---
The air around the camp had changed. What once felt like a place of recovery now felt like a battlefield waiting to happen. Soldiers walked in groups, mages sealed their scrolls with extra care, and scouts moved in tighter circles. Fear wasn't in their hearts—but alertness was.
Inside the command tent, Chirag stood beside Siya, Kael, and Aarav. A map of the surrounding region was spread out before them, lit by glowing orbs of light.
"The poison was slipped in by someone wearing our armor," Siya said. "The healer saw nothing unusual until it was too late."
Kael grunted. "They're using tricks. Cowardly attacks."
"They want to break our trust," Chirag said. "We can't let that happen."
Aarav stepped forward. "The spirits have been whispering. Something unnatural moves at night, but it doesn't walk like a man. It slithers. Hides. It speaks in silence."
Chirag's eyes narrowed. "A Whisperer."
Everyone fell silent.
---
Whisperers were creatures of Varn's making. Born from shadows and pain, they could hide in darkness, take the shape of others, and poison minds with a few soft words. They weren't fighters. They were corrupters.
"They don't just hurt you," Siya explained. "They turn you. Make you doubt your friends. Twist your thoughts."
"So how do we find it?" Kael asked.
"We don't," Chirag said. "We draw it out."
---
That night, they set a trap.
Chirag stayed alone in a tent near the edge of camp, pretending to be asleep. A warded circle was drawn under his bed, invisible to any ordinary eye. Siya and Kael hid nearby, weapons ready. Aarav sat quietly near the sacred tree, whispering to the wind.
Time passed.
Hours crept by like years.
Then… something moved.
A shadow slid under the flap of the tent like oil. Its shape shifted—one moment a small animal, the next a hooded man. It moved silently, even the air didn't stir.
Chirag didn't open his eyes.
He waited.
The shadow leaned closer, and a voice like cracking ice whispered in his ear.
"They'll betray you. All of them."
"Siya loves power more than she loves you."
"Kael is waiting to take your place."
"Aarav fears you. He thinks you'll become the next Varn."
Chirag's heart beat faster, but he stayed calm.
The shadow reached toward his chest.
And that's when the ward glowed.
A beam of golden light burst from the floor, wrapping around the Whisperer like chains.
It screamed—not loud, but deep, like the sound of thunder trapped in a jar.
Siya rushed in. "We've got it!"
Kael followed, swinging his hammer and knocking the creature backward. It twisted, turning into smoke and bone, but couldn't break the light.
Chirag stood, grabbing his sword. He stepped into the circle and placed the blade near the creature's shadowy form.
"Tell me who sent you," he demanded.
The Whisperer hissed. "You already know."
"Then tell me why."
"To break you. You are the thread. If you snap… the whole world falls."
---
They locked the creature in a prison of light, deep in the cave below the sacred tree. Not even gods could reach it there.
But the damage had already begun.
Rumors spread. Whispers in the night. Doubts among the soldiers.
Chirag saw it in their eyes. Suspicion.
"What if someone else is a Whisperer?"
"What if Chirag is being controlled?"
"What if… this war can't be won?"
He gathered them all the next morning.
Thousands stood in silence as Chirag walked to the center of camp.
"I know some of you are afraid," he said. "I am too."
A murmur.
"I know there are lies crawling through the shadows. But I'm not afraid of the dark."
He looked around, meeting every gaze he could.
"Because I'm not alone."
Siya stepped beside him.
Kael and Aarav too.
Then others—generals, mages, even the wounded—came forward.
The crowd began to shift, stepping closer, standing together.
Chirag raised his voice. "We win this war not with weapons or relics—but with unity. With belief. If you believe in me… then believe in each other. That's what Varn fears most."
And the crowd roared.
---
Later, in the quiet after the speech, Siya and Chirag sat by the sacred tree.
"You were brave today," she said softly.
"I was scared," he replied.
"That's what made you brave."
She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You won't fall," she whispered.
"Not while I have you," he said.
And the tree whispered with the wind, echoing their promise.
---
Far away, in the tower of shadows, Varn stood before a wall of swirling glass. He saw the camp, saw the light rising again.
Moryan stood beside him. "The Whisperer failed."
"No," Varn said calmly. "It succeeded."
Moryan raised an eyebrow. "How?"
Varn smiled. "Now they know what to fear. Soon, they'll fear each other again."
---
But back in the camp, Chirag had already made a choice.
They wouldn't wait anymore.
The final march would begin.
The final battle was near.
---