautiously, the silence unnatural, oppressive. Even the wind had ceased to howl.

Then, a whisper—soft, echoing through the ruins, like a thousand voices speaking at once.

"You are too late."

David spun sharply, his sword raised. Nothing.

Peter's knuckles whitened around the hilt of his blade. "I don't like this."

Then, the ground trembled.

The Awakening

A violent gust of wind erupted from nowhere, sending dust and sand flying in all directions. The ruins began to glow, their ancient symbols igniting with an eerie, unnatural blue light.

From the depths of the city, figures emerged—not men, not living, but not entirely dead. Their hollow eyes shone with an unnatural fire, their bodies wrapped in decayed ceremonial robes. Guardians of the lost civilization.

One stepped forward, its voice both ancient and commanding.

"You tread upon forbidden ground. Leave, or be consumed by the darkness you seek."

David held his ground, voice steady. "We seek Lucius."

The figure did not move. "He has already entered the void. His fate is sealed. Yours still remains a choice. Leave now, before the Old One awakens."

Athena's voice was cold. "Who is the Old One?"

The creature's head turned toward her slowly. "The Forgotten King. The one who ruled before men. The one who sleeps beneath."

A deep rumbling beneath their feet sent cracks splintering through the stone. The air grew heavier, charged with something far older than magic, far darker than mere sorcery.

David's instincts screamed danger.

"We move. Now."

He turned sharply, signaling his soldiers to retreat, but the creatures did not pursue. Instead, they simply stood, watching as the blue light intensified.

And then, a scream.

Not from behind them, but from within the ruins.

Lucius.

David clenched his jaw. The fool had awakened something.

With a final glance back at the ruins, he knew one thing with certainty.

The war was no longer about kings or empires.

Something older had returned.