Chapter 17: The Children of the Shadows

The forest whispered with unseen voices as Aria and Eldara moved cautiously through the ruins. The training had strengthened them, but it had also left them drained, their bodies aching from the relentless drills and the constant need for vigilance. The knowledge that the Shadowborne were closing in had left an undeniable weight on their shoulders.

Aria wiped sweat from her brow, her muscles burning from the last sparring session. Eldara stood beside her, her breath coming in steady but controlled bursts. Though her connection with nature was growing, there was still so much left to understand, and time was a luxury they did not have.

As they rested near an ancient stone pillar, Aria found herself staring into the flames of their small fire, lost in thought. A question had been gnawing at her mind for a while, but until now, she had been too focused on surviving to ask it.

She turned to Eldara, her voice quiet yet firm.

"Who was chasing you?"

Eldara stiffened. The flickering fire cast shifting shadows across her face, but it was the darkness in her eyes that unsettled Aria the most.

For a moment, Eldara said nothing. Then she let out a breath, her gaze distant.

"It wasn't just the Shadowborne," she finally admitted. "It was something worse."

Aria frowned. "Worse?"

Eldara hesitated before she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The Children of the Shadows."

The words sent a chill down Aria's spine. She didn't know why, but the name struck something deep within her, like an old wound reopening.

She had heard it before.

She didn't know where or when, but the name clung to the edges of her memory, refusing to be ignored.

"The Children of the Shadows…" Aria repeated slowly, tasting the words on her tongue. "I know that name."

Eldara's gaze snapped to her, shock flashing across her face. "What?"

Aria clenched her fists, forcing her mind to sift through the fog of her past. It was there, hidden in the echoes of her visions, in the whispered warnings she had tried to push aside.

A flash of cold darkness.

A voice in the wind, speaking of forgotten horrors.

The Children of the Shadows…

"I don't remember where I heard it," Aria admitted, frustration creeping into her voice. "But I know I have."

Eldara studied her carefully. "If you've heard of them before, it means they've been watching you for a long time."

A shiver ran down Aria's spine. The idea that she had been marked even before she knew what they were sent a wave of unease through her.

"Who are they?" she asked.

Eldara's expression darkened. "The true masters of the Shadowborne."

Aria stiffened.

"The Shadowborne are powerful, but they're just soldiers," Eldara continued. "Pawns in a much larger game. The Children of the Shadows… they are something else entirely. Ancient. Ruthless. They don't just kill—they consume. And they never forget a soul once they've marked it."

Aria swallowed hard, her mind racing.

Had she been marked? Was that why she had always been an outcast, why people feared her?

Had the Children of the Shadows been watching her all along?

The thought sent a cold dread settling deep in her stomach.

Eldara reached for Aria's wrist, gripping it tightly. "If they know you exist, then they will come for you, Aria. And when they do… there will be no mercy."

The words hung in the air like a curse.

Aria pulled her hand away, her heart pounding.

"No," she said, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest. "If they're coming for me… then I'll be ready."

Eldara studied her, something unreadable flickering in her expression. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Then we prepare."

Aria exhaled, feeling the weight of her past and future pressing down on her. She didn't know what lay ahead, but one thing was certain.

This was no longer just about survival.

It was war.

Aria and Eldara sat in silence for a long moment, the fire between them casting flickering shadows that danced like restless spirits. The wind carried distant whispers, the forest alive with unseen eyes watching, waiting. Aria's heartbeat had steadied, but a lingering unease remained. The name—Children of the Shadows—had awakened something in her. A buried memory, a whisper of something she had tried to ignore for too long.

She clenched her fists. She couldn't ignore it anymore.

"We need to find out why I know that name," she said firmly.

Eldara nodded but looked uneasy. "Digging into the past isn't always safe."

Aria met her gaze. "Neither is running from it."

A sharp gust of wind howled through the trees, making the fire flicker wildly. Eldara sighed. "Then we start with the ruins."

The ruins.

A place whispered about in old stories. A place where the lines between the past and present blurred, where ghosts of knowledge still lingered.

The journey took hours, the path winding through dense forest and rocky terrain. Each step felt heavier, the air thick with unseen energy. Aria could feel it pressing against her skin, a hum in her bones. It wasn't just an ordinary ruin. It was a place of power.

When they reached it, Aria sucked in a breath.

The ruins sprawled before them like the skeleton of a forgotten civilization. Stone pillars stood half-buried in the earth, their carvings worn by time but still whispering their ancient tales. A grand archway stood at the entrance, its inscriptions unreadable but pulsing with old magic.

Eldara hesitated at the threshold. "Are you sure?"

Aria stepped forward without answering. She had to know.

As they walked through the crumbling halls, the air grew colder. The deeper they went, the more the world around them seemed to shift. Shadows lengthened unnaturally, whispers grew louder.

And then, the visions came.

Aria's breath hitched as the world tilted. Suddenly, she wasn't in the ruins anymore.

She was there.

A grand hall, torches flickering along its massive walls. Hooded figures stood in a circle, their voices chanting in a language that made her skin crawl. A symbol, glowing and shifting, burned into the ground at their feet. And in the center—

A child.

Small, fragile, bound by chains that pulsed with dark energy.

Aria's heart pounded.

She recognized that child.

It was her.

A wave of nausea hit her as the scene unfolded. The hooded figures moved closer, their voices growing louder. Magic crackled in the air, tendrils of shadow reaching for her younger self.

And then—

A blinding light.

A scream.

And everything shattered.

Aria gasped, stumbling backward as she was yanked back to the present. Eldara caught her, steadying her. "Aria! What happened?"

Aria clutched her head, her mind reeling.

"They… they had me," she whispered.

Eldara's eyes widened. "What?"

Aria looked up, her breath shaky. "The Children of the Shadows. They had me when I was a child."

The realization sent a shockwave through her.

This wasn't just a distant threat.

This was personal.

Eldara's grip on her tightened. "Then they let you go?"

Aria shook her head. "No. Someone saved me."

But who? And why?

The answers lay deeper in the ruins.

Taking a shaky breath, Aria pushed forward, Eldara following closely. They moved through the corridors, guided by the lingering echoes of her past.

And then, they found it.

A chamber, hidden behind a crumbling wall. The moment Aria stepped inside, the air thrummed with energy. Symbols lined the walls, pulsing faintly. In the center, a pedestal stood, dust-covered but untouched by time.

Aria approached it cautiously.

On the pedestal lay a book.

Old, bound in worn leather, its cover marked with the same symbol she had seen in her vision.

With trembling fingers, she picked it up.

The moment her hands touched it, a voice echoed in her mind.

"You were never meant to escape."

The ruins trembled.

The shadows thickened.

And the hunt began