Chapter 87: The Weight of Eternity
Sai sat upon the **cracked throne**, motionless and still, his body barely more than a shadow **against the stone**.
The golden chains, once **searing with heat**, were now cold, their jagged edges **embedded deep into his limbs**, fused with his skin and bones. The once-relentless fire that had **burned through him** was now nothing more than a faint pulse—a dull, rhythmic throbbing **in the back of his mind**, keeping time with his heartbeat.
But **he barely felt it anymore.**
Because he no longer **felt much of anything.**
The weight of the prison—the endless, suffocating power that bound the **Sealed Kings**—was now **his burden.**
And it was **crushing him.**
Piece by piece.
Memory by memory.
**Slowly but surely.**
---
### **Fading in Pieces**
The first thing to go was his **sense of time**.
He no longer knew how long he had been sitting there.
**Days?**
**Months?**
**Years?**
The fractured stars beyond the void **never shifted**, their pale light **trapped in eternal stillness**, giving him no sense of the passing hours.
And so he **stopped counting.**
Because it no longer **mattered.**
The next thing to **slip away** was his sense of **self.**
He could still **remember their faces**—Kael's sharp scowl, Ezren's crooked grin, Lena's warm eyes.
But they were **growing faint.**
No longer sharp and vivid.
Just **fragments now**—distant and blurred, **edges faded** by time.
The memories came **less frequently** as the chains **drained more of him**, leaving only flickering moments.
Kael's voice, **low and steady**, telling him to keep moving.
Ezren's dagger **spinning in his hand** as he smirked.
Lena's fingers **curling around his wrist**, holding him back before he could do something reckless.
But with every heartbeat, they grew **dimmer**.
Like candle flames in the distance.
Flickering.
**Fading.**
And **one day**, they would be gone entirely.
He knew that.
And he **wasn't afraid of it.**
Not anymore.
---
### **The World Forgets**
Beyond the void, **the world he had saved** moved on.
The broken cities were slowly **rebuilt**, the remnants of the dungeon gates **sealed and buried** beneath stone and steel.
The **hunter guilds** expanded their influence, turning their blades toward **new causes**—wars between kingdoms, battles for territory, disputes over power.
The gates were **no longer their burden.**
And they **never asked why.**
Because they **didn't remember**.
The stories of the man who had **stood before the gate alone** were quickly reduced to **rumors**—the tale of a hunter no one could name.
Some said he had **been a king**.
Others said he had been **a monster.**
But most believed he had never **existed at all.**
And **the world forgot him.**
As it always had.
As it always would.
---
### **The Few Who Couldn't Forget**
But **three still remembered.**
And they wouldn't let him go.
Even as the **years dragged on**, they still walked the empty roads **he had once taken**, moving through the broken cities and forgotten battlefields, **chasing a ghost.**
Because **they knew.**
Somewhere, in some **distant, unreachable place**, he was **still holding on.**
And **they weren't ready to let him go.**
---
### **Ezren's Hollow Blade**
Ezren moved through the **darkened streets** of a ruined city, his cloak **drawn low**, his dagger still glimmering faintly with the **last traces of fire**, long since fading.
The once-proud guild banners **hung in tatters** from the broken towers, and the streets—**once filled with voices**—were now silent.
Only the **wind remained**, stirring the dust as it swept through the **cracked stone and abandoned homes.**
Ezren's boots **scraped softly** against the broken gravel as he approached the ruins of a collapsed gate.
It was nothing more than **shattered stone now**, the blackened frame splintered and scorched by time, long since **abandoned by the guilds.**
But he knelt beside it anyway.
His fingers slowly **traced the broken stone**, his golden eyes dull and **empty.**
Because he **remembered.**
He remembered **watching Sai step through the gate**, his boots **crunching against the broken gravel**, his hands **stretched wide**, his golden eyes filled with **determination and fire**.
He remembered **calling after him**, shouting his name, his voice raw and hoarse.
But **Sai had kept walking.**
Without looking back.
And Ezren had been **too slow** to reach him.
His hand **curled into a fist** against the stone, his knuckles white from the pressure.
And he let out a slow, shuddering breath.
Because **he knew** Sai was still out there.
Still **fighting the chains**.
Still **holding on.**
And Ezren would **never stop looking.**
Even if it took him **forever.**
---
### **The Blade Without Purpose**
Kael sat by the **remnants of an old outpost**, his massive hands **pressed against the worn stone**, his back against the wall, his greatsword lying **motionless at his side.**
The once-glowing runes along the blade were **dull and faded**, the edge **chipped and worn** from years of disuse.
Because he **hadn't drawn it in years.**
Not since **Sai was taken.**
Not once.
He slowly **ran his fingers** along the jagged edge, tracing the cracks and imperfections in the blade, but he **didn't sharpen it.**
Because **there was no need.**
The gates were closed.
The war was over.
And **there was no one left to fight beside him.**
Kael slowly **exhaled**, staring down at the weapon.
And he wondered—
**What was the point of keeping it?**
Without Sai—
**What was the point of fighting at all?**
---
### **The One Who Waits**
Lena sat by a **lonely ridge**, overlooking a stretch of **withered plains**, the wind **stirring faintly** around her.
Her arms were **wrapped around her legs**, her knees pulled tightly to her chest, her eyes **dim and unfocused** as she stared at the empty horizon.
Her hands **trembled faintly** as she clutched the small charm Sai had once given her—a **crude carving** of a hunter's sigil, rough and uneven, the edges worn from years of being carried.
She ran her **fingers over it**, again and again, her grip so tight her knuckles turned white.
Because **she could still feel him.**
**Faint.**
**Distant.**
But **there.**
Somewhere.
She didn't know if **it was real** or just a cruel trick of her mind, but she **didn't care.**
Because she **couldn't let him go.**
She couldn't **bury him** the way the world already had.
Because **he wasn't dead.**
Not yet.
And **she would keep waiting.**
**For as long as it took.**
---
### **The Man Who Wouldn't Break**
Far beyond the broken world, **Sai sat upon the throne**, his golden eyes now **dim and empty**, his limbs pale and motionless, his hands **limp on the arms of the seat.**
The chains **coiled tighter**, the prison slowly **drinking him dry**, tearing away what little was **left of him**.
But **he didn't let go.**
Even as **his memories faded**, even as his **strength slipped away**, even as his name was **forgotten** by the world—
He still remembered **them.**
Kael's steady hands.
Ezren's sharp grin.
Lena's eyes, always **searching for him**.
And he knew.
Even when **he had nothing left**—
Even when **he was no longer himself**—
He would **hold on**.
Because **he had made a promise.**
To keep them safe.
No matter **what it took.**
Even if **he was the only one who remembered.**
**Forever.**