Chapter 10: Blood Seals and Broken Promises
The Revenant's wreckage smoldered in the street like the last breath of a forgotten nightmare.
But for Rayven, the real fire had only just been lit—inside him.
He stood in the ruins of Eastgate Avenue, still holding the half-melted memory crystal in his hand. Its heat had long faded, but its echoes hadn't.
His mind replayed it on loop:
The voice of a woman whispering, "You'll wake when the world forgets. When Bastion needs you most."
Selene watched him closely. "You okay?"
Rayven didn't answer right away.
Finally, he looked at her and said, "I think I was never supposed to live a normal life. Someone buried me—on purpose. But they also left behind instructions."
Rhea stepped up beside them, her eyes still scanning the rooftops. "Instructions—or manipulation."
Rayven glanced at her. "You think it was a trap?"
"I think everything about you is a weapon built in layers. The question is… who's really holding the trigger?"
That Night – The Crypt Beneath Eastgate Cathedral
Selene and Rhea helped Rayven reconstruct the crystal in the cathedral's arcane chamber. Each shard floated above a sigil ring, stabilized by Selene's energy threads.
Rhea inserted a binding stone and whispered, "Recollectus Verum."
The crystal's glow intensified, and suddenly the chamber around them flickered.
Rayven blinked—his breath caught in his throat.
He was inside a memory-space now. Not his. Someone else's.
Memory Projection – "The Pact of Ashes"
A long chamber with floating blue torches.
At its center: five people, cloaked in robes marked by royal crests, stood around a blood pedestal. One of them was a woman in silver armor. Her face—sharp, regal, sad—looked eerily like Rayven.
"The bloodline cannot survive this war," she said. "But we can bury hope… in flesh."
Another voice—older, gruffer:
"The child won't remember. The core must be sealed inside him, or the war will track him through time."
Then the woman said something that echoed through Rayven's very bones:
"I am sealing my son. When he awakens… let him choose his own war."
The vision exploded in white light.
Back to the Present
Rayven fell to his knees.
Selene caught him, her voice sharp. "You alright?!"
He gasped, then whispered, "She was my mother. That woman… she sealed me away during some ancient war. She didn't run—she made sure I'd survive it."
Rhea's face darkened. "She made you a ticking bomb."
Rayven stood slowly, his voice calm but resolute. "No. She made me a shield."
Meanwhile – Unknown Location
In a deep bunker hidden beneath the eastern ruins of New Bastion, a figure in a red mask stood in front of a dozen screens.
On one of them: footage of Rayven punching through the Revenant.
Another screen: the memory crystal flashing with recovered energy.
The red-masked figure turned to a subordinate.
"Accelerate Project Seraph."
"But sir," the agent said nervously. "It's not ready—"
"Neither is the heir," the masked figure replied. "But the game's changed."
He touched the screen where Rayven's face stared back at him, frozen mid-fight.
"Let's see how well he holds up… when the ghosts of the Seraphim come calling."
Back in Eastgate – The Tower Room
Later that night, Rayven sat alone in the top floor of the cathedral, gazing down at Bastion's dark skyline.
Selene entered quietly, bringing two mugs of something warm.
"You've been quiet."
"I'm tired," he said. "But not from the fight. From the truth."
She sat beside him. "That vision… your mother knew what was coming. She made you a weapon—but also gave you freedom. That's rare."
"I don't feel free."
Selene glanced at him. "You've already made more choices than most heirs ever get to."
Rayven turned to her, curious. "You knew them? The others?"
She nodded. "Two, personally. One burned out in six weeks. The other never made it past his second awakening."
Rayven frowned. "And you stayed after that?"
"I stay because I don't believe in fate. I believe in people who fight back."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Rayven said, "I think I saw something else in the memory. Behind the blood pedestal… a second sigil. Different. Newer."
Selene straightened. "Do you remember what it looked like?"
He nodded, and with his finger, traced the shape into the fogged window glass: a double helix intertwined with a crescent blade.
Selene's face paled.
"That's the mark of the Hollow Circle."
Rayven blinked. "Sounds cheerful."
"No. It's a black-market sect of former Watchers. They believe the Core should never have been bound. They want to unseal all sealed bloodlines, no matter the consequence."
Rhea entered the room behind them, hearing the last line.
"They're cultists," she said coldly. "And they're already moving."
Rayven looked between them. "Then we move faster."