Syed_Ariz

Requiem of the Fallen
Once called a prodigy, Ariz al-Suleiman was cast aside when his power was sealed. Betrayed, beaten, and left for dead, he awakens with a mysterious system and a second chance.

But the world doesn’t forgive. And neither does he.

When the Church burns his home and kills his grandfather, Ariz sheds his humanity. No longer a hero—he becomes a force of vengeance, bound to destroy everything that wronged him.

With blood as his path and demons as his future, Ariz’s war is just beginning.

THRONE OF SHADOW AND SIN

Chapter 29 – Three Cuts to Nowhere

Kael arrived at the broken forge ruins by dusk, the stone still warm from sunlight that had long disappeared. Black soot covered every surface. The air shimmered with a low, unnatural heat—the kind that came from something still burning, even if you couldn't see the flame.

A pile of melted bones marked the outer courtyard.

At the center: a half-collapsed smelting pit.

And coiled inside it like a dragon too tired to stand—the Emberjaw Basilisk.

Its scales looked like shattered obsidian. Between each plate, a faint orange glow pulsed, like it bled fire instead of blood. Its tongue flicked twice—smoke followed.

He circled, slow and low, moving between broken anvils and scorched tool racks. His coat trailed behind him like a silent banner.

The basilisk didn't sleep. It waited.

Kael blinked sideways just as the paralysis pulse surged outward. Stone behind him cracked with the pressure.

He landed in a slide and threw a small, curved mirror shard from his belt.

It spun—caught the beast's gaze—and fractured it.

Kael flipped backward behind a fallen crucible. Heat washed over the stone—melted the edge of a steel beam. He could feel the burn even behind cover.

He moved again. This time forward.

It reared, scales rattling, ready to scream flame—

Not toward it. Under it.

He rolled beneath the underbelly, sliced once with a low arc.

Shadow Carve: Activated

The blade cut through two heat vents just behind the ribs.

The flame ignited inward.

Then collapsed with a heavy grunt—steam rising from its open mouth like breath from a broken furnace.

[Elite Kill Confirmed – Emberjaw Basilisk (Tier-3)]

"The fire roared. But you did not."

He turned from the corpse and walked without speaking toward the undercity gates.

Later That Night – Sewer Beneath the Lower Cathedral

The tunnels groaned, not with pressure, but with voices. Soft. Praying. Muttering things that didn't make sense in any language.

Kael stepped through ankle-deep water, blade drawn.

Bound in cursed gold wire, limbs elongated with divine flesh-grafting. Its mouth sewn in a crooked grin. White fire flickered from its spine like wings that didn't belong.

The Ascended Wretch.

It turned slowly, as if it felt him but couldn't see him.

Then its body snapped toward him unnaturally—arms outstretched, casting radiant spears of light.

Kael blinked backward. One blast tore into the ceiling.

The creature lunged—silent but screaming inside its own skin.

Kael ducked, rolled under the arc of its blade-arm, and sliced upward along its back.

It spun and cast a light ring—a trap.

Kael stepped into it.

And with Shadow Carve, he silenced the spell mid-form.

He stepped through the creature's guard. Grabbed it by the back of the skull.

And slit the rune beneath its jaw.

Then dropped, light leaking from its open mouth like blood.

[Elite Kill Confirmed – Ascended Wretch (Tier-3)]

[System Notification]

Elite Hunt Sequence Complete

❌ Rank Advancement: Denied

Reason: Required Condition Unmet – Destruction of 1 Church Stronghold

"You were not made to hunt monsters.

You were made to silence gods."

Kael stood still for a long moment.