chapter 7: The awakened dead

The ground trembled beneath Kael's boots.

The whispers had turned to wails—dozens, maybe hundreds, rising from the ruins as if the very stones remembered their suffering. The air grew thick, heavy with something unseen but felt.

Kael's grip tightened on his sword. He had fought men, beasts, even monsters—but this was something else. Something unnatural.

Seraphine stood motionless beside him, her golden eyes flickering in the dim light. She did not look surprised.

"Tell me this wasn't your plan," Kael said, voice low.

Her gaze didn't leave the archway before them. "I told you this was a graveyard."

Kael cursed under his breath. "Then who are we disturbing?"

Seraphine turned her head slightly, and for the first time, Kael saw it—the faintest trace of fear in her expression.

She didn't know.

A deep, shuddering groan echoed through the ruins, and the earth cracked.

Kael took a step back as something began to rise from the ground.

Bones.

No—armor.

Figures clad in rusted steel and rotting cloaks clawed their way from the dirt. Their armor bore sigils Kael did not recognize, yet something about them felt familiar, like a forgotten memory pressing against the edge of his mind.

Then he saw their faces.

Or rather, the emptiness where their faces should have been.

Hollow-eyed skulls, wreathed in ghostly fire, turned toward him. Their swords gleamed, untouched by time, and their bodies—though broken—moved with purpose.

A low, guttural sound rattled from one of them.

A word.

Kael didn't understand it.

But he understood the intent.

They were here for him.

"Seraphine," he murmured, shifting into a battle stance. "If you have any magic tricks, now would be the time."

Seraphine took a slow step back. "These are the Forgotten."

Kael didn't look at her. His eyes were locked on the warriors as they advanced, slow and deliberate. Each movement was unnatural—jerky, yet precise, like puppets controlled by unseen strings.

"Forgotten by who?" Kael asked.

Seraphine exhaled. "By the world. By time."

Kael cursed. "I was hoping for an easier fight."

One of the warriors lunged.

Kael reacted instantly, steel meeting steel as he deflected the attack. The force of the blow sent shockwaves up his arms. This thing—whatever it was—was strong.

Another warrior moved in, blade flashing. Kael twisted, barely dodging the strike.

He lashed out, his sword slicing through the nearest warrior's ribs—only for the blade to pass through like mist.

His breath hitched.

They weren't just dead. They were beyond death.

Seraphine's voice was sharp. "You cannot kill what has already fallen."

"Great," Kael growled, ducking another strike. "Then how do we stop them?"

Seraphine raised her hand. The air shimmered.

Then, with a single whispered word, fire erupted from her palm.

Golden flames lashed out, striking one of the warriors. It shrieked—a sound that sent chills down Kael's spine—and recoiled, its form flickering.

Kael didn't hesitate. He surged forward, slamming his shoulder into the warrior and sending it sprawling into the ruins.

For the first time, the dead hesitated.

They turned their hollow gazes to Seraphine.

Kael took a breath. "Fire works."

Seraphine's voice was calm, but her hands trembled as she kept the flames alive. "It won't hold them for long."

The warriors stood motionless, their hollow eyes locked onto her. They recognized the power she wielded.

Then, as if hearing an unheard command, they moved.

Faster this time.

Kael barely had time to react before one lunged, its rusted sword cutting through the air. He ducked, twisting his blade up in a sharp counter, but the metal barely slowed it down.

These things didn't fight like men. They did not feel pain. They did not hesitate.

Kael clenched his jaw. Fine. If steel wouldn't work, he would break them apart piece by piece.

With a sharp pivot, he drove his boot into the warrior's knee. Bone cracked, and the creature stumbled. Kael followed through with a brutal downward strike, severing its arm at the joint. The limb fell, but the warrior didn't react. It simply turned its head toward him—empty sockets burning.

A cold shiver ran through him.

The warrior kept moving, kept fighting, even as its body fell apart.

Seraphine lifted both hands, and another wave of golden fire erupted. It struck the creatures like a storm, consuming two in a blinding flare. Their wails echoed through the ruins, so loud they rattled the stones beneath them.

Kael turned, heart pounding. There were too many.

A fresh wave of warriors crawled from the earth, their movements jerky, their rusted blades gleaming in the dim light.

Kael exhaled sharply. "We need to leave."

Seraphine gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her brow. "The ruins won't let us."

Kael's pulse thundered. "What the hell does that mean?"

She gestured sharply. "Look."

Kael turned—and his stomach dropped.

The path they had come through was gone. Not blocked. Not overgrown.

Gone.

Where once there had been trees, only endless ruin remained—twisting corridors of broken stone stretching into nothingness.

Kael's chest tightened. "This isn't real."

Seraphine's voice was taut. "It is real enough to kill us."

The warriors were closing in, moving with eerie, mechanical precision. Kael had faced many things. But this? This was beyond him.

And yet—

A whisper slid through his mind.

A name.

Solmara.

The warriors flinched.

Kael's breath hitched.

It was subtle, almost imperceptible—but the moment that name had entered his thoughts, they had hesitated.

He gritted his teeth.

"Solmara," he said aloud.

The warriors staggered.

For the first time, they faltered. A shudder ran through them, as if the name itself carried power.

Seraphine's eyes widened. "Kael—"

Before she could finish, the ruins shifted.

Not an illusion. Not a trick.

The ground beneath them trembled. Walls reformed, broken stones slid together, and from the center of the ruins, something pulsed.

A deep, thrumming sound—a heartbeat that did not belong to any living thing.

Kael's head pounded. The whisper returned, louder this time, wrapping around his thoughts like a chain.

Come.

The warriors fell to their knees.

Kael's breath hitched. He hadn't commanded them.

But something else had.

Seraphine grabbed his wrist. "We have to move. Now."

Kael hesitated—but the ruins gave him no choice.

A doorway had appeared in the stone ahead.

It had not been there before.

It led downward.

Kael swallowed hard. He didn't like this. He didn't trust it.

But something down there was calling him.

And he was no longer sure he could resist.