Chapter 185: Whispers Beneath the Surface

The tension in the room was suffocating. The heavy drapes on the arched windows muted the fading sunlight, casting long shadows across the marble floor. Dust floated in the stale air, caught in the golden beams that struggled to break through. Everything about this place screamed secrecy.

Fred squared his shoulders, feeling the intensity of Rael's gaze drilling into him. Lilia stood slightly behind, her breath shallow, her fingers brushing the hilt of a hidden dagger inside her coat—just in case.

Rael's lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. "You've come far... farther than they ever intended you to," he said, stepping closer. His boots echoed slightly on the polished stone, each step measured, deliberate. "But you're not here just out of curiosity. You seek the truth."

Fred's fists clenched at his sides. "I'm tired of living under illusions," he said, his voice low but firm. "I want to know who I am. What they made me into."

Rael studied him for a long moment. His face was lined with experience, but his grey eyes gleamed with something fiercer—pain, anger, hope. "You are a storm they tried to bottle up," he said finally. "A force they feared. And because of that, they wrapped you in lies."

Fred's heart pounded against his ribs. He wanted to demand answers, to tear the truth from Rael piece by piece if he had to—but the man's calm demeanor kept him frozen.

"Before I tell you everything," Rael continued, reaching into his coat, "you must understand something, Fred. The world you're about to enter will demand more from you than you ever thought you could give."

From the folds of his coat, Rael pulled out a small, ancient-looking book. Its cover was cracked and worn, but the symbol embossed into the leather—the same strange emblem Fred had glimpsed in his dreams—made Fred's blood run cold.

"This," Rael said, holding the book out, "is the beginning."

Fred hesitated before taking it. The leather was cool against his fingertips, and the moment he touched it, a surge of visions crashed into him: battlefields soaked in blood, cities in flames, skies torn open by unimaginable power. His knees buckled, but he gritted his teeth and stayed standing.

Lilia rushed to steady him, her brow furrowed with concern.

"What... is this?" Fred gasped.

Rael's face grew solemn. "It's a record of everything the Elders tried to bury. The prophecy's true meaning, your bloodline, your role. It's not just about you, Fred. It's about everyone—those who live and those who will live after us."

Fred's fingers tightened around the book. Part of him wanted to hurl it across the room and walk away. To go back to simpler days filled with ignorance. But he knew there was no turning back.

"You are not just Fred," Rael said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "You are the Last Warden. The final safeguard before everything falls."

Fred's breath caught. Around him, the air seemed to hum with unseen energy, and the floor beneath his feet felt suddenly unstable, like the world itself was shifting.

"You were never meant to be a servant of the Elders," Rael went on. "You were meant to surpass them."

The silence that followed was deafening. Outside, the city of Xandria seemed to hold its breath, the streets dim under the encroaching night sky painted in deep purples and dying golds.

Fred looked down at the book again, feeling the crushing weight of destiny settle onto his shoulders.

"I... I don't know if I can do this," he admitted, his voice cracking slightly.

Rael's stern face softened for a fleeting second. "That's what makes you worthy," he said. "Because those who want power rarely deserve it. But those who fear it... they are the ones who must wield it."

At that moment, Fred realized something profound: the fight wasn't just against the Elders. It was against a future they had tried to chain down. Against a fate they had carved with cruelty and ambition.

The city lights flickered to life beyond the windows, tiny sparks in the vast dark. Somewhere out there, his enemies stirred. Somewhere out there, his true allies waited.

Fred tucked the book against his chest, feeling its heartbeat echo with his own.

He would not run.

He would not bow.

The real battle was about to begin.

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