2025-02-01 12:05:41The air was heavy with the stench of blood and fire. Kael's gasps for air were ragged as he dragged himself through the city's ruined streets, his body screaming protest. Selis pulled him on, her hand clamped over his wrist like a vice, her dagger stained with fresh blood. Behind them, the shouted cries of pursuit echoed through the broken streets.
Darius was far from done. Kael ground his teeth together to silence the whimper as each step pulsed pain through the open wound in his side. "Goddamn. How much longer?" "Not far," Selis whispered sharply. "If we make it over the northern wall, we can vanish." A piercing whistle shattered the silence. Instinct took over. Kael pushed Selis out of the way just in time as an arrow whizzed by, burying itself in the wooden frame of a collapsed building. A second arrow followed, grazing his shoulder. Pain flared, but he pushed himself to move. "Move your ass, Kael!" Selis yelled, yanking him into a side alley. "They're closing in!" Kael sucked in a labored breath and forced himself to keep up. He could see that the ground was slick with blood and rain, and crumpled bodies lay about in grotesque heaps. The city had become a f*cking graveyard, and they were next if they didn't get out of there. Another set of footsteps pounded behind them. A glimpse over his shoulder sent ice down his spine four assassins, all clad in Shadowborne black, closing the distance with frightening speed. "F*cking persistent bastards," Kael spat. Selis didn't respond. She pivoted mid-stride, throwing a dagger with deadly precision. It found its mark, burying itself in the throat of the nearest assassin. The man gurgled, collapsing in a heap. The other three didn't slow. "Go!" Selis yelped, turning to meet them. "I'll take care of this!" "I'll show you to take care of this," Kael snarled, but she was already in motion. Her sword flashed and bit into the first attacker with a hideous crunch as steel chewed through flesh. Blood fountained in thick arcs, splattering the walls of the alley. The second assassin lunged, the curved sword cutting toward her neck. Kael barely had time to act—he kicked a loose stone, sending it skidding under the assassin's foot. The man faltered, just enough for Selis to ram her dagger up under his ribs. The last assassin snarled, drawing a pair of short blades. Selis barely had time to block his first strike before he pressed forward, forcing her back against the wall. Kael moved without thinking. He scooped up a discarded sword from the ground and drove it through the attacker’s spine. The blade punched through bone and muscle, protruding from the man’s chest in a gruesome display. The assassin’s body twitched before he slumped forward, lifeless. Selis wiped her face, her eyes wild. "I told you to run." "Fuck that," Kael panted. "We’re in this together." A familiar voice cut through the night. "So touching. But it won’t save you." Kael’s stomach turned to ice. Darius. He emerged from the shadows, his golden eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement. His sword was drawn, its blade still slick with blood from his last kill. Behind him, more assassins fanned out, blocking any hope of escape. Selis stiffened. "Shit." Kael tightened his grip on his sword. "I was hoping you’d bleed out, brother." Darius chuckled. "And I was hoping you'd just accept your fate. But here we are. You've made quite a mess, Kael. Did you really think you could just walk away? That I'd let you?" Kael spat blood onto the ground. "I don't give a fuck what you let me do." Darius exhaled, shaking his head. "Always the stubborn one. But it's time to end this." With a flick of his wrist, he motioned his men forward. The assassins lunged. Kael barely had time to raise his sword before the first one was on him. Their blades met in a violent clash, sparks flying as steel ground against steel. He twisted, dodging a second strike, and drove his knee into the attacker's gut. Selis moved like a ghost, slipping between foes, her daggers slicing through the flesh with merciless precision. She dodged one assassin's swing and plunged her blade into his armpit, twisting until his scream turned into a wet gurgle. Kael caught a glimpse of Darius watching, unmoving. Enjoying the show. "F*cking coward," Kael growled, cutting down another attacker. "Too scared to face me yourself?" Darius sneered. "Oh, I'll get my turn. But I want to see you suffer first." Kael narrowly avoided the strike. A razor-sharp knife cut into his thigh a slight wound, but enough to take him off guard. He clamped down, biting through pain as he propelled himself onward and forward, driven by rage to continue to attack. Selis let out a strangled cry. Kael spun