Chapter 17: Shattered prophecy

The Shattered Prophecy

Pain lanced through Kael's chest like a dagger of ice as he watched Seraphine collapse, blood seeping through her tunic. The ruins trembled around them, the whispers of fate growing louder, as if the very fabric of destiny had been disturbed.

He had hesitated.

That single moment of doubt had nearly cost her life.

Kael's fury ignited like wildfire. Solmara pulsed in his grip, responding to his rage, the light from the blade growing blindingly bright. The Shadowborn recoiled, hissing in agony as the ruins became a battleground of light and darkness.

Seraphine groaned, trying to push herself up. Her golden eyes locked onto his. "Kael… you can't—"

But he already had.

With a roar, he launched forward, Solmara cutting through the Shadowborn like a blade of the gods. Each strike sent bursts of celestial energy through the ruins, illuminating the dark corners where the creatures lurked. They shrieked as their twisted forms disintegrated into mist, but more kept coming—endless, relentless.

Kael gritted his teeth, barely registering the searing heat coursing through his veins. He could feel it now—the prophecy tightening around him like unseen chains. Every swing of his sword, every burst of power, was pulling him deeper into fate's grasp.

But he didn't care.

He would not lose her.

The Seer's Warning

A final strike sent the last Shadowborn howling into oblivion. Then, silence.

Kael barely had time to breathe before the air shifted again.

The ruins darkened. The whispers grew deafening.

A figure emerged from the shadows—The Seer.

She was exactly as he had seen in his vision—draped in flowing black robes, her hair like woven silver, her eyes holding the weight of eternity. She stepped forward, the space around her warping as if reality itself bent to her presence.

Seraphine sucked in a sharp breath beside him, her wound still bleeding, but her focus now locked on the Seer.

"You should not have interfered," the Seer murmured, her voice both soft and infinite.

Kael clenched his fists. "You told me how to break the prophecy."

"I told you the cost."

His heart pounded. Destroy the one you love.

He shook his head. "There has to be another way."

The Seer's expression was unreadable. "If there was, don't you think it would have already been revealed?"

Kael's grip tightened on Solmara. "Then tell me, why does loving her doom the world?"

The Seer finally turned to Seraphine. A flicker of sadness crossed her face. "Because she is the key."

Kael's blood ran cold.

Seraphine stiffened. "What?"

The Seer raised her hand, and the air shimmered. The ruins around them faded away, replaced by visions, images from the past and future, overlapping in a chaotic, dizzying blur.

Kael saw himself, standing at the edge of a battlefield, Solmara dripping with blood.

He saw a throne of shadows, wreathed in fire.

He saw Seraphine, bound in chains of light, her golden eyes filled with pain.

And then, the world crumbling into darkness.

The vision shattered.

Seraphine's breathing was unsteady. "I don't understand."

The Seer's voice softened. "You were never meant to exist, child."

Kael's heart pounded in his ears. "What are you saying?"

The Seer exhaled. "She is an anomaly. A break in the cycle. The gods did not write her into fate, yet here she stands, defying it. That is why her presence unravels the prophecy."

Kael's mind raced. That meant…

If she lived, the world would fall into chaos.

If she died, fate would realign.

His stomach twisted. "No."

Seraphine took a step back, her face pale. "You're lying."

But the Seer's expression was sorrowful. "I wish I were."

The Impossible Choice

Kael turned to Seraphine, his pulse hammering. She looked at him, her golden eyes filled with a storm of emotions, fear, confusion, defiance.

She reached for his hand. "Kael, whatever happens… we'll find another way."

But Kael wasn't sure anymore.

He had spent his life fighting against fate, against the chains that sought to bind him. And now, the gods had given him an impossible choice.

If he chose her, he chose uncertainty. A world on the brink of collapse.

If he chose to let her go…

No.

There had to be another way.

"There is always another path," he said, stepping between Seraphine and the Seer. "I don't care what the gods have written. I will carve my own fate."

The Seer tilted her head. "And what if doing so damns you?"

Kael's jaw tightened. "Then let the gods come for me."

A beat of silence.

Then the Seer smiled, a knowing, weary smile. "Very well, warrior."

She raised her hand, and the ruins shattered.

A Shift in Fate

The air cracked like glass.

Kael's vision swam as the ground beneath him disappeared. He was falling, but not in a physical sense. It felt as though his very soul was being thrown through time itself.

The prophecy was unraveling.

And at the center of it all, Seraphine.

A blinding flash of light consumed them.

And then, Darkness.