The Temple of the Bound stood tall, not in glory, but in grim silence.
A monolith carved into the mountainside, with chains as thick as trees wrapped around its spires, and wards glowing faint blue under the moonlight. Arav stood before it, wind whipping through his torn robe, blood dried along his jawline. The journey to this forsaken place had tested him — physically, mentally, and in ways that he hadn't known were possible.
But what lay inside... was what truly terrified him.
Behind him, Zia adjusted the strap of her satchel. Her fingers trembled. The visions had returned — stronger, darker, and more urgent.
"You don't have to come," Arav whispered, eyes never leaving the gate.
"I saw this place in my dreams," she replied, voice firm. "I have to."
---
The Gate of Echoes
The ancient stone doors groaned open, reacting to Arav's presence. As if it remembered him.
Chains slithered backward of their own accord, disappearing into the walls like steel serpents. Cold wind howled from within — not air, but something else. Whispering. Whispering his name.
"Arav… Arav…"
Zia's grip on his arm tightened.
"Did you hear that?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, stepping forward. "That's the Warden."
The inner hall was massive, more cavern than temple. Murals lined the walls — depictions of a forgotten war, one where beings with burning eyes clashed with giants of smoke and ash. In the center stood a chained throne. Upon it… bones.
But not lifeless.
The skeleton was upright, arms bound in chains, and though hollow, its eyes flickered with a faint red glow.
Arav took one step toward it and everything changed.
The floor cracked. Shadows erupted. Zia was flung back.
"ARAV!"
---
The Trial Begins
Chains snapped out like whips, wrapping around Arav's legs and dragging him toward the throne. His vision blurred. Suddenly he was no longer in the temple.
He stood in a realm of fog — colorless, still, and dead silent.
Then — a whisper.
"You who holds the cursed blade… speak."
The voice was everywhere and nowhere, echoing like thunder inside a well.
"I am Arav," he shouted. "I seek the truth. About the sword. About the curse. About me."
A figure stepped out of the mist — a tall man in armor of ash, with chains hanging from his arms like tattered robes. His face was featureless, except for two glowing eyes.
"I am the Warden. Keeper of Truths, Forger of Bindings."
"I don't want power," Arav said. "I want to be free."
"There is no freedom," the Warden replied. "Only choice. And every choice has its prison."
With a sweep of his hand, images floated into the air — Arav as a child, holding his dead mother's hand. Arav training in the woods. Arav slaughtering the beasts near the southern forest.
And Arav... holding Zia's dying body.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Arav screamed.
"Possible futures," the Warden intoned. "One of these is yours."
---
The Voice Within
Back in the physical realm, Zia crawled toward the center. She couldn't see Arav — just empty space and chains writhing like serpents. She whispered a spell — blood magic, forbidden.
Her hands glowed. Her eyes turned white.
"I call to the soul that defied fate… find him!"
Her body jerked as her spirit detached.
She awoke beside Arav in the fog, panting.
"You shouldn't be here," he gasped.
"I'm not leaving you," she said. "Ever."
The Warden tilted his head.
"Two souls, bound not by fate, but by defiance. Curious."
He stepped forward and touched both their foreheads.
Suddenly, both Arav and Zia fell into darkness.
They awoke in memories. Arav watched as his brother — Kala — received the sword first. He saw how the elders betrayed him. How Kala was forced to kill… and how the curse took over.
Zia saw herself as a baby — born during a blood moon, marked by prophecy. Her mother hiding her. Her village burning.
Then, they both saw a shared vision.
A great war. Arav atop a mountain of corpses, sword glowing. Zia by his side, bloodied but alive.
"Is this what's coming?" Arav asked.
"No," the Warden whispered. "This… is what has already begun."
---
Bargain with the Bound
Back in the temple, Arav stood alone before the throne. Zia had collapsed beside him, unconscious.
The Warden stood, unshackling himself.
"You are not ready," he said. "But time no longer bends to the weak."
"What do you want from me?"
"A promise," the Warden replied. "When the sky cracks… when the void returns… you will fight. And you will not run."
"I never have."
The Warden smiled for the first time. A sad, ancient smile.
"Then kneel, Arav of the Ashen Blade."
Arav dropped to one knee.
The Warden placed a hand on his head.
The temple erupted in light.
---
The Awakening
Zia gasped, her eyes flying open.
Arav stood beside the throne, glowing marks running down his arms, his eyes alight with pale fire.
The sword floated in front of him — no longer blackened, but silver-blue. Breathing. Alive.
"You passed," Zia whispered.
"I don't feel like I did," he said softly.
Behind them, the Warden began to fade.
"I have given you what you seek," he said. "But truth has a cost."
The chains rewrapped the throne.
"One more thing," the Warden said. "The one you call Kala… is not your enemy. Not yet."
Then he vanished.
---
Beyond the Temple
They exited into morning sunlight, barely able to walk.
Arav felt stronger, but… heavier.
Like his soul had aged a thousand years in one night.
Zia touched his hand.
"Did we win?"
"No," he said, looking toward the horizon where black smoke rose. "The war just started."
Far in the distance, a figure watched them through a scrying mirror. Kala.
"He met the Warden," he muttered. "Then the game truly begins."
He turned toward his generals.
"Bring me the girl. Alive."
---
🕯️ End of Chapter 10
> Next Chapter: "The Girl of Blood and Bells" – Zia's truth unravels, and Arav must decide if love is stronger than fate… or if it's the very thing that will destroy them.