round only just in time to see one of the assassins sink the blade into her stomach. "No!" He leapt forward, his sword arcing across the attacker's neck in a macabre curve. The man's head thudded into the ground. Selis staggered, pressing her hands over her wound. Blood seeped through her fingers, staining her clothes. She looked up at Kael, her eyes wide with shock, lips parted. "Damn it," she panted. "That's bad." He grabbed her before she could hit the ground. "Don't go. Just hold on, damn it." Darius sighed. "How disappointing. I expected much more from her." Kael's anger flared. He set Selis down carefully and turned to his brother. "You're going to pay for that." Darius sneered, raising his sword. "Then come and make me." Kael charged. The world blurred as he swung, every ounce of fury pouring into his strikes. Darius met him blow for blow, their swords clashing in a brutal, deadly rhythm. Kael's muscles screamed in protest, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. Then, Darius feinted a deliberate, calculated misstep. Kael took the bait. Darius' blade flashed, cutting deep into Kael's side. Pain exploded through him, white-hot and searing. He stumbled, his grip on his sword faltering. Darius laughed. "You always were predictable." Kael fell to his knees, blood pooling beneath him. He barely registered Selis' weak, gasping breaths behind him. Darius knelt beside him, gripping his hair, forcing him to look up. "This is where it ends, little brother. Any last words?" Kael smirked, blood dripping from his lips. "Yeah. F*ck you." Darius sighed. "Typical." Then, he drove his sword forward.
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The air was heavy with the smell of blood and smoke.Kael remained still, his sword at his feet, the dull ring of steel on stone still echoing in his mind. Veyna's dagger was still pressed to the young rebel's throat, her silver eyes laughing."You made the right decision," she whispered, her voice as smooth as silk.Kael's fists were clenched at his sides. He breathed steadily, but below, a storm consumed him. He had seen the smirks on her soldiers' mouths. He had felt the weight of each watching gaze. They believed they'd crushed him.They were mistaken."Let him go," Kael stated, his tone cutting.Veyna cocked her head to one side, pretending to be interested. "And what promise do I have that you will not begin butchering my men the second I do?"Kael drew a slow breath. "Your word."Veyna's laughter was light. "Your word? A traitor's word? I apologize if I am not consoled."Selene, hidden in the midst of the commotion, shifted. Kael saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, h
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Chapter 56: The Blade That Devours
Pain.Not the kind that seared.Not the kind that poured like blood.This pain was profound. Chilling. Eternal.Like something had plunged into his soul and attempted to rip him asunder.Kael's hands clasped the hilt of the Blade of Oblivion.And the world splintered.Kael was not in the ruins.Not in the forest.He was nowhere.A chasm stretched in all directions, infinite and black.And before himA figure sat on a throne of cracked obsidian.Not human.Not divine.Something between.The voice thundered like a storm."You are not worthy."Kael gasped. "Then kill me."The figure laughed."You cannot be killed, Shadowborne.""That is your curse."Kael's heart rate decreased.Because secretly, he already knew that.And that was why the architects feared him.The throne room shook.The figure stood up, stepping down towards Kael.It was tall. Cloaked. Unseen.And in its handA sword exactly like the one Kael now clutched."You have taken a sword not for mortals."The being lifted its sw
Chapter 55: A World Unraveling
The night had been too silent.The Purgeborn had vanished, and its absence didn't feel natural.Kael cleaned his sword, his heart still racing.For the first time in his life, he had battled something that wasn't supposed to be battled.And emerged victorious.But that victory tasted bitter.Because now he had more questions than answers.Behind him, Selene still gazed at Calia.Dain rubbed his temples, grumbling, "I think I hate magic now."Kael's silver eyes landed on Calia."Start talking."Calia breathed.Then, finally, she said something."You believe the Blackthorn Company is your arch-nemesis," she told him.Her voice was barely above a whisper."But it's not."Selene rolled her eyes. "Then who is?"Calia's hands clenched into fists."The ones who created the Blackthorn Company."Dain's face grew harder. "You mean Sarai?"Calia shook her head."No."She raised her eyes.Her golden eyes flared."I mean the ones who created us all."The words sat suspended in the air like a curse.
