Chapter 88: The Unseen Guardian
The **prison was silent.**
No longer filled with the **roar of fractured fire** or the screams of the Sealed Kings—**just silence**.
A silence so vast and still that it felt like **the entire void was holding its breath.**
And Sai sat alone.
**Motionless.**
The chains of **molten gold and black fire** coiled tightly around his limbs, their searing heat now **cold and hollow**, the once-consuming flames reduced to nothing more than a **dull, throbbing ache.**
The throne was **unmoving**, its jagged stone edges fused to his frame, the golden veins pulsing faintly with **each heartbeat.**
But Sai **barely felt it.**
Because **he was barely there.**
The prison **had taken so much from him** already.
His strength.
His warmth.
His memories.
And still—it kept taking.
Bit by bit.
Slowly.
**Mercilessly.**
And **he let it.**
Because **he couldn't stop it.**
Because he **knew he wasn't meant to.**
---
### **The Fragments That Remained**
Sai's eyes were **half-lidded**, their once **vibrant golden fire** now faint, barely flickering.
His hands, once **steady and strong**, were limp against the arms of the throne. His fingers were **thin and pale**, the skin cracked faintly from the constant strain of holding the chains.
But he **didn't move.**
Because **he no longer had the strength to.**
And still, the prison **kept pulling at him**, draining him in fragments, erasing him **piece by piece.**
His memories **slipped further away** with each breath, growing fainter, dimmer—**more distant.**
But **somehow**, he still held on to them.
Not all of them.
Just a few.
The ones that **refused to fade.**
The ones he **wouldn't let go of.**
No matter **how weak he became**.
Kael's **rough, steady voice**, calling out to him through the chaos.
Ezren's **sharp grin**, the glimmer in his eyes before a fight.
Lena's **fingers around his wrist**, holding him back when he was ready to break.
Those memories **stayed.**
Because **he refused to let them go.**
Even when **everything else was fading.**
---
### **The Ones Who Wouldn't Let Him Go**
Beyond the void, the world **kept turning.**
The people who once **feared the gates** slowly **forgot they had ever existed.**
The guilds who once **battled endlessly** for power and territory grew complacent, their blades dulled with time, their **names fading into legend.**
And the **cities Sai had once saved** turned to stone and dust, the ruins slowly **swallowed by the earth** and forgotten.
But **three still remembered him.**
And they refused to **let him go.**
---
### **Ezren's Hunt**
Ezren crouched low on the **edge of a crumbling ridge**, his cloak **torn and frayed**, his boots heavy with mud and blood.
The wind cut sharply across the **abandoned battlefield**, stirring the ashes that still clung faintly to the cracked stone, remnants of **a fight long past.**
The sun was **sinking low**, casting the horizon in a dull, **crimson haze**, painting the jagged ruins in muted red and gold.
And Ezren didn't **move.**
He knelt on the ground, his dagger **embedded in the earth**, his fingers clenched tightly around the hilt.
Because **he felt it again.**
The faint, fleeting pulse of **something familiar**—so faint it could have been a trick of his mind.
But **he knew it wasn't.**
He **had been chasing it** for years now.
The faint traces of **power bleeding through reality**, the **remnants of the chains** Sai had forged—the invisible threads **holding the world together.**
And Ezren **could feel them.**
The others couldn't.
But **he could.**
Because **he had fought beside him.**
Because he had seen **what Sai had become**.
And **he knew** the man he had once called a friend **was still out there.**
**Somewhere.**
He just had to **find him.**
Ezren slowly **pulled his dagger from the earth**, his golden eyes sharp and hollow, and **kept walking**.
Because he knew—**if he stopped now**, he would never start again.
And **he wasn't ready to give up.**
Not yet.
---
### **Kael's Promise**
Kael knelt by the **edge of a ruined temple**, his massive hands **pressed against the stone**, his eyes **dim and steady**.
The once-proud building was **nothing more than rubble**, the ancient marble **cracked and splintered**, its columns reduced to jagged stumps, its once-grand archways **shattered and broken.**
But Kael wasn't there for the **temple.**
He was there for the **name carved into the stone**.
It wasn't Sai's name.
But **he knew it was meant to be.**
It was one of the **many memorials** erected in the aftermath of the gates—the **nameless figures** who had died in the war, the heroes whose names had been **forgotten by time.**
Kael slowly **ran his fingers across the stone**, his touch heavy and firm, as if **trying to feel the name** that should have been there.
Because **Sai's name wasn't written.**
**No one knew it.**
No one remembered **what he had done.**
No one remembered the man who had **walked into the gate alone.**
And Kael's chest **tightened faintly** at the thought.
He slowly pulled a **small knife** from his belt—the only blade he carried now—and pressed it gently to the **edge of the stone.**
The metal **scraped softly** against the rough surface as he slowly carved a single letter into the stone.
**S.**
Just one.
Because he knew **he didn't need more.**
Because **he would remember the rest.**
Even when **no one else did.**
Even when **Sai was gone.**
Forever.
---
### **The One Who Still Believed**
Lena sat on the **edge of a quiet meadow**, her knees **pulled to her chest**, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
The sun was slowly **sinking into the horizon**, casting the field in a warm, **amber glow**, the tall grass **swaying gently** in the wind.
But **she didn't see it.**
She only **stared at the horizon**, watching the sun sink lower, her hands trembling faintly **in her lap.**
Her fingers clutched the **small charm Sai had once given her**, the crude carving of a **hunter's sigil**, rough and uneven, its edges **worn smooth** by time.
And she still **carried it with her.**
Every day.
Because she could **still feel him.**
Faint and distant.
Like a voice **calling from beyond the veil**, too far away to hear, but **too familiar to ignore.**
And she **refused to let him go.**
Even as the **days turned to years**, she still waited.
Because **she knew he was still out there.**
Still **fighting the chains.**
Still **holding on.**
And **she wouldn't stop waiting**.
Not until **she saw him again.**
No matter **how long it took.**
---
### **The Prisoner Who Wouldn't Break**
Far beyond the broken world, Sai sat upon the throne, his golden eyes **dim and empty**, barely flickering with the faint traces of **what he once was.**
The chains **tightened around him**, pulling him deeper into the stone, the prison slowly **draining him dry**, reducing him to **fragments and remnants.**
But still—**he didn't let go.**
Even as **his body faded**, even as **his memories slipped away**, even as **the world forgot him**—
He still **held on.**
Because **he remembered them.**
Kael's steady hands.
Ezren's sharp grin.
Lena's eyes, always **searching for him**.
And even when **everything else faded**,
Even when **he had nothing left—**
**He would still hold on.**
Because **he had made a promise.**
And even if **it took eternity**—
**He wouldn't break.**
Not yet.
**Not ever.**