Chapter 18: The forsaken path

The Forsaken Path

Kael awoke with a gasp. His body felt weightless, as though he was suspended between worlds. Darkness wrapped around him, thick and suffocating, yet alive, shifting like tendrils of mist.

He wasn't in the ruins anymore.

He wasn't anywhere.

A cold whisper brushed against his ear. "You have chosen wrong, warrior."

Kael turned sharply, but there was nothing, only emptiness stretching in all directions. His pulse hammered. He had faced monsters, blades, and death itself, but this… this was different. This place was beyond the realm of the living.

Then, light.

A single, blinding thread of gold unraveled in the darkness, growing, splitting into thousands of glowing strands. A tapestry of fate itself, woven by unseen hands.

And at its center, Seraphine.

She stood suspended, her body wrapped in those golden threads, her golden eyes wide with fear. She struggled, but the light coiled tighter around her, binding her in place.

"Seraphine!" Kael moved, but the darkness resisted, holding him back.

Another voice echoed through the void. "She was never meant to be."

Kael gritted his teeth. "I don't care what fate says. Let her go."

The darkness swirled, shifting into a familiar form—the Seer. But this time, her presence was colder, crueler. The wisdom in her eyes had turned to something else, finality.

"She is a wound in destiny," the Seer said. "A fracture in the fabric of reality itself. If she remains, the world will unravel."

Kael shook his head. "That's not true. She's real. She's here."

"She is a mistake," the Seer whispered. "And mistakes must be corrected."

Kael's heart pounded as the golden threads tightened around Seraphine. She let out a strangled gasp, her body arching as the power surged through her.

She was being erased.

"No." The word ripped from Kael's throat. He fought against the darkness, his entire being screaming in defiance. His power burned within him, flickering, desperate.

Then, Solmara ignited in his grasp.

The darkness hissed in protest as the sword pulsed with divine energy, its silver flames cutting through the void. Kael surged forward.

The Seer's eyes widened. "You cannot fight fate, warrior."

Kael's blade slashed through the golden threads. Light exploded outward.

Seraphine fell.

Kael caught her just as the void cracked apart.

And the world shattered.

The Awakening

Kael jolted upright with a ragged breath.

Stone. Cold air. The scent of earth and magic.

He was back in the ruins.

Seraphine lay in his arms, unmoving, her golden eyes shut. For a terrifying moment, he thought—

But then, she stirred.

Her breath was shallow, her body weak, but she was alive.

Kael's hands trembled as he brushed her hair back. "Seraphine…"

She blinked up at him, disoriented. "What… happened?"

Kael swallowed hard. How could he explain?

The Seer had tried to erase her. The prophecy had rejected her existence. The gods themselves had deemed her an anomaly.

And yet—he had defied them.

The ruins were different now. The obelisk at the center was cracked, glowing with an eerie blue light. The prophecy itself had been wounded.

Kael helped Seraphine sit up. She was still pale, her body trembling, but her eyes were sharp with understanding.

"We broke something," she whispered.

Kael nodded, his grip on Solmara tightening. "Yes. And I don't think the gods will let it go unanswered."

Thunder rumbled in the distance. The air felt heavier. The world itself seemed to be watching.

Seraphine reached for his hand. "Then we run."

Kael met her gaze. For the first time, fate was uncertain.

And that meant, for the first time—they had a chance.