Chapter 54: The War of Existence
Calia’s warning came too late.The first arrow whistled through the air, barely missing Kael’s shoulder.The second slammed into Dain’s pauldron, knocking him back with a curse.Selene twisted aside as a third arrow shattered against the stone wall behind her.Kael’s instincts screamed.Move. Now.They had walked straight into Sarai’s trap.And there was only one way out.Through it.The Blackthorn Hunters StrikeThe first group of assassins fell from the rooftops, cloaks blowing as they silently landed in the courtyard.Six, Kael counted.No—seven.Each carrying curved daggers and long-range crossbows, their faces covered with obsidian masks.The crack Blackthorn Hunters.Dain growled. "I detest these quiet bastards."Selene's daggers flashed under the torchlight. "Then let's quiet them down."Kael did not delay.He charged forward, blade shining.A Dance of DeathThe first assassin charged; Kael dodged and plunged his sword into the man's ribs.A second assassin approached from behi
Chapter 53: A Blade in the Dark
The stars hung cold and distant over the ruined outpost.Kael sat against the cracked stone wall, cleaning the blood off his sword.The blade had always felt like an extension of himself, a part of his body, his mind, his rage.Tonight, it felt heavier.The events at Emberhold churned in his head like a storm refusing to settle.Calia’s betrayal.Sarai’s control.Ceylan’s strength.Kael had lost battles before, but never like this.Not when it cost him more than blood.Not when it cost him trust.A shadow glided beside him.Selene.Her golden eyes flashed in the faint torchlight. "You're not sleeping."Kael sneered, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Didn't know we were allowed to."Selene let out a breath, sitting down beside him.For a long moment, neither of them said anything.Then, she spoke softly: "She didn't kill you when she had the chance."Kael didn't respond.Selene stood against the wall, fingers closing tightly around the dagger at her hip."You know what that means, don't y
Chapter 52: Blood and Betrayal
Kael's hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword.The instant the metal touched his hand, that familiar surge rushed through him: power, control, certainty.This sword had been with him for every war, every fight, and every loss.And now, it would be the sword that ended this.Sarai stood on the opposite side of the war table, smiling at him.She had tossed him the sword intentionally.Not as a token of surrender.But as an offer.A challenge.A test of whether he was still the same Kael she remembered or something worse.Behind him, Selene and Dain still stood ready, their hands still resting over their weapons.Calia, ever enigmatic.Kael slowly rose to his feet, sword in hand.His tone was steady and composed."No more games, Sarai."Her smile grew wider. "Then let's be done with it."Sarai was the first to move.Kael hardly noticed the change in her position before she was on him.Her sword arced toward his throat, swift, sharp, deadly.Kael deflected, steel clashing through the w
Chapter 51: The Blade’s Return
The sword was a good fit for Kael. The weight, the balance—it was more than an instrument of death. It belonged to him, an extension of his will, forged in blood and fire.On the other side of the war room, Sarai watched him with that same amused smirk, her violet eyes gleaming in the dim torchlight. She lounged on the long wooden table, fingertips lazily skimming the edge of a silver dagger, like this was all some game to her."That’s better, isn’t it?" she said lightly. "Reunited at last."Kael stood slowly, stretching his shoulders. “Pain lanced through his body, but he ignored it. Pain was a whisper. His fingers clutched the hilt of the sword, the leather-wrapped pommel familiar against his palm.“I’m done,” he said, voice low, steady. “You should have killed me when you could.Sarai sighed, as if disappointed. "You think I didn’t try?" Her lips curved. “But you’ve always been too stubborn to die well.”Dain scooched next to him, greatsword slung over his back, a lazy grin spreadin
