The Blackridge Caves lood like the mouth of so ancient beast, mist swirling at its jagged entrance. The air was thick, vibrating with a kind of dark energy that made even the birds steer clear.
The Lost Stars stood before it—Azrael Jr., Caelan, Rina, Azariah, Lyra, Niko, and a few other gifted village teens. All dressed in armor enchanted by the village mages, they looked less like children and more like a legend reborn.
"I swear if sothing jumps out at in there, I'm setting this whole cave on fire," Rina whispered, clutching a dagger that glowed like lava.
"Please don't," Azariah muttered. "So of us like breathing."
Caelan turned to the group. "Alright. We go in teams. Keep to the light. Rina, you're with Azariah. Lyra, Niko, you're with . Azrael—"
"Already with you," his brother said, sparking flas in both hands.
The caves weren't silent. Whispers echoed—not just voices, but mories. The kind that made you stop, forget who you were, forget why you ca.
Azrael suddenly paused. A shadow moved near him. "Did anyone else hear that?"
"Yup," Niko said. "And it sounded like my mother yelling at for skipping dish duty."
"It was probably a mory wraith," Lyra said, serious. "They feed on regret."
"Then we're all screwed," Rina muttered. "I regret everything. Especially eating Eira's stew last night. I haven't stopped burping."
They laughed quietly, even as they inched forward, deeper into the cave. Then the laughter stopped.
Eyes glowed in the darkness—hundreds.
Then they heard the hiss.
"The Serpent Prince left pets," Azrael whispered.
The creatures were like snakes—but with arms, claws, and sothing worse—intelligence. And they lunged.
Azariah raised a barrier. Caelan summoned spears of ice. Rina cackled and unleashed a ring of fire so hot it turned the first wave of enemies to ash.
But then... the walls shook.
"Sothing's coming," Niko said.
It wasn't sothing.
It was him.
The new threat. The Shadow Keeper—one of the Serpent Prince's commanders—twisted, made of smoke and bones, erged from a pit in the center.
"You are all... children," it rasped.
Azrael stepped forward. "And you're about to see what our generation can do."
Then the real fight began.
Reviews
All reviews (0)