25: Veins of the Forgotten King

The Fifth Pact could not be claimed through combat, temptation, or intellect. It was hidden where memory bled into stone—deep beneath the ruins of the Obsidian Vale, where light had not touched in centuries.

Ren stood at the edge of a sinkhole surrounded by cracked black rock, its edges marked with ancient carvings that shimmered faintly in moonlight. Eira stepped beside him.

"This is the resting place of the Forgotten King," she said. "He was once chosen by the gods, like you. He failed."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "And what became of him?"

Eira's voice lowered. "They erased him—from history, from memory, from every realm except this one. But his power remained... buried, fractured, angry."

Lyra, standing just behind them, took Ren's hand. Arin and Nyelle followed closely, scanning the surroundings.

"The Fifth Pact tests not your strength," Nyelle said. "It tests legacy—what you leave behind when you're unmade."

Arin muttered, "We've fought gods and shadows, and now we walk willingly into madness."

Ren smirked. "Let's find out what kind."

The descent into the sinkhole was treacherous. They climbed, slid, and finally dropped onto a ledge that spiraled into darkness. The air grew thick with the scent of old bones and ash.

Magical torches lit at their presence, flaring one by one as they moved deeper.

At the heart of the cavern lay a throne of stone and rusted chains. A man's remains, half-skeletal and half-crystallized, sat slumped against it. Crown shattered. Fingers clenched around a relic blade.

Eira stepped back. "He's waiting."

The eyes of the corpse suddenly glowed with dim red light.

A voice boomed—not from the bones, but from every wall around them.

"Who dares seek the legacy the gods buried?"

Ren stepped forward. "One who refuses to kneel."

A shockwave burst from the skeleton, throwing everyone back. Chains uncoiled like serpents from the walls. Phantoms of ancient kings, cursed and faceless, emerged.

Eira called out, "You must face him alone. This pact demands solitude."

Lyra gasped. "No! After what we just—"

Ren turned and gave her a look that silenced the protest. "I have to earn it. Or it means nothing."

She bit her lip but nodded.

The others retreated behind a shimmering barrier as the phantoms circled. The skeletal king stood, his voice now thunder.

"You seek power, mortal? Then show me what you've sacrificed."

The battle was not physical.

Ren was thrust into a vision—his body frozen, his soul unmoored.

He stood inside a ruined palace, wearing the same shattered crown. Lyra lay dead at his feet. Nyelle's runes bled from her body. Arin's blades were shattered. Eira wept in a corner, bound by divine chains.

A mirror stood before him, and in it—Ren saw not himself, but the Forgotten King.

"You become me," the reflection said. "You gather women, steal power, defy heaven... and in the end, you're left alone."

Ren's fists trembled. "No. I made promises."

"And promises don't survive ambition," the reflection sneered. "Do you truly believe they follow you for love? Or for what you represent?"

"I don't command them," Ren said. "They choose. And I will be worth that choice."

The mirror cracked.

"Then prove it."

Back in the chamber, Ren's body was convulsing. Eira clutched Lyra's arm as she reached for him. "Don't break the barrier—he's inside the Pact Wound. If you touch him now, he might not return."

Nyelle's voice shook. "He's bleeding magic. If he fails—he won't just die. He'll be erased."

Inside the vision, the Forgotten King lunged at Ren. Blade in hand, fury incarnate.

Ren grabbed the blade—not to strike, but to shatter it.

Power exploded outward.

He knelt before the image, not in submission—but in grief.

"I see you," Ren whispered. "I see what you became. But I will not be your echo."

The palace vision burst into flames.

Chains broke. Specters screamed and disintegrated.

A new crown—this one woven of red light and stardust—descended from above and rested on Ren's head.

The Fifth Pact was complete.

Ren collapsed to his knees in the real world, gasping.

The barrier shattered.

Lyra caught him, sobbing. "Ren!"

His eyes flickered open. "I'm here."

Eira stepped forward. "The gods will know. They'll feel the fifth resonance. You've stepped beyond their boundaries."

Ren stood, lifting his head to the cavern's ceiling.

"Then let them watch. The Harem Emperor rises."