Parley of Shadows

Location: Ghalem's Reach – Edge of the Forgotten Ruins

The wind howled across the ancient rocks of Ghalem's Reach, the jagged terrain cloaked in silver mist. Once a brutal training ground for Tavara's most ruthless covert units, it now stood abandoned—except for the five dark-cloaked figures standing in its heart.

They were the Obsidian Fang.

Damien approached without fear, Nora and Xavier flanking him. Every step forward was calculated. Every heartbeat resonated with caution and resolve.

A tall figure stepped forward from the Obsidian line. "Damien Blackwood," the voice was hoarse but firm. "You should not have come."

Damien's gaze remained unwavering. "You called for parley. I honored it."

The man pulled back his hood, revealing a heavily scarred face and one steel-gray eye. "I am Kael. Last of the Elders. We trained you. We trained her."

"Then you know how this ends," Damien replied coldly.

Kael shook his head. "Not if we stop her together. Althea has become something else. She's tapping into knowledge that predates even the Council. She's unraveling the laws that kept our world in balance."

Nora stepped in. "Why should we believe you? You people were executioners for the elite."

Kael's eye narrowed. "And now we're hunted like dogs by one of our own creations. The enemy of my enemy…"

Damien cut him off. "...is still an enemy."

A sudden shift in the wind made everyone freeze.

From the far edge of the cliff, a voice echoed.

"You talk of me like I'm a phantom."

All heads turned. There she was—Althea.

Clad in black combat armor with a crimson scarf fluttering behind her, she looked like a vision carved from vengeance itself. Her eyes glowed faintly—unnatural, like something awakened from forbidden lore.

Damien stepped forward slowly, muscles taut. "You crossed a line."

"I crossed many," she said, voice eerily calm. "But I'm not here to kill you, Damien. Not yet."

Kael made a move, but she raised a hand.

"I came to offer you both a choice—join me, or be swept away."

Damien's lips tightened. "And why would we join a ghost on a warpath?"

"Because I know the truth behind the Dominion," she whispered. "And you're not ready to face it alone."

Silence reigned.

Then, slowly, she turned and disappeared into the mist, leaving only her final words behind:

"Meet me at the Crimson Wastes. Three nights from now. Or prepare to be buried with the old world."