Chapter 35: The Ashenblade Curse
Myra smiled and moved to her desk, completely at ease. Poured herself a glass of wine. As if the last fifteen minutes had been nothing more than a casual morning chat.
Lucian pulled his shirt back on, brain still trying to reboot from the combination of trauma and relief.
His ribs didn’t hurt anymore. That was good.
Everything else about this situation was deeply, deeply bad.
Myra settled into her chair, studying him over the rim of her glass. The playful expression had faded slightly. Sothing more serious took its place.
"So, you ca here for healing. But that’s not all you need, is it?"
Lucian hesitated and then nodded.
"I need information."
"About?"
"Bloodline awakenings. Specifically Ashenblades." He t her eyes, forcing his voice to stay steady. "The assassin who attacked
ntioned a seal. He said dangerous forces hunt awakening Ashenblades. I need to know what that ans."
Myra set her wine glass down with deliberate care and stood up. She walked toward him slowly, each step asured and confident.
When she was close enough, she leaned in until their faces were only inches apart. Her fingers brushed lightly over his jaw in a deceptively gentle caress.
That dangerous smile returned.
"First," she murmured, voice dropping into sothing low and possessive, "tell
about the attack."
Her thumb traced his jawline slowly.
"I get quite jealous when other girls save my student. You understand?"
A chill ran down Lucian’s spine.
She’s jealous? Of Seraphina and Elira saving ? This woman is actually insane.
He quickly caught himself and nodded. "Right. The attack."
He took a steadying breath and told his master everything.
The first attack after training with Seraphina — how Elira had saved him. The warning to stay away from her. Then the second encounter in the courtyard, when Seraphina got involved anyway. The fight. Her shoulder getting cut.
And then—
Her bloodline awakening.
The black-and-silver light exploding from her blood. The terrifying pulse of raw power. Even the assassin had taken a step back, visibly shocked.
He told her all of it.
Myra listened in complete silence, her expression unreadable the entire ti.
When he finished a few minutes later, the silence stretched longer than comfortable.
Then she smiled — that infuriating, all-knowing smile — and leaned back in her chair with practiced elegance.
"See, Lucian darling," she teased, "I told you to keep up with daily training. If you keep wasting ti like this, you’ll have to rely on girls saving you."
She swirled the wine in her glass.
"Though I suppose it was necessary this ti." Her smile softened, just a fraction. "After all... it’s not your fault your talent was stolen."
Lucian’s eye twitched violently.
He had no words.
Absolutely none.
I hate her. I hate her so much.
Myra took a slow sip of her wine, savoring it. Set the glass down carefully on the desk.
The playful expression faded.
Her tone shifted—serious now, focused.
"Alright." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Tell , how much do you know about the Forbidden Forest?"
Lucian paused.
The Forbidden Forest?
Why is she asking about that?
Sealed territory. Dangerous as hell. Everyone knew you didn’t go there. The kingdoms stationed entire armies at the borders just to keep people out.
But what did that have to do with Ashenblades?
Unless—
His chest tightened.
"The Forbidden Forest?" he said slowly. "Sealed territory. South of the continent. No one goes there."
"And do you know why no one goes there?"
"Because it’s dangerous?"
"Dangerous." Myra repeated the word slowly, letting it linger in the air. "That’s... one way to put it."
She took another sip of wine.
"Sothing is sealed there." Myra’s expression was grave now. All traces of her usual shalessness gone. "Sothing so powerful it nearly destroyed the entire continent six hundred years ago."
She leaned back slightly, eyes distant for a mont.
They managed to seal it. Bury it deep. But...
Her voice dropped lower.
"Sealing sothing and solving it are very different things."
Silence settled between them, heavy and thick.
That forest isn’t just dangerous, Lucian. It’s *active.* Growing. Spreading."
Why do you think every kingdom on this continent stations troops at the borders? Why do high-ranking mages and knights rotate through monitoring duty every season?
"It’s not history. It’s an ongoing problem. One that requires constant vigilance, constant resources, constant sacrifice to keep contained, And even then..."
She trailed off. "Let’s just say the seal is... imperfect. What’s buried doesn’t always stay buried."
Lucian’s blood ran cold.
He knew this.
He knew this from the novel.
Arc 7. The part of the story most readers skipped because it ca so late in the narrative. The part where the truth about the world’s greatest threat was finally revealed.
The demon king wasn’t the real enemy. The hero’s rival wasn’t the final boss.
It was what slept in the Forbidden Forest.
"Kokonei."
Lucian said the word quietly.
Myra’s eyes sharpened. "You know the na."
Lucian’s jaw tightened. "I’ve... co across it. In old texts."
Then you know what it is. A chaos beast from before the age of humanity. Older than magic as we understand it. She leaned forward slightly.
"The mages and heroes of the old world couldn’t kill it. The best they could do was seal it away. Bury it so deep in the abyss of the Forbidden Forest that even its na beca dangerous to speak."
"And Ashenblades are connected to this... how?"
She stood and walked to a bookshelf, pulling out an old to — leather-bound, pages yellowed with age.
"Noble bloodline. Dark and silver light — Lunar Magic. Powerful combat ability."
"Surface level. All true." She opened the book, flipping through pages. "But that’s not the whole truth. The Ashenblade family doesn’t advertise their real origins."
She found the page she was looking for and turned it toward him.
An illustration. A massive beast — shapeless, made of writhing chaos and shadow and moonlight. And around it, figures kneeling. Worshipping.
"The Ashenblades aren’t just a bloodline," Myra said quietly. "They’re descendants. Followers of Kokonei who survived the sealing. Their magic and strength isn’t so gift from the heavens, It’s a remnant. Of sothing that nearly ended this world."
Lucian stared at the image.
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