---
The wind howled as Kael and Rael reached the outer rim of the Fallen Barrens—a desolate land where nothing but ash and jagged stones remained. Once, this place had been part of the great kingdom of Varethas. Now, it was a wasteland haunted by silence.
Kael's boots crunched over black dust. "This... was once a city?"
Rael nodded solemnly. "The capital of the world, some called it. Until the Eclipse War scorched it from existence. The heart of Arkanis lies buried beneath our feet."
"Why come here if it's destroyed?"
"Because not everything dies," Rael said. "Some things sleep... and some things wait."
As they walked deeper into the ruins, Kael felt something shift—like a breath in the air, a presence that watched. Buildings half-swallowed by ash stood like broken ribs. Statues lay shattered, yet a single spire remained untouched—tall, obsidian, reaching into the clouds like a black tooth.
Rael stopped before it.
"The Spire of Echoes," he whispered. "It was said to record every voice spoken by the Sovereigns within these walls."
Kael stepped forward. "What's inside?"
"Memories. And pain."
The doors opened with a low groan. Inside, the air was thick with silence. Symbols on the walls pulsed faintly as Kael passed, responding to the blood within him.
At the center of the spire, a massive seal of glowing runes hovered mid-air, flickering between colors. Kael reached out instinctively.
The moment his hand touched the light, a pulse exploded outward, and his mind was pulled into darkness.
---
He saw fire. Cities burning. Sky torn open.
He stood not as Kael, but as another—a warrior clad in black and silver armor, his eyes blazing with cosmic fire. Around him, eleven others stood—each radiating power beyond comprehension. Together, they faced an endless army of celestial beings.
Then came the betrayal.
The blade through his back. The eleven scattering. The world shattering.
Kael gasped as he was thrown back into the present. Blood dripped from his nose.
Rael caught him. "You saw it, didn't you?"
Kael's voice trembled. "The war… the other Sovereigns… I was there."
Rael nodded. "Fragments of who you once were are waking up."
"I was betrayed."
"You all were."
Suddenly, the spire trembled. From above, a scream echoed down the tower. Not human. Not beast. Something... wrong.
Rael's eyes sharpened. "They found us."
"Who?"
"Hunters. Trained to track Sovereign blood."
The walls cracked. Shadows surged.
Kael stood, blood still trickling, but his eyes glowed black-red.
"Let them come."
---
Outside, dozens of cloaked figures surrounded the spire, each one masked, wielding weapons forged with runes meant to suppress divine power. Their leader raised a single hand.
> "By order of the Celestial Accord—capture the Shadowblood alive."
From within the spire, a ripple of dark energy pulsed.
And then—
Kael Ardyn stepped through the door.
The world tilted, the ash rose in a vortex, and the hunt began.